1/4" outs/TRS question

[nbiehl]

Hi,

I'm using a Soundcraft series 200 board and a Tascam 34B multitrack. The Tascam has 1/4" inputs.

If I'm using the Aux outs on the mixer, should I be using a cable wired like a speaker cable or a cable wired like an instrument cable?

Thanks

 

[mcmetal]

use instrument cables.

 

[mjbphotos]

I assume you mean:
Speaker cable - bi-axial (in other words, when you look at the wire, you can see both + and - wires side-by-side).
Instrument cable - coaxial in design - the inner (+) is surrounded by insulation, then the outer (-) wire, which provides an inherent shielding characteristic (less pickup of external noise, at higher impedance.)

 

[Whale Bone]

Soundcraft 200 vs. 200B

Is it a 200 or a 200B/SR? The first series, 200, have have their XLR jacks wired in 'reverse' in that the pins 2 & 3 are reversed. I do not know if the TRS jacks are also reversed.

I have a 200B, and while my XLRs follow the modern convention of 2-hot and 3-cold, and my TRS are tip-hot and ring-cold, my headphone jack is wired backwards (left and right) intentionally, and the insert jacks are also reversed from modern convention in that the tip is the return and the ring is the send.

If your TRS aux jacks are reversed, then it's not really a big deal if all source material goes through the console into the Tascam. If some goes through the console and some directly into the Tascam, then you could end up with a phase issue between the console-routed and the direct-to-the-Tascam material.

I have a 200B manual, but I feel like I recall seeing a 200 manual that showed the TRS jacks wired as we would expect, so maybe there's no issue for you.