02 Phone Levels

[LLTA]

I'm having problems with the earphone levels on a Porta 02 while recording. I recorded a drum track on track 4. When I tried to record acoustic guitar(miked) on track 3, I could barely hear the drums because the guitar was so loud. Then, when recording bass(from keyboard) on track 1, I could barely hear the bass. I tried all manner of adjustments to the track output and phone output levels. All the record levels were okay and the recorded tracks sounded fine on playback. Any ideas?

 

[dr.colossus]

turn the trim (gain) down a little on the mic'ed input, i am guessing you have it turned all the way up, and bloking out the other track's is what happens... the trim doesn't have to be all the way up, try bringing the mic closer to the instrument aswell...

but unfortunalty this may not entirely work as this exessive volume is part of the nature of the beast

 

[vintagedrive]

LLTA, I was having the same problem with my unit and I share your frustration. It can be a drag and a total distraction on your creative juice flow. What I did to help this is lay down a drum track on line 4 and your guitar on line 2. Or you can use line 1 for drums and 3 for guitar. This method has improved the phone levels on a overdub track 100%, without effecting the output quality, at least for my recordings. The end result is more than exceptable for what were trying to achive, and that is enjoy what you have created. Also, an advantage to this is that you can record 2 tracks without having to switch mic input.
One disadvantage is that you will have to mix down to a master recorder if you want to here your piece on a standard tape deck. Just keep playing with it and you will find what works for you. Let me know how it's going. Also, if you have any tips or tricks, I'm always open for learning. Later days and good luck.

 

[LLTA]

Thanks. Sounds like you just shouldn't try recording on adjacent tracks. Apparently, with the 02 you have no control over the output level of the track(s) being recorded. And it appears that the output will be high if your trim is high. This doesn't make sense. I wish TASCAM had taken the money they spent on that (IMHO) worthless guitar input and spent it on something like a speed adjustment or some control over the phone output levels. I haven't checked to see what the levels from the RCA outputs are like during recording. If they are okay, I guess I can run them through my stereo system and plug my phones into that.