Tascam Mixer Help?

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BALKI

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Ok I've heard good reviews on the Tascam mixers & might bid on one here soon.
I currently have a Yamaha MG 10/2 & It doesn't have sub group or alt outs.

I was leaning toward a Mackie 1202-VLZ Pro 12-Channel Mixer, but heard it doesn't have buss outs.

I found a number of tascams up for bid that look good. Ijust don't know if they have the subgroup or buss or alt outs i need.

Anyways these are the ones i'm looking at. Can anyone help?

I'll be a lil more specific also I need something to hook up to my soundcard. I'm using a emu 0404 pci card.

http://cgi.ebay.com/TASCAM-M-1600-R...1QQcmdZViewItem

This is a m-1600 & there is a m-2600.
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BALKI said:
This is a m-1600 & there is a m-2600.
Edit/Delete Message
Click to expand...

I own the M-2600mkII. It has 8 group inserts and 8 AUX sends. Thats exactly what you want. I belive the M-1600 is a smaller ver. of the M 2600. So it should have 4&4. Let me tell you in my opinion unless I upgrade to a high end professional board either board is probably the best you can buy for a home studio. You should maybe think of purchasing the M-2600, that will be everything you need unless you plan to take your studio out of your basement. The pre's (trim) are very nice, compared to other boards I useed including Mackie. I cant tell you how great this board is, but i'll tell you I wouldn't trade it for any comparable board on the market. I run it with the Tascam MSR-16 (16 track reel to reel), dump to Pro Tools (used as a editing interface and hard disk recorder), mix again off the M-2600 and the recordings are unbeleivable.It's your choice all I can say is research, research, research. Happy bidding and good luck!
 
BALKI said:
Do you think I should record off a tape player if i bought that? Then go off into audition & edit & record? This is another one i found don't know what features it has.

http://cgi.ebay.com/TASCAM-3-8-TRACK-MIXER_W0QQitemZ7417076158QQcategoryZ41480QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Heres another one can you tell me about these plse?
http://cgi.ebay.com/TASCAM-M-208-M-...416599140QQcategoryZ23785QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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No. If you want to, you can record digital if you want with that board. A good A/D converter(s) is suggested though. Soundcards are good for tracking guitars and things like that for reference but recording bands for a demo or a EP A/D converters are by far a much better quality. If you bought a tape machine (reel to reel) you would definatly want an A/D converter. I use a Digi 001 (works only w/Pro tools software) and Alesis AI3 ADAT synced. That gives me 16 ins from my tape machine to my computer. You can apply that the same from the board. 16 outs board---} 16 ins A/D converter(s). A/D converters range from $200-$5000 and maybe more. AI3 is not bad and run about $350 Delta 10/10 is in about the same range. I wouldnt suggest going any lower in quality. something like that would be good for recording demo's.

If you are serious about recording dont buy or use cheep gear to cut corners. You end up spending more anyway. About Tascam. Any of their high end products give you professional capibilitys at a home studio price. They are quality built and give you great results. Many artist have recorded on these products.
 
BALKI said:
Do you think I should record off a tape player if i bought that? Then go off into audition & edit & record? This is another one i found don't know what features it has.

http://cgi.ebay.com/TASCAM-3-8-TRACK-MIXER_W0QQitemZ7417076158QQcategoryZ41480QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Heres another one can you tell me about these plse?
http://cgi.ebay.com/TASCAM-M-208-M-...416599140QQcategoryZ23785QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Click to expand...


None of these. Defanitly M2600. If you can get it, that is a board you can use for a long time. The M1600 has no direct outs for the individual channels (that I can see). The M2600 on ebay is the small ver Of whatI use but gives you the same options. That would be a awsome board to use. You'll be happy.
 
I thought alot of people in the studio use software to record? Do they just edit? See If I were to get that mixer I wanna be able to record using my soundcard into audition. Would the sound not be that great? Or would i be better getting a digital recorder also? See the thing is if i were to get a digital recorder with that mixer would i still be able to transfer the tracks i made onto the pc so people could listen?
 
