New Tascam 488 Mk II

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Sennheiser

Sennheiser

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I just picked this up on e-bay last night for the incredible price of $255.

The guy said there was less that 50 hours on it and he's had it since it was new.

I'm finally going to be able to start recording again.

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Hey good luck !I made alot aof great tapes with mine.That sounds like a great deal.
 
I finally received my 488 yesterday. It is very easy to use. The Fostex I was using four years ago was a real headache.

It is much easier to route on this mixer. The sound is fantastic.
After hooking it up I was tracking in 15 minutes. It is very intuitive to use. I haven't ever worked a pro console but I would imagine it works very similar to this from what I've read about them.

I'm talking about assingnments and bussing. I know it's not nearly as advanced as a Neve, but what the heck.

It sounds great and my track bouncing days are OVER.

I would highly recommend this unit for anyone who is just starting out, upgrading, or doesn't have money for a 24 track Studer in their bedroom.

I forgot to add that this guy took excellent care of this Tascam. There was not one scratch anywhere on it. Pinch roller and capstan was clean and the heads were sparkling clean.
 
Excellent!

Congrats on scoring a great machine for a great price. For what they are, 488mkIIs do a hell of a recording job, in my opinion.

I bought a used one, too, here in Korea. Even without the manual, I was up and recording in probably 5 minutes. Too easy!
(I later obtained a manual from TEAC in Saitama, Japan.)

We can swap recording tips if you like. Keep in touch...

Bruce in Korea
 
Yeah i own a TACSAM 488 MKII also.. and i have recorded some good sounding stuff on it.. i still have some what to learn more about using the EQ alot better and effects patching. It does make a good mixer too but i am not experinced with mixing.. I have worked in the studios before as a studio guitarist.. but never as the mixer! :o) so i need alot of work on that!

What makes it nice is i sequence music on the KORG x3 or a BROTHER PDC-100 (which i have two of) going through a YAMAHA tg-55, a KAWAI K4r, and a ALESIS D4 sound modules.. so i can sequecne the music first then drop that all down to two tracks on the tascam then that leaves the rest open for vocals and guitar!.. works nice! :O)

dog
 
I really liked that machine, but I've since sold it. (Made $50 bucks on it too.)

I bought a TASCAM 38-8 1/2" eight-track machine.

BIG difference in the sound.
 
Yo Senn:

You should have asked me. I've got a 488 unit in my recycle storage room. A great box. I did some great stuff on it but the 16 bit stuff is better.

I just mailed my manual to a dude in California via request on BBS. This is the second time I've sent the manual for someone to copy.

I guess the 488 is alive and well. And, it is a Well and Alive unit.

My unit is also pristine. Never out of my studio at home; never beer spilled on it; I don't allow drinks in the studio when working with talent; I have a kind of closed in studio; there is no booth; just me and the gear and the talent.

Glad you are having fun with the 488.

Green Hornet

:D :D :p :p :p :p
 
Hornet, I was all set for a manual; it came with it.

I think someone else was asking for a copy of the manual for it.

It really was (and is) a kick-ass machine and the two songs I did on it before I sold it turned out better than anything I'd ever recorded and mixed up to that point.

The guys at the TASCAM web site in the Analog Forum and Track-Rat and Texas Road Kill at this site made me realize what the limitations of eight-track cassette-based recording were.

Since I wanted to stay with analog, the TASCAM 38-8 or MSR-8 was suggested to me. I used to look at these machines with wishfull thinking when they were introduced in the early '80's knowing that I didn't have $3600 to spare while recording on my crappy Ross four-track. (Of course, it wasn't so crappy back then. No one I knew in the music circles had any kind of a recorder. I was like some big time studio back in those days.)

I didn't have any idea these machines would still be popular almost 20 years later at a price I could well afford.

