recording acoustic to tape

[audiophilez]

I recently aquired an old teac 8 track 1/2" tape recorder. I want to use it to bring out the beauty of my taylor acoustic guitar. I own a groove tubes "brick"(awesome single channel tube preamp) I was thinking of running the mic I use for my guitar into the brick, then directly into the tape machine. Does this sound like a good Idea? There would be no meters or gauges to adjust the clipping level or anything just mic-chord-preamp-chord-tape machine. It seems I could get a lovely tone from this but maybe it would be beneficial to hook it up with some kind of mixer to adjust clipping level, but I want to try and keep as little equipment between the mic and the tape machine as possible. I just want to use the pre to warm it up a bit, let me know what you think!

 

[Herm]

Yes the brick will work fine going direct to the tascam recorder and you would use the meter on the recorder for your levels.
But one thing you mentioned is you are going to use the brick to warm things up. That way of thinking is used with cheap digital recorders and tube preamps.
Not analog recorders. Analog recorders do not really need warmed up. All they need is a good clean preamp to sound great.
Also if you really want a good sound from your taylor you need to invest in a good microphone instead of going direct for your recording.

 

[tmoneygetpaid]

agreed. tube coloration adds harmonic content, which sounds nice on direct in stuff like electric guitars and bass, even vocals in some instances, but on acoustic guitar your recording setup should probably be as transparent as you can get it-- a clear mic with uniform frequency response (like a good SDC with an omni capsule recorded in a quiet, controlled room) and a very transparent pre. If you can, back off the tube when recording. You sound like you get this already, as you said you wanted to capture the sound of the guitar, not color the crap out of it.

Also mess around with different mic positions, especially try micing from at least 3 feet away aimed at the sound hole, and also try putting the mic right over your shoulder, where your ear is.

 

[audiophilez]

I was in fact planning on recording with a microphone, I am not a fan of much, if any, acoustic pickups. I have a presonus eureka. Maybe ill try using that. It also has a meter so that should come in handy. I was thinking of getting a rnp(made by fmr I believe?) but im sure my eureka would work fine. I have a pretty good mic(blue blueberry) but I am planning on upgrading to the kiwi(also made by blue). I appreciate the help!

 

[sjjohnston]

Does this sound like a good Idea?

Yes.

To me, anyway.

Blueberry -> Brick -> Tape Deck is actually a pretty enviable signal chain by home recording standards.

You should be able to set levels by looking at the meters on the tape deck (we'll assume it has them, though you don't say what model you're using) and adjusting the gain on the preamp.

You don't need the pre to warm it up, but you do need it to amplify the mic. From what I know of this "Brick" thing (not very much, actually), it's supposed to be a fairly good pre-amp, and not one of the "starved tube" preamps that's really a distortion/effects box. While there are probably some slightly more transparent options that might be marginally better in this particular application, I wouldn't rush out and buy one if I were you. At least not without trying your original idea and seeing how you like it.

 

[audiophilez]

I have a vintage teac 33-8(good luck finding any info on it) An earlier japanese version of the 38 witch some say is better quality than the later tascam 38, Yes, It does have VU meters(I will be happy to say I have it serviced regularly and all the LED lights still work!) Any advise on using my presonus eureka? I also have a RNP Preamp if thats no good!

 

[tmoneygetpaid]

try not to use eq going in-- instead set a mic position that has response that's desirable to you. for acoustic, you might want to use just a touch of compression, depending on the situation. or you could set up the recorder so that you have a basic bus with the recorded guitar track going out to the presonus for compression and eq and then returning to another track.

also, make sure your new recorder is calibrated to the tape you're using so that you can hit the tape with due levels.

 

[sjjohnston]

Any advise on using my presonus eureka? I also have a RNP Preamp if thats no good!

I'd probably reach for the RNP first (that is, if I had one). Since you're the guy with both (plus the Brick), I guess you're the one who's in the position to tell everybody else which one works best ....