TEAC A-3340S what mixer to use?

  • Thread starter Thread starter vihuela
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Thanks for all the detailed suggestions! It will take some time to fully go through them all but I’m leaning towards the 2A/M-20 idea. Keeping the gear relatively period correct seems appropriate and in line with my usual relatively sparse arrangements for acoustic guitar driven material. The learning curve is pretty steep here even for the A-3340 itself but this helps to get me started! Many thanks to you all for sharing your experience.
 
Thanks for considering the mixer I suggested, if you do look online for any, keep in mind, what I mentioned:

Its very useful to have the MB-20 meter bridge. If you look on Ebay, you will see Model 2, and 2A's, but not too many with the MB-20, which
usually adds to its price.

There were two versions of the 2A whereby one had faux wood side panels that look very nice and serve to tilt the MB-20 upward, which makes the 4 VU meters
easier to see. The other version has a bracket that attaches to the MB-20, which isnt tilted upward as much, though its still easy to see. Once you get used to the MB-20,
its a bit harder to adjust to say, a Tascam M-106, which only has two meters and are face-up- I have one, and find that I have to put a thick book underneath it to prop it up to see the meters at a better angle. Thats not to say the M-106 is not worthy, if you see a good deal on one, you might want to go for it, and even though its only 2 meters, its already part of the mixer, whereas with a 2A, you would need the additional MB-20, unless you dont mind working without one.

If you do get one, the hookup between the 3340, 2A and MB-20 is shown in the MB-20 op manual with a diagram, you just need some extra rca-rca cables to make the connections. The manual should be found online, but if you cant seem to find it, I can provide a copy or post the hookup diagram.

Some folks mentioned the concern of no xlr connectors or phantom power (which is also the same on M-106 by the way), so just curious what mic are you planning to use to record, is it a condensor mic?

You Can still consider something like an M-30 which came out in '82 (the Teac 2A/MB-20 was still being made, Teac vs Tascam overlap) It might look more complicated, but if you look and compare you will notice it borrowed ideas that originally go back to the 2A, 4 meters, 4 channel assign buttons (just added some colors to the pushbutton), etc.. The humble 2A is actually more ergonomic- note its upward slope, whereas the M-30 controls on the main area are at the same height as the meters- not thats it bad, its just an observation.

If you see an M-30 in well maintained condition and within your budget, you might choose that one as well and 'grow into it', but anyhow- a 2A/MB-20 can still get you going and allow you to enjoy your hobby, especially if you appreciate the vintage vibe it has.

Another very basic, low price mixer is a Tascam M-06, which can be found on Ebay, but I dont think its cut out for multitrack recording which a 2A can do with its output busses and channel assign switches. But you can still find the M-06 op manual online and its useful to read, as it shows diagrams to make it easier to visualize signal paths from the input thru the channels to the output.
 
BeatleFred said:
Thanks for considering the mixer I suggested, if you do look online for any, keep in mind, what I mentioned:

Its very useful to have the MB-20 meter bridge. If you look on Ebay, you will see Model 2, and 2A's, but not too many with the MB-20, which
usually adds to its price.

There were two versions of the 2A whereby one had faux wood side panels that look very nice and serve to tilt the MB-20 upward, which makes the 4 VU meters
easier to see. The other version has a bracket that attaches to the MB-20, which isnt tilted upward as much, though its still easy to see. Once you get used to the MB-20,
its a bit harder to adjust to say, a Tascam M-106, which only has two meters and are face-up- I have one, and find that I have to put a thick book underneath it to prop it up to see the meters at a better angle. Thats not to say the M-106 is not worthy, if you see a good deal on one, you might want to go for it, and even though its only 2 meters, its already part of the mixer, whereas with a 2A, you would need the additional MB-20, unless you dont mind working without one.

If you do get one, the hookup between the 3340, 2A and MB-20 is shown in the MB-20 op manual with a diagram, you just need some extra rca-rca cables to make the connections. The manual should be found online, but if you cant seem to find it, I can provide a copy or post the hookup diagram.

Some folks mentioned the concern of no xlr connectors or phantom power (which is also the same on M-106 by the way), so just curious what mic are you planning to use to record, is it a condensor mic?

You Can still consider something like an M-30 which came out in '82 (the Teac 2A/MB-20 was still being made, Teac vs Tascam overlap) It might look more complicated, but if you look and compare you will notice it borrowed ideas that originally go back to the 2A, 4 meters, 4 channel assign buttons (just added some colors to the pushbutton), etc.. The humble 2A is actually more ergonomic- note its upward slope, whereas the M-30 controls on the main area are at the same height as the meters- not thats it bad, its just an observation.

