Questions about getting started w/ Tascam Portastudio MKIII

[the_lauris]

Hi All,

I am interested in getting a Tascam Portastudio MKIII for recording my band. (At the present moment we're an acoustic duo but we hope to start playing with electric guitars, drums, and bass as soon as possible.) I love the sound bands like Guided By Voices have gotten using 4-track cassette recorders, which got me interested in the Tascam Portastudio.

I have done a bit of research and have heard that it's easy to use and allows you to do some really creative stuff. However, I am still a bit confused about some aspects of the cassette recorder world, so my questions are:

1) How do you power your mics with this recorder? Does it have phantom power or do your mics have to have their own power source? If so, what is the most cost-effective way to power your mics? (The one I'm looking to buy has the 4 XLR inputs if that makes a difference.)

2) What kind of mics do you recommend using? At this point we'll be doing vocals and two acoustic guitars. Any recommendations for decent quality mics that won't break the bank? Also, what are your recommendations for mics for electric guitars, bass, and drums?

3) I am totally baffled about combining tracks. How do you recommend mixing down and bouncing tracks together? What are my options for doing this? What kind of gear will I need? Can I do this using Garage Band or Audacity? What are the pros and cons to each method?

Any tips or knowledge you have on this subject would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[Mane1234]

[1) How do you power your mics with this recorder? Does it have phantom power or do your mics have to have their own power source? If so, what is the most cost-effective way to power your mics? (The one I'm looking to buy has the 4 XLR inputs if that makes a difference.)


A: The wonderful thing about 424's is 424's are wonderful things...They do not have phantom power but they do 4 mic pres for dynamic mics. You can run into the channels with the output from another mic pre but since you're just starting out you may want to get used to just using what's on the 424 until you're a little higher on the learning curve. That being said, if you have a mic pre that has phantom power and you can use a decent condenser mic you might gain a little more fidelity but it's all about the journey anyways.



[2) What kind of mics do you recommend using? At this point we'll be doing vocals and two acoustic guitars. Any recommendations for decent quality mics that won't break the bank? Also, what are your recommendations for mics for electric guitars, bass, and drums? ]

A: It's all a matter of taste and is going to depend on whether or not your bank is too large to fail and how much federal bailout money you received. Get what you can afford and use the hell out of it then go buy something else. The search button is a great way to find out everything you want to know about micing things up.

[I am totally baffled about combining tracks. How do you recommend mixing down and bouncing tracks together? What are my options for doing this? What kind of gear will I need? Can I do this using Garage Band or Audacity? What are the pros and cons to each method? ]

A: Right now you are two guitars and maybe two vocals. That's four tracks. Get that to sound good without bouncing anything and you're on your way. Set aside at least a whole weekend and do nothing but record, playback and listen. You're going to need some headphones too and something to mix down to like a cassette deck or cd burner. Yes you can dump it into your computer if you have a way into it. If your computer has some RCA inputs or you have some kind of interface then you're set. The 424 manual has a section that talks about mixing down and bouncing tracks. Read the manual. Start looking on the net for other articles about learning how people like to mix but again you're going to develop your own tastes for it. If it sounds right it is right...

Hope this helps..

[the_lauris]

thanks for the tips! I have yet to read the manual... the Portastudio is still in shipping but once I get it I'm sure I can learn a lot from the manual.

Is the main difference between condenser mics and dynamic mics that condenser mics don't have their own power source?

I get the feeling this is a very trial-and-error process... thus far I've only ever been recorded in other people's studios, so I've got a ways to go with the learning curve. It's definitely going to take some experimentation to get used to recording this way.

[kung_fu_elvis]

It was just a friend of mine's birthday this past monday, his birthday request was to record a song using 4-track (he has a pro-tools rig, but was looking for something different)...

This is what worked for us for 'track flow' wise... again, experiment until you find something that works for you.

We tracked bass guitar, kick, and snare/oh to tracks 1-3, then bounced them to Track 4.

Using the 'mixer' feature we then were able to do vocals and uke onto one track...

Next track we had acoustic guitars, and gang back-up vocals...

and finally we did some electric guitar and more gang vocals.

We definitely made use of the three bodies in the room and approached it as 'live off the floor' as possible on a track by track basis... get good sounds first, and that's half the battle.


For mixdown, we went into a Tascam digital recorder.

