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Josh83
New member
Working on a Tascam 488 mkII, will switching from a $50 condenser to a MXL 960 (200 bucks) actually make a difference in the sound, considering the cassette medium?
Josh
Josh
Microphones and Cassette Multi-Tracks (488 mkII): Will Better Mics Be Noticeable ??
Outlaws
New member
Josh83 said:
You are going to need a outboard preamp with phamtom power first.
A Reel Person
It's Too Funky in Here!!!
Dumass,...
the 488mkII has phantom power on [2] XLR mic inputs.
the 488mkII has phantom power on [2] XLR mic inputs.
C
chessparov
New member
Josh, any two different mic models will sound "different" on cassette.
If you mean which is "better", that'll depend on your voice and the specific song. A $100 Studio Projects B1 works better, for example, on me than a
$300 (or so) AT 4033. That doesn't mean that the 4033 won't sound excellent on other singers. Best is to try them each out directly.
BTW a nice feature of using the cassette format is that it tones down potential harshness in "bright" toned microphones, be they dynamics or condensers.
Particulary like the Electro-Voice EV 635a (in dynamics) for cassette BTW.
The strong bottom end of that format complements it well IMHO.
And the 635a has amazing clarity (for a dynamic).
They run about $100 new. Used around $70 in nice condition.
What make/model of $50 condenser are you using right now?
Chris
If you mean which is "better", that'll depend on your voice and the specific song. A $100 Studio Projects B1 works better, for example, on me than a
$300 (or so) AT 4033. That doesn't mean that the 4033 won't sound excellent on other singers. Best is to try them each out directly.
BTW a nice feature of using the cassette format is that it tones down potential harshness in "bright" toned microphones, be they dynamics or condensers.
Particulary like the Electro-Voice EV 635a (in dynamics) for cassette BTW.
The strong bottom end of that format complements it well IMHO.
And the 635a has amazing clarity (for a dynamic).
They run about $100 new. Used around $70 in nice condition.
What make/model of $50 condenser are you using right now?
Chris
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ryanlikestorock
New member
My answer is a definite yes. Just this week, I recorded a jazz duo live to 8-track cassette (Tascam 238) in a great room with high end mics and some really decent preamps. The sound is pretty damn good. Much much better than a bunch of bad mics would do.
The band was a little confused when I told them I'd be using cassette though. Still, I won them over.
The band was a little confused when I told them I'd be using cassette though. Still, I won them over.
J
Josh83
New member
I have a Nady CM 88 right now.
When I first started recording I just got an inexpensive condenser and an inexpensive dynamic.
I do have one of the ART v3 preamps, too. Though I know they are not exactly high-class, it has worked for me.
For about two years, I recorded to a modest computer setup, then I just kind of fell out of it the past year. Now, I have decided to go to a studio in a box, and I am getting a 488 mkII. (Thanks again to David A. for answering a lot of my questions! He was a big help).
Now that I have renewed my interest in recording, I want to figure out what a few new pieces of gear will run and what are the best choices, etc.
Ever since I used a friend's tube condenser a few years ago (I forget the model), I have always wanted to get my own. With the price and the good comments it has received on here, I have had my eye on the 960. If it works well with cassette, I just may get one.
Josh
When I first started recording I just got an inexpensive condenser and an inexpensive dynamic.
I do have one of the ART v3 preamps, too. Though I know they are not exactly high-class, it has worked for me.
For about two years, I recorded to a modest computer setup, then I just kind of fell out of it the past year. Now, I have decided to go to a studio in a box, and I am getting a 488 mkII. (Thanks again to David A. for answering a lot of my questions! He was a big help).
Now that I have renewed my interest in recording, I want to figure out what a few new pieces of gear will run and what are the best choices, etc.
Ever since I used a friend's tube condenser a few years ago (I forget the model), I have always wanted to get my own. With the price and the good comments it has received on here, I have had my eye on the 960. If it works well with cassette, I just may get one.
Josh
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ryanlikestorock
New member
In my experience, the worst part about those all-in-one cassette recorders is that you have to send the signal through their preamps and eq. They seem to cloud everything up.
