Mixing Down

W

wyastarr

New member
When I mix down from my 424 to a two track cassette, there's a huge loss in audio quality. The hiss goes up, the level goes down. When I monitor the four tracks coming out of the Tascam, they sound really good, but the mixed-down two track sounds bad.

Can anyone offer advice. It's not a great mixdown deck, but when I record directly from a CD or the radio it's 100% better than from the 424.

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Clark
 
If you have a half-decent computer and soundcard. (P200 and above)

- Buy a CD-RW
- If your soundcard isn't up to scratch, replace it. The S/N of the SBLive! should be sufficient.
- Mixdown to your computer and burn to CD.

I to, use to mixdown to cassette cause CD-Burners and DAT was way out of my price range. But with burners at $130, media at .50 cents... Things have gotten better.
 
Unfortunately, I might be a victim of the "new" economy in the next couple of weeks. I was going to buy a whole mac/motu set-up, but I need to be fiscally cautious for a while now.

I'm just looking for any tips, if they exist, around this sort of thing. If I could improve the fidelity of the mixdown tape 50% I'd be happy. I mean the masters coming out of the 424 really do sound great.

Thanks,
Clark
 
...very common problem...

wyastarr

i know what you're saying. i had a 414 mixing down to a TEAC W-800 deck some time ago. the 424 is of course a step up, but sound quality isn't much different. i had to push things in every aspect imaginable to get a decent sounding second generation. if you've got lots of hiss during the whole song, your're probably recording at too low level at some point, when you're tracking instr/vocals, output from the 424 at mixdown, or input levels on your target deck at mixdown. you've really got to PUSH your levels to stay clear of the hiss.

you say the quality loss is huge after mixdown, but it's still good when you monitor from the Tascam. this makes me think we're missing something vital here. how does it sound when you monitor from your mixdown deck during mixdown?

maybe you could explain your set up/gear/tapes etc at mixdown, and how you went about to lay down your tracks. then it would be easier to sort out any weak points.

also keep in mind that 424, 414 and their peers are not machines you would expect any super sound quality of.

micmac
 
Okay, I'll explain my set-up, but don't make fun.

I track a guitar through a SansAmp (the cheap one), sometime distorted sometimes not.

I track a bass through a DI box.

I track an Alesis drum machine straight into the 424.

I track a Yamaha keyboard (the cheesie kind) through the DI box. The direct out from the keyboard is a little noisy, but it's the source of the 2nd gen problems

I track a melodica through an SM57 that's plugged into the 424

I track a harmonica through an SM57 that's plugged into the board.

Now I'm experiencing the 2nd generation problems on things that have 1, 2, 3, and/or 4 tracks. None of the masters have internally bounced tracks.

When I record a track, I do push the signal pretty high.

I'm mixing down to one of those Sony "Executive" mini component systems. I can't adjust levels on it. But if I just record a CD to a tape inside it, the tape sounds fine. I run from the RCA master outs to an MD/Video in on the Sony.

When I monitor the outs from the 424 on the Sony they sound great. I know the fidelity of cassette multi-tracks is never going to be great, but I also know there are a lot of people getting great results (P.J. Harvey, Tobin Sprout, etc.). And I've gotten to the point where I can imagine that. My guitar with no effects can sound really, really great on this... until mixdown.

I'm using Radio Shack c-60 tapes, I forget the particulars. But again, they sound great in the 424.

I'm more than willing to invest in a better mixdown deck (even if it would mean getting an amp and some monitor speakers... I'll need that eventually when I upgrade to digital).

Sorry to go on and on. Hope this helps.

Thanks,
Clark
 
Clark,

from the info in your post, it looks like your main problem is your mixdown deck. settings those levels on your target deck is crucial. minisystems weren't meant to be used as mixdown decks, they're designed to - just as you say - make cd's played on that specific system come out good on tape, cd's that already sound good, that is. i suggest you try to hook up your 424 to a friend's stand alone tape deck and see if you can't get a better result. another cheap way is to mixdown to a VHS video deck, like described on this excellent site's page: http://www.homerecording.com/vhs.html

we all started out mixing down to whatever was around the house. in the beginning it's easy to motivate buying a new stompbox, drum machine, espresso maker etc to improve stuff. mixdown is at the farther end of the recording cycle, and when you get there...well... if you ask, i bet tons of people here will tell you that the last thing the bought when they started out recording was a mixdown deck or nearfield monitors.

one last thing, you might want to check the tapes you're using. just in case (you probably already know), use short lengths, high position(type II) or metal (typeIV).

good luck,

micmac
 
oh, yeah. think about what Emeric said before you run and buy a new tape deck. i definitely second his post. when you go digital, stand alone or on the computer, that's the road you're gonna go down anyway.

micmac
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top