Tascam Help please someone!

[BALKI]

Ok I've been going nuts searching the internet reading about the old & new Tascam Cassette decks. My problem is i don't know which one suits my needs more so this where one of you guy's step in and lead me the right way. I've learned over the past couple of day's Tascam makes Mastering Cassette decks and Duplicate recording cassette decks. Ok here's a lil info on what i'm looking for and wanting to do with this cassette deck i purchase. I have a yamaha mixer running into my pc and wanna use this Tascam Cassette Deck to record my vocals over my music coming out of my pc onto tape. I know everyone has been telling me about a portastudio, but why would i need that if i already have a mixer? I don't really care if the Tascam Cassette deck doesn't have Phantom power mic inputs bc i could always buy a dynamic 1/4 vocal mic to insert and use with it. I don't know if i would be better off buying a single mastering Tascam Cassette deck like a 112 mk II or a dual well dubbing one like the 302 mkII. Also one of em has parrallel recording which i have no clue what that means. I will be using this hooked up to my mixer but wanna use the cassette deck for vocal and music mixdowns coming out my pc. I'm just so confused.

 

[The Ghost of FM]

If you want to record music and vocals on separate tracks then you will need a 4 track recorder to accomplish this. Most stereo cassette decks don't allow for overdubbing because when you hit the record button, both tracks record at the same time.

TASCAM made one deck called the 234, which is a 4 track cassette deck with full overdubbing capabilities and does not have a traditional mixer built into it so it is not a Portastudio in the classic sense of the term.

TASCAM also made a 3 track cassette recorder called the 133 and that too would allow for a stereo music track and one vocal track but this deck doesn't have dbx noise reduction built into it so your productions might get a bit hissy if your levels or music content has quieter passages to them.

The 234 would probably be your best bet if you all ready have a mixer that you're comfortable working with.

The parallel recording feature you were asking about is on some double cassette decks where both cassette wells can record at the same time from a line input plugged into the back of the unit allowing you to make two copies at the same time.

Why do you want to do your work in this way? It seems odd to me that you are all ready multi-tracking on your computer so why not just do the vocals on there too? The cassette route you wish to take seems a bit redundent...unless I'm missing something?

Cheers!

 

[BALKI]

Hey ghost thankx for you're help i really appreciate it. I just wanna try something different & new. I'm tired of recording digital into my pc and kinda hate my mixers mic pre's. I had a interesting idea though, but don't know if it'll work. I was wondering if i could say buy a Tape deck to record say my instrumentals coming out my pc & then when finished. Use the other deck to record my vocals over the instrumental tape sorta like a karaoke. I bet i could get some pretty darn good recordings out of analog this way onto tape. I found an interesting Tascam product that i think would allow me to do this. It even has a mic level and some other specs. Could you check it out and read the specs for me and see if it'll work for what i wanna do since i'm not too familar in tape decks & also point out if it has any cool features?

Heres' the link thanks alot If you could!

LINK

 

[The Ghost of FM]

That deck you asked about does have Mic/line mixing but I don't think you can you can use the Mic input when transferring from one cassette to the other and even if you could, doing a recording in this fashion only gives you one opportunity to not only sing your part correctly but also to mix it with the music track and no means of going back to correct a poor mix except for doing it all over again. This is not an opportunity rich method of doing things!

You would be much better off following my first suggestion of trying to find a 234 deck which will allow you to record your music and vocal parts on separate tracks and then afterward, you can use your mixer to get a good balance and add effects or compression if needed.

I'm offering you a working car and you're asking for a broken bicycle instead...if you know what I mean?

Cheers!

 

[A Reel Person]

...

The TEAC 124 and Tascam 124AV are single speed cassette decks with Dolby-B, that do Track-1/Track-2 overdubbing in sync & have a mic-blend input that can mix a live-mic over the tape playback tracks, (think simple productions or karaoke). The TEAC 124 is a 4-track/2-channel format that's compatible with standard cassette players, & the Tascam 124AV is a 2-track/2-channel half-track format, that's not compatible with standard cassette players.

Either that, or stick with what GFM said & find a 234 that might suit your needs.

 

[BALKI]

Hey a reel person let's say i just wanted to use my mixers mic pre amps and was looking for a good teac cassette tape player to record my music to. What would be some good teac models for this? I see alot of nice looking old Teac cassette players that i'd love to get, but don't know which ones are good for recording.