I'm glad I made the switch. Thanks for the reply anyway. ;)
 
.. as mentioned before i have one and still have it.. i also have the manual so thats not a problem.. my problem is that i just dont have any experince at all workgin on the mixing board and trying so hard to grasp the concept hehe.. i have done alot of studio work as the guitarist and what not.. but never actually worked directly at the mixing.

wiht the tascam 488.. the thing can come out wiht some nice sound. One thign i noticed that i am NOT sure if it supposed to do that.. but i habve my mic going through channel one.. and a stereo effects yamaha spx90 going out of FXsend 1 and then it returnes on the STR 9-10 jacks!

Now the YAMAHA spx90 doesnt seem to wanna do two effects over top of each other.. so i have to actually record a track wiht the effect WET... no i amnot sure if this is correct way to do it.. but it seems to be the only way to record a fully wet signal (for like a pitch transpose , not speed, since i do not need the oringal voice pitch in there. i would turn OFF the assign buttons on channel one and turn the effects return singal ALL the way up.. that way the tape records a complete WET signal .. (fully pitched transposed) then i can add the reverd effect to it later ont he fnial mixdown!.

so turning OFF the assign keys seems to be the only way to get a fully wet signal on tape! is this aa good way?!

cheerz
dog
 
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so turning OFF the assign keys seems to be the only way to get a fully wet signal on tape! is this a good way?!
Click to expand...
I think it's the only way.

Make sure the output of the box is 100% full-wet too.

You have the SPX90 wired correctly. That's what those jacks are for. You can also return the signal to any unused channel strip too.

Sucks having to print effects. I have had to do it more than once myself because of equipment limitations. Go easy on it though, a little reverb goes a long way and once it's printed it's there forever.

When I was looking for an effects unit, I wanted to make sure all parameters were adjustable and that I could chain different effects together to avoid having to print one and then adding another on mix-down. I'm using a MidiVerb IV that will chain up to four effects together in mono or two in stereo.

It's good enough for my purposes until I can afford multiple units and keeps me from having to print while tracking.
 
hey senn.. thanx for the input... yeah wiht alot of experimenting on the tascam i have come to finding the best way.. and with having the manual too also helps... altho the manual only tells you the basics!

As far as the SPX90.. i have two effects processors in my rack.. one is the SPX90 which i ONLY use for my vocals and patched through the TASCAM... and the other effects processer is a a PEAVEY ULTRAVERB, patched through my roland m160 rack line mixer that mixes all the synth moduals (alesis d4, yahama tg55, kawai k4r, and my digitech rp1 and a digitech rp12 ) all mixed through the m160 then brought down to two channels to the tascam. What makes that nice is when i sequence the music i can have all the main parts all down to two channles. And since the kawai k4r and the alesis d4 doesnt have any effects built in.. i use the peavey ultraverb for that touch of reverb i lack on the them! it works well!

I am also like you i dont like to record a effect on the vocals.. but int his certain case i had to cause but it wasnt reverb,, i wouldnt ever actally record the reverb to track,.. because to me the reverb would be the LAST thing to add to vocals and that would rather do on the mix down.

But wat i did end up HAVING to do was cause i needed a PITCH transpostion on the voice and the only way for me to get that was using ther PITCH change patch on the SPX90.. and then recording it FULLY 100% WET! just the plain pitch change! then after that, i would add the reverb to that already pitched vocal track during the mixdown and it works good that way! I been playing with it this morning and last night more less experimenting for now just to get the hang of it.. and it aseems to work well.

So basically all it is for all of us .. is that we can only work wiht the gear we have no choice but to experiment :o)

now the main fun part is learning HOW to actually get the good mix and pans!.. specially for this project i am working on now! But most of my mixiing has to be done on the synths itself before it even gets to the tascam since i am sequencing everythign but the guitars and vocals .... thats the time consuming part as i have no real mixing experince!



cheerz
dog
 
Find a CD or tape to use as a reference that is close to the type of sound you are looking for. This works out really well for me most of the time.

