Conference napalm::commusic_v1

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Note 2226.27               Tascam MIDIstudio 644 & 688                  27 of 59
AQUA::ROST "In search of the lost biscuit drop"      34 lines   4-FEB-1991 15:31
                       -< The 424 Is Finally In Stores >-
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Well, the 424 is finally here, saw one in the Worcester, MA Wurlitzer's on
Saturday.  Didn't hear it though.

It's got almost everything done right.  The two stereo inputs are wired with
opposite tip/ring polarity, so that inserting a mono plug in the first one
places the mono signal on the left buss while the second jack feeds the mono
signal to the right buss.  Inserting a mono plug into only the first jack gives
a mono return (but you can't use the second return; if you do, the signal ends
up on the left).  Not as flexible as offering panpots or a balance control, but
it does offer a good range of options.  The stereo inputs either go to the L-R
buss or the cue buss, so to actually use all "eight" inputs on recording, you
must record in stereo.  The stereo ins are obviously intended more for FX and
MIDI instrument submixes during mixdown than as recording inputs.

Jacks on the rear are marked L and R out, sync in and out.  Throw a switch
marked tape and these jacks carry the raw four track outs.   There's  a jack
for the RC-30P punch-in switch (not mentioned in the literature).  No mono out
for the cue buss...if you want to run the cue buss to an amp, you need to use
the phone out, not the ideal situation but workable.

The master volume slider has an extra long throw which is appreciated.  You can
record direct to the four tracks or record through the mixer direct to stereo.

The unit takes a wall bug for power, which helps account for the small size. 
All the input jacks are situated so they are easily reached but don't require
cords exiting the front of the machine (the phones and punch switch cords do
exit the front, though). 

So if I could have wishes, I'd like to see a cue out and sweep EQ, but at the
price it's a sweet deck.  It should give the MT100-II a serious run for its
money.  I'm not sure why the Porta 05 is still around, this machine seems to
beat it feature for feature and is cheaper to boot.

							Brian  

    
    Now that I actually have a 424 of my own, I've uncovered a few other
    goodies about it that didn't make it into the sales literature.  Both
    of these are mentioned in the manual.  One of these was a pleasant
    surprise since it fixes what I thought was a zit of the design.
    
    1. The "12 input mixer"
    
    I though Teac was hyping this puppy enough as an 8-input mixer, since
    four of those inputs are just ganged stereo line returns, which have
    no EQ, FX send, etc.  Well, it turns out that there are four *more*
    inputs hiding in the four main channels themselves.  Basically, when
    remixing the tape, the four main channels each get one tape track and
    the mic/line inputs for that channel are idle, right?  Well, the input
    selector on each channel has a third position marked "tape-mic/line"
    which still routes the tape playback into the channel but also patches
    the mic/line input through the trim pot into the L/R mix busses!  These
    inputs work somewhat like channels 5-8 but they don't have a real gain
    adjustment (i.e. you can't turn them all the way off) but you *can*
    bring in mikes which you can't use on channels 5-8.  So during tape
    mixing or bouncing you can have up to 8 inputs plus the four tape
    tracks going at once.  While not as flexible as a real 12-channel
    mixer, it still may be useful in some applications.
    
    2. The mystery effects send
    
    It seems that Teac was cute enough to wire the effects send jack as a
    three-conductor jack so that inserting a stereo cord here allows you to
    get access to the tape cue bus.  This is not so useful for monitoring
    (since only the tape signals appear here) but it can be used during
    mixdown as a second FX send.  Of course, the send is both pre-EQ and
    pre-fader so it works a bit differently than the main FX send.  Since
    you can't access both the track outs and the stereo out at the same
    time, the cue can also be used to tap out a single track that needs
    processing like compression, EQ, etc.  You can bring the track out via
    the cue bus, feed through a processor and patch back into one of the
    mixer channels.  Not as good as either insert points or true four-track
    outs, but nice to have.
    
    
    							Brian

    The 400 line (424, 488) is about to be joined by the new 464 unit
    coming out probably right after the January NAMM show.  I spoke with
    Tascam in CA and got the following:
    
    o The 464 will be four tracks, but offer the transport features of the
    488, using the LCD readout, multiple memory points, automated punch
    in/out, etc.
    
    o The mixer will have four XLR inputs for lo-Z mikes.
    
    o EQ will remain at 2 band fixed.
    
    o Speed will be 3-3/4 or 1-7/8, the 15/16 speed of the 424 is absent.
    
    o List is $900, one local dealer quoted a price just under $700 but
    I'm sure that may change suddenly once the unit starts to ship.
    
