help me i'm stupid

  • Thread starter Thread starter sarona
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sarona

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i just bought a tascam ministudio porta02 and thought i had it all figured out, then i look in the manual and get all confused. first of all, what qualifies as monitoring equipment? it says "some kind of amplifier and speaker system." i don't think i know what that means.. and it says a "stereo mastering recorder" is that just a tape recorder, like my little cheap tape recorder? and it says i need RCA (pin of phono) cables.. i don't know what those are either.. and that's only the beginning :) thanks to any help i can get though :)
 
I have a 424 and I have it hooked up to my stereo receiver. I use a Sony dual cassette deck to mix down to. Just use regular stereo cables (like you would use if you were connecting a cd player to a receiver), and you should be fine.
 
sarona said:
it says "some kind of amplifier and speaker system." i don't think i know what that means..
Click to expand...
Well, its a pair of speakers, and an amplifier that can amplify the signals from the porta to the speakers. Start of by using a stereo that has line inputs.

and it says a "stereo mastering recorder" is that just a tape recorder, like my little cheap tape recorder?
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Well, yes. Although cheap tape recorders tend to be, well, cheap. :) You'd be better off borrowing a friends *expensive* tape recorder, or maybe even better of using a PC an mastering to the PC. If you don't know how to do that, then don't. Take one step at a time!

and it says i need RCA (pin of phono) cables.. i don't know what those are either..
Click to expand...
It's simply a stereo cable with RCA connectors.
 
monitor@mastering

HI SARONA,
HEY EVERYBODYS STUPID WHEN THEY FIRST GET STARTED,
BUT DONT GET DISCOURAGED,BEFORE YOU KNOW IT YOU'LL BE GIVING ADVICE!
AS FAR AS MONITORING, A GOOD WAY TO GO IS RADIO SHACK.THEY SELL A GREAT LITTLE AMPLIFIER WITH MULTIPLE INPUTS AND OUTPUTS FOR UNDER A $100,AND GREAT SOUNDING MONITOR SPEAKERS ALSO FAIRLY INEXPENSIVE.BOTH ARE RCA BRAND.YOU CAN CONNECT YOUR RECORDER,MIXDOWN DECK (STEREO MASTERING RECORDER),AND SEVERAL OTHER PIECES TO IT.
A STEREO MASTERING RECORDER CAN BE ANY 2 TRACK RECORDER THAT RECORDS IN STEREO.ALL YOU DO IS CONNECT THE OUTPUTS (L&R) OF THE TASCAM TO (L&R) INPUTS OF THE MASTER RECORDER.YOU USUALLY DO THIS BECAUSE THE MULTITRACK RECORDER MEDIUM (IN YOUR CASE CASSETTE) WON'T PLAY ON REGULAR HOME OR CAR STEREO EQUIPMENT.
IF YOU DO NEED A MASTERING RECORDER ,YOU CAN USE ANY CASSETTE DECK THAT RECORDS FROM A L&R INPUT.
ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ABOUT RCA CABLES THEY CAN TELL YOU AT RAIDO SHACK.TASCAM HAS A GREAT ONLINE FORUM WHERE YOU CAN EASILY JOIN AND THEY WILL ANSWER ANY QUESTION YOU MIGHT HAVE.HERE IS THE WEB ADRESS- http://38.234.171.123/cgi-tascam/fo...ortastudios&number=4&DaysPrune=365&LastLogin= IT'S A BIG ONE, BUT YOU CAN JUST PRESS THE LINK, OR IF YOU LIKE GO TO TASCAM.COM AND LOOK UNDER SUPPORT.
HOPE THIS HELPS,ENJOY!
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE FOR ME FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME AT LKATHY@EARTHLINK.NET
 
go with the pc

i have a tascam 424mkii and i've been messin' around with it, and by far the better mix down option is straight into your PC (that is if it's nice enough to handle it). if you don't have a good sound card and it's slow then it might not be worth it, but recording to tape just doesn't cut it (sound wise in my opinion). you just get added hiss to the little hiss that was already there and it sounds like you're muffled.

i still gots lots to learn! i actually haven't a clue what i'm doing, i just do everything by ear and pick up hints here and there.

if you wanna listen to some of my stuff i've recorded go to my website. i know it's all "Christian Music" but you can just listen to the sound if you're not into that kind of stuff. I definitely need a preamp and a compressor... but like they say, one step at a time!

tony
http://www.mp3.com/palicmusic
 
Thank you guys, I have a Porta 02 to and was wondering the same thing. I have a question though, how exactly do you master it on your PC?
 
pretty easy

first make sure you have a pretty good sound card... that'll help millions!

and i'm sure you have a pair of RCA cables already.. i suggest getting some high quality ones... i have "gold pated" ones... it's worth the extra few bucks... then you need to get an "RCA to mic jack" adapter...

on the back of your hard drive you should have a small hole for inserting a computer mic/input right? just plug into there. and send the RCA from the "Line Output" not the "monitor output"...

and the suggestion i have is to not mix down listening through headphones (unless your computer speakers are really bad)... because it's easier to hear what it'll sound like in a CD player, etc if you mix down using monitors or good computer speakers....

oh yeah... you should have a basic wave editor... i have the one by Creative.. it came with my Sound Blaster system... and you can just push record and play directly while mixing on your 4 track.. oh yeah make sure all the tracks are put on "tape" not line/mic or else they won't come out the "line output"....

i hope that helps.... if you have some more questions .. just shoot...

tony
http://www.mp3.com/palicmusic
 
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