Been playing guitar for a little while, but the recording thing is new to me. I've ordered a 4-track cassette recorder to get aquainted with the process. The one I ordered (Tascam Porta2) has a Hi-Z port for plugging straight in (it claims). My question would be this - is it ok to run a line out of my solid state amps headphone jack into here? There's also an 8-ohm extension speaker jack on my amp, would it work? Is there anything I'd need to put in the line between amp and hi-z input? Sorry for the goofy questions, but gotta find out somehow, right?
Plugging in...
- Thread starter revtwang
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mshilarious
Banned
revtwang said:
In short, NOOO! The hi-z is for plugging in your guitar directly, or from an effects pedal, or something like that. The headphone jack is way too hot for that. The headphone out jack might work into the Tascam's line in, but that's not what it was designed to do. Headphones have a lower impedance than a line in. So it might work, or it might clip, or it might sound bad. If you try that, start at minimum gain settings.
Absolutely do not plug the speaker out into the Tascam. That could cause very bad things to happen to the Tascam.
If your amp doesn't have a line out, the best solution is to mic the amp. Most people here would tell you that's the best solution regardless.
Thanks for your reply. I had a hunch that it was taboo. Don't know all the specs on the Tascam, but I didn't figure it was designed to handle such. Most of the time, I'll be able to mic 'er up (I hope). One more question - amps with a dedicated 1v line-out (like the small Vox Pathfinder), is that line designed for plugging into a recorder? While I will be able to mic sometimes, some of my most creative things hapen as young 'uns are sleeping in the next room.mshilarious said:
mshilarious
Banned
revtwang said:
Yes that's what you want.
Also it's not that the Tascam wasn't properly designed, it is. Mic in and Line in are standard inputs, and hi-z is a bonus. No console or recorder has a 'headphone output in" or "speaker output in" because those outputs are designed to drive speakers, not input channels.
One more question that's probably obvious...
Instead of forking out the cash for some expensive pod or amp with filtered line in (cheapsk...er...budget-minded guy that I am), will a direct-box of some type allow me to go from headphone/speaker out jack to my 4-track. It seems like that's what I'm reading, but I misunderstand things easy sometimes (I'll chalk it up to A.D.D.
Actually, music has been good therapy for that!).
Keep pickin'!
Instead of forking out the cash for some expensive pod or amp with filtered line in (cheapsk...er...budget-minded guy that I am), will a direct-box of some type allow me to go from headphone/speaker out jack to my 4-track. It seems like that's what I'm reading, but I misunderstand things easy sometimes (I'll chalk it up to A.D.D.
Actually, music has been good therapy for that!). Keep pickin'!
mshilarious
Banned
revtwang said:Instead of forking out the cash for some expensive pod or amp with filtered line in (cheapsk...er...budget-minded guy that I am), will a direct-box of some type allow me to go from headphone/speaker out jack to my 4-track. It seems like that's what I'm reading, but I misunderstand things easy sometimes (I'll chalk it up to A.D.D.
No, it won't. Direct boxes convert unbalanced low-level (voltage), high-impedance signals to balanced low(er)-level low-impedance signals. This is so you can plug a guitar into a mic input, and send the signal long distances over mic cables without loss of signal quality. Simply put, it turns your guitar signal into a mic signal.
Really the problem with using the headphone out into the line in is clipping the input, which you can avoid by keeping the headphone level low, and a potential impedance mismatch, but it's at least worth a shot. It shouldn't damage anything.
Forgot to mention that of course a headphone out is stereo, so you'll only need one channel of the signal, so you can just plug in halfway. Or if your amp has stereo effects, then get a splitter cable into two line inputs.
Unlike using the speaker out. Let's talk levels for a minute, a mic is millivolts (mV), a guitar is somewhat less than 1V, line level is around 1V, headphones are too; but a speaker signal is going to be a few volts to a few dozen volts. You don't want that going into an input channel or anything else that can't take that voltage gracefully.
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Thanks, bud. I appreciate your timely responses and patience with an ignorant ol' cowpoke! I'm seeing that my options are: direct in from my guitar, mic'ing, or an amp with a filtered line-out. I guess an amp modeler is an option, too. Anyway, thanks for sending me to school and I look forward to more correspondence here at HRC! Still tryin' to get the sound in my head down on tape - let's call it Southernsurfabillycountryswinggospelgrass (with blues undertones) - WHEW!