Also do a search in the Mixing forum. There are a lot of good topics on this subject.

Most importantly though, is to let your ears be your guide. Take frequent breaks and stop after a few hours. Come back to it in a couple of days and listen to it again. You may hear stuff that wasn't there before, or the mix balance my have sounded like it has changed after your ears have rested.

The last mix I did didn't have hardly any bass in it at all. It sounded fine on the initial mix, but when I came back to it I couldn't hardly hear anything. The same can happpen with the sound field or panning.

Another tip is to start bringing up faders with the drums, then bass, then guitars, and then vocals. Not everyone starts a mix this way, but it works for me. This is just to get a rough mix. After you have your levels reasonably set, then you can begin the fine tuning process with the EQ and panning and futher level adjustments.
 
well here is one of my MAJOR problems i am having!

First of all all the music itself is sequenced on my korg x3...and being that has ONLY 2 outputs left and right.. i have to set my levels and pans in that first.. thats where the bulk problems are .. setting them in the korg first... wiht the internal effects on the specific instruments..I just got this korg awhile ago..and I am used to setting up the sounds and banks on the rack moduals.. that was easy cause they also had more outputs too where i can specially set each level by the rack mixer! that made it easy.

well now that i am using the korg and it has ONLY 2 outputs i have to do alot of mixing and panning internally in that first.

Then ASIDE from that.. which i have to learn that korg more inside and out but as for another probolem is that say once i get a good levels on the KORG.. or even when i was suing my rack synths and have a fairly good mix on that through the LINE mixer PRIOR to the tascam mix... the reradings seem to PEAK on the tascam.... and seems like bouncing around to the top ALOT on the peek scale... BUT when i do the final mix down to a seperate deck.. the levels are LOW on the final mix down.. and yeah all my settings are up ion the white area on the faders where the manual says to ... on the tascam that is

and then on the mix down deck... it doesnt seem to be comign to that all very good!.. there isnt anythign wrong wiht the tascam or the mixdown deck.. as i can GET SOEM good levels adjusted.. but just not ALL the time specially wiht full music.. the final mixdown cassette is like LOW volume wiht some some distorted in it.. (which i think are form the actual PEAKING on the tascam).. but still the final mixdown cassette STILL has LOW volume.


Ok now that that problem i am having.. here is another one.. when i get to doing the PRE mixing on the tascam adding voice and guitar that is.. that it is when i mix the guitar in you cant hear the rest of the instruements on the sysnths.. then if i turn the instruments up you cant hear the guitars!..hard to explain.. hehehe see i told you i am not good at this..it is either it can be heard or it cant!!.. there is very little headroom at all!

and one thing too.. i am MIXING with headphones.. too.. cause i live in a small apartment so EVERYTHING is done on my head phones.. thats the disadvantages of living iun a housing complex wiht paper thin walls!.. so i KNOW that mixing wiht headphones IS ALSO a pain in the butt!

cheerz
dog
 
Mixing with cans on is probably a big part of the problem.

I have a Casio CTK-1000 with a four track sequencer that I used to use a lot when I was using the four-track cassette format. It saved a lot of bouncing, but it was a pain in the ass to record and mix with. I don't use it anymore since moving up to large format 1/2".

But I understand the difficulty you are having. Mixing on the Korg is going to be the same as mixing several channels on the mixer, you're just doing it on a synth instead of a console.

Just think of the Korg as a mixer with an attached keyboard.

When you dump the Korg mix to the TASCAM, I would recommend using some compression to even out your mix. You should also check your gain structure from the Korg to the TASCAM inputs to the tape deck. If you are experiencing distortion at some point in the signal chain, something is going into something else too hot. You should not be having a problem with the mix-down levels as long as everything else is set up correctly from the Korg to the TASCAM.

