Meters but no sound

[Jimi Shelter]

I recorded on channel 1.
TASCAM 80-8 with M-520.
I’m not hearing playback.
I see it meter on the recorder.
I see it meter on the board.
I’ve cleaned the heads.
Checked the hookup.
Can’t be that or I wouldn’t see it hit the meters.
Can’t see why I’m not hearing what I’m seeing.

 

[RRuskin]

With metering in both places, your getting signal from the machine into the board. Check the send/receive jumper for that channel, make certain you have the correct monitor path engaged.

 

[Jimi Shelter]

Good idea. I've been checking and meditating on it. I'm getting playback, back from the machine to the board, so it indicates the board. I've only been using chan. 1 as the input. then I work back from channel eight, recording parts and keeping 1 free, as the input. I went to put a scratch vocal on 1 and .... no shitty singing! Needles are a dancin' but no noise. I also noticed that track 2 doesn't record, but track 2 on the mixer controls track 3 on the tape deck? How that's possible, I'm afraid to ask. A card plugged into the wrong place or something not plugged in at all? I've quadruple-checked my harnesses and Jumpers. Probably time for a cleaning safari. Open her up a bit. It's an M520, so that's two score and how many years ago? This set up does sound good, though. All Six Tracks of it! Plugging electric guitar and bass direct and I'm getting great breakup with my 1992 Korean Epi Les Paul Special that someone put ridiculously expensive P-90 replacement pickups and it sound great. $169.00 without a case hanging in the back of a music store.

 

[RRuskin]

I'm pretty sure your problem is not knowing how to use your board to its full extent. If you don't have it, get the manual and go through it. It is far more flexible than they way you appear to be using it.

 

[rob aylestone]

A guitar cable is a great way to work out routing. Plug it into any input and tap the tip and you should see or hear buzz. Silly question. Does any input produce audio at the output? If the answer is no, you have to fix that first. You mentioned guitar and distortion? Is that plugging the guitar into it? If so, try the recorder into that input. It sounds like it is sick. Opening it up might be necessary to fix it, BUT, progress so far suggests you might be better off not trying it yourself, if you dont know what you are doing?

 

[Jimi Shelter]

The manual is pretty useless unless you’re a technician.
I’m a musician who’s been recording since the early eighties.
I’m just looking to get a little help with what might be the issue, right now. Not generally how I go about living my life.
If you don’t know anything, thanks anyway.