Getting my Tascam!!! Some entry level questions about analog...

[thefanbelow]

So I have found myself a sweet 424mkII for $100 and am gonna buy it soon. Got a few ?'s

1) Is there anything specific I should ask/look for before I make the purchase? The guy selling me it is an older man and a musician big in the local scene so he probably knows some stuff. Claims its barely used, but I am totally unaware about what to keep my eyes open for.. Please inform me so I don't get stuck with a piece of junk. Will post pics that he gives me when I get em...

2) What will I need to take my recordings to a DAW? Just a RCA cable?

3) I'm assuming mixing can either be done on the player OR on a DAW, right? In theory, I could solely use the 424 to record to, then take it all digital without losing any of that analog goodiness? I know the 424 has some EQ's and effects, but you don't necessarily have to do it all on there right?
3b) Will I lose any analog goodiness bringing it into a DAW?

 

[rito25]

From my experience assuming you have a good ADC you can transfer something to digital and have a same/almost identical sounding digital copy.

 

[famous beagle]

1) Generally speaking, there's not going to be that much you can tell from looking at it, unless it was really treated poorly or sat in a smoker's room or something like that. Assuming it looks nice, the only way to really check it out is to take it for a short test drive if possible. Things to check would be the following:

All inputs and outputs
All knobs and faders for function or scratchiness
Recording on all four tracks
All transport functions (play, RW, FF, etc.)

It's been my experience that these Tascam machines are built pretty well, and if it looks as though the machine is in good working order, you most likely won't have anything to worry about. If you don't know how to test all of the above, ask him if he can show you.

2) Yes, assuming you have stereo RCA inputs into your DAW, that's all you'll need to mix down to the computer.

3) If you want to record your tracks on the 424 and then transfer them to the CPU, you'll need to use the direct outs on the 424 (which are also RCA I believe) and you'll need a soundcard/interface with four inputs. Alternatively, you could bring the 424 tracks in 2 at a time, but then you'll need to line them up in the CPU by nudging them and probably stretching them or compacting them slightly. (It's unlikely that the 424 will play them at exactly the same speed, so there will likely be some drift over the course of a 3-4 minute song.)

3b) People debate endlessly over this topic, but, IMHO, the most important difference between analog and digital is during the tracking. If you record your tracks on the 424 and then transfer them to the CPU, they're still going to have that "analog" sound. It's when you track directly to the computer where the big difference lies. Analog will color the sound, whereas digital for the most part doesn't. To broadly simplify, digital is great at making copies of stuff (and for recording really clean stuff), whereas analog will color the sound as you record to it, imparting a character that, it seems, most people either love or hate.

Anyway, I would be willing to bet that, even if you transferred the 424 tracks to the computer using the built-in "crappy" 16-bit (let's say) soundcard, in a blind test, you wouldn't be able to tell whether the tracks were being played back from the CPU or the Tascam (assuming, of course, that you're not within earshot of things like the 424 transport noise, etc.)

The 424 mkII is a great 4-track. Enjoy!

 

[Chilljam]

3b) Will I lose any analog goodiness bringing it into a DAW?

I'm not sure what analog goodiness is but obviously your analog signal is being sampled and stored as digital information so you do lose something and the conversion still colours the sound. But yes, if you transfer your 424 recording to digital, it's still going to sound like you recorded to tape and you may also hear the difference (depending on listener) between your analog and digital copies.

Keep in mind that it's mostly not too difficult to tell when listening to a CD, whether the recording was tracked to tape or digital... Good luck trying to tell if a recording was tracked to tape or digital when listening to a vinyl or cassette though.

 

[thefanbelow]

1) Generally speaking, there's not going to be that much you can tell from looking at it, unless it was really treated poorly or sat in a smoker's room or something like that. Assuming it looks nice, the only way to really check it out is to take it for a short test drive if possible. Things to check would be the following:

All inputs and outputs
All knobs and faders for function or scratchiness
Recording on all four tracks
All transport functions (play, RW, FF, etc.)

It's been my experience that these Tascam machines are built pretty well, and if it looks as though the machine is in good working order, you most likely won't have anything to worry about. If you don't know how to test all of the above, ask him if he can show you.

2) Yes, assuming you have stereo RCA inputs into your DAW, that's all you'll need to mix down to the computer.

3) If you want to record your tracks on the 424 and then transfer them to the CPU, you'll need to use the direct outs on the 424 (which are also RCA I believe) and you'll need a soundcard/interface with four inputs. Alternatively, you could bring the 424 tracks in 2 at a time, but then you'll need to line them up in the CPU by nudging them and probably stretching them or compacting them slightly. (It's unlikely that the 424 will play them at exactly the same speed, so there will likely be some drift over the course of a 3-4 minute song.)

3b) People debate endlessly over this topic, but, IMHO, the most important difference between analog and digital is during the tracking. If you record your tracks on the 424 and then transfer them to the CPU, they're still going to have that "analog" sound. It's when you track directly to the computer where the big difference lies. Analog will color the sound, whereas digital for the most part doesn't. To broadly simplify, digital is great at making copies of stuff (and for recording really clean stuff), whereas analog will color the sound as you record to it, imparting a character that, it seems, most people either love or hate.

Anyway, I would be willing to bet that, even if you transferred the 424 tracks to the computer using the built-in "crappy" 16-bit (let's say) soundcard, in a blind test, you wouldn't be able to tell whether the tracks were being played back from the CPU or the Tascam (assuming, of course, that you're not within earshot of things like the 424 transport noise, etc.)

The 424 mkII is a great 4-track. Enjoy!

Thanks for the response! Very helpful.

Out of pure luck, someone gave me the original 424 (not an MK) they had lying around. It has no noticeable flaws, just a little dirty, but there is no power supply and I don't have any tapes to start messing around with it. So some questions.

1) Any suggestions for tapes that can be used on the 424 AND the 424 mkIII (if I do end up getting it since I'm not sure if the 424 works).
2) Also, since I will want to have 4 tracks sent to my DAW for a final mixing, is it possible to use 2 pre amps? I already have a mobile pre, and I was thinking maybe I could hook both up to send 2 tracks to each at the same time, or is that impossible?

I'm not sure what analog goodiness is but obviously your analog signal is being sampled and stored as digital information so you do lose something and the conversion still colours the sound. But yes, if you transfer your 424 recording to digital, it's still going to sound like you recorded to tape and you may also hear the difference (depending on listener) between your analog and digital copies.

Keep in mind that it's mostly not too difficult to tell when listening to a CD, whether the recording was tracked to tape or digital... Good luck trying to tell if a recording was tracked to tape or digital when listening to a vinyl or cassette though.

Analog goodiness is just the color and saturation from a tape. What other ways do I have of doing it to keep it "pure" except mixing on board and creating a CD like that?