[the_lauris]

That's actually a really helpful breakdown of how to do the tracks. I have a Tascam digital handheld recorder, a DR-07. Did you use something like that?

I use the DR-07 for quickly recording song ideas, and the sound quality is good... so if I could use it to mix down that would be super convenient. I bet I could use a 1/4 to 1/8 jack adapter into the Line In jack to record into it. Is that what you did?

[kung_fu_elvis]

That's exactly the same one I have... we used an RCA to 1/4 cable and went into the line in on the DR-07.

Makes it a breeze to go to PC if you want to use some effects after the fact.

Oh, and on the third and forth tracks (guitars and back-ups), we used a 57 on the guitar amp, and an AT-2020 that we placed ourselves around depending on our relative vocal volumes. (Again, using the 'mixer' feature).

Keep the manual handy, and it should be a breeze.

[the_lauris]

sweet! I'm really excited to get started. the SM57 seems like a really good all-rounder. I think I'm going to get one of those for sure.

At some point when we get a drummer we'll have to figure out what's the best way to mic the drums, which might be easier once we get some acoustic recordings done and figure things out. I have read about a bunch of different strategies for mic placement with drums and it seems like there are a million ways to do it depending on what kind of sound you want to get.

[nick_a]

Some of the the coolest 4-track-related articles i've ever read were in the first Tape Op book. I'd recommend checking that out. Also, as Mane said, read the manual.

[the_lauris]

So I just tested my MKIII out for the first time. The experiment was, on the whole, a success. I was able to record some guitars and voice to tape, change levels, play the tape back, and overdub with track 2.

However, I encountered one major problem. It seems as if the volume levels I was recording at were very low and in order to hear what I had recorded during playback I had to turn all the levels way up, which caused the tape to be very hissy. While I was setting levels before pressing record, and while I was listening during recording, everything sounded balanced and loud enough. The bars on the display were in the correct range according to the manual. But during playback it sounded really soft.

Here's a rundown of the equipment I was using: Tascam Portastudio MKIII, Shure SM57 mic, Sony MDR-V150 headphones, Maxell UR IEC Type 1 Normal tape.

I figure it might be the tape that's the problem, as I bought some cheap tape for experimenting.

If anyone has any ideas about what could be causing this, or tips on how to fix the problem, I would love to hear it! Thanks!

[No-Fi]

Anyone know where I can find a power adapter to a MKIII?

[kung_fu_elvis]

When you went to overdub on track 2, did you turn on the 'tape cue' switch?

You should then be able to adjust 'on channel' (via the tape cue fader knob) the amount you're hearing whilst overdubbing...

[shedshrine]

Anyone know where I can find a power adapter to a MKIII?

Tascam PS-P424mkIII replacement power supply for 424mkIII
$33.95

Tascam PS-P424mkIII replacement power supply for 424mkIII
$59.95

[the_lauris]

When you went to overdub on track 2, did you turn on the 'tape cue' switch?

You should then be able to adjust 'on channel' (via the tape cue fader knob) the amount you're hearing whilst overdubbing...

I did turn on the Tape Cue switch while overdubbing track 2. The two tracks sounded balanced in comparison to each other during recording, but they were both recorded really soft in playback. They were barely audible without cranking all of the knobs during playback. (Cranking the knobs caused the tape to hiss louder than what was actually recorded on it.)

I'm afraid that I'll have to get preamps for these mics to boost the volume. I bought dynamic mics in the first place so I didn't have to mess around with preamps and phantom power and all that. Do you think a preamp is what I need, or am I more likely just making some mistakes during the recording process? I have read the manual and the "troubleshooting" section but it didn't say anything about this.

[No-Fi]

Anyone know where I can find a power adapter to a MKIII?

Tascam PS-P424mkIII replacement power supply for 424mkIII
$33.95

Tascam PS-P424mkIII replacement power supply for 424mkIII
$59.95

thanks! my googling did not turn up that link and did not expect tascam to still sell them.

[kung_fu_elvis]

If you're getting good levels while tracking, you shouldn't need preamps.

IIRC, going through the manual in order, it shows you the steps for recording, and overdubbing... yet when it comes to the 'mixdown' portion of the manual, it may not show the proper monitor switch selection...

I think what I normally do at mixdown, is set all lines to tape, press play, and then start moving the monitor switches until I hear what I should...

I know, that's a very tech explanation, but I do seem to recall there's a certain way to have the monitor switches aligned (tape cue off, perhaps).