    						Brian

    
    so brian,  do you have any problems with bleed thru?  That is the only
    real nit i have with mine. What seems weird to me, and i need more time
    to confirm this is actually happening, is that by cranking up any of
    the cue pots makes it worse.  I thought the cue bus was mixer only with
    no path to the tape?
    
    	bob

    And Brian,
    
    How do feel about the overall quality of the unit?
    
    thanks
    Jay

    Re: .5
    
    It feels cheap.  Everything is plastic.  The pot shafts are nylon, etc. 
    It won't survive falls to the floor.  It's actually lighter than any
    home deck I've ever owned.  However, the transport uses logic control
    so assuming the motors, etc. are up to snuff, there's no reason to
    believe the deck portion will die very soon.  I have some doubts about
    the longevity of the mixer portion, but I'm talking about whether or
    not it will last 15+ years like some other decks I own (including the
    open reel I'm retiring) as opposed to will it last five years.
    
    Ask me again after I've run about 20 hours of tape through it!
    
    						Brian

    I just got the porta03 and sent it back because it really felt cheezy
    and you couldnt ping pong.
    And the 424 feels the same way? wow. I would think they would put some
    quality into the unit. Then again, I wonder how the competition is
    building things.
    
    Now, I've got second thoughts. ! :-)
    

I'll add some noise to this note. 

I'm the first person I know to buy a 424. I've had mine
for nearly a year now, since I bought one the day they
arrived at the Daddy's in Nashua (Feb. 1991). Heck,
I might be the first person, period, to own one.. ;^) ;^)

I'd have to echo Brian's sentiment that these decks are
cheaply made, but after nearly a year's worth of (nearly
daily) use it has performed flawlessly. I've had no problems
with it whatsoever. 

-T

    Re: .7
    
    Well, the thing does sell for a list of $550, so they have to cut
    corners someplace.  The 424 does everything the original 144
    Portastudio did and then some (i.e. dbx instead of Dolby B, sync track,
    FX returns, etc.) and sells for less than half the price.  If you need
    solid as a rock Tascam, go look at a 644...at over $1K.
    
    BTW, when I said the feel is "cheap" I'm comparing it to other pro
    audio gear I've used, most of which costs a lot more.  My "old" setup
    which I am retiring consisted of an open reel deck plus outboard mixer
    that sold new for about $1500 back in the 70s.  An equivalent open reel
    deck today would cost about $1500 by itself, never mind the mixer!
    
    My guess is that Tascam is betting that with the coming of DAT and
    direct to disk technology, the four-track machine has become a low-end
    product.  The introduction of the 488 suggests that they see 8-track as
    the last gasp of analog recording (notice how hard it is to find
    four-track open reels, even though Tascam still has the model 34 and 44
    in the catalog).  As a result, they are pushing the prices of their
    four-track line lower.  The 464 seems to be designed to fill the gap
    left between the 424 and 644 when the Porta Two was dropped.  
    
    I still say only time will tell how well it will hold up.  When
    compared against other units in its price range, I think the feel and
    features of the 424 are superior to the competition.  The Porta 03 is
    just a lowball machine to compete against Vestax stuff, at a street
    price of $250 you can't expect too much from it.
    
    							Brian

    re: last couple
    
    Yea, I had a porta 144 ten years ago..that was a quality deck...and
    my old 3340s was built (and weighed) like a rock. I think I just have
    to adjust my expectations --and as you said, You have had no problems
    with it. 
    Bottom line here is both of you would buy another one. And what I know
    of you Brian (from your notes and was it you with the bass that was in
    that acoustic group in Merrimack?), you did your research.
    I guess 450 is a lot of bucks to me.
    
    
    Jay
    

    This one is a long reply, so for those not into hearing all about tape
    deck alignments, hit next unseen.
    
    						Brian

    Last night I sat down to do some tests on my 424 to check for things
    like crosstalk, signal levels, etc.  My results were somewhat
    disappointing, largely because it seems that the alignment of the unit
    out of the box is poor.  

