Tascam M-320b

[jjucius]

Hi
I just picked up this mixer and i need to hook it up. if any one knows where to get the manual that would help also. now i want to run it to my digital open reel, a sony 3324 dash machine but also to my daw for effects ect. can i use the line inputs on the mixer for the tape in?
Thanks for the help
Joe

 

[Beck]

Sony DASH! No kidding? What model tape are you using with it?

What kind of DAW do you have?

 

[jjucius]

I just picked it up monday, he wanted more but no one would go pick it up. it weights 445lbs!!! i had to drive 2hrs to get it but $275.00 for a machine that went for $150,000.00 new. had to do it. the only place i see tape for it is on ebay and i'm looking at the ampex/quantegy 467 tape. my daw is just an amd 2ghz with a 180 gig hard drive, 1gig of ram and a seasound soloist. and a bunch of plugins oh and steinberg neuendo. i picked the mixer up today for $56.00. I just been lucky lately hummm maybe i should play the lottery

 

[sweetbeats]

That's sick...

That's simply sick, jjucius...sicksicksick!

467 is the right stuff isn't it, Tim?

What condition is the DASH in, and the 320b?

That...is...a...whole...lot...of...gear...for...$331...sick.

Put up some pics.

 

[jjucius]

Hi
Heres some pics, sorry for the poor quality.

 

[sweetbeats]

I just threw up in my mouth...

 

[RRuskin]

Hi
I just picked up this mixer and i need to hook it up. if any one knows where to get the manual that would help also. now i want to run it to my digital open reel, a sony 3324 dash machine but also to my daw for effects ect. can i use the line inputs on the mixer for the tape in?
Thanks for the help
Joe

Unless the 3324 has the ability to switch to "-10" input/output sensitivity (which I highly doubt) you will need 48 channels worth of +4 to -10 bump boxes to go between it and your board. 24 to feed the machine/24 to feed the board from the machine.

 

[jjucius]

I'm looking at the specs. it says

digital audio input x24...........specified input +4dbm.....gain adj. +10 to -6 db
max input +24dbm
impedance 10k ohms.......balanced
digital audio output x24..specified output..+4dbm(-2dbm).when load is 600 ohm
max. output....+24dbm(+18dbm).when switch is at unbalanced
impedance.....less than 100 ohms

not really shure what all that means.
Joe

 

[Daveg62]

Great mixer! I bought one just like it about 6 months ago. I totally re-capped mine and did some op-amp upgrades in the first 8 channels. I'd recommend the re-capping but the op-amp upgrade didn't make much of a difference. My board is very quiet and neutral sounding. Wish I could help you with a manual but I'm afraid you may have to buy one. You can probably find one on the internet someplace. The manual is very in-depth so I would get one if I were you.

 

[sweetbeats]

I've searched high and low for a manual as a download...haven't seen one yet. I recommend you contact Tascam and get an authorized reprint from them. It will likely cost you little more than an unauthorized copy off of eBay or some such thing, and you won't risk getting an incomplete copy or a copy where the schematics can't be read. Get a used original or an authorized reprint. My 2p.

I think you'll be fine on the deck inputs, not sure about the outputs from the deck tho'. I think that -2dBu unbalanced level may be too hot for the tape returns on the 320. It may work with the line inputs though.

 

[pianodano]

I used M308s for years. I still have my 2 that I bought new. Fine mixers. Very quiet and what you sound like is just what it records. Eq's ? Yeah they called it that and I'm sure they meant well, but oh well.

I don't recall the 320 having more than 4 busses or monitoring more than 8 tracks. The 320, 312 and 308 are all covered in the same manual and unfortunately mine are packed away in the original boxes with the mixers.

