tascam 34 reel to reel

  • Thread starter Thread starter lo beam
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The Ghost of FM said:
I basically wanted to get across the point that if you weren't putting your heart and soul down on tape or hard drive, you weren't getting full value out of your equipment.

Play it, don't spray it, are the operative words here to live by.

Cheers! :)
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Just to add that what you basically get with the 34 or 34B or any good reel to reel machine is essentially an accurate representation of what you hear with your ear, though perhaps a bit better 'cause there's the tape saturation effect which sounds damn nice and mic freq response which changes the sound a bit, for the better I think as is the case with the sm-57. None of the cassette based portas, even the superior 234, 244 and 246, can give you that particular sound. These are "lo-fi" machines.

Daniel
 
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DigitalSmigital said:
Just me in the studio on this one: http://www.soundclick.com/atg


Lacking the compressor on this, vocals and guitar need it. Will keep trying!
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Could you please tell me the exact Tascam porta that was used to record this particular song ? Also, can you list ALL other gear used ?

Great sound! I too am impressed!! "DigitalSmigital" indeed! ;) :D

Daniel :)
 
Re: Re: tascam 34 reel to reel

cjacek said:
As you're talking the 34, however, you'd have to get a matching mixer. The TASCAM m-30 would be a perfect match among others.
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Hey Daniel - thanks for the info man!
That's certainly a beauty you got there, I'm incredibly jealous :)
One thing - I'm not clear on why I would need a separate mixer - does the 34 not have 1/4" inputs built in?
Could you explain more?
Thanks.
 
Re: Re: Re: tascam 34 reel to reel

lo beam said:
Hey Daniel - thanks for the info man!
That's certainly a beauty you got there, I'm incredibly jealous :)
One thing - I'm not clear on why I would need a separate mixer - does the 34 not have 1/4" inputs built in?
Could you explain more?
Thanks.
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Yeah, I'm pretty happy with my baby ;) :D .

Well, the 34 has 4 RCA "ins" and 4 RCA "outs" so there's no way to plug in your instruments and mics direct. You have to use a mixer with the same RCA 4 ins and outs. The 34B, however, as you have seen from the photos, also has additional 1/4" inputs for your mic signals and input and outputs gain controls. You, in essence, can record DIRECT to the 34B, without a mixer using the 1/4" inputs for your mic level signal from any instruments you desire. You use the gain to set mic level etc ... You can then monitor (mono only), overdub and anything else you desire on the 34B itself. It's a self contained 4 track recorder that doesn't require an external mixer to record or overdub. On the other hand, if you have all the tracks recorded, you have to mix these down. ONLY then must you have a mixer to do this as each track corresponds to each of the RCA outs. (ie: Track 1 = RCA 1, Track 2 = RCA 2 etc). A neat trick I learned, but it only works if you're using 2 of the 4 tracks, is to get a regular stereo RCA cable (L / R), attach one of the ends to one track (vocal for example) and the other end to another track (backing) and send these 2 tracks to your cd recorder or you may use a 1/8" stereo plug to go direct to your pc (make sure it has a good sound card) and then dump it to CoolEdit Pro (multitrack). You then have the vocal on one side (on one track) and backing on the other (other track). You can then process each indivicually with any and all software plugins you desire and then mixdown to mono ;) . So, really, the only main difference is that you can record without a mixer, direct, into the 34B and the 34 you can't. Other than that they're basically the same machine. Most, however, probably would benefit from an external mixer.

Let me know if you wanna know anything else.

Daniel
 
Cool, thanks a lot!
I may hold out for the 34B you know - seems like they really got it right with that baby.
Now, to ebay.....:)
 
lo beam said:
Cool, thanks a lot!
I may hold out for the 34B you know - seems like they really got it right with that baby.
Now, to ebay.....:)
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They sure did! :) Good luck to ya and keep us updated!! :)

Daniel
 
cjacek said:
Could you please tell me the exact Tascam porta that was used to record this particular song ? Also, can you list ALL other gear used ?

Great sound! I too am impressed!! "DigitalSmigital" indeed! ;) :D

Daniel :)
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Daniel, I was browsing the Analog Forum and caught a glimpse of your new set-up. After cleaning the drool off my keyboard, I set out to eBay. Well, I just can't justify the expense right now to upgrade to a fine reel to reel. Besides, I don't think there's another one in the country that is un-used, in the basement!!

My 464 gets the most use, (better circuitry, more options, insert jacks) so I used that until all four tracks were full with instruments. Then I popped the tape into the 424 mkIII, mixed these tracks into stereo, line outs into the 464s track 1 & 2. Vocals on three and four. Other gear? Just the Peavy Ultraverb for the 'verb on the vocals. Fender acoustic, Roland U20 did the strings, Hammond M102 and a Leslie 147 cabinet.

'Smidge
 
DigitalSmigital said:
Daniel, I was browsing the Analog Forum and caught a glimpse of your new set-up. After cleaning the drool off my keyboard, I set out to eBay. Well, I just can't justify the expense right now to upgrade to a fine reel to reel. Besides, I don't think there's another one in the country that is un-used, in the basement!!

My 464 gets the most use, (better circuitry, more options, insert jacks) so I used that until all four tracks were full with instruments. Then I popped the tape into the 424 mkIII, mixed these tracks into stereo, line outs into the 464s track 1 & 2. Vocals on three and four. Other gear? Just the Peavy Ultraverb for the 'verb on the vocals. Fender acoustic, Roland U20 did the strings, Hammond M102 and a Leslie 147 cabinet.

'Smidge
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That's great! Goes to show that talent goes a long way! :) Again, good job.

Yeah, it's hard to find a new-in-box or unused gear from the vintage era. They come by once in a while but it's a rather rare occurance. It happens though so don't give up! You have to be a bit obsessed and check ebay constantly and have a good gear advisor (ARP)! :) ;)

Daniel
 
Found this little baby - looks to be in absolutely mint condition..

I've trawled round everywhere for months, and this is the best I've seen.
I can hear almost hear the reels whizzing round...
 

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lo beam,

What happened to the bottom of the picture?:confused:

It only shows the top half of the machine.
 
lo beam said:
Found this little baby - looks to be in absolutely mint condition..

I've trawled round everywhere for months, and this is the best I've seen.
I can hear almost hear the reels whizzing round...
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Damn .. I hope this is not another Tascam conspiracy where they surf the net and go about editing photos of their vintage gear! Is this a smear campaign ? Uhhh .. yeah .. ;)

Daniel
 
lo beam said:
Sorry - don't know what happened there!


Here it is :-

http://i10.ebayimg.com/02/i/00/f3/73/ac_1_s.JPG
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Thanks lo beam .. It definitely looks good but it's hard to tell, without seeing it up-close and trying it, if it indeed is a mint piece. Head wear is another thing to look out for. If it's in good condition, I'd definitely pick one up if I were you. :)

Daniel
 
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