    It's not uncommon to see that a brand new tape deck out of the box will
    not actually be very sell set up.  If you have ever looked at pro
    decks, they typically have lots of little trimmer adjustments, and
    often oscillators to help you set up the deck.  In a pro studio, a good
    engineer will set up the deck anew for each session.  Low end machines
    usually have all the necessary adjustments, but they are typically
    inside the unit and unmarked, so you need a service manual to set it
    up.  A misaligned machine is no big deal if you never do anything but
    use the tapes on that one machine.  Swapping between machines is where
    the fun comes in.

    Anyway, I set up the 424 and ran an A440 tone out of a tuner into
    channel 1, panned the channel to center and set all four tracks up to
    record.  I had dbx turned on, was at high speed, and recorded tones at
    0, +3 and +6.  On playback, all four channels were low in level by
    about 5db!!!  Worse yet, the channels were not evenly balanced in
    level.  I repeated the experiment with dbx off and the levels were
    better, only about 3db down.  I suspect the compression of the dbx
    makes it tougher to get a hot level and what I was seeing in both cases
    was some self-erasure of the tape.  My tuner does not have a sine wave
    output, it's more square, so I am going to  repeat this experiment
    using a sine wave generator I have buried in my workroom.

    I then recorded some test tones on my Harmon/Kardon deck (it has
    built-in test tone generators).  The tones showed on the H/K as +1 db
    on both channels.  Setting the 424 up for "normal" speed (1-7/8) I
    played the tone tape back in both directions in order to hit all four
    channels.  Surprise!  The tones came out as about +3 db!  That means
    the Tascam meters are deliberately set up so that "0" is actually at
    about -3, so as to fool you into not recording at such hot levels.  So
    while the salesguy raved about how he could peg the meters at +6 with
    no overload, it's really only +3 which is OK but not phenomenal for a
    type II tape running at 3-3/4 ips.  Anyway, moving the zero point is
    common on cheaper decks, many low-price stereo decks show the Dolby cal
    point (nominally 0) at +3.  I then made some tone tapes on the 424 and
    played them on the H/K.  Sure enough, the +3 tone came out at about 0
    on the H/K meters, and the two channels were not balanced.

    I then tried to record some music and mix it down. The first three
    tracks went down without a hitch.  On the fourth track I wanted to try
    some reverse recording so I flipped the tape and to my surprise, the
    three other tracks were way down in level (at least 10db).  Sure
    enough, after finishing the "backwards" track and flipping the tape
    back over, that track was way down in level.

    What does all this mean?

    1.  The recording calibration for the four tracks is out, otherwise, in
    my first test, the track levels would be balanced evenly.

    2.  The heads are out of alignment, otherwise, when I flipped the tape,
    the levels would have been roughly the same.

    I'm sending the deck in for an alignment before I start doing any work
    on it.  This is not a flame, I would do that with *any* deck.  Some
    dealers do get antsy when you ask them to send a brand new unit into
    the shop for a setup, but since this will be used to do masters, I feel
    it's important.

    Other stuff:

    Crosstalk:

    I put down a +6db test tone on each track, one at a time (leaving the
    other three empty) then played the tape back through the cue mixer.  I
    pegged the three empty channels, pegged the phones level then ran the
    phones out into a stereo amp and cranked that.  I could not hear any
    crosstalk between any two tracks until I had the volume so high that
    the hiss (with dbx on) was quite loud.  Even then, the crosstalk was
    very faint.  As far as I'm concerned, bleed is not going to be a
    problem with this unit.

    Sync:

    I hooked up my Ensoniq SQ-80 to the sync jacks and striped a tape. 
    Using the "sync" fucntion of the 424, you cannot adjust the tone level. 
    The meters showed -5db, but since there is a 5 db gap between that and
    0, the level might have been up to -1 or -2.  Anyway, on playback,
    there was not sufficient signal to drive the SQ-80.  I then turned dbx
    to OFF and recorded the sync tone direct to track 4, and set the meters
    to +3.  On playback, I set the dbx to SYNC.  Now the SQ-80 locked fine
    to the tape.  Adjusting the 424 pitch control caused the SQ-80 tempo to
    shift as I expected.  Anyway, if you experience trouble getting your
    sequencer to lock to tape, try recording the sync tone through the
    mixer so you can goose the level.
    