See the busses, buss assigns and monitor section in the picture? 4 buss assign buttons per channel. Even or odd which means greater than 4 track selection is done by ARMING tracks :ie Buss enable 1 down, channel panned odd gives output to bus 1 which means recording on tracks 1 or 5, buss enable 2 down, panned right gives buss 2 to recorder tracks 2 or 6, and so on. Or you could just use it balanced direct to 4 track and hit the buss 1 - 4 enable and pan straight down the middle. So you could use it either 4 track balanced or 8 track unbalanced.

Lift the line input button and stereo (channel) and monitor thru the monitor section when tracking. Effect (reverb) will be sent to the monitor section depending on channel effect send level. This will give you the 2 independent mixes you will need and still more are available from it via the auxes. The little mixer is much more complex than it ever appears and has routing capabilites that rivals mixers costing 10 times what it did. Btw, the M308 original (not B series ) cost $1300.00 in 1985 plus freight IF you really beat up on Washington Music. The 20, as I recall was $1800. I don't know if I got this all right and I'm sure I have all the quotes from the various stores around here somewhere.

You will also find the 1/4" line inputs, when they are used are insertion breaks which disable the mic inputs. Iirc, it just will not be suitable for more than 8 tracks. That's why most guys used either 2 M308's or 312's cascaded so that they could do 16 tracks or balanced 8. But maybe this weekend I can get to one of mine and get out a manual to make certain that what I have written is correct.

Sorry if you already know this stuff and I wasted your time.

Regards,

Danny

 

[sweetbeats]

What is it specifically that left something to be desired for you with the eq section?

Wondering what I might expect with my M-520...different filters, but same company y'know?

 

[pianodano]

What is it specifically that left something to be desired for you with the eq section?

Wondering what I might expect with my M-520...different filters, but same company y'know?

Well, how to quantify that ? To start with, it can do a nice job on drums. On most instruments it was alright. But as someone that spent many a year recording vocals on them also, it just left me with the feeling that the vocal was left naked. But I am sure that higner quality vocals were also inhibited by the onboard preamps. I just never could find any settings at all that would allow vocals to set in the mix as they should, to my ears, ie; an integral part of the backing music and fully inteligible without the lead vocal being to loud and too out front. I am relatively certain it was related to the fact the the channels are so unbelievably clean and probably odd order harmonics. I should add I been spoiled by the Trident eq sound and the wonderful even ordered harmonics imparted. There will be a subtle sizzle added to vocals by better eq's that can be easily heard on prior years recordings and is instantly recognizable once your ear learns to listen for it and fully appreciate it. I had spent many hours on a Allen and Heath Brennell mixer and somtime in the late 80's a Amek Angela. But back to the Trident sound, something thrillingly warm and fuzzy happens just by putting the eq in the circuit even with all parameters flat. And thru a RCA 44 ribbon mike, shoot, even my vocal lines sound pleasing, full and warm.

I had long ago recoginzed and understood that the wonderful recordings I had always loved and longed to emulate were recorded by regular people. Yes they each had distictive voices and some where truly exceptional vocalists. But for the most part, they were just regular people. Just like us. So the real magic was happening in the studio on those big old mixers with eq graphs that looked terrible but sounded amazinly wonderful. In comparision, on my Tacam mixers the music was usually brittle and very akin to todays digital sound. Wonderful demos though. Nothing to be ashamed of at all. And yes when the vinyl records were done you could definitely hear a warmer sound and a little hair and velvety sheen was added when mastered by a good mastering engineer. But all in all, for finished recordings, well, I just couldn't find anyway to obtain that other sound on my Tascam mixers. Nor have I ever known of anyone else that could in a final mix either. I am certain that untold numbers of songs were tracked on Tascam. But to my knowledge pretty much all the guys I knew of did the final mixes on something else. BTW, PMI will soon be releasing a sidecar containing the trident eq and preamps.

Danny

 

[sweetbeats]

Danny,

Thanks for imparting. I continue to regard your experiences highly. I'm confident that the eq section on my M-520 and also my PE-40's will perform beyond my ear's abilities, at least for the forseeable future.

