Confessions of a M312b owner.

Somehow I managed almost another entire tune from programming to just short of complete all in one day.
I got inside of my keyboards drums and did a bit of tweeking and that brought it back to how it should be. (Thank God)
This was an easy three chord tune (Very easy) so that had everything to do with how I got it programmed, but no syncing.
I'm still having a intermitent issue with one of my returns, so I must isloate it and correct, fix or work around it.
everything sounded great today. (Acoustic guitar with real mic pres was a breeze!) I did a headphone feed back from the channel to the returns that scared the piss out of me!
Ay Carumba! LOL All in all in was a pleasure to record.

:)
 
All the tunes I've done & mixed down to WAV files...

are duplicated on another computer, completely. Also, the bulk of stuff I have is also duplicated on my previous 13Gb drive, from which I upgraded to an 80G, a while back. After copying all image data from the 13G to the 80G drive, I unplugged and set the 13Gb drive in the chassis, as a backup/reserve.

I'll tellya, that this backup strategy really SAVED MY BUTT at least once, when a SCANDISK operation WIPED OUT MY SYSTEM, ENTIRELY wiped out the bootable opsys, while somehow leaving the bulk of the data intact, although unretrievable without a boot partition. The remedy was to boot off the reserve 13G-previous drive, and copy all relevant data from the damaged drive, then RE-IMAGE the 80Gb drive, start from scratch, and copy over all the "delta" data back to the 80G. I assure you, this SAVED ALL MY MUSIC and my SANITY, just from this simple fail-safe strategy.

However this strategy worked, I still incurred corruption onto my latest WAV file, "Moonage Daydream", and if it were not for my previously archiving this WAV file off to CD, I would have lost the "Moonage Daydream" session altogether,... referencing in a previous post that I damaged the original reel-source tracks for that session.

Whew! Dodged a goddam cyber-bullet, on that one!

Back your crap up, people! I did, and I'm here, none the worse off, to tellya about it.;)
 
Well, I was lucky that I did manage to transfer and save all the data on the drive before it gave up the ghost and died on me.

I plan on installing a fresh second hard drive on my second computer that is networked with the main one I am on now. It currently only has a singular 20 gig and Maxtor is replacing the dead one in a few days with a new 60 gig to replace the one that died on this one that now has a new 80 gig, Western Digital and that one,(the second one) I will install it as a second drive on the networked computer so, all together, I will have 220 gigs of storage between the three computers I have in the house. 120 on this one, 80 on the second and 20 on the lap-top.

I don't even think I could follow that last paragraph!!:eek:

Gee! For an analog guy, I seem to be way too involved in computers!:(

Billy,

Glad to see you are getting the hang of the recording set up.

What is the intermittent return problem you are having??

Cheers! :)
 
I'm not sure what it is exactally.
Could be the cable, the board, thr Dbx or the 38.
I haven't tracked it down yet... Did the same thing to me yesterday, but then after I was messing with the cables it worked, but I tried that again today with no luck.

:)
 
Intermittent problems are the worst!

I get those kind of things too on occasion with channels that mysteriously disappear and just as mysteriously re-appear!?

If it is a cable problem, try going through them, one by one with a meter set to read zero ohms and attach the test leads at each end of the wire on the center and shield and jiggle the wire while watching the meter to see if you can catch the offender.

If it is on the jacks on the deck, dbx or mixer, try cleaning them with a good de-oxidizer cleaner from Caig Labs and/or try rotating a plug several times to clean the contact areas.

Good Luck! :)
 
I think the problem is/was maybe the dbx or the 38 getting warm, because when I turned it on fresh it worked fine.
I have 8 whole tracks for the first time ever. (Not all keepers, but..) I need to find some back up singer chick that lives near by or some voice lessons LOL!

:)
 
dbx units generally run at room temperature no matter how long they are on for so, that would tend to point my nose in the direction of a channel card inside the 38 that might have a slightly oxidized contact strip where the card meets the "motherboard" that the eight channel cards connect to. It might also be a cold solder joint somewhere in that vicinity too.

ARP could probably talk you through this procedure as he has had some direct experience with that machine's innards. Mine, thankfully has always worked perfectly since day one and I have never had to open the bottom of the case to get to where the cards are and give them a jiggle or pull the card and clean the contact strip that joins it to the main board. I have done this many times on my 16 track and know that machine blindfolded but, the 38 is still virgin territory to me as far as the insides of it go.

What do you think ARP? Sounds like the likely suspect here?

Cheers! :)
 
A channel card could become intermittent from a loose or less-than-perfect connection

... as well as possibly experiencing this intermittency because of an audio relay [component on channel cards], that may have some oxidation or less-than-perfect internal contact.

In general, if you have intermittence on the channel cards, you will notice the sporadic dropouts on the Vu meters, but not always, if they're really quick transients.

If you're ever at the gut-level troubleshooting of this problem, a good technique would be to reseat all audio cards onto the motherboard again,... carefully,... and beyond that, probably swapping the channel cards around could help isolate the problem in the cards, if any.;)
 
So how exactally do I access the channel cards???



(Ahh what a nice rest I had... I FIANALLY nailed a tune that I'm happy with... well, it will be once I can get my forth track to work right... I need to go back and review the reverb connect options.)

:)
 
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Ugh!

I thought I had a handel on the stereo effects routing, but I'm STILL completly lost! (I've been up all night,so that can't be helping either.)

