424MKIII users: Using dbx or not?

[C_flat]

Hi,

I'm recording rehearsals for a 3 piece band (bass, drums, guitar). We're just rolling tape during our informal Thursday night get-togethers, so we're just catching ourselves "live" - no track bouncing, overdubs, etc. If we happen to get a good take, I tweak EQ & levels a bit while I transfer a single stereo mix to my PC soundcard (the Tascam's Headphone Out to the PC's stereo Line In seems to work fine). I use Soundforge to clean up the resultant .wav, then convert it to MP3

Is there any point in using the Tascam's dbx if I'm not bouncing tracks? Is there a chance that the dbx encode/decode coud actually be mucking up my one-shot "live" on all 4 tracks approach?

Thanks,

Cb

 

[Vurt]

I almost always use the dbx nr since I think the overall sound is better. In fact, tracks to be bounced is one situation when I possibly would NOT use it.

Whe don't you use the line-outs to go into your soundcard?

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

1/8" analog Portastudio tape sound quality is pretty abyssmal - about the only time I'd EVER turn it off is if you were recording high gain tracks.... as in screaming guitars....

But keep in mind, it's either ALL on, or ALL OFF - there's no individual control per track, so you can't mix and match to your actual track needs - if it's OFF on one track and ON for the others, that single track will get decoded anyways - making it sound really bad...........

Bruce

 

[C_flat]

Vurt asked:

"Why don't you use the line-outs to go into your soundcard?"

Uh... cuz I had this 1/4" stereo cable that fits right in the holes in both my Live!Drive frontloader soundcard and the Tascam's headphone jack??

Would there be any advantage to using the twin RCA jacks on the Tascam instead?

Cb

 

[C_flat]

Blue Bear Sound sez:

"...1/8" analog Portastudio tape sound quality is pretty abyssmal"

I guess that's true, but I've got to say the first tune I transferred to the PC sounded marvelous to me!

(mixed with headphones - doh!)

I'm having fun with this setup at the moment, but I'm already getting a bit frustrated with the obvious limitations. At present I'm running 4 drum mics (MXL-603overheads, SM57's on snare & kick) over to a Peavey PA mixer/amp & using it's Monitor section to sub-mix them (levels only, no EQ available) then sending the single monitor Line Out over to the Tascam's Track 1. It'll probably come as a bit of a shock, but the drums sound kinda lame.

Being a guy and all, I think all I need is MORE!!!! I've been reading up on the MD-8 minisdisc machine, but wonder if I wouldn't be better off building a 8 (or more) track recording PC. I don't plan to ever record in a beerjoint (and I've got the Tascam anyway) so the lack of portability wouldn't be an issue. I guess what I'm after is a recording setup that will be:

-dirt cheap (or close)

-dead simple to operate

-require zero maintenance (or close)

-have all the storage capacity I'd need, or be readily expandable

Are there any 'net resources that address the tradeoffs between the various digital recording options, primarily the advantages/disadvantages between the Roland/Tascam/Yamaha dedicated recording / CD burning machines and a roll-your-own PC?

Thanks,

Cb

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

1/8" analog Portastudio tape sound quality is pretty abyssmal

This was not meant as a put-down -- simply to illustrate the need for using NR in such a recording format......

Bruce

 

[C_flat]

BBS - I didn't interpret your comment as a putdown at all. I bought the Tascam a while back so I could lay down rhythm tracks to noodle over, nothing more. Sometime later I pulled it out of the closet so my band could capture ideas for original tunes as a reference from one week to the next (Middle Aged Man Syndrome is setting in)

Well, as I guess many of you know, one thing leads to another, and I found myself saying "..man, that idea we recorded last week really sounded pretty good - we oughta maybe put 2 mics on the drums next time..."

Now I've got a CD's worth of tracks that really wouldn't sound too bad in a car, especially my wife's Miata...well, maybe if the top was down and you kept moving... 8^D

Cb