    Meters:
    
    The metering is something of a disappointment in that it has large gaps
    which a VU meter would not have.  In general, I prefer LEDs but I'm
    used to seeing ones with good gradation, typically points at -40, -20,
    -10, -5, then hopefully a tighter set of -3, -1, 0, +1, +3 so you can
    see where you are in the most important area.  Obviously, the Tascam
    falls down here because between -5 and 0 is a grey area.  Since the +6
    is really +3 as far as I'm concerned, it would be nice to have at least
    one more LED.  The fact is there are five LEDs, and this configuration
    seems to be consistent in a lot of low end gear (same setup as on my
    keyboard mixer and one of my cheap decks) so they probably are using
    some commodity jellybean part in the circuit to keep costs down.
    
    I should close this with saying that if these nits were present in a
    machine costing over $1000 I would be livid.  For what is obviously a
    cheap machine, it's to be expected.  The shop where I will be having
    the alignment done already told me they seldom see low end units in for
    cal, only when something breaks.  They did say that the alignment of
    the units they do see is "not too good".

    RE: .11 (IMHO)
    
    1. Never use noise reduction (ESPECIALLY dbx) when calibrating
    
    2. To calibrate overall level use 1kHz or white/pink noise, not 440 
    
    3. Don't use noise reduction on a sync tone
    
    -Ross

    My 4-track also experiences the level drop on playback (and a little
    crosstalk), so I suspect an alignment/calibration problem.  How much
    does it usually cost to have this kind of service done?
    
    Greg

    Re: .12
    
    >1. Never use noise reduction (ESPECIALLY dbx) when calibrating
    
    You're right, but I wasn't trying to *calibrate* the unit, I was just
    checking it's performance out with tones as they are easier to see on
    the meters than music. As far as having the NR on, I checked that way
    because that's the way I'm going to record the *music*.  I have had
    decks inthe past where bad NR setup caused audible effects that
    disappeared when the NR was turned off.
    
    >2. To calibrate overall level use 1kHz or white/pink noise, not 440 
    
    I used 440 because my tuner was nearby and my tone generator wasn't (I
    am going to double check with the tone generator, though).  The Dolby
    cal tone, BTW is 400 Hz, I believe.  That's what my H/K deck uses to
    set up the record cal.
    
    >3. Don't use noise reduction on a sync tone
    
    I didn't use the NR on the sync tone (read the reply again).  
      
    Anyway, the bottom line was I feel that the head alignment in the unit
    I have is poor...if flipping the tape to play in reverse gives 10db gain
    reduction, then something's wrong!  If anyone is interested, I'llpost
    the results on how things look after it comes out of the shop. 
    
    						Brian

    Cassette dex are really, really sensitive to tape bias, which can show
    up as low playback levels.
    
    karl

    The reason you shouldn't check tone levels with dbx is that dbx
    actively changes the levels depending on frequency, then readjusts the
    levels on playback according to a carrier tone.
    
    The TASCAM open-reel 8- and 16-track units I used to have had meters
    that showed the ENCODED signal only (after all, this really shows you
    what's on the tape).
    
    Once you learn the routine, alignment is really worth the effort
    (although on a deck this small, I bet it's really hard to get to the
    pots). Aligning a 24-track Sony/MCI takes a while; My Studer A810
    2-track was nice because it had microprocessors with memory for two
    speeds and two tape types.
    
    Don't feel bad, the alignment on high priced pro recorders as delivered
    is likely to be horrible as well! Never take anything for granted!
    Even changing tape reels within the same brand/type can make a big
    difference. I find a huge variation in casettes, to the extent that I
    used to have to return about 25% of the batches I got.
    
    -Ross

    Like .13 (Greg.) my high tech professional Porta 1 need some work,
    so just how can I expect to pay for alignment/calibration. Would
    be cheper to buy a new one. I hope not. 
    
    Thanks,
    
    Errol

    Excellent report Brian!  I'd like to see the post calibration results.
    
    Thanks,
    Mike

    
    Is it a good idea to have a 4 track biased for the 
    brand of tape you use? Also, how often should adjustments
    be made?
    
    -T
    

    
    RE; .19 -- Absolutely!!! Different brands of a tape type (CrO2 for
    instance) vary greatly, and also vary from batch to batch and within
    the batch.
    
    I have a TASCAM 122B cassette mastering deck that has front-panel bias
    and level controls, and they recommend that you set up for EVERY TAPE! 
    Levels, especially on the high end, can vary by more than 3dB between 
    tapes. I think that in a cassette setup, the cassette is the weakest
    point by far.
    
