what should i use?

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authue

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i'm purchasing a tascam 424mkII four track. what would be good equipment to complete the system..amps, monitors, etc. i just don't know what would be too much, not enough.. i am on a budget..who isn't? haha. any help would be much appreciated. thanks
 
The biggest dildo you can find!

Good Luck ;)

OK, seriously, how about giving us some more info here, like what exactly you need. You mention amps and monitors, well personally I don't think I would bother spending real money on that until you got a better recording device. Headphones would be the farthest I'd go to monitor anything from a 4 track. I'd say ditch the 4 track idea. For $500 you could put together a computer that would be a much more capable and flexible recording device in the long run. It seems you might already have a computer since you were able to post this (or you may be using a public computer), but if so, take your 4 track budget and spend it on a decent sound card. If you're computer-less, consider getting one with just a basic sound card like a SoundBlaster Live and plan to upgrade later.
 
That's not exactly the response I was expecting..

You're right, i should have given you more info..

i want the tascam 424 unit for easy demos and songwriting while at college. i do have a nice little home studio:

yamaha 01V digital mixer, fostex D108 multitrack, panasonic SV-3800 DAT, mackie HR824 powered monitors, and a roland KR-575 music workstation.

here is my dilemma..i can't take that stuff to school. so i was thinking of being practical and buying a nice little four track to follow ideas and to keep my music creativity alive at school.

however, i did just invest in a brand new PC with a great soundcard. the computer is not more than 2 weeks old. while the computer is not supposed to be used for recording purposes..do you think it would be best to forget about the four track and invest in a computer based audio recording program? and if so..what?

thanks for the reply. hopefully this message is easier to respond to than the previous.

authue
 
Personally, I'd go with the computer. You just want to scetch out ideas right? If the stock sound card is full duplex just pick up a used Mackie 1202 or some such beast and a mic. You can get N-Track for cheep for recording software and yer off to the races. This way if you happen to record a great take of something at school, the fidelity will be high enough to use at home on you "real" rig, ya know what I mean?:D
 
No dildo?

Please forego the 4 track and just focus on the computer. Even ignoring all the signal processing you can do with plugins and sequencing/editing programs, you will simply have much better sound quality than you'll get out of any cassette 4 track. I hate to say it, but I would even replace that home system with a DAW! I know that's not the answer you're looking for, but I would bet that if you go the DAW route for college, when you come home that outboard stuff will seem pretty useless by comparison. Once you learn something like Cubase or Sonar, you can simply do a lot more within a single program than a whole rack full of reasonably-priced outboard gear can do. You do lose that "hands-on" sort of feel but if you really need that there are actually a number of new controllers that have faders/pots/switches to use on a DAW.
 
Usally you should dedicate your a computer to just AUDIO. But if your using N-track, which does not use a lot of memory or other computer power, then may be it will work. Just get a Shure -57 and a Art MP and your set.
 
If you guys are looking for a 4 track , look in the Gear for Sale section here.

I have a Tascam 564 MD recorder for sale, much more flexable than a cassette recorder.

It's in perfect shape.
 
Lets see: You have a nice studio, but it isn't very portable, so your plan was to have a 4-track to be more portable. Is that correct?

Or, do you need an additional, non-portable, setup at a second location (school)?

In teh first case, a compter is right out. In the second case, if you are comfortable with using a computer, thats a better option. But in the second case you'll just end up building another studio, really... :-)
 
I just bought a tascam 414 for demos/notepad. I have a KORG D16 and expensive mics etc but the 414 is to take around with me without being that concerned about it's well-being. All I use in conjunction with it is my AKG headphones, an sm-57 and 58; that's it. I either aim to capture the band practicing, jammin' or 'creating' and am not concerned about the quality as long as the sound is captured. If I'm using it alone I plug the guitar's direct (no effects or anything), a sub £100 drum machine (one you play, not program) and my standard and very old keyboard. I don't use monitors (headphones soley).
 
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