Tascam 424 MKII Right Channel/Pan Problem

[trailmix9999]

Hi, I just recently got a tascam 424 mkii off of ebay and I can record in all 4 tracks but I cannot make any of them pan or anything. It only records in mono and if I try to pan to the right it just fades the input out and if I pan to the left the signal gets louder. I'm very confused, help!

 

[jaygee]

Hi, I just recently got a tascam 424 mkii off of ebay and I can record in all 4 tracks but I cannot make any of them pan or anything. It only records in mono and if I try to pan to the right it just fades the input out and if I pan to the left the signal gets louder. I'm very confused, help!

Make sure you are recording onto a mono track in your daw.
If you record onto a stereo track and only use a single mic it will playback as mono.

 

[trailmix9999]

i'm recording just onto the tascam 424 mkii, there is no daw involved. Im using the headphone jack to listen to the tracks I recorded. Like I said, the right channel fades out when I pan to the right. I cannot figure out how to record in stereo on the tascam 424 mkii. Please Help!

 

[WarmJetGuitar]

Have you checked if your mixing desk plays back in stereo when using another source?

 

[trailmix9999]

no it doesnt play back any tapes in stereo, also if I switch the right monitor switch on it cuts the right channel out completely.

 

[WarmJetGuitar]

Ooops sorry, the 424 is a Portastudio with a build in mixer. My mistake, hope I didn't confuse you more than you were already.
You'll need to wait for a Portastudio owner to answer or to call a friend with more recording experience.
It sounds as if there's a problem with your recorder but I'm not the one to tell for sure.

 

[diggy_dude]

Have you read the manual? I had to read and re-read it several times to make sense of the 424 Mk II.

http://madamebutterface.com/assets/documents/Tascam 424 Mk II Manual.pdf

I believe you need to have two tracks armed to pan the signal within the stereo field. The odd-numbered tracks go to the left mix channel, and the even-numbered tracks go to the right. So if you're only recording to a mono track, you would get the results you described.

 

[trailmix9999]

I think my 424mkii is just broken, Ive tried EVERYTHING to get the right channel to work and alas it will not work. Guess i'll just buy another one

 

[diggy_dude]

If you bought it on Ebay, it's a safe bet it is broken. Less than 10% of tape recorders sold on Ebay arrive in good working order.

However, I would try the example on page 21 of the manual, "How to Record a Mix onto Two Tracks Simultaneously", before you give up on it. The routing on this machine is pretty complex. I had to go back and try it several times before I got it right.