4-track newb help

tweak · Post by **tweak** » Sat Jul 27, 2013 9:58 am

Hey guys, picked up a Yamaha mt4x recently super cheap, and I have a slew of questions to ask you guys.

1. While recording, I have trouble getting enough gain onto each track and an electronic hum that definitely isn't tape hiss. Is it possible my Mic/Cable is bad? Maybe the heads just need to be cleaned?

2. What are some good home recording resources I should look at?

3. Where to buy cassettes?

Thanks

Alec

Snarl 12/8 · Post by **Snarl 12/8** » Sat Jul 27, 2013 10:48 am

1a) Of course it's possible. Check it out.
1b) Clean your heads after every recording session and in the middle of longer ones. The recording you save could be your own.

2) Dunno exactly. I downloaded a PDF for my daughter from the Tascam site. Something about "Getting the most out of your 4-track" or something. I turned someone else on TOMB onto it too. But nobody I know has actually read it. It seems to me though, that if you can't learn a shit ton about 4 tracking from Tapeop, tapeop.com and messageboard.tapeop.com then whoever taught you to read owes you a refund.

3) You just gotta keep your eye out for NOS. Set up a watcher or whatever they're called on eBay. Call your local vinyl outlets and analog repair places. I picked up some NOS Maxells from a local guy who fixes and sells vintagey stereo gear (tube amps, turntables, old Sansui tuners and shit). They're out there.

http://www.amazon.com/Maxell-XLII-High- ... ette+tapes

Holy crap that's expensive! I got mine from that guy for way less than that.

tweak · Post by **tweak** » Sat Jul 27, 2013 10:57 am

Hey Snarl, if you could send me a link to that PDF file i'd greatly appreciate it.

Snarl 12/8 · Post by **Snarl 12/8** » Sun Jul 28, 2013 3:24 am

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=site%3Atascam.com+ ... +guide&l=1

Judas Jetski · Post by **Judas Jetski** » Mon Jul 29, 2013 8:16 am

It totally pays to learn good ways to record drums with 3 mics, I'll tell you that much.

grouper · Post by **grouper** » Tue Jul 30, 2013 5:51 am

like you i've just started recording analog so here are a few tips so i've learned so far,

first, try checking the hiss is actually recorded. i know that i get that hiss as well when i'm recording but it plays back a lot more cleaner.
as for the gain problem, i'm still fighting with it as well, it really depends on your mic and its position. if you're using a dynamic and your yamaha doesnt have xlr inputs then you need to buy a transformer.

and as for cassettes, you can find them pretty much anywhere. they're not that rare. i'm pretty sure type II would be the best choice.

good luck!

Judas Jetski · Post by **Judas Jetski** » Tue Jul 30, 2013 7:01 am

Also, heads not being clean will not introduce hum or hiss. It'll just make everything sound murky, icky, quiet, and bad.

drumsound · Post by **drumsound** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 11:21 am

Judas Jetski wrote:Also, heads not being clean will not introduce hum or hiss. It'll just make everything sound murky, icky, quiet, and bad.

YES!

tweak · Post by **tweak** » Fri Aug 02, 2013 7:26 am

Alrighty, I'm going to buy all the stuff I need to clean the heads and such on my day off later this week. I noticed Grouper suggested that I might need a pre-amp for my microphone? I think my issuse is more of a lack of gain if anything.

Thanks

Alec

Judas Jetski · Post by **Judas Jetski** » Fri Aug 02, 2013 12:59 pm

Just remember not to use rubbing alcohol on the pinch roller! I've used Formula 409 in the past.

grouper · Post by **grouper** » Fri Aug 02, 2013 1:32 pm

i'm totally new to this so please don't rely on my assumptions. i found out that my main problem was in mixing. once i used the compressor to gain up the tracks it sounded much better. i'm using a 57 and i do need to gain the mic level almost all the way up but actually i don't think a mic pre amp will take care of your problem.
you're just gonna have to try everything until you realize what the problem was. check a different cable, a different mic (again see if there's no need of a transformer because i had that problem), etc...

Snarl 12/8 · Post by **Snarl 12/8** » Fri Aug 02, 2013 2:29 pm

Judas Jetski wrote:Just remember not to use rubbing alcohol on the pinch roller! I've used Formula 409 in the past.

You shouldn't use rubbing alcohol on any of it. Get the 99% pure (the rest water) stuff. Rubbing alcohol has oils and fragrances and shit in it that has no place on a record head or capstan.

Judas Jetski · Post by **Judas Jetski** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 6:02 am

^ What he said.

Judas Jetski · Post by **Judas Jetski** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 6:03 am

'Round here all you can get is the ordinary isopropyl alcohol, and usually 70% at that. Sometimes (around here) you can find 97% pure. 97%'s a compromise, but I would rather leave my heads dirty than use 70%. The local Home Despot has some form of denatured alcohol, but nobody seems to be able to tell me what the alcohol's denatured with. I'd rather run the 97% stuff knowing that I'm putting a 3% water solution on my heads, than run pure denatured alcohol that's been denatured with something which eats tape heads. (I checked the MSDS data sheets and couldn't find anything useful.)

Another thought is that the Q-tips you use to clean your ears (which OMIGOD YOU SHOULD NEVER EVER EVER EVER DO BECAUSE YOU WILL DIE A HORRIBLE SCREAMING DEATH) are really not the kind of Q-tips you want. You want cotton swabs of the variety used in a hospital or doctor's office, and which you may be able to find behind the counter at your local pharmacy (or which you may need to get from a medical supply store or *online*). The ones that you would NEVER EVER DREAM OF STICKING IN YOUR EARS are way too soft and mushy, and are liable to do all sorts of horrible things to your heads, like catch in the head gap and get stuck on things and all that. (I *might* use one of these *gently* if I were in an absolutely desperate situation, but definitely [/b]not with anything less than 97% alcohol.

Also, use a different swab for heads, than what you use for the pinch roller.

And now you know way more than you ever wanted to know about cleaning heads.

tweak · Post by **tweak** » Wed Aug 07, 2013 12:15 pm

Hey y'all, I just cleaned the heads on the Yamaha. I'm still getting that 60 cycle hum / buzz despite the small increase in gain on my tracks and clarity. I'm gonna assume its still there because of my 4 tracks 1/4" inputs and probably my shitty cable. Cleaning did help though!

Alec

Also, I bought about 50 blanks Type II cassettes recently so I have a lot of demoing and messing around to do!

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