Tascam M520 Story...

  • Thread starter Thread starter sweetbeats
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sweetbeats said:
Quick and easy check is to exercise the SEND/RCV jumpers on channels 3 & 4. If that doesn’t help then start sniffing the signal along the input channel path to see where it breaks down. Start with the ACCESS SEND jack…is the signal good there? If so check the signal quality when monitoring one of the AUX sends set to pre-fade. Good there? No check the post-fade direct out jack. How is it there? Good? No? Report back where the signal breaks down. The above is just a good quick and dirty way to narrow down a little right from the control surface where the fault resides.
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Amazing thank you again!

Will go through this today or tomorrow and report back.
 
Quick and easy check is to exercise the SEND/RCV jumpers on channels 3 & 4.
- no fix. gave them a wiggle and a clean

If that doesn’t help then start sniffing the signal along the input channel path to see where it breaks down. Start with the ACCESS SEND jack…is the signal good there?
- The ACCESS SEND jack sounds distorted.
I also put the signal into the ACCESS RCV jack in 3 & 4 both sound relatively clean.

If so check the signal quality when monitoring one of the AUX sends set to pre-fade. Good there?
- yeah, sounds a tiny bit dirty but basically clean

No check the post-fade direct out jack. How is it there? Good? No?
- the Direct Out jack was distorted.
 
Is the signal distorted at the ACCESS SEND jack with sources connected to the MIC or LINE inputs, or is it only one or the other?
 
signal ISN'T distorted from the ACCESS SEND jack when attached to the MIC.

Seems the MIC inputs are clean, played them back in the 520s BUS outputs & there was no problem, so it seems the problem lies with the line in on 3 & 4.
 
Wait…you keep referring to the line inputs…you mean the TAPE IN jacks right? The only line level inputs for channels 3 & 4 are the TAPE IN jacks. The other inputs that are on RCA jacks are phono inputs and would surely distort with any line level source.
 
ah lordy, I feel like a dingbat! I ran everything into the line ins as it's all to be normalled to synths from a patch bay and didn't even clock it said phono on those channels. Thanks for your patience, and sorry I ran you down the garden path. They're working perfectly fine with the tape ins. Thank you! The desk sounds really good!

So the tape ins run at line level? That's great, haven't really thought about them, but they could be a great source for being able to run two lines into the one channel from my patch bay to make it like a fast patch when i'm recording synths. So 2 similar synths that I wouldn't use together could exist on one channel but could patch them out to another channel if need be.

And now i've also got a dedicated input for my record player lol
 
38869420 said:
I watched these before getting this desk a year or so ago, will watch again tonight. Cheers
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The beauty of these videos, is as you get more familiar with the mixer, the more the videos make sense. There’s always something new to learn.
 
Ahhhh I’m just glad it was something simple. That’s the best outcome.
38869420 said:
I watched these before getting this desk a year or so ago, will watch again tonight. Cheers
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Man I tell ya…I wish I still had an M-500 console on-hand…with the common questions that come up related to these consoles I sometimes wish I could do a follow up or re-do video that highlights some of the common misunderstandings and offers guidance. Glad what’s out there is helpful.
 
38869420 said:
ah lordy, I feel like a dingbat! I ran everything into the line ins as it's all to be normalled to synths from a patch bay and didn't even clock it said phono on those channels. Thanks for your patience, and sorry I ran you down the garden path. They're working perfectly fine with the tape ins. Thank you! The desk sounds really good!

So the tape ins run at line level? That's great, haven't really thought about them, but they could be a great source for being able to run two lines into the one channel from my patch bay to make it like a fast patch when i'm recording synths. So 2 similar synths that I wouldn't use together could exist on one channel but could patch them out to another channel if need be.

And now i've also got a dedicated input for my record player lol
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Ahhhh I’m just glad it was something simple. That’s the best.

So do you have the instrument inputs on 1 & 2 connected as line inputs as well?

Yes…the TAPE IN jacks are -10dBv line level. And I like your thinking about the two line level inputs and interfacing with the patchbay. It’s similar to what I’m doing with my Studer console which has 16-20 stereo line inputs, each with A and B inputs. I put these on the patch field and have complete flexibility of switch-selectable mono line inputs, two sets, or two stereo inputs. You’re applying the same concept to the M-520. It’s practical.
 
sweetbeats said:
Ahhhh I’m just glad it was something simple. That’s the best.

So do you have the instrument inputs on 1 & 2 connected as line inputs as well?

