Tascam 414mkII

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boydeadly

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So I've been messing around with this for a while now, and I absolutely need to get better sound from it.

The equipment I'm using is pretty dire to be honest, well the mic and cables are at least. I paid about ten quid for a crappy mic off ebay, will I notice the difference straight away with a shure SM 57?

How can I ensure that the sound is as good as I can possibly get it for my extremely modest budget?

Any help is of course greatly appreciated.

Thanks! Kev
 
What exactly do you record with it? What kind of tape do you use? More info will help us, help you.

I'm SURE an SM57 will sound better than a 10 pound mic off eBay. :D
 
Haha, ok, I record my les paul black beauty through a zoom GFX-8 pedal and then through a Marshall JCM 600 valve amp. The tape is TDK CDing2 90 minutes type 2 tape.

I'm pretty sure that's ok, non?

Now I need to get the best possible quality out of the 414mkII without blowing too much of my hard earned money...

cheers
 
use shorter tape. That's my only advice. 90 min. is thin and wears out quickly. 60 or even 30 is the way to go.
 
andyhix said:
use shorter tape. That's my only advice. 90 min. is thin and wears out quickly. 60 or even 30 is the way to go.
Click to expand...

I agree, also use the dbx. Tascam recommends using High Bias Type II's; the shortest possible.

[EDIT] I've heard you can use 'metal' tape with that machine, but I'm not 100% on that.
 
Ok will buy shorter tape next time. Thanks for the advice.
 
I think metal tapes are bad because they can scratch up the tape heads, or so I've been told. The Hi Bias Type II are what's recommended. And definately keep the DBX on all the time.

Also, I find that turning the hi eq down just a hair (on my 424mkii) can cut a lot of hiss without negatively effecting the sound too much. Of course depends on the instument being tracked. For a bass, I'd turn it all the way down, or close to it.

Also, what else....oh - sometimes you can reduce hiss/noise by putting the levels higher and the preamp (trim) lower, maintaining the same input volume. Not sure if this works the same with the 414, but I would guess so.
 
Hi,

I have the 414 and I really like TDK SA 60 min in comparison to others. 90 min is also good. Keep the machine clean and let the meters go all the way up. :cool:
 
Boost the treble on record, then turn it back down on playback you will achieve reduced tape hiss and a recording that maintains a similar high end to it's source.
 
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