I need to correct Dr. Jones...

the M-1600 is an 8 bus mixer. It has subgroup outs but they are Dsub connectors. The tape ins are also Dsub connectors. It's a very good board for the money and is comparable to the 2600. The 2600 has a few more features but the 1600 is no slouch. Like I said any questions you have please ask me I'll help you out.
 
What are dsub connectors? all i have are trs 1/4 patch cables.
 
elmerfunk said:
the M-1600 is an 8 bus mixer. It has subgroup outs but they are Dsub connectors. The tape ins are also Dsub connectors. It's a very good board for the money and is comparable to the 2600. The 2600 has a few more features but the 1600 is no slouch. Like I said any questions you have please ask me I'll help you out.
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Yeah it has subgroup outs (correct me if I am mistaken) but not direct channel outs. You would have to buss each track to one of the subgroups to make have an output for a single track. Kind of like how a live board works.The 2600 has direct out on each channel plus the 8 channel bus.
 
BALKI said:
I thought alot of people in the studio use software to record? Do they just edit? See If I were to get that mixer I wanna be able to record using my soundcard into audition. Would the sound not be that great? Or would i be better getting a digital recorder also? See the thing is if i were to get a digital recorder with that mixer would i still be able to transfer the tracks i made onto the pc so people could listen?
Click to expand...


Many do, you are hanging out in an anlog forum and I am an analog user. You can use that soundcard with just about any board on the market. Depends on how serious you are. You seem to want to purchase a nice mixing console. It was just suggestions. Adobe Audition will work w/ your soundcard or just about any A/D converter. In all, it is just a way to convert a mic signal(analog) to your computer(digital). Mic-->cable-->input board-->output board-->input soundcard-->input software-->output software-->output soundcard-->input monitors=noise

That is the best i can explain for what you need, any extras are on you. You limit yourself by using a soundcard, more than you limit your quality. You had qustions about mixing console. These are all just opinions.

Good luck!
 
Thnx for the suggestions. All my instrumentals I use to record as beats are all on pc. Basically all i want to do is use those to record with. This is what I have now as equipment.

Audio interfaces: Emu 0404 & the M-audio Quattro
Mixer: Yamaha MG 10/2


So would there be a way I can record "not" using Recording software on a pc , but still be able to use the instrumentals that are on my p.c.?

Like you said I don't think my recordings have been coming out well recording using software through my soundcard & mixer. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. So What do you think I should look at?

I also believe my emu- 0404 comes with both co-axial and optical S/PDIF digital input and output,

I wanna be able to use my pc only for editing.
Sory for all the questions, but I just wanna use a digital recorder to record me on the mic over my instrumentals i have on my p.c. I don't like the quality of sound that i have gotten using pc software to record. I don't have a big band a & I mainly use instrumentals to record with.

The gear I have now
Audio interface: EMU 0404 PCI Card
Mixer: Yamaha MG 10/2
 
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BALKI said:
Audio interfaces: Emu 0404 & the M-audio Quattro
Mixer: Yamaha MG 10/2


So would there be a way I can record "not" using Recording software on a pc , but still be able to use the instrumentals that are on my p.c.?

Like you said I don't think my recordings have been coming out well recording using software through my soundcard & mixer. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. So What do you think I should look at?

I also believe my emu- 0404 comes with both co-axial and optical S/PDIF digital input and output,

I wanna be able to use my pc only for editing.
Sory for all the questions, but I just wanna use a digital recorder to record me on the mic over my instrumentals i have on my p.c. I don't like the quality of sound that i have gotten using pc software to record. I don't have a big band a & I mainly use instrumentals to record with.

The gear I have now
Audio interface: EMU 0404 PCI Card
Mixer: Yamaha MG 10/2
Click to expand...