If you see an M-30 in well maintained condition and within your budget, you might choose that one as well and 'grow into it', but anyhow- a 2A/MB-20 can still get you going and allow you to enjoy your hobby, especially if you appreciate the vintage vibe it has.

Another very basic, low price mixer is a Tascam M-06, which can be found on Ebay, but I dont think its cut out for multitrack recording which a 2A can do with its output busses and channel assign switches. But you can still find the M-06 op manual online and its useful to read, as it shows diagrams to make it easier to visualize signal paths from the input thru the channels to the output.
Click to expand...
Thanks gain for all the info. There’s an mb-20 on music go round website right now. Seems a bit pricey I think. No mention of the condition but I can email. Most often I’ve been using a dynamic lately, although I have a couple condensers and if need be I’ll just get an external phantom unit if I go with the mb-20 or similar.
 
I did check the site you mentioned. That 2A/MB-20 looks pretty good, not like others I've seen on Ebay that dont appear as well maintained, thus why the price
is more. And having the MB-20 adds to its value. Some folks buy MB-20's that are listed by itself, without the 2A, as you can connect other devices to it for metering purposes, or just for some extra VU meter eye-candy.

Its always a good idea to reach out to the seller and get some details and background history. Clarify if the unit is being sold as-is or if they did any servicing on it, whether its cleaning the pots/switches, or any calibration and so forth. Based on that, you can see if they are negotiable on the price.
 
Ps: You might be eager to do some of your own recording after you choose a mixer, but you can also start to become more familiarized with a mixer's signal routing functions without needing to set up mics and so forth.

One thing I found useful in the learning process, if you have a CD player, you can connect it to the mixer and record songs from your collection of music cd's onto the A-3340, just like many folks who did 'mix' tapes onto cassette back in the day.


Unlike cassettes, with a multitrack, you can record cd's in stereo pairs, such as 1&3 and 2&4. Without a mixer, you would have to connect the cd player to your hi fi amp's tape/rec play jacks to record and play back- just as it was with cassette decks, but since the A-3340 is a Multi-track, it has extra jacks, thus without a mixer, you would need to move cables from the amp's rec/play jacks to the 3340 every time that you moved from 1&3 to 2&4 to dub music onto from the cd player.

But with a mixer, such as the 2A/MB-20, you dont need to do that, you can use the mixer with its channel assign pushbuttons to select either 1&3, or 2&4, after you hook the up the equipment per the diagram in the MB-20 meter bridge op manual.

Thus, you can get some practice with settings levels and using the mixer to route signals, which can give you a headstart to gain some understanding when you begin doing your own recordings, being you already have some hands-on practice from dubbing cd's.

Its also good in that once you make a cd mix tape, you can play it back from time to time when you're not doing your own recordings- so that your A-3340 does not sit inactive too long, which is usually not beneficial for vintage tape machines, its good to give it some "exercise" on a regular basis.
 
I love how my vintage 1978 Sansui G-9000 receiver matches up nicely with the A-3440 & 2A/MB-20.

12 VU meter eye candy when illuminated at night in the basement mancave :)
 

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"I’ll just get an external phantom unit if I go with the mb-20 or similar" Be wary of some of these. I bought one some years ago and it could barely put out 2mA before the voltage began to droop. I do recall a unit that was powered from a USB port being quite good.

The other thing I would check is that the 48V is properly isolated from the output to the pre amp and that there are no big voltage pulses as P power is turned on and off. Vintage kit such as discussed here was not designed to cope with 20V+ transients at their XLRs!

Dave.
 
So I was able to get tape on the A-3340S and confirm the transport works and it can record to all 4 tracks by taking a recording I have and feeding into the unit (thanks BeatleFred for that suggestion and all the others). I decided to go with the 2A/MB-20 combo based on availability etc. If I continue with this I can upgrade or not in the future. Time to get a bunch of RCA connectors. One other thing, I recording on high speed and the machine had mechanical noise to the point that I think it would be picked up on a quiet recording. Don't know if this is normal or if I need to look at some of the parts or just put the unit further from the mic in the future, prob both.
 
vihuela said:
So I was able to get tape on the A-3340S and confirm the transport works and it can record to all 4 tracks by taking a recording I have and feeding into the unit (thanks BeatleFred for that suggestion and all the others). I decided to go with the 2A/MB-20 combo based on availability etc. If I continue with this I can upgrade or not in the future. Time to get a bunch of RCA connectors. One other thing, I recording on high speed and the machine had mechanical noise to the point that I think it would be picked up on a quiet recording. Don't know if this is normal or if I need to look at some of the parts or just put the unit further from the mic in the future, prob both.
Click to expand...
 
