tascam help!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter ARGH!!
  • Start date Start date
A

ARGH!!

New member
hey, im going to buy my first 4 track recorder and i think i'll buy a tascam recorder. i am watching a bunch of Tascam portastudio 414 MkII's and tascam 414 portastudio's on ebay.
as i said before it is my first one and i dont know whats the best so can anybody recommend me one?:confused::confused::confused:
Cheers.
 
What do you want to do with it (how many of what kinds of sources do you want to record at once)?

How important is portability?

Do you do a lot of punch-ins?
 
first of all i will record each track at once (to make my OWN music). and sometimes "live" with a band. so 1 - 4 mics are going to be used.

EDIT: Argh fuck!! whats the diffrent beetween the two machines?
EDITEDIT: sorry for asking so many questions. but i am new in buisness ;-)
is the Fostex XR-5 a totally diffrent thing? i am wathing these on ebay:
tascam 414
tascam 414 mk ii
fostex xr-5

whats the best for me?
 
424 mkiii. My favorite of the portastudios, and it does exactly what you need.
 
If I were going for one now then I'd be looking for a 424 MkIII. Keep an eye out for one of those in good condition.

:)
 
See, I'm not alone. lo-fi just beat me to the punch.

:D
 
hmm its looks like the 424 mkiii is way more expensive and i cant afford more than 70 dollars (incl. ship.) since that i am only 14 and still lives with my parents.
 
It's worth saving up for, believe me. You'll be better off.
 
With a 414mkII there are only two low-impedance mic preamps (the XLR mic jacks) so if you have more than two mics you want to have connected you'll have to have additional outboard preamps. The 414 ("mkI") is even more challenged in this area as it has NO onboard low impedance mic preamps.

The 424mkII/mkIII has a more comprehensive eq section, and a better transport due to it being logic controlled instead of mechanical push switches. With the 424 you get two memory locators, auto rehearse and auto punch-in. Maybe neither of those are a big deal to you.

The other niuce feature of the 424 is that there are direct outs for each of the 4 tape tracks if ever you want to simultaneously transfer a 4-track project to a computer. There is a way to get 4 out at once on the 414 but it is a bit kludgey.

If you can deal with there being only two true mic pres on the 414 and you like the compactness and price of a 414, its a fine 4-tracker...lots packed into that compact unit, but the 424mkII/mkIII has additional features that will grow with you.
 
sweetbeats said:
With a 414mkII there are only two low-impedance mic preamps (the XLR mic jacks) so if you have more than two mics you want to have connected you'll have to have additional outboard preamps. The 414 ("mkI") is even more challenged in this area as it has NO onboard low impedance mic preamps.

The 424mkII/mkIII has a more comprehensive eq section, and a better transport due to it being logic controlled instead of mechanical push switches. With the 424 you get two memory locators, auto rehearse and auto punch-in. Maybe neither of those are a big deal to you.

The other niuce feature of the 424 is that there are direct outs for each of the 4 tape tracks if ever you want to simultaneously transfer a 4-track project to a computer. There is a way to get 4 out at once on the 414 but it is a bit kludgey.

If you can deal with there being only two true mic pres on the 414 and you like the compactness and price of a 414, its a fine 4-tracker...lots packed into that compact unit, but the 424mkII/mkIII has additional features that will grow with you.
Click to expand...

That caught my eye as I ended up here after Googling for just how to kludge that together. I have a 414 (Mark zero?) and a pile of old 4 track tapes done on 234 and 244 machines in the 70s/80s. I am trying to get these onto a digital machine and I cannot figure out how to get 4 outs from the doggone thing.

If you can give me some info I would appreciate it. I bought the 414 from a guy (lightly used) for $50 thinking that SURELY by now they would have a simple way to dump into digital. What was I thinking?!?!?!

Thanks in advance....

Bill
 
This is based on the mkII...I don't have a manual for the original 414 so this may not work.

Connect the L LINE OUT, EFFECT 1 SEND, EFFECT 2 SEND and SYNC OUT jacks to 4 inputs on your computer audio interface.

Set the INPUT select switches to TAPE.

Set the EFFECT 2/TAPE CUE switch to EFFECT 2.

Turn all EFFECT SEND knobs fully counter-clockwise.

Raise the channel faders to 0. Raise the master fader to 0.

PAN mixer channel 1 hard L.

PAN mixer channels 2, 3 and 4 hard R.

Tape track one is now isolated on the L LINE OUT jack because tracks 2, 3 and 4 are panned to the R channel.

Rotate the EFFECT 1 SEND knob on channel 2 to a nominal level (maybe around 1:00).

Rotate the EFFECT 2 SEND knob on channel 3 to a nominal level (maybe around 1:00).

Tape track 2 is now isolated on the EFFECT 1 SEND jack, and tape track 3 is isolated on the EFFECT 2 SEND jack.

