tascam 4 trach , whats with the hiss sound ??

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jimi

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im so sad about this !! i listen to it after i record and on headphones it sounds very hissy i like the sound of my voice but to much hiss its like very hisssssssssssss .. how do i get rid of the hissssssss
pleaseeeeeee !!
 
Maybe you should chase those snakes out of your studio before tracking.

:D
 
Does the hiss come in and out depending on the activity on the track? For example you can only hear when you are singing but not when you are not. That could be your noise reduction. I used a 424MkII for years and this was one of the only problems it gave me. Turning off the noise reduction just makes the hiss appear all of the time. Use highest quality tape you can get. I recommend a Maxell XLII not over 90 minutes. Clean heads everytime you record or mix. Do not bounce tracks!! It gives you more tracks but for most purposes it's not worth all the noise. One of my favorite methods of getting more tracks was to switch instruments on the same track at the verse or chorus or solo or whatever, this makes it seem like you have more tracks then you do. Also remember that noise reduction is a 2 step process, so if you don't record with it on you shouldn't play with it on, and vice versa.
SirBaesa
 
u mean by noise reduction dbx ?
what is it and does it matter if it is on or off ?
better on or off ?
thanks
 
For cassette-based multitrackers, noise-reduction is best left ON all the time.... unless you like the sound of snakes in your tunes.........!
 
ok cool anything more i can do for that because theres still hiss ? is it because i dont put reverb on it ? and delay? is that it ? or is it that i record in a bathroom ? (its a big bathroom not small lol )
thanks :)
 
Hiss comes from the tape, adding an effect such as reverb or delay will never get rid of the hiss. 2 more important things. ALWAYS record at 2x speed and probably the most important thing that you can do to make your tapes quieter is to have good levels while recording. I used to record at +6 DB using Maxell XLII's and sometimes even harder than that. Not all tapes can handle being hit that hard, but give it a try.
SirBaesa
 
turning the pitch control wheel all the way up to the highest speed and playing back at the highest speed always eliminate hiss for me. You will use more tape and unfortunately will be able to record less songs on it, but its quality, not quantity that you want.

So, try working with the pitch control at its highest tape speed.

Bruce Chambers
Get your free artist web page at http://www.songwriterstreet.com
 
SirBaesa said:
Hiss comes from the tape, adding an effect such as reverb or delay will never get rid of the hiss.

SirBaesa
Click to expand...

Reducing hiss with reverb and delay all depends on the effects device that you are using. Some effects devices add their own system hiss.

On the 424 or 414, you can control the hiss at stereo inputs 7 & 8 or 5 & 6 and the Tascam manual says to put these knobs in the 12:00 to 2:00 position and you should be able to get the reverb you want with minimal hiss.
 
Sorry, couldn't resist that one.

Another thing to make sure with those machines is not to crank the input trims up too far and make sure anything not in use is turned down or off.

A friend of mine actually liked to record with the DBX on, then playback with it off. Some pretty severe compression goin' on there!:eek:
 
Re: Sorry, couldn't resist that one.

M.Brane said:
A friend of mine actually liked to record with the DBX on, then playback with it off. Some pretty severe compression goin' on there!:eek:
Click to expand...

Yeah, I always wondered, does the DBX make the treble lower? I never used it, but always wonder if I should. How is DBX really? Do you use it?
 
i dont really know what dbx is but all i know is that if u record with it on then u play back with it on and vice versa !!!
i dont think it makes a big of a difference though ! dunno !
 
DBX works by compressing the recorded signal, then expanding on playback. If you turn it off on playback, you'll have a very compressed sound with exaggerated highs. You'll also have a very high noise floor. When you enable the sync button, the DBX is disabled on track 4 so your sync tone isn't affected by the noise reduction.

Dolby works by boosting high frequencies then cutting. That's why if you play a tape encoded with Dolby without decoding, you'll have exaggerated highs.

I always use the DBX on my 414. It works pretty good IMHO.
 
so i use dbx and then on playback i turn it off or what exactly ?
 
M.Brane said:
I always use the DBX on my 414. It works pretty good IMHO.
Click to expand...

I am just a little confused, but wouldn't mind using DBX based on your helpful advice. So, you are saying it works great for you. Cool ;) - However, is DBX only used when you are recording? Do you use it during mixdown. If I hear you correctly, DBX only affects the recorded incoming signal.

So, my question is, do you use it during mixdown or when you tape cue a track or just ONLY when you are recording? In other words, what exactly does DBX affect?
 
leave the dbx on all the time

Never turn it off. Never! There's no reason to, and every reason not to. See above posts for reasons not to.

You also need to get as hot a signal as possible going to each track just short of distortion. Be careful ,though, as really high levels will cause the dbx to do funky-sounding things. The best thing is to leave the dbx on and experiment with recording levels.
 
DBX and Dolby on cassettes

Short answer: Leave the DBX or Dolby ON.

By itself, the audio cassette is a really nasty hissy recording medium. Cassette multitrackers are miracle machines that only work because of noise-reduction systems that kill the tape hiss. DBX and Dolby are noise-reducers that allow cassettes to actually be useful for music.

DBX and Dolby are both CLOSED LOOP noise reduction schemes, which basically means they encode while recording and then decode on playback. So you have to use it on BOTH record and playback or the result is worse than no noise reduction at all. DBX and Dolby are similar but not interchangeable with each other--- so a tape recorded with DBX won't play back right with Dolby, and vice versa.

I get great results with a Yamaha MT-50 cassette multitracker and always leave the noise reduction on. I don't even remember whether it's Dolby or DBX. Biggest factor was to find tapes that it likes and record a strong signal on there--- getting up into the +3 area with occasional peaks at +6. I've had really great results with Maxell XL-IIS cassettes. They're hard to find and are better than the plain XL-II, which are also pretty decent.
 
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