Tascam 414 Newbie Here - Effects?

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Pepper249

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OK - I don't know how else to say this but I am so new to this that I appreciate any info anyone can give me for getting some clean demos of songs done. I don't think the Tascam 414 manual is that much of a help -- but reading through the forums has shed some light on this process. One question I have is what are the effects all about and do I even need to bother with them? What I am doing so far is drum beat in track one...guitar in track 2...vocals in track 3 and I think maybe some guitar fill-ins or harmony in track 4..................BUT..........I really do not know what I am doing and half the time I can't even find what I just recorded to listen to it......I only have headphones as a monitoring source and also a Peavy amp. Do I need more stuff?

I don't understand the concept of mixing down and what areas of the tascam 414MK11 are needed and when. I would like to know what knobs i should be messing with for recording and what knobs i can leave alone....and also...mixing baffles me completely. I know this is alot to ask...but does anyone know the knobs that i DON'T need so i won't be touching them so much looking for my tracks?

Pan means left or right monitoring or is it actually where the input is going during recording? Should they be in the middle position for recording?

Please don't think i am totally stupid.....i probably am....but i love to write some songs and want to record them cause most of the ones I have written the past 20 years are so are gone from my memory...i want to record at least good enough to let other people hear them .......I guess at this point one might be thinking...garbage in-garbage out -- but I got that covered cause I know people more talented then I am to do some of the actual music tracks for me but I don't want to waste their time fumbling around with this darn machine.......Thanks guys in advance for any help you can give to me. Patti
 
Yo Patti:

I suggest you take your unit back to your vendor and ask for a demo of its basic functions.

"EFFECTS," usually means use of reverb -- if your unit does not have built in reverb, [that large echo sound you hear on almost every vocal done] then you would need an outboard reverb unit, which is another piece of gear.

Mixing is when you blend your tracks, set the faders, and EQ and then put your tracks into a stereo track for CD burning. Then, at that point, you can use dynamics, if they are on your unit, and EQ again to adjust the output and sound so it makes your ears happy.

Hang in there Patti -- the mud will clear as you try and fail and try and succeed.


Green Hornet :D :D :cool: :cool:
 
O.K..........Here's what I do.
Say...Drum on 1...set record funtion to (1, NOT L) and leave pan alone. Record, after setting level.. reset to "safe". Record other tracks the same.
To mix down, set all inputs to "tape" and adjust mix as you want. To add effects take it out through effect send 1 and bring it back in through channel 5-6.
Hope this helps.......
 
Thanks, Guys and yes, this info is helping..........I'm gonna put in a clean fresh tape and try again...but does my 414MK11 have built in effects or do i need another piece of equipment to put them in there? (not that i am experienced enough at this recording stuff to add any but i was just wondering and thinking ahead)... keep the info coming cause i REALLY DO appreciate it!.. Patti :)
 
You Peppermint Patti:]

I doubt that your unit has "effects" built in. You can get Tascam on the net and ask a techie -- but, I'm pretty sure you will need an outboard effects unit. They run from less than 100 bucks to whatever you wish to spend -- I have two outboard effects units in my studio -- Alesis MidiVerb Three & a lexicon 100; but, my DAW by Yamaha has "built-in reverb." So, most of the time, I just use the built-in.

Happy New Year

Green Hornet :D :D :cool: :cool:
 
Effects and A Vendor Demo of the 414

Hi again...Hornet..I meant to tell you that i can not go to the vendor for a nice demo of how to work the unit cause I bought it through musicians friend mail-order.

Are effects things like distortions and crazy sounds that are added by pushing the foot pedal on those things that hook up to electric guitars? For now should i just ignore all effects? But can they help with the singing part? make it crisper or better?

Thanks again and again.. Peppermint Patti
 
Yo Minty Patti:]

Effects cover all of what you said in your reply. Most often, effects center around reverberation: a hall, a stage, a dark hall, a bright stage, etc. The names of types of reverb are countless. In a simple term, vocalists use reverb for echo -- brilliance -- and most all vocalists use some type of reverberation.

Again, effects or reverb or distortion can be used for synth sounds, horn sounds, sax, piano, electric piano, guitar etc.

Sorry you can't get a demo on your unit but if you use the search function here and the forum, you should be able to accumulate a ton of info, just like I do.

Watch out for Charlie Brown....

Green Hornet :p :D :cool:
 
Hornet...... hmmmm I could say something witty about your user name but i better not....but thanks so much for helping me with this.

I wanna sing better or at least i want the vocals better and am willing to do what i have to do to get a decent sound...so if there is some equip I need please tell me...

this is my own thing..i'm not looking for a record deal or a band to play in -- my plan is a wild and crazey and hopefully fun one but one I am gonna go for since I now have alot of time on my hands -- I'm collecting my songs -- trying to get good demos of them (other musicians will do this if i can't - but I still need half-decent demos to give to my music friends to record better demos for me) and taking them and myself to nashville on my harley...i have an unsual bike that always attracts alot of attention and conversation...maybe.....just maybe... the right person will walk up and strike a conversation with me and take an interest in a song or two?

