Tascam 38 & M 308, Now how do I plug 'em in?

[cloeyboy]

Recently got myself a Tascam 38 Reel to Reel, with 2 DX-4D dbx and a M308 Mixer. And yeah! I'm a Newbie, so I have no idea on how to plug it all in.
I've got the '38 plugged into the DBX's Ok (Only 'cos the guy I got them from showed me!!), but now I've got to plug them into the M308 and I'm lost!
So many possibilities!
Is there anywhere I can get a simple graphic showing me how?
Or can anyone who has a similar setup give me an idea?
I think I have all the leads to do it, but don't want to Power up in the fear of something getting toasted!
Any help would be great!
Cloeyboy.

 

[jpmorris]

There's no one right answer. A lot depends on what instruments you're going to be recording.
Basically, there's two parts to it.

The easy part is setting it up for mixing down. For that, you just attach each output from the 38 to each 'line in' input in the mixer. I don't know this mixer and I can't see from the picture whether it has RCA inputs for that. If not, you'll be using phono-to-jack cables, the ones marked 'line in' just above the XLR connectors (the ones marked 'mic in').

After that, you should be able to play back tapes and record the result via the stereo out connection on the mixer.

The harder part is getting signals into the tape deck to record. This depends on what you're recording, whether you want to process it on the way in, and whether you're recording an ensemble, or recording it a track at a time.

If everything you're recording has an RCA out, you could plug them directly into the inputs of the tape deck. It's usually wise to get a patchbay though, since if you're going to be constantly unplugging them, it will wear out the connectors. It's better to wear out the patchbay instead of the deck as it's easier to replace that, and it would also make them accessible from the front instead of having to mess around with the back of the recorder all the time.

It is often desirable to use the mixer to add EQ, effects and handle signal routing (i.e. directing it to a specific track on the recorder) - I refer to this set up as a 'front end mixer'. I use two mixers for this as I found it makes things easier.

This one seems to have four stereo output groups so it would be ideal to act as a front-end, but the problem is that since it only has 8 channels you can either use it for mixdown OR you can use it as a front end, but not both. Some people here use a 12 or 16 channel mixer with an 8-track deck, so that they can use 8 channels for mixing, and the rest as front-end inputs.

I hope that makes some sense...

 

[cloeyboy]

Thanks JP. Yeah, that makes "some" sense!
Although I will eventually give this rig a try at some home recording (Probably track-by-track, as I'd like to do a little solo stuff), for the time being it's just replacing my Ipod. I want to record a stack of the music I love (from CD) and just use 2 tracks at a time. I have tracked down a supplier for some New 1/2 inch tape pancakes and have some on Order (But they won't get to me till about February 2012) and I have 6 old Ampex tapes, but they are shedding badly so I won't be using them!!
At this stage, I just need to record the stuff and play it back.
When I get the hang of all this gear, I'll be putting it to more use.
Thanks heaps so far!!

 

[jpmorris]

That's an odd thing to do, but it should work. A better bet might have been something like an Akai GX210 or something, since it's actually designed to do that

However - it sounds like a good way to get familiar with the machine. For something like that you may as well just connect the stereo out from your CD player to an appropriate pair of track inputs on the machine.
Be aware that unless the '38 has a 7.5 IPS mode (low speed), you'll only get about 33 minutes per tape. If you recorded side 1 on tracks 1 & 2 and side 2 on tracks 8 and 7, I suppose you could turn the tape over...

 

[cloeyboy]

Seriously?? 33 Minutes! The 38 only has one speed, so maybe I've got myself the wrong gear. ATM, I can't tell how long it takes to play a whole tape as these ones are too old. With new tapes, I guess I'll be starting to do more of my own stuff sooner than I thought!!
Will I get better playback if I record in different directions? IE: As you mentioned, Tracks 1 & 2 in One direction and then reverse them for 3 & 4 etc...
What sort of issues would I have if they are all recorded in the same direction? IE: 1 & 2 (then rewind) and then 3 & 4, (then rewind) etc... Do I end up with "bleeding" of the sound?
Appreciate any input from others with similar setups.
Thanks.

 

[cloeyboy]

Seriously?? 33 Minutes! The 38 only has one speed, so maybe I've got myself the wrong gear. ATM, I can't tell how long it takes to play a whole tape as these ones are too old. With new tapes, I guess I'll be starting to do more of my own stuff sooner than I thought!!
Will I get better playback if I record in different directions? IE: As you mentioned, Tracks 1 & 2 in One direction and then reverse them for 3 & 4 etc...
What sort of issues would I have if they are all recorded in the same direction? IE: 1 & 2 (then rewind) and then 3 & 4, (then rewind) etc... Do I end up with "bleeding" of the sound?
Appreciate any input from others with similar setups.
Thanks.

 

[jpmorris]

Yeah, it runs at 15 inches/sec, and the tapes are 2400ft (28800 inches). It was possible to buy Quantegy 407 at one point, which was 3600ft and gave you about 45 minutes, but it increased print-through, it's not strictly compatible with your machine by default and I'm not sure there is a long-playing 1/2" tape currently in production.

For the purposes of an album or something, you'd typically have one tape for each side (the finished album originally being vinyl with maybe 25 minutes per side) so 33 minutes wasn't a big problem.

There will be a certain amount of crosstalk, but on the TSR-8 with DBX enabled (basically the next generation machine after yours), you really have to work to get it to be noticeable. This is the same track pitch as a reversible stereo tape, anyway.