1. Are the 1/4 Aux Out's (And 1/4 Effect Out) the same as the RCA Aux and Effect out?

2. If I use the (RCA) Aux 2 AND Effect Out's, do I use the 1/4 Effect Return's 1 and 2 to go back in (Return)?

3. What does the "Sum" button do?


Ghost (Anyone) care to please explain?


Mucho Thanko
:)
 
Billy,

The effects and aux outs use both 1/4" at 0db output and a paralleled -10db, RCA our simultaneously.

The 1/4" out would be used when you need to drive a longer cable and maintain a quieter noise floor. This is a good feature as long as you are not overloading the input stage of the device you are sending the signal too, like a reverb unit.

The RCA , -10db out is best suited to shorter cable runs and where the receiving unit, (verb) doesn't require a hot signal to work properly.

You have to look at the input sensitivity spec for the verb to determine what is appropriate.

I have a Yamaha REV500 and it works well with the 1/4", 0db outs. YMMV.;)

The sum button is used to sum the aux 3 and 4 outs in the tape return section of the board on the right side. It has nothing to do with what we were just discussing.

Get some sleep!!

Cheers! :)
 
Ok Ghost Thanks.

BUT... (LOL) So When I use L-Aux Out #2 and R- Effect Out (as you said before to acheive stereo use of an effect across all channels) what do I use FROM the Out's of my verb unit to get back into the board? Effect Return one AND Two??
That's where I'm stuck.

ALSO PLEASE: Still wondering how I gain access to the channel cards.

Thank You.
:)

(Man I was sleeping so hard I forgot I exsisted!... Imagine my disappointment upon waking! LOL)
 
The channel cards are accessible under the bottom cover,...

but the last one or two channel cards requires also removing the back cover panel, completely. Access gained from the bottom by laying the deck on it's back, unless you've removed the back cover, which you then would not want to lay the unit on it's back, but maybe onto it's side instead.
 
Thanks Reel


So you think it MAY have just come loose or??
(I know it's hard to say, but is there a chance that It's loose and not working, or should I not even bother opening it?)
Can I replace a card and just plug a new one in?

:)
 
Billy,

Yes. You can use the effect return inputs 1 & 2 and pan the full left and right to get a stereo return from your reverb that will feed the stereo buss for mix-downs.

If you would rather record the reverb effect to tape while tracking, then return the reverb to channels 9 & 10 on the mixer and assign that signal to the buss you are recording onto and carefully blend the wet sound with the dry and there-by print the reverb effect to the individual track you are recording. This method of hook up can also be used for stereo mix-downs too by simply assigning the verb's return to the stereo buss, ( orange buttons) and it will work the same way as the first example except that you will be able to use the strip's eq also to further craft the sound of the reverb.

Cappeach?

Cheers! :)
 
Thank You Ghost...

I have one Effect route possiblity hooked up and working.

(Now I just have to get that channel card sorted out and I'll be good... Sorta. LOL)

I forgot if I mentioned in a privious post how sweet, useable and great it is to have the Punch In feature and pedal... I should have had one years ago!


:)
 
Punch in pedal....yeah.

You would think owning a 16 track, 10,000 dollar machine, I too would have a Punch in pedal! No dice! The MS16 doesn't have the facilities for one.:(

TASCAM figured that this machine was so professional and heavy duty that it would only be used in working studios with full time engineers who would be there to press the record button while the talent did their thing in another room.

Little did they foresee that years latter, goofs like me would be picking them up, used, and employing them in home/project studios......Damn!:mad:

I am still looking for the definitive punch in retro-fit kit and so far, no one has completely spelled it out here or, back at the old bbs.

Cheers! :)
 
It depends on the intermittent sound you were talking about,...

and keep in mind that the cabling is absolutely the first place to begin troubleshooting, but if you exhaust that, you may end up troubleshooting the audio cards. It's an advanced level of troubleshooting, beyond the cabling.

There's sometimes a value you'll get by removing the plug-in component, in this case the audio card, and reseating it into the mother board. Sometimes card seating is an issue, or the quality of connection may be less than 100%.

There's about 8 little multipin connectors at the bottom of the audio card, and you'll have to take the utmost care when removing and replugging these cards. They may be in there pretty well, and they may seem like they're not removable, but believe me, they are removable. You just have to grasp it tightly, and give it the best straight outward tug or pull that you can muster. There's a very minimum of rocking or uneven pulling you may do to get the card out, but don't get carried away with it. A lot of it's in the fingertips.

Re-plugging the card should be done carefully, to ensure all the pins and connectors mate properly, and then just seat it down with adequate finger pressure, as you'd seat any other pluggable circuit card. Make sure all the cards are evenly inserted and level on the edges.

If you have an intermittent signal, beyond the cabling issue, you may want to check and/or reseat the audio cards. If this does not resolve the issue, then you may want to remove the channel card of the faulty channel, and swap it with another card position, to see if the problem stays with the slot, or follows the card.

These are a few ideas on how to proceed troubleshooting this problem.

If this troubleshooting reveals the problem stays with the slot, then you may have a weak solder joint on the mother board connector. If you find the problem follows the card, then you may have a connector or relay problem on that card.

Jfyi, the audio relays on the audio cards are a component that sometimes go intermittent, with a definite sputtering sound, probably similar to what you're describing. In some cases, a thorough daily warmup and workout of the deck is enough to regenerate the relay function, switching many times between input/sync/repro. In some cases the audio relays may ultimately need to be replaced.

Start from the basics, & work out. Try to cover everything thoroughly in troubleshooting, and don't get ahead of yourself. There's a handful of things that can cause an intermittent dropout or sputtering of a channel. That's just a general summary of tips.

;)
 
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