BeatleFred said:
Thanks for considering the mixer I suggested, if you do look online for any, keep in mind, what I mentioned:

Its very useful to have the MB-20 meter bridge. If you look on Ebay, you will see Model 2, and 2A's, but not too many with the MB-20, which
usually adds to its price.

There were two versions of the 2A whereby one had faux wood side panels that look very nice and serve to tilt the MB-20 upward, which makes the 4 VU meters
easier to see. The other version has a bracket that attaches to the MB-20, which isnt tilted upward as much, though its still easy to see. Once you get used to the MB-20,
its a bit harder to adjust to say, a Tascam M-106, which only has two meters and are face-up- I have one, and find that I have to put a thick book underneath it to prop it up to see the meters at a better angle. Thats not to say the M-106 is not worthy, if you see a good deal on one, you might want to go for it, and even though its only 2 meters, its already part of the mixer, whereas with a 2A, you would need the additional MB-20, unless you dont mind working without one.

If you do get one, the hookup between the 3340, 2A and MB-20 is shown in the MB-20 op manual with a diagram, you just need some extra rca-rca cables to make the connections. The manual should be found online, but if you cant seem to find it, I can provide a copy or post the hookup diagram.

Some folks mentioned the concern of no xlr connectors or phantom power (which is also the same on M-106 by the way), so just curious what mic are you planning to use to record, is it a condensor mic?

You Can still consider something like an M-30 which came out in '82 (the Teac 2A/MB-20 was still being made, Teac vs Tascam overlap) It might look more complicated, but if you look and compare you will notice it borrowed ideas that originally go back to the 2A, 4 meters, 4 channel assign buttons (just added some colors to the pushbutton), etc.. The humble 2A is actually more ergonomic- note its upward slope, whereas the M-30 controls on the main area are at the same height as the meters- not thats it bad, its just an observation.

If you see an M-30 in well maintained condition and within your budget, you might choose that one as well and 'grow into it', but anyhow- a 2A/MB-20 can still get you going and allow you to enjoy your hobby, especially if you appreciate the vintage vibe it has.

Another very basic, low price mixer is a Tascam M-06, which can be found on Ebay, but I dont think its cut out for multitrack recording which a 2A can do with its output busses and channel assign switches. But you can still find the M-06 op manual online and its useful to read, as it shows diagrams to make it easier to visualize signal paths from the input thru the channels to the output.
Click to expand...
Any chance you could provide a copy of the MB-20 op manual? I’ve been reading the 2a manual but can’t find a copy of the MB-20 op manual. I have a copy of the MB-20 service manual though. Trying to understand how to hook it up to the 3340 and how many single rca cables to get since I have none (is it possible I’ll need 16?) - 4 to the MB-20 inputs from the 2a mixer - 4 from the MB-20 outputs to the 3340 - 4 back from the 3340 to the tape inputs on the MB-20 and 4 from the fold back on the MB-20 to the 2a?
 
Hifi engine does not seem to be accepting new registrations, only old ones.

I took a pic of the MB-20 manual that shows the connections.
 

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Hopefully, the above diagram is readable? I have the original manual, it was written in the 70's, so no fancy desktop publishing on computers back then, otherwise, it would have been nice to space out the lines for the connections so as to not make people squint with their eyes. But the verbal instructions should compensate for that, and of course, outputs always go to inputs to make it as basic as can be.

Yes, its good to have a supply of rca-rca cables that are long enough to reach depending on how close you have the 2A/MB-20 to your A-3340. If you can find a variety pack of color cables that might make it easier, I have gotten some new-old-stock ones on Ebay.

Just take it step by step, as its easy to make a wiring error, and then its a hassle to find you are not getting any signal after all the effort of doing the entire hookup.

My suggestion would be that after you finish, if you have a cd player, connect it to the 2A. Note that there will be only two inputs, the E & F Line In's for that, since all the others were taken up by the connections with the MB-20. If getting access behind it is tight, consider using a Patchbay.
Your stereo hi fi amp connects to the MB-20 monitor outs as shown in the diagram.

