beginner seeking advice

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poetrusician

New member
i've got a tascam 8-track with very poor quality in the tape recorder.... and i also have a jvc dual casssette deck.... i guess my question is.... How do i get the cleanest sound out of my acoustic guitar with what i've got....\

tascam 8 track (poor quality on tape)
jvc dual cassette deck
ibanez ae series acoustic guitar
rp 100 digitech processor

i will take any advice or suggestions even if they aren't very nice
i could use some knowledge...

thanx
 
Why does the tascam have poor quality? Are you recording direct to the tascam? I would mic with a preamp to record the guitar.
 
the tascam's tape player itself has lost it's quality due to age and poor upkeep... not mine fortunately, nonetheless, it sounds bad... treat me like a beginner, what do you mean by mic with a pre amp to record...? Straight from the mic?
 
How are you connecting things right now?

If you are running a direct line from the pickup output of your acoustic/electric, into the Digitech, then into the line-in of your 8-track, that will allow you to record the guitar. However, you are limited by the quality of the pickup on the guitar and the ability of the Digitech to work with that sound. I would imagine that this sounds terrible, because, if I'm not mistking, the Digitech is a multi-effects unit for electric guitar, not acoustic. However, if that's all you have, then you'll have to work with it until you get something better.

It is almost always better to record acoustic guitar with nice microphones through a microphone preamp and, then, into the 8-track. If you have mics, I would forget about the Digitech for now.

Do you have any mics?
 
Take that 8 track in to see a tech, too. It may only need a good cleaning and demagnetizing. Or if it needs to be realigned, they can do that for you. I also second what Scrubs told you about using a mic and a microphone pre amp to record instead of that digitech. I suspect that more than anything is what is making the guitar sound bad. For what it's worth, any time you directly plug your guitar into your recorder, regardless if it's an acoustic with a pickup or electric guitar, it's not going to sound as good as a mic'd acoustic, or mics on an amp of an electric.
 
you know.... now that you say that, a guy at Sam Ash store once made that suggestion to me, and said he wouldn't do that any other way.... i have 3 or 4 mics, i'll check it out.... what's a good mic pre amp?
 
poetrusician said:
you know.... now that you say that, a guy at Sam Ash store once made that suggestion to me, and said he wouldn't do that any other way.... i have 3 or 4 mics, i'll check it out.... what's a good mic pre amp?
Click to expand...

It depends on your budget. For about $150, you could get the M-Audio DMP3, which is a 2-channel preamp and is relatively clean and quiet. That would be a good place to start.
 
poetrusician said:
you know.... now that you say that, a guy at Sam Ash store once made that suggestion to me, and said he wouldn't do that any other way.... i have 3 or 4 mics, i'll check it out.... what's a good mic pre amp?
Click to expand...
Check out Musician's Friend, Zzounds, or any of those sites that sell music instruments, and you can find some great deals. There are quite a few of them listed. The only thing I can tell you is to remember that you get what you pay for. The cheaper pre amps will work, but the higher the cost, the better.

The DMP3 gets a lot of attention on this board.
 
Cheapest place I found the DMP3 was at Full Compass.
You have to call for pricing, but they have always been cheaper than MF or AMS. They don't stick it to you on shipping either...

Damn, I didn't realize so much maintenance was needed with a cassette four tracker....
 
cellardweller said:
Cheapest place I found the DMP3 was at Full Compass.
You have to call for pricing, but they have always been cheaper than MF or AMS. They don't stick it to you on shipping either...

Damn, I didn't realize so much maintenance was needed with a cassette four tracker....
Click to expand...
They're just like any piece of equipment, if you don't take care of them, they go to shit. Tape machines need to get cleaned a lot, or you will have problems. The heads need to be checked for alignment.

And let's not get started on what dust can do to them... :eek:
 
r u reusing the same old tapes over and over and over again? The Tascam should net some pretty "decent" results. Like everyone else is getting at, make sure everything is in working order before you condemn it. Have the unit checked out, (get an estimate before making a commitment) make sure you've got a good signal chain (pre and mic) and your recording technique is in the ball park.

How about a clip? let's hear what your gripe is.
 
punkin said:
r u reusing the same old tapes over and over and over again? The Tascam should net some pretty "decent" results. Like everyone else is getting at, make sure everything is in working order before you condemn it. Have the unit checked out, (get an estimate before making a commitment) make sure you've got a good signal chain (pre and mic) and your recording technique is in the ball park.

How about a clip? let's hear what your gripe is.
Click to expand...
I guess that tape is back in production? I've seen arguments that say you can reuse the tape (eventually you will get write-through), and others that say you should only use it once. Only once, to me is an ideal way to go, but it's not always a practicle one...

And yeah, post a clip so we can see if maybe it's just an issue with how you are recording...
 
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