I'm not expecting that to happen...but i am expecting I will meet some people - some fellow motorcycle people will be just as nice to meet as some songwriters or folks open-minded about listening to a few songs.......if nothing happens - nothing happens -- its all for fun. The funny thing is that several people that know me and know I will really do this gave me demos of their songs and the 3 songs i KNOW would be definate hits I am taking along with me...might not get mine sold but you should hear the awesome awesome rap stuff one female rapper wrote (and i do not even like rap that much) - but it blows my mind -- its that good...and also a wonderful, well put-together Sheryl Crow kind of song from another musician. Anyway - thats where i am coming from and thats why I got this darn Tascam thing...Thanks for keeping me from tossing it into a closet..... :) Peppermint
 
Patti, here is the link to the TASCAM site. There is a forum located there and someone there will be able to help you with your Porta.

www.tascam.com. Click on support, I think, and a drop-down menu will appear. Click on the forum link. There is a separate forum for Porta users.
 
414 tips

Get some good head/transport cleaning supplies and a de-guasser. Use them often.

Don't pay too much attention to the meters. It takes some experimenting but you can often run stuff well into the red and still sound good. Trial and error is the only way to see what works. Stock up on quality tape. I always had good luck with TDK SA myself.

Don't worry about adding effects until you can get a good mix going without them. You'll learn how to track/mix faster without 'em and get better results with 'em later. Also don't go wild with the EQ on the machine. It's not the greatest.;)

If you submix your tracks to a good stereo VCR then run those back into the machine you can work in stereo and/or have more tracks to work with with better quality than bouncing to a single track.
 
Thanks, Guys! Thats another thing I do not understand...how to get them out of the mixer into a device and what type of device it should be.. when I first got this thing I took it to a music friend that was familiar with it and he ran it into my computer and onto a cd -- is that stereo?

I'm going to the Tascam forum and also to the store for the cleaning stuff -- feeling more positive today... Thanks!
 
Thats another thing I do not understand...how to get them out of the mixer into a device and what type of device it should be.. when I first got this thing I took it to a music friend that was familiar with it and he ran it into my computer and onto a cd -- is that stereo?
Click to expand...

To get your stuff out of the machine just hook up to the line out. You can run that to a VCR, another cassette deck, a computer etc. To run that stuff back in on individual tracks you'll need to get some RCA to 1/4" TS cables or an adapter to run back into the mic/line inputs. Leave the trim controls all the way down when you do this. Those are for mics/instruments. Remember if you have the function switches on L or R instead of a track number you'll have that stuff on 2 tracks!;)

If you have things that are panned to the L&R in your mix then you have stereo.
 
I'M GETTING THE HANG OF THIS!! But then in my excitement I changed my giutar strings -- very heavy bronze..i hate those heavy strings but my kid got em for me for xmas.. now my fingers are sore so i am taking a break....here's what i am doing.. listening to the drum machine through the headphones to try to keep the beat and playing guitar onto track one.. I actually think I am close to understanding this better...but i still need help and input so PLEASE continue to guide me...Thanks!
 
Don't record with those new strings until they're at least two days old. They will continue to stretch as you are playing until they've settled down some.

Did they guys over at the TASCAM forum help you out any?

Also, what you should do Patti, is record your drum track first for however long the song is. If you don't have the measures worked out yet that's OK. If you are in a hurry, you can always do a fade at the end if you think it sounds appropriate for the tune.

Anyway, my point is, you won't be able to synch the drum machine to your playing if you don't record that first. Working in analog with no synchcronization or MIDI, the drum track is ALWAYS first. Always. This is your "bed" or foundation track that everything else revolves around.
 
THANKS for telling me that!! Before I got too into it..i just was not sure i even wanted a drum track and I thought i could add it later but now that i am thinking of it -- that would be terribly difficult.....and about the strings -- i played the hell out of em for about 2 hours before they seemed to settle into a position where i did not have to tune em every 5 minutes. But I still prefer my usual silk woven steel strings... Patti
 
My pleasure Patti. I recommend the string thing because no two guitars are alike. I use GHS White Bronze Light on my Seagull S6+ and it takes awhile for it to settle down.

A long time ago when I started on this magical musical tour, I had an Applause 12-string that would settle down in about 12 hours after playing for several. I sure miss that guitar.

Even if you don't want a drum track, record it anyway. You may decide you like it, and if not, just pull the fader during the stereo two-track mixdown to your cassette deck or CD burner. You'll never know it was there. I understand you are limited on your tracks, so that may be an issue if you want to add something that would record over the drum track.

You can always use it with the first few tracks though, to keep a solid rhythm while you are printing the guitar track and record over it later if you have to.
 
Thanks, Senn -- I see you are in Illinois.. how do i make a profile anyway? I'm in Indiana near Indy.
 

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DAMN!

I was trying for a tiny tiny pic on the left like I saw in some other posts....can i get rid of that attachment? LOL!
 
Well, well, well. Aren't you pretty!

Go up to the top of the page of the forum you are currently in and select "User CP". There you can change all of your options and select an avitar. You have to have 500 posts before you can select a custom avitar.

Here is a link to a program that will allow you to import web or disc based images and alter them for this site. 60x60 pixels is all that is allowed here. I have a feeling you'll be at 500 in no time at all. Welcome to the forum. And Happy New Year. Michael

GIF Works.com
 
Nice pic!

It's a bit large for an avatar though.;)


I always stretch my strings when I put 'em on. I pull 'em away from the neck and slide my finger up & down the string then re-tune. I do this until they no longer go flat. I also apply #2 pencil to all the string slots & saddles when doing this to keep 'em in tune.
 
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