Newbie with Basic Question

R

radioone

New member
This is probably one of those "rookie" mistakes that I should have been able to figure out on my own. Unfortunately Im still in the dark. I have a TASCAM 488 MK II 8 Track analog recorder. My problem is that I cant seem to get each track to record only the instrument being recorded, without "bouncing" music from the other tracks. I usually record drums on tracks 3 and 4, guitars on tracks 1 and 2. So far I have not been recording vocals, keyboards or bass (just drums and guitar). Although I only record one track at a time, once I complete the track I can hear drums on the guitar tracks and guitar on the drum tracks. I use headphones but somehow I keep bouncing unintended sound from one track to another. I assume I am not isolating the sound because of something Im doing wrong while recording each individual track. Thanks for any suggestions.
 
Are you arming just the track you want to record? Sounds like you may still have the other tracks armed which would bounce everything to each track.
 
Hi Washburn100. No, I am only arming one track at a time. I believe it has something to do with the cue settings and how the signal gets routed to the mains. I wish the owners manual was better written. The diagrams are ok but the text is less than clear.
 
I'm not sure about your model because I'm not familiar with it. But many analogue 4 or 8 tracks use panning. So, if you're recording something on the odd number channels , pan everything else to the right. If you're recording on an even number channel, pan everything else to the left. This might not apply to your recorder, but I just thought I'd throw it out there.
 
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This might help....

"The thing to know about the 488 mkii's routing is that you have to use an Assign switch AND the pan pot to route it properly:"

Assign 1-2 & pan L: tracks 1 or 5
Assign 1-2 & pan R: tracks 2 or 6
Assign 3-4 & pan L: tracks 3 or 7
Assign 3-4 & pan R: tracks 4 or 8
 
Is it faint bleeding that you're getting or is it full on mixed signals ? I have the 488 MK1 and I've found that I'd sometimes get some bleed in channels I shouldn't when I tracked too hot or overdid it with the effects.
 
To answer Grimtraveller's question, I would say that Im getting full on mixed signals. I will try assigning and panning the switches as suggested. Thanks everyone.
 
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