Category: Jam Session
I brought this up a long time ago but can't remember the suggestions offered, so please forgive me. I want to do some home recordings and am looking for a decent four-track recorder. I mean the ones for music, not the special ones for the blind. I want it to be under $100 and to have both a microphone and a headphone jack. I might be plugging in a patch cord, so the mic jack should be the standard size used in walkmans. A good internal mic would also help. I'm not really sure how to use a four-track recorder, so any suggestions would also be appreciated. I guess I'd record the first track, rewind the tape and then do the second one and so on? How do I make sure that I start the subsequent tracks at the same time so that they're in sync when I play them and can I play my recording on a regular recorder afterword or do I need to make some kind of final track? Something tells me no but I'd rather know before I do it.
you would have to connect the four track machine to a stereo tape deck or your computer and playback all 4 tracks at once with the levels set where you want and have the other machine recording that play back to get it "mixed down" most of these have xlr imputs for the microphone and quarter inch inputs for plugging in other stuff. the only headphone size jack is usually the one for headphones. the tascam PortaStudio and Fostex x series were good in there day and probably can be found on ebay with in your price range. However for what you are gonna spend on all that you can spend on a usb soundcard and use some software to do the same on your modern mac or windows pc. it will be alot easier and you can do it all with the same machine including mixdown.
For me, if I'm gonna record music that I'm making, a computer won't cut it. I want the real deal. I already have a microphone with the large adapter, a patch cord, a y adapter two two-track recorders plus a stereo and I'm very familiar with recording from one machine to another with that method, since that's how I used to record my cds onto cassette and grab my internet radio streams when my stereo with the cd player and dual cassette broke and before I found a cd to mp3 converter and mp3 recording software. Anyway, I've heard great things about the tascam PortaStudio but had no idea that I could find it that cheap! I'll definitely check it and the Fostex x series out. Thanks.
If you want the real deal, look for a 4-track reel to reel machine. The bandwidth on casettes is low, and the noise floor is high, so your audio will degenerate with every bounce. What most of us who want the analog sound do now is to record into the computer, and mix down onto 2-track reel to reel using a half-track machine. You're talking money for that set-up, as tape alone costs a fortune now, but it does work, and the analog warmth that our ears want is there.
I'll definitely go reall to real if I ever go professional. But right now, this is just for practice and for me. But thanks for the suggestion.
So I finally got around to checking out the Tascam Portastudio line, since several people recommended it to me. It sounds wonderful and like the perfect solution to my recording needs. Now, I just have to decide if I want the Tascam 4-track Portastudio multitrack recorder 414 MkII
http://www.audiomasterclass.com/arc.cfm?a=tascam-4-track-portastudio-multitrack-recorder-414-mkii
the Tascam Portastudio 424 MKIII
http://www.harmony-central.com/Events/WNAMM96/Tascam/424.html
or an older model. I don't use affects or midis and obviously can't see the display, so if there's an older model that's cheaper but doesn't have these things, I'll gladly take it. However, I would definitely appreciate something that makes mixing and transferring to a two-track recorder easier. Have any of you worked with this product line? If so, which version and how did you like it? If you've worked with another brand but found it to be a good choice, what was it and why? I've also gotta check out the Fostex X series, since I just reread that.
I think I got it! It's the MF-P01 from the Portastudio line.
http://www.amazon.com/TASCAM-MF-P01-Track-Cassette-Recorder/dp/B0002DUW44
I don't shop at amazon, because of accessibility issues, so I'll have to see if I can find it somewhere else. If not, then I'll see if Spiros could get it for me. Hell, for $39, it's practically a steal! The other places that had it are all out of stock but even there prices were as low as $99. I checked out the Fostex X series and kept finding the X -12 4-track Cassette Recorder. It sounded nice but the price was out of my range. Plus, some of the features were too visual for me to benefit from them. So, now that I've found my recorder, I need a microphone! lol Any suggestions there? I'd like something under $50 if possible. Then again, I could probably get an older model that was once expensive at a very cheap price now.
i used the fostex x34 myself just because of it's features to price comparison to the comparable tascam unit at the time .. i remember the x 12 looking fairly straight forward from a blind user point. for inexpensive microphone if you can find them online the behringer xm8500 i believe .. its a clone of a shure sm58 and is about $20 vs the $99 of the Shure.
Love it. I'll definitely look around. Thanks.
This is cool! I found several Tascam MF-P01s under $30 with decent shipping and several behringer xm8500s, again under $30, all on ebay today! The microphones even had a few listings with free shipping. Someone will hopefully be getting a recorder very soon... I've heard of mixers. Do I need those or will I just be able to play the tracks at once onto the 2-track recorder with a patch cord? Should I look for high quality tape, like the kind used in studios, or is a regular tape okay? I want something that will last and sound great and that I can send off as a demo if necessary.
There are a fair ammount of recorders out there that are at least half way accessible. I've used a zoom mrs8 8track for 5 years now, and while it doesn't provide quite the level of control I'm looking for, it is a good beginner recorder. It uses a 1 gig flashcard and lets you put music dirrectly onto a windows or mac pc. This is a decent digital recorder, and you wouldn't have to mess around with tapes. Granted it won't give you that old school analog sound, but it is one option thats out there. Hope you find what you're looking for.
Thanks for the suggestion, but as I said, I'm looking for purely analogue stuff. Also, if something is only halfway accessible, I never buy it. I only go for things where I can use every feature, or at least well over 90% of them. That said, how accessible are reel to reel recorders? I don't imagine I'd be able to use them that well but I could be wrong. Do they require alot of care? How fragile is the tape used in them and can I record one track at a time or do I need to record all at once?
Yes, reel to reel should be the eventual goal for anolog, however, it's best to start out with an all in one four track or eight track etc so you can get concepts down. If you use reel to reel, then you have to add in a mixing desk to the equation, which means you're talking about more money, more space, and a slower learning curve.
and, that is good you found some porta studios on e bay. after you recieve it, you should clean the deck heads with rubbing alcahol. and, if you can find a source, use new high quality cassettes. thirty or sixty minute are best. I would not bother with the ninety minute or above blank tapes as the tape is more likely to snap being run at higher speed, and, the sound quality will not be as good.
Thanks. I was curious about tapes too. I need to look for ones that say high quality? I know this is the case with vhs tapes but am not sure about cassettes, since I usually buy good ones for music but have never bought one for recording like this.
Oh yeah, and do I need a mixer with the Portastudio?
no the porta studios have the built in mixer and all the controls you just need the patch cable and the stereo recorder to mix down to .
Excellent! Thanks for the help guys. You're great!
Here's something that I forgot to ask. Say that I've recorded track 1 and now want to record track 2. How can I insure that the tape will be starting at the same place and that I'll be starting the singing etc. at the right time? That is, can I listen to one track while recording another?
yes and be sure to unarm track 1 so u don't record to it again. Arming a track is what you do to let the recorder know you want to record t to that track.
Will do. In the review of this machine, they said it actually has buttons that you can push to indicate on which track you want to record. I've been a tape fanatic since I was little but still can't figure out how you can listen and record at the same time. I must look for a technical explanation. At any rate, this sounds exciting!
well taht is basically how it does it .. it plays all 4 tracks back at once so if there is something recorded there it will play back if nothing is recorded there u wont hear anything if its armed to record on that track then it would record to it instead of playing it
Oh cool! Now I get it. Nice!