    The 122B has a feature that sets the meters to read 0dB at around -20
    so you can do the alignment. It's not reasonable to bias a cassette
    with a high frequency tone at 0dB.
    
    After you know where the bias and level pots are, you should be able to
    set bias and EQ for four tape channels in a few minutes with a
    relatively cheap tone generator/meter like a LofTech (~$125?).
    
    -Ross

    I know it's in here someplace, but I can't find it ...
    
    How *do* you do align/bias a deck?  I've got a tone generator built-in
    to my mixer, so I guess I could use that.  I don't have the slightest
    idea how to futz with one of these things.
    
    Incidentally, I have 2 2-track cassette decks and one 8-track cassette
    deck that have never been biased or aligned (and have never exhibited
    any problems, to my knowledge).  Wonder what I've been missing...
    
+b

    Maybe we should take this alignment stuff off into another note?
    
    The normal alignment procedure (brief):
    
    1.  Get a test tape from a pro audio dealer or the deck's manufacturer,
    set playback alignment by adjusting heads for maximum output on all
    channels.
    
    2.  Set bias level for maximum playback level of high freq. test tone
    (10KHz???).  Too little bias means more distortion, too much means lost
    high end and drop in overall level.
    
    3.  Set record cal so that level in = level out.
    
    The above is pretty easy on 3-head decks that can monitor off the tape. 
    Two head decks require lotsa iterations.  On decks that have built-in
    tone generators and accessible trim pots, repeating 2 and 3 for every
    tape prior to recording on it will optimize performance.  Some cassette
    decks these days have microprocessor controlled auto-biasing (not just
    reading the tape case punchouts, but actually laying tones on the tape,
    calibrating, then rewinding the tape to 0 when done).
    
    						Brian
    
    P.S.  I hope I haven't freaked everybody out!  It's just that I have
    owned cheap cassette machines in the past that had real poor alignment
    and mucho trouble because of that.  I just want to have my 424 set up
    before I do any serious work on it.   Just because it's a cheap unit
    doesn't mean it's not worth trying to maximize it's performance.  A lot
    of problems noters have mentioned with NR systems in cassettes can be
    traced to head alignment and rec/PB calibration.

    Well, I got the 424 back from the shop, so here's the post-mortem:
    
    1.  The tech marked on the slip that he found the heads out of
    alignment, the record cal out of alignment and also cleaned up some
    messy solder joints.  Labor time: 1 hour, no charge as it was under
    warranty.  I think most shops get about $30-50 an hour these days.
    
    2.  I reran the levels test, with a 1KHz sine wave.  Results were good.
    Since the metering of the 424 is pretty rough (as mentioned before)
    it's hard to tell exactly where you lie between two LEDs, but I assume
    that a "flickering" LED means you are within 1 db.  With tones at 0, +3
    and +6 (dbx off), playback was about 1 dB low on all tracks except
    track 4 which was a bit worse (perhaps as much as 3 dB low).  Turning
    dbx on and trying the 0 dB tone gave identical results.  Crosstalk was
    still well masked by the hiss level.
    
    3.  Flipping the tape over, the tones lost about 1 dB, which is
    reasonable enough to do reverse recording.
    
    4.  Comparing the tones by playing the tape on my stereo deck showed
    again that the 424 meters are biased high.  0, +3 and +6 tones played
    back at -5, -1 and +1 respectively.
    
    The bottom line:  I'm glad I had the deck in for the alignment.  I
    have no problem with owning an inexpensive deck, I just want to
    maximize the performance I can get from it. 
    
    						Brian 

    Any experience with particular brands of tape as to one being better
    than the other for overall frequency response?
    
    Dave'
    

    In the 688 note I posted the results of  my informal testing of several
    types/brands of tape. I prefer SONY UX-PRO over all other tapes, with 
    DENON HD-8 a close runner up. MAxell UDXLIIS was next followed by the
    TDK SA and SAX tapes...
    
    FWIW
    
    dbii

    Thanx for the pointer...Dave'
    

    re:-2 
    There is no note 688???
    Dave'
    
    

    I think he's talking about the note for the Tascam 688 which is 2805.
    
    But I just quickly looked thru there and didn't see any tape review but I
    might have missed it.