Tascam 388 DBX question

T

themaddog

Rockin' & Rollin'
Hey everyone, I've got a question about the 388 that I'm hoping someone can help me with.

I want to record only drums onto my 388, which I'm going to put to computer, then bounce back onto two tracks back on my recorder so I have another 6 tracks to record guitars, vocals, etc. I plan on using 7 out of the 8 channels and tracks on the 388 to do this: bass, snare, two overheads for cymbals, and a mic on each tom (3 tom mics, 7 mics total).

My first question is about recording the snare drum. I want to try and get a bigger thwack from the snare, but without losing the good sound we already had. I plan on recording the snare drum onto two tracks. One of the tracks will be track 8, on which I can disable the DBX noise reduction (normally meant for timecode and MIDI). Do I have to put it through channel 8 to do this? Or, is it OK to say put the snare drum first on channel 2/track 2, then have track 8 routed from channel 2 to have no DBX? I'm worried that the DBX is encoded from the channel, and not on the track itself, so that when it's rerouted to track 8 it will have DBX encoded, but not played back correctly or something. To reiterate, I don't want DBX on my second snare drum track (track 8).

My next question concerns using a scratch guitar. I plan on using a POD since it's all line and there won't be any bleed from an amp. Is there a way to use channel 8, since there won't be any drum mic on it, so that both the drummer and scratch guitarist can hear it without recording it? Or is this not possible since I'm using all 8 tracks now?

Thank you,
-MD
 
Ehh,...

The dbx process is associated with the track, not the channel.

You could use the 8th channel to run a guitar signal in, but nay for having a "scratch" guitar that doesn't get recorded. Record function must be enabled to route the guitar through the monitors.

On the 388, when the REC FUNCTION button is in the UP position, (SAFE), the mounitor source is tape. When the REC FUNCTION button is in the DOWN position, (REC_READY), the monitor source is the (PGM BUS).

You'd need to have the guitar signal plugged into an input, & that channel assigned to a bus. To monitor that buss, you'd need the corresponding track set in REC-READY. When you commence with recording, you'd be recording 8-inputs to 8-tracks simultaneously, in your example. (7-drum mics & 1-guitar).

Scratch guitar that doesn't get recorded is a wasted concept, especially in your scenario with the 388, it is not feasible.

Do you know studiodrum? Is that you?

Heh. :eek:
 
No, sorry, I don't know studio drum. Reel Person, I;ve read you use the 388 a lot, would you advise disengaging the DBX from a single track to try and get a better sound from the snare drum? Or is trying to get tape compression a lost cause on the 388 because of the narrow head?

Thanks,
-MD
 
It's something that probably would never have occurred to me,...

so I wouldn't advise it, or advise against it. It certainly can't hurt anything to try, and I do think you should be able to get a tape compression effect from it. ;)
 
...

studiodrum is another tascam user on these boards,... another drummer,... whom I had lengthy discussions with, regarding "scratch" elements of a mix, that would be present in the live/monitor mix but not recorded down to tape.

- I guess you had to be there -

Anyway, cutting to the chase on the matter, I think "scratch" elements of the mix while recording is a wasted concept, not worth banging your head over the routing issues thereof. Just lay the tracks down to tape, and erase or rerecord them later, if you don't like them. Be committed. The many ways, or solutions you could concieve of to route "scratch" elements through the mix, would be time wasted, in the end.

- Sorry, for the brief digression. -

In your case, with the 7 drum mics & inline guitar, it's not feasible to configure a "scratch" element on the 388, so don't sweat it. ;)
 
I was only trying to avoid recording the scratch guitar so that I could have my choice of snare drum track (no saturation with DBX, saturation without DBX, or some kind of mix of the two). I'm gonna try and see if I can get the snare sound I want this afternoon at practice. We'll see what happens.

Thanks for all your help,
-MD
 
My friend,...

Not only is the "scratch" element not feasible because of the REC-FUNCTION dictating the 388's monitor switching, but it will also NOT work because of a simple miscalculation. You're using all your tracks for drum elements:...

Kick mic, (Track 1)
Snare mic, (2 & 8)
Overhead L, (3)
Overhead R, (4)
Tom 1, (5)
Tom 2, (6)
Tom 3, (7)

There are simply no open tracks to work with, even though there's an open channel,... there's no unused buss/track to assign the extra channel to, in this scenario.