I really think your major problem is mixing on the cans. To try and get a better mix on the Korg, try monitoring your mixing through the TASCAM instead of the Korg. This might help some as you will be hearing exactly what you will eventually track on the TASCAM when you dump.

Another thing to try if it's possible, is to get some decent monitors and mix when the adjacent apartments are empty.
It is difficult at best and impossible at worst to get a good mix on a set of cans.
 
Hey SENN.. yeah thats what i do... i have the headphones through the tascam.. and thats how i monitor it with.. i thihnk i should acutlaly put the headphoens IN THE mix down deck instead! that seems tto give me the better idea of why the mix down tape is low volumes.. but IT DOESNT tell em why that i cant seem to get the guitars at a decent level wiht out losing the main instruemtns!

what i am saying is that mixing on the korg is anothe problem all together. but thats not where the MIXING problem is i am having cause it was like that when i was mixing the other synth moduals through the line mixer first then to the tascam.. it just that when the sequenced instruments )form the moduals) are mixed to peak.. i cant hear the guitars then i turn the guitars up then i cant hear the sequenced moduals so i cant seem to find the happy medium.

see what i mean?!?! it is either to low or to loud.. and it is either one or the other i cant hear.... the mixing on the korg is JUST the NEW problem that i am not that worried baout yet.. it is the main over all mixing on the tascam itslef that has me in the gutter hehe!.. mixing the guitars and vocals to the sequnced instruments..

i think it is a problems using headphones.. cause what it is is that my ears do get tired faster listening through headphones.

and yeah that is another idea too is when the nieghobor next door aprtment is empty! but i need to hook up my peavey 8.5c power amp and then the whole neighbor hood will hear me hehe.. i htin what i need to do is find a some long cords and hook the tascam output to my main stereo on the other side of the room and then mix through my main stereo.. thats ONE THING i been wanting to do for a long time even before i GOT the tascam.. but i never have long enought cords... but yeah that MAYBE what i HAVE to do tho!..


thanx man!

cheers
dog
 
Dog, you might want to post this problem in either the Mixing forum or the Newbie forum.

I don't think it's a problem with the TASCAM or the Korg and you might get a better answer from the other two forums.

I've run out of ideas as to why you can't get a decent mix balance between the sequenced parts and the guitars.

Good luck and I wish you well. It's very frustrating sometimes when you've tried damn near everything and still can't figure out what is wrong. Been there, done that.
 
hey senn.. yeah .. i know.. it is frustrating.. but i was thinking maybe it IS on the tascam.. since thats what i am doing the final mixing on... maybe it is somehting i am doing wrong with the eqs?!?! like i say this is a NEWBIE question.. but i really think it has to alot with the tascam.. granted it makes a GOOD mixer and i have made some decent sounds onit.. like if i am just playing piano live and singing.. and nothing else. the thing works like a charm!.. but when i start layering in more and more stuff the tascam seems like it just cant handle all the tone! or maybe like you say it is ALL IN THEM damn headphones.. NOT alolowing me to hear the SOUND BREATH!.. and my ears get tired faster.. ! i think thats what is happening... i think i am goni to look to hoooook it to my stereo system for mixing!.. thats my next way!.. but yeah being with little mixing experince and what i have to work wiht too makes it all the more frustrating!

thanx again man for all your input!
cheerz
dogger
 
The last thing that I can think of is to make sure that all of the tracks that you are mixing down are on the 1L/2R buss, selected on the channel strips. Along with the output as the 1L/2R buss.
 
YEP!! :) i have to have them that way for it to get to the mixdown deck.

You know what tho... I was just playing with it now.. i staed connected to the net.. but i was in theliving room for a small bit .. and i think it is in the faders of the tascam itself.. it seem when i turn the faders up to hear the sound it is either TOO LOUD or TOOOO soft... i cant get the happy medium wihtout losing the other tracks.. seems htere is no headroom on it at all! At least from what i hear in these headphones and i have studio quality digital headphones.. too!)
 
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