Tascam M-520

[Mr. Moon]

Hi. I have a quick question or two about a friend's Tascam M-520, as I now record mainly in the digital world and we hope to tie his analog gear to my digital gear to make beautiful music together, so to speak....

Anywho, "The" question(s): ...Does the M-520 have mic preamps? I know that the board has XLR INs, but does that mean that it has mic pre's? And if it does, what kind of quality are they compared to let's say the M-Audio DMP3 or Studio Projects VTB-1? Any upgrade pre's worth mentioning, for future reference?

I'm sure this is a very basic question, but as I'm not familiar with using the M-520 at all, I just wanted to ask those who are "in the know" about this board.

TIA!

-mr moon

 

[regebro]

Yes, it has mic preamps. I don't know how good they are, but should be good enough to start out with, and possible get some more preamps to add color later on. Unless the 520 preamps are a weird glitch in Tascam history.

 

[Mr. Moon]

Yes, it has mic preamps. I don't know how good they are, but should be good enough to start out with, and possible get some more preamps to add color later on. Unless the 520 preamps are a weird glitch in Tascam history.

Thanks!! I tried taking a look at his "manual" (AKA: novel) for the M-520, but nowhere could I find the word "preamp" or anything like that. Then, before I knew it, I was looking at these board schematics ...everything after that is a blurr.

I have a few ideas from the "rack" forum for some pre's to add color, but I'll keep searching for now.

Thanks again!

-mr moon

 

[blues-hacker]

M-520 pre-amps

are actually quite good, as is the whole board - it is the next generation up from the 300-320 series. I have a 320B, which also has very good pre-amps - though if you're looking for a specific coloring, you will probably want to go outboard.

For a good basic analog board, though, the 520 is a killer.

b-h

 

[The Ghost of FM]

Re: M-520 pre-amps

are actually quite good, as is the whole board

I concur.

The M520 was a true professional level board in its day and it's sound quality and specs hold up well in today's digital recording environment.

I too own a couple of TASCAM mixers from the 300 series and they sound great! The 500 series is even better.

Why they don't mention "Microphone Pre-amps is because any perspective client of the day and era knew this was a given, automatic feature that is there. Mixers without mic pres were the exception, not the rule back then.

Cheers!