IF you'd scale back to ONE overhead or TWO tom mics, then you could sneak the guitar in on the extra channel, & assign it to an unused buss & track.

Your hypothetical starting scenario does not work for 7 drum mics & guitar, because you'll be dual-assigning the snare mic to two tracks simultaneously.

Your basic question is not workable. Sorry, but that didn't sink in properly for a couple hours!
 
For no more than what the toms are going to get used I would spend a little time and buss them all to one track unless you just have to have them pan from left to right or something. I used to just have to mic every little thing and set up 7 to 8 mics and found out its just not worth the trouble. And Im a drummer.
Try a stereo pair of mics above the kit and a snare mic and a kick. Run some tracks and see what you come up with you might just like it.
 
No miscalculation: only one snare drum mic onto two tracks, I was attempting to see (or hear) the difference between DBX and non-DBX. So, I was using one mic onto two tracks.

The results of my tests... the sound is much better with DBX, even when it's disabled on just one track.

But now I've got a problem with my 388. Track 5 isn't recording anything. I know the mic is fine, I was able to record on other tracks. I could not re-route it to other tracks from channel 5 though. The VU meter would not move, but the clip light would come on. But like I said, it wouldn't record anything. It worked just a few months ago when my band recorded our album, and since it's been covered and everything, but now no dice. Any advice?

Thanks,
-MD
 
Yes,...

7 drum mics being routed to 8 tracks. In this scenario, you can't fit the guitar into the mix. Even though you have an unused channel, you don't have any unused buss or track to assign it to, and therefore, you cannot squeeze it in the monitor mix. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

Do the obvious things. Clean the head really well with alcohol and swabs. Repeat. Try a different tape, if possible. Check all your settings. Recheck them.

Once you've done the obvious things, the first real hardware troubleshooting you might want to try, is to carefully reseat the offending audio card, or maybe swap cards to isolate, in extreme cases.

Good luck.
 
I figured out the problem I had on track 5. I still had some effects cables on that track only (tape in/tape out) but they weren't plugged into anything, hence the problem.

Thanks for everyone's help,
-MD
 
He he, I didn't want you guys losing sleep over it. Actually, I had a dream that made me realize what I was doing wrong a few days ago (about the cables in the inserts in the back). That's what led me to examine it. Weird, huh?

-MD
 
Yeah, that's wierd,... but it's not "inserts" on the back.

Each channel has a discrete 1/4 (mono/TS) jack for ACCESS-SND and ACCESS-RCV, in which (Snd-Rcv) is "normalled" closed (internally) when not in use. (No "jumper" plugs like on the 244, M30 and M35).

You just had your ACCESS-SND jack plugged with an unterminated cable, and nothing plugged to the ACCESS-RCV jack. Small difference, I suppose, but that's not "inserts". It's Access-Snd/Rcv.

Inserts are an Out/In signal connection on one single stereo (TRS) 1/4 jack, which uses a special "insert" cable to break out the OUT/IN to two separate mono (TS) plugs on the other end.

Beyond that, we understand your explanation, and we're all glad it was one of those "no-brainers", (procedural problem), and nothing serious. ;)
 
Thanks, couldn't remember the name off the top of my head. I live in Boston, and the machine is back in my parents's basement where my band practices, so I can't always just go downstairs and look at it or anything.

-MD
 
Aha,...

it's a very small technical difference, so don't sweat it.

I know the heads who follow this board are all glad it wasn't something seriously wrong with the 388. Funny it came to you in a dream. That's probably a first. Thanx. /DA :eek:
 
Channel 1 pan function doesn't work, please help!!

hi, got a quick question about my tascam 388. On playback of track 1, with the L/R assign switch pressed down, but I cannot pan the track to the right or even the center. It only plays back in on the left side. It will mix down right, but I can't hear it back properly. It pans just fine when I have the track going through the monitor section. All the other tracks are fine, its only on track1, channel 1. Is there any way to fix this so I can monitor my mixes properly? Thanks in advance!

jem
 
i recently got the exact same problem. also thr right channel does not pick up on th main uvs or the headphone jacks. but the signal comes out of the monitor outs and the main outs fine. weird
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top