Noob Mixer Questions

[bobboyer]

Howdy. Picked up on you guys from the Tapeheads fora and have been searching around a bit before posting that great first question. Nice site!

Anywho, am getting back into analog recording. I know I'll be back for more info, but to get things started, here's where I'm headed.

Long story short, a recently acquired Pioneer 2 track mastering deck has given me the itch to go back and play with the toys like I did when I was working radio 30 some odd years ago to get through college. The concept is to do an analog 4 track studio to record and archive (mostly) bluegrass and other acoustic music here in southeast Tennessee.

I have friends with a bluegrass band that can help me set things up and tune things and there may be the possibility of some grant money available to help fund things. I'm starting with a Teac 3340S to go with the Pioneer 1050. I also have a Tascam CDR 900 burner and a newer Macbook which can be pressed into service. Based on a lot of recommendations from friends in Nashville, the mics will probably be a complement of KEL Audio condensers: HM-1s (4), an HM3C and an HM7U to start.

The mixer is where I'm bogging down. Tube preamps will be down the road but not yet, so I'm looking to maximize the internal preamps as much as possible.

The new stuff I can afford includes the ubiquitous Mackie 1604 and a Soundcraft Spirit M8/M12. Of those two, I'm leaning towards the Soundcraft based on the reported mic preamp quality but a Tascam M-50 has crossed my path and I'm curious about the concept of going totally retro with such a board. The Tascam can be had for less than half of the new boards but I haven't seen it yet and have no idea of its electrical condition. It looks pretty good in the photos.

I like the 4 bus architecture of the Mackie, the 8 bus architecture of the Tascam even more (assuming it all works and is quiet), but the Soundcraft preamps might trump everything and I can find a way to live with Aux sends as a makeshift means of tracking to the Teac if those sends are quiet. SPDIF on the Soundcraft is a good thing, as well, as it gives me some more options.

I'm not opposed to tracking to tape and then using a Focusrite firewire box to get the tracks into the Macbook for mixing before mastering to the Pioneer and the CD burner but I may stay all analog, as well.

Sound trumps all for me - so given that, what's your opinion of the Tascam M50 vs. the Soundcraft M12 or the Mackie 1604?

Thanks in advance.

 

[bouldersoundguy]

If you want to stay all analog there's a community of people doing that, so there's good info on keeping the machines working. There probably won't be many people to listen to the results since most listen via some digital medium. Vinyl is hanging on and there may be an audience if you can get anything pressed to LP format.

If you do go digital you should probably just skip CD. Since archiving seems to be a main focus you have better options in terms of quality. A digital project can be recorded and mixed at a higher sample rate and word length (bit depth) than CD, and done directly to a file on the same computer. That file can be easily copied to multiple drives kept in different places to protect against loss.

As for mixers, I don't know what the best option of the three would be because I haven't used a Tascam of that vintage in a long time, haven't used a Soundcraft of that type, and there are several Mackies with the designation 1604 (CR1604, 1604 VLZ, 1604 VLZ Pro, 1604 VLZ III, Onyx 1604). If you're more specific about the Mackie I can provide some help. I do use a Tascam M2600 regularly and find its preamps adequate if not spectacular.

 

[bobboyer]

Hi Boulder,

It would be the latest 1604 - that's the VLZ III?

Thanks,

Bob