Sloan
New member
ryanlikestorock said:
That "clouding up" is something that you can take advantage of.
Especially if you want kind of a dirty lo-fi type sound it's great.
I've been messing with my cassette deck now that I understand a lot more about recording and I like the low quality a little.
A Reel Person
It's Too Funky in Here!!!
I think...
people's heads are in the clouds about the inherent superiority of their discrete preamps and boutique mics.
I also think...
if you're getting a "cloudy" effect from the built-in mixer section of a high end Portastudio, you're doing something wrong.
Note: Things along the lines of the Fostex X-12 are not high-end Portastudios, nor are they Portastudios at all.
people's heads are in the clouds about the inherent superiority of their discrete preamps and boutique mics.
I also think...
if you're getting a "cloudy" effect from the built-in mixer section of a high end Portastudio, you're doing something wrong.
Note: Things along the lines of the Fostex X-12 are not high-end Portastudios, nor are they Portastudios at all.
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ryanlikestorock
New member
You don't think that putting the audio signal through the tascam mixer twice (in and out) is going to colour the sound?
C
chessparov
New member
Agree with Reel (hello BTW!
), we ain't recording grand opera.
IMHO once we're talking non-classical type music, where accuracy is there is paramount, all bets are off. Even in the highest level commercial studios they've used cassette recorders of some type or another for a certain "sound".
The Rolling Stones have used a cheap mono Phillips cassette recorder for various instruments, for example, on their hit "Street Fighting Man".
(is it fighting or fight'n-not sure?)
This includes Keith Richards lead guitar on it, which started the whole idea!
Also a great Small Faces tune, "The Universal", where Steve Marriot's
lead vocal/guitar where done in front of his house(!), and includes his dog barking in the background. Top 20 hit in the UK BTW.
A cassette porta is a handy part of an electric guitar or blues harmonica player's bag o' tricks. Can generate super-compressed tones without an actual compressor present, particularly in mono.
On the two speed models, you can record at the slower speed, then play it back at "full" for a blistering solo.
), we ain't recording grand opera.IMHO once we're talking non-classical type music, where accuracy is there is paramount, all bets are off. Even in the highest level commercial studios they've used cassette recorders of some type or another for a certain "sound".
The Rolling Stones have used a cheap mono Phillips cassette recorder for various instruments, for example, on their hit "Street Fighting Man".
(is it fighting or fight'n-not sure?)
This includes Keith Richards lead guitar on it, which started the whole idea!
Also a great Small Faces tune, "The Universal", where Steve Marriot's
lead vocal/guitar where done in front of his house(!), and includes his dog barking in the background. Top 20 hit in the UK BTW.
A cassette porta is a handy part of an electric guitar or blues harmonica player's bag o' tricks. Can generate super-compressed tones without an actual compressor present, particularly in mono.
On the two speed models, you can record at the slower speed, then play it back at "full" for a blistering solo.
A Reel Person
It's Too Funky in Here!!!
Hello!
I'm a bit too tired to enter into a debate at this time, but I'll say this:
The word used was "clouded" not "colored". Clouded brinds a negative connotation, and colored is either neutral or a positive connotation.
Nothing I do is without color. Clouded? Not.
Please refer to my previous post:
I'm a bit too tired to enter into a debate at this time, but I'll say this:
The word used was "clouded" not "colored". Clouded brinds a negative connotation, and colored is either neutral or a positive connotation.
Nothing I do is without color. Clouded? Not.
Please refer to my previous post:
A Reel Person said:
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ryanlikestorock
New member
We don't have to debate. You can continue putting everything through a portastudio mixer if you wish. It doesn't really have much to do with me.
Herm
Well-known member
My view on it is yes a good mic is worth plugging into a 488. And it will probably sound better than it would if it was plugged into a cheap digital recorder.
Well maybe any digital recorder.
Well maybe any digital recorder.
A Reel Person
It's Too Funky in Here!!!
ryanlikestorock said:
I will, and I don't need your permission or approval to do so.