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Dolph, Ray J and Rusty - Thanks for a very good discussion topic. I have a Sony MDM X4 4-tracker, and I've also been wondering what else I could use for mixdown. You see, I too bought a cheap twin-cassette deck, and I hate the flutter and varying tape speeds it has. I had to laugh at...

Yes, I think you've got one too many amps in there. Try this: Turntable--->Receiver's phono in-jack, then tape out ---> the sound card. It should work. The separate phono pre-amp may be boosting the signal into distortion. Cut it out and see if that helps.

The Yamahas NS-10M's have a bright, crispy top end and a strong low end. This replicates the sound produced by most hi-fi speakers, car stereos, and boomboxes. It's what the people want. I auditioned studio monitors this year and found the Yamahas are initially very engaging and...

And as for other equipment.... You will want an amp to play back through; monitor speakers to hear it play back; and something to make your masters on (cassette deck or maybe a CD burning system). For home studios, I'd recommend skipping the aggravation of numerous mikes and do direct-input...

One major limitation of the BR-8 is that it uses 100-meg Zip drives. From lengthy discussions on another board - full of people whose technical backgrounds I respect - they point out that this means a total of about six (6) minutes of recording time with all 8 tracks engaged and then your Zip...

Can't directly compare the two, but I just bought the MDX 1200 clean and used. I don't know the dbx266 but it has a good rep. MDX 1200 features that I like may make a difference to you: AutoCom setting - can set the Attack and Release times automatically if you wish. Dynamic compression -...

I got a clean used Alesis MicroVerb 4 for $100 recently. Has dozens of reverbs, plus combinations with chorus, flanging, pitch shifting etc. Everything but distortion modeling. Nice unit, esp. for the price. Go look at Harmony-Central.com classifieds.

The RNC deservedly wins praise from many of my friends who record. However, be aware that with the RNC, one set of controls governs both channels. If one channel's signal is way different from the other, well, one of them is going to sound funny. Other compressors offer two sets of controls so...

Check out the "Compressor 101" article at this site, for an EXCELLENT overview of compression and how to use it: http://dbxpro.com and then head for the compression section.

Correction to above: The RNC has one set of controls that adjusts both channels. Other compressors have two sets of controls, so you can set each channel individually if you want or need to.

Just bought a clean used Behringer Autocom MDX 1200 for $125 off the HC Classifieds. Two channels, and a really helpful Auto mode if you want to let the unit determine the Attack and Release levels. You can switch off each channel to make an A/B comparison between the compressed and...

Morley wahs' worst feature is that 90% of the sound range occurs in 10% of the rocker motion. Very hard to control and play, esp for wah beginners like me. Also, they can't be left in a half-open position - they are spring loaded to return to OFF. Not well regarded - go elsewhere.

I got a Sony MDM X4 4-track digital minidisc recorder for $500, clean and used. The MD's are $13 each and hold 32 minutes of 4-track recording time, or 74 minutes in stereo. I think that's cheap and easily expandable data storage, which is what we're talking about. The compression scheme is...

Read the "White Paper" on compression, over at the dbx website: http://dbxpro.com/compression101.htm for an excellent and highly readable overview of how to use compression. Also gives settings for certain tough situations, and outlines some of the common problems of using compression.

POD is a divine gift to the home recordist who wants to record and master guitar-based music. I got one when they first came out in Jan 99, and even after a year, it's still impressive. The amp em's are state-of-the-art for 1999, the effects are varied, flexible, and very usable, and the...

A couple more things: Compression should be done with discretion, in my opinion. I tend to use very little or no compression during basic track recording. Just enough to get a strong and fairly even signal without overloading. Same for mastering - just enough to get relatively even signal levels...

Read the "White Paper" on compression, available at the dbx web site. Here's the link: http://dbxpro.com/compress101.htm Very readable and enormously useful. Should answer your basic Q's. Then go to the Harmony-Central classifieds and check out the ads for a nice used rackmount compressor...

I started on a Tascam 424 Mk II and then stepped up to a Sony MDM X4 this year. No contest - digital is quieter, easier, and most importantly, **faster and easier to edit.** I love minidisc over cassette! Don't get hung up on the MiniDisc compression issue - you won't hear it. You WILL be...

Hmmm, that sounds strange. I've got a Line6 POD and a Sony MDM-X4 (also minidisc) and my recorded POD stuff sounds terrific. It's a great tool. Generic suggestions: 1) Is the signal coming out of POD the mono signal? It should be (assuming you're not doing stereo effects). 2) Is the AIR...

In the US, you can buy a clean used Alesis MicroVerb 4 for about $100-$150. I got one and it's a very versatile box for effects. You really are going to want effects, at mix-down time. I think you're right to require a machine that will allow you to record 8 tracks at once, if you will be...