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November Birthdays
Tascam 4-track inspiration
Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 3546 mojave desert, california 
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Posted on Jun 10 2010 12:03 PM
I pulled out the old Tascam 4-track cassette recorder...and it still functions great! the deck sounds sweet, and I'm considering using the 4-track exclusively for a bit to inspire some simpler writing...in other words writing for 4 parts...maybe even 3 parts...drums, bass, guitar...maybe a second guitar or keyboard or ??? for track 4... having all the digital resources of cakewalk etc, does anyone else here even play around with the older simpler recording gear? |
Joined: Nov 05, 2008 Posts: 745 Colorado, home of The Astronauts 
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Posted on Jun 10 2010 12:14 PM
I used to use one of those back in the day. I just bought an "untested" Yamaha 4-track cassette unit for some recording and sound experiments. Tapes were fun! —Plus! Other stuff not surf: https://soundcloud.com/jamesmileshq |
Joined: Aug 27, 2008 Posts: 1570 New York
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Posted on Jun 10 2010 12:38 PM
I too had the Blue Tascam 4 track recorder years ago. I switched to a digital multitrack and then to laptop based recording. To be honest, I enjoyed recording on the Tascam the most, simple and straight forward, no distractions. |
Joined: Jun 27, 2008 Posts: 576 Marlboro, New Jersey
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Posted on Jun 10 2010 12:43 PM
I have the Tascam 4 track cassette recorder. Bought it in the 80's. When it was working, it was fantastic. |
Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1275 San Pedro, CA
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Posted on Jun 10 2010 12:57 PM
Did a bunch of skate/snowboard video soundtrack work back in the 80's on a Yamaha MT-44 4-track cassette deck (hey, they were low budget productions - we got paid in Vision Streetwear clothes and shoes!). It was tons of fun - even did some backwards masking on a few tracks! We got pretty good at ping ponging tracks and still keeping it all fairly listenable. —Bill S._______ |
Joined: Mar 17, 2007 Posts: 839 United Kingdom
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Posted on Jun 10 2010 02:17 PM
I had an MT44 - what I used to do was mix down the first 4 tracks onto a stereo cassette deck then put that tape in to the MT44 and use the other 2 tracks then mix that down to stereo - it gave you 6 high quality(ish) tracks and worked pretty well. You couldn't do it with other 4-Track machines because they ran at double speed whereas the MT44 didn't. —http://www.myspace.com/thepashuns Youth and enthusiasm are no match for age and treachery. |
Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 3797 North Atlantic 
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Posted on Jun 10 2010 02:43 PM
Our first couple of releases (cassettes) were done on a Yamaha 4-track recorder. It was so simple to use, just set up 4 mics (guitar, bass, drums, room), press record and go. There was no distractions of any outboard gear (for better or worse). I was digging through old recordings for the upcoming USK retro-spective, and am placing several tunes recorded on that 4 track for the release. We also had a 4 track demo used in a feature film (Beefcake, 1999) . The other tunes we recorded for the soundtrack were done in a state of the art studio, but the director preferred the 4 track performance and sound of that tune vs its studio version. I also really like the sound of the drums on the first Recruders CD, and that was all done on a 4-track. Rev —Canadian Surf http://www.urbansurfkings.com/ Last edited: Aug 11, 2010 08:47:11 |
Joined: Jan 02, 2009 Posts: 1305 The original Plymouth, UK. 
