Tascam 244 4 Track is mirroring each track onto the other. Hints?

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AnalogApples

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The first track I lay down sounds amazing, I’m so glad I bought this machine!

Then when I try to add overdubs, every new track has the previously recorded track end up on it!! It’s even louder than whatever I just overdubbed!

For example: I lay down bass on track one. I try to then lay down guitar on track 2, and oh no, the bass is now also on track 2, and it’s much louder than the guitar. And the bass (and now guitar) will jump onto every new track.

Tech says he’s stumped: he thinks my record play head is fried inside.

I’m just seeking confirmation before I spend $50 on a new head for it.

Can you help?

Can you concur that it sounds excellent!? ?
 
What happens when you take a known good tape with recorded material on it and try to record nothing? Set the record mode to 4-track record mode so all 4 tracks record, but have the input source set to off, and the faders at null. Does the material on the tape get wiped, or does nothing change on the tape?
 
Thanks sweetbeats! I’ll try that and reply on Monday.
 
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If the 244 is like the 144, you should have tracks 1+3 panned hard left and 2+4 panned hard right while recording (*and listening with the monitor section, not the faders).
 
I will try that too. I don’t think I’ll be able to pick up the 244 in Milwaukee for a few days still. What a great resource this forum of people is!
 
You haven't left the 3-way switches for each channel just under the VU meters set to remix by any chance? If you do this you could send the output of any recorded channels to the one you are recording on.
 
I got the 244 back. I tried recording track by track except with the pan control for each track panned to the buss it’s Arm switch is in. So 1 and 3 were left, 2 and 4 were right. That did not solve the problem. I’ll test it again making sure the monitor switch is in the correct position.
 
Don’t forget about my suggestion in post #2...
 
Hi Sweetbeats, I tried that and it did erase all the tracks. I just got the manual. I’m going to try recording again soon and see precisely which track is ending up where.
 
AnalogApples said:
Hi Sweetbeats, I tried that and it did erase all the tracks. I just got the manual. I’m going to try recording again soon and see precisely which track is ending up where.
Click to expand...

Okay. Good. That rules out one possible cause, where the erase circuitry is not working so new material just gets added to old material. But if you can record nothing and erase previously recorded material, that circuitry is working.
 
SOLVED!! Hooray!! I was making two errors: track by track must be panned hard left or right, corresponding with the “buss each track is in on the arm switch” AND you must have the monitor switch set to CUE or the master track will record onto your new track!!

I am so relieved. You guys saved me.
 
Nevermind you all were useless. Ha, just teasing. THE CORRECT SOLUTION is that the faders are like an ARM button (more like a send-this-tape-track-onto-my-New-Armed-Track-button) while using Sync Mode. Any tape track (1-4) on the Tascam 244 with a Fader up will print onto your new overdubs. For example, you’ll hear your clarinet part loudly printed onto your new harpiscord track take overdub.
Put the faders of your first tracks DOWN COMPLETELY and use the Cue mode switch to overdub in “Cue mode” only!

Now use the 4 green “TAPE CUE” knobs to hear your previous tracks while you overdub new tracks without copying you old track onto the new one. UGH. ?

The COOL PART is that I can combine previous dubs onto one tape track by simply putting the fader up and then panning them into my armed track(s)
 
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The position of the monitor source switch (the REMIX - CUE - AUX toggle switch) has no bearing on what goes on tape. You will not print the main buss to tape if it’s set to REMIX. It only determines what you hear in the headphones. It is a source select switch. In REMIX it sources the L- R main buss in stereo. In CUE it is a mono mix of the L-R buss and the TAPE CUE buss sum. In AUX it is the AUX buss. You generally never ever have any input channels sourced to the TAPE tracks while tracking and overdubbing. As you noted you use the TAPE CUE sub mixer to monitor tape tracks while tracking g and overdubbing. SO…while tracking and overdubbing input channels are sourced to MIC/LINE or are off (center) as needed, and the monitor source is set to CUE. When it’s time to mix down then you set the input channel sources to TAPE, and the monitor source to REMIX. And of course you can always connect monitor speakers to the L-R OUT jacks. You can feed signals to the 4 tape tracks in one of two ways, either using the L-R buss, where tracks 1 & 3 can receive signals from the L buss and tracks 2 & 4 can receive signals from the R buss, or direct 4 channel record where all tracks record directly from the same numbered input channels. If you are in L-R buss record mode, the top record mode switch is set to SYNC, and then you arm the tracks using the two arming switches. If you want an input channel to go to only one track, then you have to set the PAN control for that input channel either hard L or hard R to ensure the signal is only in the L or R buss, and then set the arm g switch accordingly to get the signal to the track you upon which you want to record. For instance if you have a source connected to input 3 and you want to record it to track 2, pane channel 3 hard R and set the top record mode switch to SYNC, the second record mode switch to 2R, and the bottom switch to SAFE. Make sure no input channels are sourced to TAPE and your monitor source switch is set to CUE.
 
Thank you SweetBeats for a great quick guide to using the Tascam 244!
 
i overcame this issue early on in my analog journey around april this year. i made pleasing results while still having everything mirror each other, but i’m glad i was able to record songs for my friend as this was when i discovered how to isolate tracks. i told him he would basically be the test dummy for my learning curve, that way i could get down to business on my own junk. better him, not me!! lol.
 
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