Best sounding cassette 4 Track?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rickson Gracie
  • Start date Start date
Hello friends. In the midst of recording an album on my Yamaha MT4X, the thing seems to have broken down. I figure life’s too short to go down some rabbit hole of trying to fix it, even if it’s a simple thing, as the chance of finding anyone who can help with me personally with that are, well, it’s not even worth trying.

Anyhow, as I’m sure many of you can relate and empathize, in the midst of recording fever, it really sucks to be stopped short like this. Basically, what I’m getting at is, I’m going to buy what I need(4 track cassette wise) ASAP, and want some advice on what to get.

The MT4X was great while it worked, and my first impulse is to buy another. Looking around online, there doesn’t seem to be many available at the moment, save for some new ones on ebay that are asking for considerably more than is necessary for me to spend. A lot of people seem to be privy to TASCAM 246, 244, 234 and stuff. What about the 424? I like that they have phantom power and can foresee that coming in handy. However, for what I’ve been doing I don’t really need it right now. But in general, particularly if anyone has experience with the MT4X, where do other 4 tracks stack up? An array of features are not my concern, I’m mainly interested in raw sound, and the MT4X was capable of as high quality as I need. Also, I could have access to a Teac TASCAM 144 if I sought it out, but does the quality measure up to the newer MT4X. Recorded tracks are all left without so much as attempting the other available tracks needed to finish the song. Can what Ive recorded on the MT4X work with other 4 track machines?

All and any attempts to help are so very very appreciated! THANKS!
 
Probably best to start a new thread with a relevant title.
You'll get better hits that way.
 
Help Help said:
Hello friends. In the midst of recording an album on my Yamaha MT4X, the thing seems to have broken down. I figure life’s too short to go down some rabbit hole of trying to fix it, even if it’s a simple thing, as the chance of finding anyone who can help with me personally with that are, well, it’s not even worth trying.

Anyhow, as I’m sure many of you can relate and empathize, in the midst of recording fever, it really sucks to be stopped short like this. Basically, what I’m getting at is, I’m going to buy what I need(4 track cassette wise) ASAP, and want some advice on what to get.

The MT4X was great while it worked, and my first impulse is to buy another. Looking around online, there doesn’t seem to be many available at the moment, save for some new ones on ebay that are asking for considerably more than is necessary for me to spend. A lot of people seem to be privy to TASCAM 246, 244, 234 and stuff. What about the 424? I like that they have phantom power and can foresee that coming in handy. However, for what I’ve been doing I don’t really need it right now. But in general, particularly if anyone has experience with the MT4X, where do other 4 tracks stack up? An array of features are not my concern, I’m mainly interested in raw sound, and the MT4X was capable of as high quality as I need. Also, I could have access to a Teac TASCAM 144 if I sought it out, but does the quality measure up to the newer MT4X. Recorded tracks are all left without so much as attempting the other available tracks needed to finish the song. Can what Ive recorded on the MT4X work with other 4 track machines?

All and any attempts to help are so very very appreciated! THANKS!
Click to expand...

I'm not sure where you saw that a 424 has phantom power, but I'm pretty certain that none of them (MKi, MKii, or MKiii) have phantom power. I think you need to get into the 488/688 line before you get to phantom power.
 
Oh I see. I associated having standard microphone inputs as phantom power. One issue I've had with the MT4X is that it only has quarter inch jacks in the back, which makes recording difficult when using dynamic microphones and real equipment and such. If the recorder has full on microphone jacks in the back, I assume that must no longer be a problem. Is my reasoning silly or does it make sense?
 
Help Help said:
Oh I see. I associated having standard microphone inputs as phantom power. One issue I've had with the MT4X is that it only has quarter inch jacks in the back, which makes recording difficult when using dynamic microphones and real equipment and such. If the recorder has full on microphone jacks in the back, I assume that must no longer be a problem. Is my reasoning silly or does it make sense?
Click to expand...

The XLR jacks will allow you to run a standard mic (XLR) cable into the recorder. This means you can record with a dynamic mic like the Shure SM57, for instance, just by plugging a mic cable straight in to the recorder without need for an adapter or anything else external.

However, if you want to use a condenser mic (that doesn't have a battery option), you'll either need an external phantom power supply (basically around $20 per channel on the lower end if you buy new -- cheaper if you buy used obviously) or you could also use an external preamp that has phantom power built in. (I think just about any external pre---especially those made within the last 15 years---will have this.) For instance, you could get an M-Audio DMP 3, a Presonus TubePre, etc.

M Audio DMP3 Dual Microphone Preamp | eBay

PreSonus Tube Pre V1 with Upgraded Mesa Boogie Vacuum Tube | eBay

EXTERNAL PHANTOM POWER SUPPLY OPTION
The external phantom power supply is just placed between your mic and the recorder. You run mic > PP supply > recorder. However, the output jack on the PP supply is XLR, so if you do that on a recorder with only 1/4" inputs (like your MT4X), you'll either need an XLR female-to-male 1/4" cable, like this:

Hosa XLR Female to 1/4-Inch Male TS Unbalanced Interconnect Patch Cable 5 Foot | Musician's Friend

Or an adapter that does the same thing, like this:
American Recorder Technologies XLR Female to 1/4" Male Mono Adapter Nickel | Musician's Friend

If you did it on the 424, though, you could just run a standard mic cable from the PP supply to the recorder.

EXTERNAL MIC PRE OPTION
If you go the external preamp option, though, you don't need the XLR input jacks on your recorder. The external preamp will have both an XLR and 1/4" output. So you could just run from the 1/4" output into the 1/4" inputs on your recorder. However, the output from the preamp will be at line level, not mic level. So you'd need to adjust the input on the recorder channel for that. In other words, on the MT4X, you'd probably have the gain knob turned all the way to the "line" side, because the preamp will likely give you all the gain you need.
 
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