TASCAM 688 Play Stereo Tape

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DonOnGuitar

New member
Anybody know how to simply play a standard 2 track tape on a TASCAM MIDISTUDIO 688? How do I configure the tracks from 8 to 2
 
In practice shove the faders up on just two faders, 1-5 or 2-6 or any combination, but you will need to experiment which one gives best signal to noise and no crosstalk. If the 2track cassette is recorded on both sides, you will struggle as the alignment means some tracks will 'collect' the backwards audio from the other side. You then load that into your DAW and make it half the speed. I never made it work very well when I had one - I could never get rid of the track on the other side.

To be honest, just beg, borrow or buy a proper stereo one, with Dolby, or whatever noise reduction your 2 track has - too much faffing around to be practical. You also have to make decisions based on the squeaky sound of the music playing at double speed, so sometimes when you fix that, you end up with a rotten sounding end product.
 
I suspect channels 1and 2 will be left and channels 3 and 4 will be right. If it plays backwards, it's the other four. You might get lower noise using both lefts and both rights rather than one of each, but the smart move would be to find a decent stereo deck.
 
Thanks for the ideas! I’m still playing around with this. Trying to understand setting scene and setting the cue monitor.
Seems like crosstalk is causing SEVERAL meters to jump around. How do I exclude them in scene?
 
You will get crosstalk badly when playing anything other than an 8 track recording. Crosstalk wasn't an issue on the 688 - so loud on track one would be audible on track 2, just - but not on the meters to any vital degree. Playing a stereo tape spills everywhere as the track widths and placement are all wrong.
 
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