What Mixer is this...Might be from The Ghost of FM

Blackdog.sn said:
Hey,

I was browsing the forum a while back and i rember seeing a mixer that I liked. The time has come where i'm about to buy a 4 or 8- track reel to reel, and i think that mixer would be perfect. I have a link to a pic that The Ghost of FM might have posted:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/attachment.php?attachmentid=11190

Also any additional info on the mixer would be good, because im in the market for such a little item :D
Click to expand...

Looks like a Tascam M-30 mixer (early 80's) sitting between a 22-2 on the left and 22-4 on the right. It's a nice sounding board, 8X4X2 with tape inputs and xlr mic inputs, 3 eq, and 4 send buttons, but no level control on each channel for sends, as I remember.

I don't think it's Ghost's -- maybe Herm's.

-Tim
:cool:
 
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wow, thats great. I'm actually buying a 22-4, and i need a mixer. When i saw that picture they look so well matched i wanted the mixer. I'm completely new to the whole analog style of recording...and recording in general i guess. Do you like the mixer herm? Anything extremely limiting? Any other mixers you might suggest for a 4 track?
 
To be honest I havnt got a chance to really use the mixer yet.
But it is a perfect match for the 22-4. The only real limiting thing I can think of for this mixer is that it dosnt have phantom power. But that is an easy thing to deal with if you get a external unit for it.
Do you have a dbx unit for your Recorder yet?
 
DBX :confused: I was just planning on using this 22-4 stock with a stock mixer, and record. What is phantom power used for?

Btw extreme newb talking here.
 
Phantom power is used to power special condenser microphones that require a dedicated power source to work properly.

Many of the large diaphragm types that you might see vocalists singing into in recording studios and many music videos are the type in question here.

Dynamic microphones like the ever popular Shure SM57 or SM58 do not require phantom power to operate.

dbx noise reduction might not be a really critical thing to use on a 4 track recorder; as the tape hiss won't be too objectionable with only 4 tracks but, if you do get into an 8 or 16 track recorder in the future, you might very much want to have it and use it as tape hiss a cumulative thing by nature meaning that the more tracks you have, the more hiss you will have too and especially if you're not careful with your recording levels and keeping them too low and allowing the hiss to be more audible.

Cheers! :)
 
Phantom Power is for mics that require +48vDC (Condenser Mics).

For a mixer that small it's not a huge concern unless everything you use for mics are condensers cuz the lil' Phantom Boxes can run a pretty penny in total.

-- Adam Lazlo
 
The 4-track machine is pretty nice as long as the heads are still good. It looks to be in good condition. I've used one many many moons ago and they pretty much "do what they do"; they're ready-steady-go. The current $255 is just a bit steep cuz I've seen TASCAM 1/2" 8 Tracks go for around $300 to $500.

The 22-4 is a good machine tho. I guess what it's at RIGHT NOW (as I type) is not that outrageous of a bid. This year it's all about getting the tape, more-so.... (with bated breath).

As far as a mixer goes I think you should get something that has more channels than the tracks you're recording to. It's really nice to have the extra headroom cuz once you play around more with options the more channels you'll want to have (even at this stage).

-- Adam Lazlo
 
preferably i would have bid on 1/2" 8 track, but as ive been watching ebay lately they are going for 500-700 :S

255 was what i won it at. As for mixers should i go for vintage tascam stuff, or like new Yamaha/Mackie boards? Is there much difference between boards?
 
That is the older teac model 3 mixer, I think they upgraded the opamps when tascam changed the mixer to the model 30. The model 3 will do a good job but if you can wait and score a newer model 30 or 35 I would do that.
I played around with my model 30 into the 22-4 yesterday after reading your post and its a great little mixer.
I hope to be able to post some samples later on of some messing around I did with it.
 
Oh crud, Blackdog, that TASCAM is more "classic" than it is "vintage".

I suppose now with analog vs. digital mixers that TASCAM seems like it's from the Ice Age but you'd be better off buying a 8x2 or 16x4 Mackie. I've owned many TASCAM "consoles" like the one you show via eBay and they're more cumbersome than practical. Sure, they have analog VU meters but that doesn't mean much other than having analog VU meters. From my own experience TASCAM EQ's are horrid but so are Mackie's (learning SUBTRACTIVE EQ is the best way to deal with cruddy consoles--even million dollar consoles btw).

I'd rather have a newer console where I work more with mics, mic placement, amp EQ, drum tuning, vocal positioning, and so on rather than a "so called" vintage/classic console. I've worked under conditions/gear less than what I'm used to normally with great results. Build up a stellar mic collection first before a console. Once you understand mics, mic placement, and the relationship to the medium you're recording to the better you'll be as an engineer especially if you get hired freelanced at other world-class studios.

-- Adam Lazlo
 
Blackdog.sn said:
Im anxious to buy a mixer, and i've come arcoss a few things. I haven't seen any m-30's but do you guys have any opinoins on this mixer

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=23785&item=7302572519&rd=1

Other than ebay, are there any places to find vintage gear?

Thanks for allowing me to ask all these dumb questions. :D
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The Tascam 200 series are excellent mixers. I've owned both the 208 and 216. Electronically, they are similar in design to the Mackies of that era, including the 4558 op-amps. They are a little quieter with more features than the M-30.

They were made in the late 80's to early 90's before Tascam started skimping on quality. The 200 series in particular has a sort of cult following, as it is easily modified to be a super board. It has no phantom power and only two sends, which might be limiting to some. It's a good board right out of the box, but will absolutely stomp newer and pricier boards well above its class with a few simple mods.

Look at http://www.musicgoround.com as an alternative to ebay. They have a generous return policy.

-Tim
:cool:
 
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Beck said:
Electronically, they are similar in design to the Mackies of that era, including the 4558 op-amps.
Click to expand...

I thought the 4558's weren't that flash - a pretty standard bi-polar op-amp and only slightly better than the classic 741.

Although I could be wrong. (its highly likely in fact :) )

In any case from memory you could just drop in TL072's or similar which should give better performance, assuming the whole thing's not SMT.

That's my US$0.072 worth anyway (10c NZ)....

Cya
Andrew
 
arjoll said:
I thought the 4558's weren't that flash - a pretty standard bi-polar op-amp and only slightly better than the classic 741.

Although I could be wrong. (its highly likely in fact :) )

In any case from memory you could just drop in TL072's or similar which should give better performance, assuming the whole thing's not SMT.

That's my US$0.072 worth anyway (10c NZ)....

Cya
Andrew
Click to expand...

That's right, they aren't a stellar op-amp, but they were commonly used at the time by Tascam, Mackie, and a host of others. It is a low-noise design though and much quieter than a 741. One of the mods involves swapping those out for a combination of OPA2604 and OP275.

On the other hand these days some people leave it as is to help add a little "color" to their digital systems.

-Tim
 
Beck said:
One of the mods involves swapping those out for a combination of OPA2604 and OP275.
Click to expand...
Not familiar with those ones....looks like I'm going to need to get myself back up to speed with current op-amps! Much better than the TL071/72/04 series?

I'm not as bad as some though - had to break the news to my dad a few years ago that he'd need to be careful with the mic input stages of his homemade mixer - they'd discontinued the LM381...

Cya
Andrew
 
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