Tascam 388 - Outboard Compression, FX, etc

[mjt335]

Hey everybody,
I've got a newly acquired Tascam 388 that I'm starting to get the hang of... So far I've just been using drum loops coming from my computer and overdubbing guitar and bass parts just get used to the controls and work flow. I feel like I've got a decent handle on how to record, overdub, punch in/out, etc, so I'm getting ready to set it up with my band and record some rough rhythm tracks. As I prepare to do some stuff with the band I'm also thinking about mixing, bouncing, etc. which is new territory for me in the analog world.

I picked up an ART Pro VLA ii and an Alesis MicroLimiter that I'm planning to use for outboard compression for the time being. How do you recommend that I use them? Should I use the ACCESS Send and Receive on the channels that I want to compress? If I do that while tracking, will the compressed signal print to tape?

I know some people say it's best to try and get those sounds while tracking, others prefer to wait until mixdown. I'm just learning and experimenting now so there will be a lot of trial and error. Just curious how other 388 users like to work...

My thought for now is that I would attempt to use ACCESS jacks for compression and then us the EFX and AUX sends for a reverb and a delay.

Any advice or ideas are more than welcome as I will probably have more questions the further along I go...

Thanks!
Mike


PS: Yes, I've read the entire 388 thread.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

My thought for now is that I would attempt to use ACCESS jacks for compression and then us the EFX and AUX sends for a reverb and a delay.

Yep. That's your best bet.
The cleanest method is probably to compress to tape. Compression during mixdown will raise the volume on the tape hiss. Sometimes clean isn't what you're after though.
Do what sounds best and is easiest (dialling in compression when you're in the same room as the band can be a bitch. It can be even harder when you're also one of the players).

[mjt335]

Thanks, David.

Yeah, that's kind of what I was figuring. I think it will be easy enough to compress bass as we're tracking, but drums may be a little trickier.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

Just hit the tape hard with the drums. No compression needed.

[mjt335]

Cool. I've read that the 388 can temperamental and can overload easily when trying to hit it hard, probably because of the narrow track width. Have you had any experience like that?

As I mentioned before, I'm still only experimenting because all I've done so far is send drum loops over from my computer. I'm excited to dig in and lay down some real drums! I'm probably looking trying to capture drums with two mics... one out front near kick, snare, hi-hat, and one overhead.

[kslight]

Definitely experiment with dbx on/off, as well. Totally different results and workflow for how hard you want to hit the tape.

I'm not going to explain it, it's something you really need to experiment with yourself, as there are a lot of possibilities for tone shaping and gain staging...you can make it sound pretty good...or not...and everywhere between.


I usually don't try to hit it super hard, with or without dbx.

[mjt335]

"you can make it sound pretty good...or not...and everywhere between. "

^^^
I love that! Nice one.

Looking forward to experimenting with the dbx too. Seems like most 388 users are polarized about the dbx. Some people swear by it, others make it sound like it's the root of all evil. Haha.

[kslight]

I don't think dbx is the root of all evil, I think it can be useful. Yeah, you do lose a little with it. I've recorded lots with it and without it. Right now I'm doing an album without it. Even with dbx on I would still strip silence once transferred to daw of course, and avoid any additive EQ and other gain, as that of course brings your noise up.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

Can you apply the dbx to selected tracks on that thing or is it global? In my Tascam 38 days I'd use DBX on the quieter sources (vocals, ac, gtrs) and turn it off on the loud stuff (drums, el. gtrs). I also remember that hitting the DBX hard gave some nice pumping compression.

[kslight]

You can select dbx for 1-4 and or 5-8, and there is also a hard defeat for track 8.

[j.harv]

I record most of my drum tracks on the 388 with just 2 mics. An Sm58 for the over head and an AKG D112 in the bass drum. I record those to 2 separate tracks. Then upon playback, I insert an old dbx 163x compressor on the bass drum track and a FMR RNLA on the over head. Once I have the levels set right, I bounce those two tracks down to one.So now I have the compressed bass drum and overhead on one track. Then I'll insert the dbx 163x back on to that mono drum track. This adds some good punch and a bit more volume to the drums. I know some people don't like mono drums, but this sounds quite good. And it also free's up more tracks.

[mjt335]

Nice! I like the idea there, j.harv! Might give that a shot as I start experimenting.