If the machine has it use it, especially if it's dbx nr. I don't think you should ever record with noise reduction turned off. Thicker tape will hold signal better, track better, and last longer. Use shorter tapes, don't use 90 minute tapes because the tape is thinner. Use the best quality tapes you can afford, but don't use metal use high bias instead to reduce head wear. Get a generous supply of head cleaner and rubber conditioner and some qtips, and clean that thing religiously. If you can easily see the head wear or the grooves, don't buy it unless you already know you are going to replace the heads. On a used machine the thing most likely to be worn is the heads. Might be good to see about replacement pinch roller as well. If you are really going to love it, then make sure you can get the heads replaced and aligned by a qualified tech. If nothing else, at least make sure you get a replacement set of belts. The parts that go bad are the heads, capstan motor, and most of all the belts. Maybe you can decide ahead of time which model you are going to buy, then see if parts are available, especially since you are in a different country. Make sure you get or can get extra parts. If it has a remote control that's even better. Many of them were not programmable, all the punch ins were manual.start playback, stomp the footswitch at the instant you want to overdub, play the part, stomp again to shut off recording at the instant you want to stop recording. You really had to plan a song out to be able to bounce tracks down.Ĭlick to expand.Make sure you get the footswitch. (For example, record without the noise reduction and mix with it on, or vice versa.) I have no experience with Tascam, but I did have a Yamaha 8 track that was a lot of fun back in the day. The cassette format is really fun when you push it to its limits, so don't be afraid to print crazy EQ levels from the onboard EQ knobs, pin the needles in the red, or play with the onboard noise reduction, if it has it. Look out for that feature if that workflow interests you, as you will have to send two tracks at a time through the stereo outputs and then line them up in the computer.Ĥ.) If buying used, shoot for a newer one for the reasons above. If you are interested in importing the audio to a computer for mixing / editing, I know Yamaha made an 8 track cassette recorder (and possibly a 4 track) in the 1990s that had direct outs for each track, saving you at least some time. If you are buying one used, shoot for a newer one simply because the heads and motor probably have the least amount of wear on them. If Tascam still makes one, I'd pick that up for warranty / support reasons. Half of the fun with the 4 tracks was overdriving whatever gain is built into it for really racous distortion.ģ.) I really can't help you on this one. To use a preamp with it, start with the onboard gain all the way down and see what happens.
TASCAM 424 MKII 4 TRACK REVIEW DRIVER
The erase head was right before the record head, so it effectively erased it as you recorded.Ģ.) Most of them have some sort of preamp / line driver on the inputs, so while you can just plug something in and go, it may be a lot of gain to start with. You didn't erase it, per se, you just rewound the tape and recorded it again. I can't speak to older models, but any model that was available from 1990ish on allowed you to punch in, record over old tracks, etc.
I have a few questions regarding this piece of equipment. I really like the warm, soft, imperfect sound it gives the recordings, the limitation of having just four tracks, a few knobs, and a cassette to work with and also the fact that they are quite inexpensive. I like recording on a computer, but I also would love to have an analog, old-school workstation, because of a few reasons.
Soon, I will be visiting the US, so I can pick one up. I’ve been wanting to get a 4-track tape recorder for the last few months.
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