Tape track 4 is automatically isolated on the SYNC OUT jack, which is essentially a direct out jack for tape track 4 only.

You can monitor playback by setting the monitor source to L-R. It'll be funky because track 1 will be in the left ear and tracks 2, 3 and 4 will be in the right, but at least you'll be able to hear what's coming off tape.

Adjust levels to taste.

Probably other better ways to do it but that's what popped out at me when I took a look at the block diagram.

-EDIT-

The bugger with this idea is that tape track 4 will be pre fade, pre-eq so it'll be a raw version that goes to the computer, but because both effect sends are post fader you can't keep 'em out of the main mix; they can't be isolated from the main mix. You CAN use EFFECT 2 as a pre-fade send if you switch the EFF 2/TAPE CUE switch to TAPE CUE and then you just need to make sure to leave the INPUT switch on the track/channel to GUITAR (which is the same as OFF as long as nothing is plugged into the GUITAR jack), then you can leave channel one swept hard L, and channel 2 hard R, and then turn channel 3 to GUITAR and use the EFFECT 2 SEND for that one and then still use the SYNC OUT jack for track 4. 6 of one, a half dozen of the other. There isn't a way that I see to get all 4 tracks out on dedicated outs with level controls. With this second scenario you really haven't gained anything because now track 3 can no longer be monitored in the monitor mix, and track 3 can no longer be effected by the eq section if you are applying that for some reason during the transfer.

Anybody see something I'm missing?

SURELY by now they would have a simple way to dump into digital.
Click to expand...

You paid $50...what's to complain about? Its not a matter that they haven't figured it out...you get what you pay for. Your 234 and 244 could do it easy, but (in the case of the 244) the mixing section is more advanced or (in the case of the 234) it was purpose built for a 4 in 4 out application. The 414 is what it is. I don't expect my 20 year old Subaru to win the Gran Prix...:D
 
Last edited:
Doh!

It's been so long since I used one of these that I completely forgot about the sync output... Yeah, that's the ticket thanks for knocking the cobwebs loose!

BTW, if anyone is interested I have a MidiMan Syncman III Plus available that I would let go fairly cheap (kinda like $10 plus shipping). This is what I used to use with my TR-707 to turn the click track into a drum part. It will drive other gear just fine, too, with time code. For example, you can connect it to your time-code sequencer and when you FF or REW, and then PLAY the sequencer will start (after a brief, charming wait) at the place you are on the tape.

I used to think this was the neatest thing since sliced bread, especially after I got my Ensoniq SD-1.

If anyone wants the MidiMan, drop me a line at bill@euphonic.us

And THANK YOU for the SOLUTION, this was driving me NUTZ!

<Edit after your edit>

You're right, shouldn't complain at the price point. But since I'm American, I reserve the right to feel put out no matter what. :-)

I don't care much about level; this is going into Sonar through Aardvark 24/96s so really what I want is just what's on the tape, as clean/uncolored as possible. I can repair the level in software later if it's not too out of whack.

I miss my 234 dearly. I later bought a 488 (Mark zero) for about $1500 when they were hot/new. I hated it. Crosstalk, compression, rotten EQ, crummy display. When I sold that a couple of years ago on eBay I think I got $75 for it.

But I digress.
 
Last edited:
thank you mr.sweetbeats, looks like the 414 mkii can do alot lot of things and i only wanna record my own stuff for myself or demos - and i think that the 414 mkii is enough for that :cool: :spank:
 
I can't give you as technical advice as these people have, but I'll just tell you that I have a 414MKII, and I have not personally had good results with the DBX noise reduction and when I first started using it I just automatically assumed I should turn it on.

My advice would be make a recording turning it on, and also one while it's off. Some people don't use the DBX NR at all, and once you've made you're recording, it's too late to turn back, so decide which way you like to record, and then do that. And of course, DBX applies to when you're playing the tape as well, so turn it on for recordings that you've used it for, and turn it off for recordings you didn't use it on, generally.

Also I think you're supposed degauss the tape head regularly so it retains full recording quality, although some people may not find that necessary; but it's a natural part of the whole analog recording thing. And you need a degausser to do it. Maybe somebody else already mentioned that. See the thread I made below about a "degaussing wand" if you want to know more about that aspect of it.

Have fun recording, whatever you end up getting!
 
...

The 414 has [4] preamps on 1/4" input jacks, w/the 414mkII having an additional [2] XLR inputs for two of the channels, (and dedicated Guitar input).:eek:;)
 
Yes it has 4 "preamps" but they are a catch-all "preamp"...the jacks are unbalanced 1/4" TS and the gain range and nominal impedance of the preamps suggests they are suited for high impedance unbalanced mics, and that's the way the manuals read ala 234/244/246 and others...you'd want to/need to keep the cable runs short. If you have more than two balanced low-impedance mics that you want to track simultaneously on a 414mkII then you need to get 1/4" TS-M to XLR-F matching transformers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top