I looked at the equiptment you are running. Software is not your problem. Adobe Audition is a good program for you to work with for what you are doing. I suggest using that program for mixing. Your Yamaha MG 10/2 limits you to 2 outputs(stereo L&R). A mixer w/ directs outs on each channel is what you need if you wat to multitrack. The m- audio usb is fine that gives you 4 ins and 4 outs. A perfect board for you would be an Alesis studio 24. I have one if you are intrested. It is the board I started on and is not bad at all. You may also want to look at vocal mics. The quality of vocals are important in any mix. Use your software for tracking, mixing and editing for now. Find a board that will give you more options. If you are interested I will sell my Alesis studio 24 for $200 USD + shipping w/ an 8 channel snake.
 
Thnx for the info,but i wanna know if this is the main reason when I try to record my vocals solo with just my mic & hear the beat playing at the same time i can't. I can only record my vocals & not be able to hear my beat using this mixer. Will that mixer solve this?
 
BALKI said:
Thnx for the info,but i wanna know if this is the main reason when I try to record my vocals solo with just my mic & hear the beat playing at the same time i can't. I can only record my vocals & not be able to hear my beat using this mixer. Will that mixer solve this?
Click to expand...


Im cofused? iIs the solo button engaged? If that is the case, all you would hear is the vocals. Are your output L&R on your sound card and or m-audio in the input on your board? I am not sure what you are doing and I dont know if I can help. Some how that mixer will work with what you are doing. All I can say is to trace your signal from begining to end and see where there is a break. I thought you were ready to upgrade. If you are just starting out you need to read the owners manuals and diagrams.



Good Luck! :confused: You got me on this one :confused:
 
Sorry for all the questions, but I am able to record stereo just fine into audition with this mixer. It's just the sound quality isn't great at all. What is the big difference with having 4 buss outs towards the mixer i have? Will it make the sound come through better through the mixer opposed to the mixer I'm using that doesn't have the subgroup buss outs?
 
BALKI said:
Sorry for all the questions, but I am able to record stereo just fine into audition with this mixer. It's just the sound quality isn't great at all. What is the big difference with having 4 buss outs towards the mixer i have? Will it make the sound come through better through the mixer opposed to the mixer I'm using that doesn't have the subgroup buss outs?
Click to expand...

A.
"Sorry for all the questions, but I am able to record stereo just fine into audition with this mixer. It's just the sound quality isn't great at all."

a.
That has to do with the type of mic used and any sort of preamp(trim) and or EQ being used. A good mic, some sort of preamp and the right amount of EQ will solve this problem.




B.
"What is the big difference with having 4 buss outs towards the mixer i have? Will it make the sound come through better through the mixer opposed to the mixer I'm using that doesn't have the subgroup buss outs?"


b.
Generally when recording, you do not need to use busses at all on your board. Going back to what I said before, You would want a board that has direct outs for each channel(meaning channel 1 input board out channel 1 into computer----channel 2 same as channel 1, ect...) Busses play no roll unless you group mutiple channels (for instant, assign 5 drum tracks) to a bus. Then you have multiple channels under 1 stereo buss (5 tracks = 1 stereo out). They have no effect what so ever on the quailty of the signal coming out. Quality comes from the INPUT SIGNAL, D/A CONVERSION, EQ, and INPUT/OUTPUT GAIN STRUCTURE. These are the basics. Read some books because I nor no one else will be able to answer your question any better. Read you manuals. There is a lot of information in this thread that you have overlooked.

Good Luck !
 
Thnx alot again for your kind help. I think I understand what your saying now. Wow you might of saved me alot of money on buying a new mixer if thats not even the problem. I thought maybe buying a mixer with subgroup outs would maybe make sound be a lil better bc I've had people tell me I could very well be getting alot of feedback through my signal somehow without having busses. To your question about having it on solo, no I don't everything is just right in Audition & everything is routed just fine on this mixer. Do some people still add a pre-amp with their mixer? I mean could i use both?
I'm a lil confused on what to buy now & if maybe a pre-amp & condenser mic would be the way to go.
 
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