Yes…the TAPE IN jacks are -10dBv line level. And I like your thinking about the two line level inputs and interfacing with the patchbay. It’s similar to what I’m doing with my Studer console which has 16-20 stereo line inputs, each with A and B inputs. I put these on the patch field and have complete flexibility of switch-selectable mono line inputs, two sets, or two stereo inputs. You’re applying the same concept to the M-520. It’s practical.
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yeah i've only ever had my 388 and 2 mackie mixers, so this kind of routable flexibility is new to me! It's good to know everything ive got can be accessible directly from the desk without repatching. Huge bonus!

And yeah, have 1 & 2 on the Instrument in RCA jacks to my patch bay. Might leave the 1/4 inch jacks unpatched so I can just access directly behind the desk, as it's going to be off the wall so it'll be easy to get back there for patching in guitars etc.

Are the VU meter lights hard to replace? I noted you mentioned in your video that it's good to find one with all the bulbs working, which i've only got 4 of the 12 lighting up.
 
Yeah I think, compared to the 388 and most smaller format Mackie consoles the M-500 series does offer a good amount of functionality from the control surface…separate trim and connection controls for the various inputs. The other thing I think you’ll find is the M-500 consoles have some really class-leading monitor facilities; a lot of flexibility both between immune monitoring using the AUX busses as well as the separate monitor mixer…with a variety of inputs and outputs and access points, the possible configurations are pretty endless.

Meter lamp replacement on an M-500 series console is a lot easier than a lot of other consoles. I did a forum search for “M520 meter” and came up with this thread:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/threads/tascam-m520-meter-bridge-bulb-replacement.270724/

Note it’s pretty old to start, but cross-links to additional info in this very thread (post #222), and if you follow it all the way to the end the latest post is from just a couple years ago with more current info about lamp specs and availability. If that info doesn’t answer your questions just come back here and post the specific questions that remain.
 
This is great, thanks. I'll tackle the VUs later as the place I could find that stock those bulbs you've linked don't ship to Australia.

Anyway, I'm drawing up my patch diagrams for the 520 and trying to figure out the best practice to patch it into my 10 channel interface. Got the 8 bus outs going directly into the inputs, that's all cool, but wondering what's the cleanest way to get the interface stereo out back in. Through the Monitor / Spare inputs?
 
Hey, @sweetbeats, I hate to bother you with this but I really have no clue what is happening. I hope it's some stupid operator error.
I've been running my M-520 for several years now, perfectly, only a few scratchy pots from time to time but never any issues with sound output.
Last night I was using it to not only play 2 channels from my computer but also two channels with some small synths plugged in. Sounded perfect.
Shut down as usual last night, nothing switched, nothing flipped, powered up tonight and no sound output from the board. I know this because the iMac audio goes through some outboard gear via patchbay and it's lighting up just fine. All busses are properly switched, all ON buttons are pushed and lit up. Everything on the board appears just fine.
What could have gone wrong all of a sudden like this? Some kind of output amp?

I've also done some testing and I’m getting sound output from the computer and other components in the studio. My monitor controller is working, as are my monitors. Then it just occurred to me, sound from the computer is going into channels 19 & 20 via 1/4” TS cables from the patchbay and I’m not getting any indication that sound is going through the meters (set for 1 & 2 buss). But I’ve also tested channels 1 & 2 via 7 & 8 buss that is set in the monitor section to master outs.
Something else I just noticed is when I put channels in SOLO, the SOLO red light on the monitoring section does not illuminate like it usually does.
I’m super confused as to what to look for but feel that I have tested the simple stupid stuff.

I have a backup board in storage (ugly for parts only) that I think works just fine but not fully tested beyond power and test tones.

Thanks for any and all help you can provide.
 

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Easy step 1 is to re-seat the power supply umbilical at the console and at the power supply. If that makes no difference, disconnect the power supply from the console, get out your multimeter and check that all the DC power rails are outputting correct DC voltage, and then check for AC voltage on each…there should be none. I’m happy to provide more detail if you need direction, but you’ll have to let me know. The Pinot for the power supply is in the manual. When you have troubles like this, always start with verifying the power supply is going what it’s supposed to do.

Do you have a spare power supply with the spare console?

Had any severe weather in your parts in the last 24 hours?
 
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Thanks for your reply! I have the manual with schematics. I have a multimeter. I reset the umbilical on both, opened up the power supply to check fuses. All were good and it looks clean and good in there. See pic. Where do I test the “rails”?
 

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No spare power supply, that’s how I got the extra console because it didn’t have one and they couldn’t test it.
 
And yes, we had 20-50 mph winds on Friday and a bank of storms that went from west to east later that day. Didn’t do much here but did a bunch of damage when they got to the flat lands on the east side of Arkansas and Missouri. I didn’t price any brown outs or power outages. Although we have had brownouts in the past. I really need to ground the power supply. I have it plugged into a Furman power conditioner.
 
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