You speak of gear that is stereotyped (which is the best I can do) as legendary, but you have direct experience which puts a stamp of authority on your post, and in doing so I understand that, while the Tascam stuff has been described as "transparent", "clean" but lacking in "magic", it's capabilities are beyond the demands that I will be placing upon it. I'd be recommitting my many crimes of jumping at the market hype and wasting my time lusting after the "latest" or the "best" rather than getting the most out of what I have, which will more than get the job done for what I can do.

I may not be making any sense, but you are keeping me focused in what I believe to be a right and good direction through your anecdotal experiences.

Thanks.

 

[pianodano]

What is it specifically that left something to be desired for you with the eq section?

Wondering what I might expect with my M-520...different filters, but same company y'know?

Danny,

Thanks for imparting. I continue to regard your experiences highly. I'm confident that the eq section on my M-520 and also my PE-40's will perform beyond my ear's abilities, at least for the forseeable future.

You speak of gear that is stereotyped (which is the best I can do) as legendary, but you have direct experience which puts a stamp of authority on your post, and in doing so I understand that, while the Tascam stuff has been described as "transparent", "clean" but lacking in "magic", it's capabilities are beyond the demands that I will be placing upon it. I'd be recommitting my many crimes of jumping at the market hype and wasting my time lusting after the "latest" or the "best" rather than getting the most out of what I have, which will more than get the job done for what I can do.

I may not be making any sense, but you are keeping me focused in what I believe to be a right and good direction through your anecdotal experiences.

Thanks.

Corey,

Yeah man, you're making lots of sense. In the beginning, I was just trying to give the op enough info to use his mixer without the manual. But I always enjoy hearing your thoughts and I am confident you will be able to achieve fine recordings.

I had a friend that owned a local studio for many years. All he had for most of them was 2 Tascam M35's and a earlier model Tascam 8 track. He didn't even own a compressor but he did have a AKG spring reverb. But he did some awesome sounding tracks there and drums that rival anything done anywhere, imo. He could also rock, roll, cut and splice tape so fast it was unbelieveable. He would have short snippets of takes all over the room and he would always tell me, trust me Danny, we've got a song there, somewhere. lol. He was fuuny as all get out. He did an amazing amount of stuff for CBN prior to their building of their own studios here. He eventually went on to become a location sound recorder for major films out your way but always kept his home here in Virginia Beach. Unfortunately, he passed away a couple years back. He had stomach cancer but he was only 50 years old. I had him here just a few months before the cancer came back with a vengenace and he was awestuck by todays digital technology. I really wish I had owned the Toft console so that he could have heard just how amazing his Tascam recordings sounded 20 odd years later. Regardless, he was a fabulous engineer because he was so meticulous. So yep, as meticulous as you are, you can do it too, I am confident of that.

Regards,

Danny,

ps, sorry for all my crappy spelling.

 

[jjucius]

That's simply sick, jjucius...sicksicksick!

467 is the right stuff isn't it, Tim?

What condition is the DASH in, and the 320b?

That...is...a...whole...lot...of...gear...for...$331...sick.

Put up some pics.

Ah i just bought this for $100.00 with the remote, picking it up sat.

 

[sweetbeats]

What ARE you...some kinda deal magnet???

What is that thing anyway?

Impressive looking...

 

[jjucius]

It's a aces/studiocraft 2 inch 24 track analog recorder. cant find a whole lot on it but Bob dylan had one in his home studio in the 80's. The Traveling Wilbury's recorded there first few songs on it. so if it was good for them. it suppose to have otari heads. and the remote is still wraped in shrink wrap! i cant wait to get it. ..............now, what else do i need

Joe

 

[sweetbeats]

Um...................tape.

I'm going to vomit................

 

[jjucius]

I know it's been a while. i am going to pick up a Otari MTR 10-2-C 1/4in next week that is mint. i got it for $225.00 at least i have something to mix down to. are they good decks?
Now i have to get the studio done.