Recording thru my MS 16 HELP!!!

[elloweez]

I am trying to record some drum tracks thru my MS 16 over some guitar tracks i have already recorded in Protools. Does anybody know what output select switch i need to have turned on so that i am running of the playpack head and actually recording what is coming off the tape? Is this even possible or am i going to have delay issues. I am also wondering if i need to actually have the tape rolling in order to be getting the tape benifits or does just having the machine in record pause mode work? Anyone using one of these machines like this? Thanks!

[drumsound]

If the MS-16 is a three-head machine you need to be in sync while overdubbing. This monitors all tracks not in record off of the record head. The tracks you are recording to should monitor in input when in record and off the record head when in play, so you can hear what's there if you're punching in things.

To do what you are asking, I'd record the guitar parts off Pt and onto the MS-16. Put the machine in sync and record drums. Then put the machine in Repro and record all the tracks back to PT if needed, or just mix off the MS-16.

If you really want the benefits of tape you need to record onto the tape and play back in repro. Both the tape and the electronics of the machine will affect the sound. Plus most repro heads sound better than the sync/record.

[elloweez]

Thanks for getting back...i guess i am still wondering if there is any way to record a part and hear it off the repro head at the same time..or with a slight delay? I understand what you hear when you are in sync mode is not nearly as good as listening back from the repro head which is why i am trying to figure this out. I am recording onto protools BUT I want to run the drums thru my MS 16 and capture simultaneously what is actually coming from the repro heads into Protools. Can i do this or is the only way thru sync mode? if there is a delay couldnt i just slide the drums forward a bit to match everything else in protools? Thanks again.

[Family Hoof]

You are recording the tracks to the MS16 and then back into Pro Tools at the same time, correct? If so...

Looking at the monitor select panel on the left, you see input, sync, repro

Monitoring input or sync while the tape is recording (rolling, as you put it) will just pass the input signal of those tracks being recorded back through the outputs to Pro Tools. This is the same thing effect as record pause. The signal IS NOT coming off the tape and there are NO benefits sound-wise. While other machines are an exception, the Tascam MS16 does not have good sounding electronics and you're better off keeping the tracks in Pro Tools.

Monitoring repro while recording to tape wil play back the recorded signal from the third (repro) head. In this fashion you can record to tape and back into Pro Tools (this IS what you're trying to do right?) at the same time, however there will be a delay due to the space between the two heads. You need to time this delay so you can drag the tracks from tape backwards in pro tools by the correct amount so that they fall in their original position. A stick count is a good reference, for example.

P.S. There was an article in Tape Op Magazine dedicated to this very process not too long ago!

[elloweez]

You told me exactly what i needed to know...thanks!!!