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Posted on Jun 10 2010 06:04 PM
I use a Yamaha 4 track - it's awesome! Bought it off ebay for £40 GBP. It can record 4 tracks at once, which my pc can't do. 2 mics for the drums, one for bass & one for guitar. job done. Quality is astounding, virtually noise free. Stocking up on chrome tapes while they are still around... Nice thing about it is you can go well into the red on tape and it doesn't give that nasty digital clipping. Also you can take it to gigs and record them without having to take a pc with you and stress about damaging it or losing it. Keeping mine for as long as possible. — |
Joined: May 28, 2008 Posts: 333 Los Angeles
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Posted on Jun 10 2010 07:33 PM
I still have my Tascam. As mentioned above, I too have it stuck in record mode, but to get around that is easy: you just don't enable recording until you are ready and it will simply function as play, even though the recording head is down. I made my demos on that in the '90s that got me on the label, so I think it worked well! |
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Joined: Jul 04, 2010 Posts: 8 |
Posted on Jul 06 2010 03:23 PM
Two mediums that I feel no nostalgia for are VHS tape and multitrack cassette recorders. |
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Joined: Jul 14, 2010 Posts: 10 Central Texas |
Posted on Aug 10 2010 12:54 AM
My old TASCAM 4-track cassette deck is sitting in a spare bedroom. I got it new in the early 80s. Got a lot of use out of it for several years, but I wouldn't want to go back to it now. I did learn a lot with it and I think it was a great learning experience. |
Joined: May 14, 2007 Posts: 1753
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Posted on Aug 10 2010 01:03 AM
Nice Star Trek reference! A friend gave me his like new in the box Tascam 4 track cassette recorder when he went digital. I've never even broken it out to experiment with. I doubt I will, but who knows? |
Joined: Mar 25, 2009 Posts: 76 Gypsy Caravan
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Posted on Sep 03 2010 02:12 AM
I used Tascams and a few Fostex cassette 4-tracks for many years. In the late 90s I went to computer recording. Recently a friend gifted me with a NOS Tascam...one of their cheapest models...and some new blank tapes. I've been having a blast. I won't be jettisoning digital/computer recording altogether, but I have a couple of projects I'm working up with cassettes. |
Joined: Jan 25, 2007 Posts: 1566 Brighton UK
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Posted on Sep 03 2010 11:51 AM
True, although the double speed machines were higher quality in the first place, of course. However, with careful planning and lots of pre-mixing along the way, you could get ten tracks onto a four track cassette with only one generation of bouncing (although it would seriously limit your ability to mix in stereo). Record three tracks on tracks 1-3. Bounce these to track 4, whilst simultanously overdubbing a fourth track. Now record new tracks onto tracks 1 and 2, before bouncing them to track 3, whilst simultanously overdubbing a third track. You now have a total of seven tracks on tracks 3 and 4. Now record onto track 1, before bouncing to track 2, whilst simultanously overdubbing a second track (total track count is now nine). Now record your final track to track 1. It's a hell of a lot of hassle, but it does work. Personally, I prefer the modern way of doing things |
Joined: Mar 04, 2006 Posts: 215 West Hartford, CT
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Posted on Sep 03 2010 12:39 PM
I would fill the 4 tracks, mix that down to stereo on my Mac, record the stereo back onto 2 tracks of the TASCAM, fill the other 2 tracks, mix again to stereo on the Mac, and so forth. I recorded an album that way between '97 and '02. I learned a lot about getting a good sound up front with mike selection and placement. I loved the flexibility of using outboard effects as well. —http://www.aquatudes.com |
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Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 3546 mojave desert, california
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Posted on Sep 03 2010 01:22 PM
that's a cool way to track-bounce...I used to got to a nice stereo cassette deck and then back to the 4-track for my bounces... |
Joined: Jan 05, 2009 Posts: 262 Port Hueneme, CA
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Posted on Sep 03 2010 11:41 PM
Dude ...What makes it simpler? Digital is easy |
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Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 3546 mojave desert, california
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Posted on Sep 04 2010 10:37 AM
simpler in the sense of less options available...primitive... you're right, digital studios are super easy to operate...and have many features... |
Joined: Aug 09, 2007 Posts: 308 Indianapolis
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Posted on Sep 16 2010 07:05 PM
I still have and use my Tascam 424mkiii for home recording. I can't imagine using anything else at this point, though I can understand why lots of folks moved onto digital/computer recording. —-Nick |
Joined: Mar 29, 2007 Posts: 815 Athens, Greece |
Posted on Oct 17 2010 09:20 PM
I was bringing back in life my Marantz 4-track these days. I love analog and hate so much digital stuff! Just today I finished it and it's ready to record some new demo songs of my band! Every word is like an unecessary stain on silence and nothingness. |
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