You can then make some copies of songs from the cd onto the A-3340, which allows you to get some practice with the signal routing, The E input is for the left channel of music, and F is for the right. You can record in pairs, such as 1&3 and when the end of the tape comes, you can record more songs on the other pair 2&4. Try out the 4 channel assign pushbuttons and the MB-20 buss and tape buttons while doing this during recording and playback and you should soon be able to get a good grasp of the signal routing. And then you can proceed to setting up a mic and trying your own recordings and overdubs.

Note: this is just My own suggestion, if you want to get right to your owm music, thats fine. But I found it was very helpful in my own understanding to try with cd music first with any of my mixers, be it 2A, or the 106, M30 and M-1516 to verify I can input a source and assign it to various channels and be able to hear it back on headphones and speakers. Thats how I found out with some mixers- how come if I have two separate left and right connections for the cd player and I record it- why am I only getting mono on playback- its not that way when I connect a cd player to separate left and right on my stereo amp? Then I discovered, a-ha! have to turn the left channel panpot all the way to left and the right pot all the way to the right- and then glorious stereo is heard! I found that these are easy to grasp ways to learn, compared to alot of technical mumbo jumbo from some folks who know alot, but never really know how to simplify things enough for a novice.

Ps: You will also notice, after you were to fill up your tape with music on all 4 tracks from the cd player, and you listen to the songs, you will choose either 1&3 or 2&4, but ALL four meters will keep moving, even though you are only listening to two tracks, not all 4. Its not a big deal, just an observation, I would have preferred if the recorder had a switch built in to stop the two VU meters that are not being used on playback, but its not anything vital.
 
Thanks so much! Yes I can read the diagram and the explanation - very helpful and it verifies the connections I thought would be needed. Past experience has taught me to make the back of any unit easily accessible so you don’t lose your mind. Also I will definitely take your suggestion about feeding a recording into the system to get used to the connections and how to route things since admittedly I don’t understand that just yet. I’ll check around for some kind of deal on rca cables since I’ll certainly need a lot of them as well as an XLR to TS adapter that I think I’ll need to get a mic into the 2A.
 
vihuela said:
Thanks so much! Yes I can read the diagram and the explanation - very helpful and it verifies the connections I thought would be needed. Past experience has taught me to make the back of any unit easily accessible so you don’t lose your mind. Also I will definitely take your suggestion about feeding a recording into the system to get used to the connections and how to route things since admittedly I don’t understand that just yet. I’ll check around for some kind of deal on rca cables since I’ll certainly need a lot of them as well as an XLR to TS adapter that I think I’ll need to get a mic into the 2A.
Click to expand...
Rca cables should be easy to find either on Ebay, Amazon etc. Ebay might have some vintage Teac/Tascam ones. Back in the day Teac made a 109A transformer, though its long discontinued but you can find other substitutes to make your mic compatible with the 2A.
 
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You get what you pay for. I would not buy the cheapest cables you can find in whatever online marketplace you choose. They will not stand the test of time and will not pass signal as well or shield your signal as well. That does not mean you need to spend a mint. That’s a pursuit of expensive diminishing returns. But a set of standard-grade Hosa cables will last and perform well.
 
I don't usually suggest this these days because cables are now so cheap and so good from online suppliers that it is not worth doing for small quantities but, making your own cables, en masse CAN get you a better product a bit cheaper but also sharpen up your soldering skills no end!

You don't need to buy 2 sorts of cable, a modestly priced 2 core shielded microphone cable can do double duty for balanced and unbalanced work, just tie the 'cold' wire back to screen* for Unbal/TS. Where you have "fixed site" gear, a mixer to a tape machine say or in and out of a patch bay, it is worth getting small OD , ~3mm foil shielded cable. MUCH cheaper, has 100% RFI coverage and with the drain wire, so quick and easy to prep and solder.

Jack plugs can be bought in large quantities and are usually very serviceable...not Nukes but then you only really need those for hard life gigging work. I would ALWAYS use a Neutrik for a valve guitar amp speaker out e.g.
Cheaper plugs will lack a good cable clamp and strain relief but the clever use of heat shrink sleeving can fix that. Shrink can also be used to colour code your cables.

But then, I always enjoyed making up and testing cables...YMMV!

*This technique makes a guitar lead of minimum capacitance and the cold tie back kills any microphonic 'thumps'.

Dave.
 
One thing to keep in mind: if your rca connectors need shining up, this product does a great job on that, and the time is ideal before hooking up all the cables.
 

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