Should I pick this up?

SpectralJulian · Post by **SpectralJulian** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 4:13 am

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... Track=true

I'm so tired of Audacity (not even worth the effort of dragging my shit in the computer room)

and my little phillips tape recorder with built in microphone can get guitar + vocals pretty well, but drums seem to modulate the mix. Sounds like ass.

Should I do it?

Should I spend a bit more coin and get a MKIII?

Or should I wonder into the incredibly overwhelming world of digital?

dodgedartdave · Post by **dodgedartdave** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 6:18 am

SpectralJulian wrote:http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... Track=true

I'm so tired of Audacity (not even worth the effort of dragging my shit in the computer room)

and my little phillips tape recorder with built in microphone can get guitar + vocals pretty well, but drums seem to modulate the mix. Sounds like ass.

Should I do it?

Should I spend a bit more coin and get a MKIII?

Or should I wonder into the incredibly overwhelming world of digital?

If you want tape, that's a good deal. Ever price them new? Good deal.

robroe · Post by **robroe** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 2:53 pm

i bet it eats tapes

just a hunch

Sloan · Post by **Sloan** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 3:12 pm

get a standalone digital unit.

JamesSmann · Post by **JamesSmann** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 3:22 pm

Jason and I recorded two full-length albums on one of those very machines...very cool for home demos...i'm thinking of getting one myself...but you're working wtih tape...and w/o pre-amps and compressors...it's going to sound ass if you have to bouncedown too much.

Post by **dots** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 4:28 pm

i'd stay away. i ditched mine once i got cakewalk. been through 5 or 6 generations of that software since.

SpectralJulian · Post by **SpectralJulian** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 4:35 pm

Bouncedown shouldn't be too much of a problem, I'm doing drum machine, bass, vocals, guitar and I don't plan to overdub anything.

I don't know anyone who has a compressor, but I've got plenty of access to preamps for mics and such, so that shouldn't be a problem, and you only need a pre-amp for vox right?

I've worked with the super low end Tascam 4 track that I borrowed and I did some recordings that could have been a lot better, but I think most of the problems with the end product were more a result of poor technique rather than poor fidelity. (instead of mic'ing my guitar amp, I just used the line out, bass was plugged direct in, vocals were just put through a sansui reverberation amp, and drum machine was straight in, everything seemed really separated in the mix and sort of lacked energy)

The 2nd time I had my hands on a that 4 track, we used a mixer, (I wasn't playing, just assisting) mic'd the drums, mic'd the bass, and mic'd the guitar and I adjusted the levels towards desirability, and it came out great.

I think with a 4 track like the 424 that allows me to record all at once in that fashion, I can preserve the energy better (although I might overdub vocals later) and just capture the sound.

There are a few records that I really love that were done or most likely done on 4 track cassettes. I'm pretty sure Happy Go Licky- Will Play (a compilation of live recordings) was done on a 4 track, and I think it is a really great and atmospheric sounding album, as was Big Black's Lungs EP.

I don't think I'll buy this 424 though, just because the guy doesn't know how well it works.

JamesSmann · Post by **JamesSmann** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 4:38 pm

SpectralJulian wrote:Bouncedown shouldn't be too much of a problem, I'm doing drum machine, bass, vocals, guitar and I don't plan to overdub anything.

I don't know anyone who has a compressor, but I've got plenty of access to preamps for mics and such, so that shouldn't be a problem, and you only need a pre-amp for vox right?

I've worked with the super low end Tascam 4 track and I did some recordings that could have been a lot better, but I think most of the problems with the end product were more a result of poor technique rather than poor fidelity.

There are a few records that I really love that were done or most likely done on 4 track cassettes. I'm pretty sure Happy Go Licky- Will Play (a compilation of live recordings) was done on a 4 track, and I think it is a really great and atmospheric sounding album, as was Big Black's Lungs EP.

beck's first album was done on 4 track. not mellow gold mind you, all his work prior to that. i like the simplciity of tape machines, but i don't think i'd do anything much more than demos on them.

SpectralJulian · Post by **SpectralJulian** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 4:46 pm

Well, I do plan on actually putting together a pretty nice set up to record myself and my friends next year (I eventually want to have my own analog studio, but I might do digital at first.) But I sort of want something cheap to bide me over for now, because I am really tired of the recordings that I have had on my myspace for the past 6 or so months, so I took them down and I really want to redo them.

a.aaron · Post by **a.aaron** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 7:01 pm

i like the way 4 track cassette tape recordings sound, but they are always noisy.
the Fostex DR8HD we're using now has more simultaneous recording, and is 'cleaner' sound, but i like the way the stuff done on the Tascam Porta02 sounds. ideally i'd get a mixer or preamp with multi-input & 1 output to run to tape, just cause i like the color it has.

gaybear · Post by **gaybear** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 8:16 pm

go ahead and get it. worst case scenario you have a new toy to quickly write songs for a reasonable price. plus, lots o fun can be had working with those, and figuring out how to make up for it's deficiencies will only make you better on every thing else anyway.

Should I pick this up?

Should I pick this up?

Re: Should I pick this up?