Hey there, /mu/.
I bought a Tascam 244 Portastudio. I'm fucking psyched, but I can barely find shit about it online. I've never recorded music before, but really want to, and I enjoy the idea of analog a lot more than digital. Well, I've recorded stuff with Ableton and FL Studio, and I didn't like it because I'm too fucking dumb, and I hate how things like digital effects sound.
Anyways, I was wondering, what do you guys think of the Tascam 244 Portastudio? Or any Tascam Portastudio? Where the FUCK can I learn how to use it?
>>60494190
Just play with your knobs.
pretty sure you can get a copy of the manual from tascam, or just google for it. they are really simple to use. any specific questions?
>>60494230
I guess I've got one that's been bothering me.
Do I need to buy a mixer for any kind of post-recording editing and whatnot? Or is that entirely optional?
>Put in cassette tape
>Plug guitar/mic/synth into audio input
>Arm the tracks you want to record on
>hit record
>play music
Also all your tape duration will be halved because you can only use 1 side on a 4 track
>>60494230
Also, since it's recording onto a cassette tape, I was curious, what do you do when you fuck up while recording something? Does that mean you just have to throw the whole tape away and start with a new one?
Good on you mate, that thing looks awesome.
All you really need to do is keep recording.
A few tips would be to put the click on track 4 if you're using one, and if you want to add more instruments, which usually happens, you should bounce the first 3 tracks to the 4th, but make sure one of them is a drum track.
Always wear your headphones when using it to get the true sound. Remember that if you give a monkey a sitar and record a million takes of him playing it, a few of those will be worth listening to, so don't be afraid to do a bad take. It usually requires a lot of takes.
Also, don't be resistant to things like drum machines or samplers, they can help a lot.
>>60494263
You can't flip it over and record more shit on the other side?
>>60494252
No you can do it all on the tascam.
>>60494265
rewind and record over it
>>60494275
No, because when it plays on the 4 track, it's playing the A side and B side at the same time. So if it's backwards, the sound comes out in reverse. So fun when you're high.
>>60494270
I actually do have a drum machine. I plan on recording most of my stuff myself until I can find an actual band, and I can't play drums. So, I'm excited to do that.
Also, to be honest, I don't really understand most of that first part since I'm new to this, but I'll save it in a document for later so I can remember when I'm dicking around with it. Thanks, anon.
>>60494291
No problem anon, I want to clarify because learning this over time helped me alot. The click would be metronome. You'd record the metronome on the 4th track, and then record on the first 3 tracks. Then you'd record (or transfer) the first 3 tracks onto the 4th track which is known as ping ponging or bouncing. That would mean the metronomes gone, so one of those should be a rhythm track, so that you can keep time when you add more tracks.
It's a lot of fun, just keep going with it
>>60494325
Also, the drum machine is the perfect metronome btw.
It's best to primarily record with microphones. That means microphones next to amplifiers and stuff.
>>60494190
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxi7RwFSKEg literally just do this
>>60494325
Ohhh. I see. That's pretty cool, actually.
I definitely will just go with it. The best way to learn is to dick around with it, I guess. Haha.
Any more tips would be highly appreciated. I'll save 'em in a text document to refer to whenever. I'm super excited to put it all to use.
>>60494346
And ohh! I figured!
Speaking of which, I've been looking at recording mics and some of these are super fucking expensive. Even just the equipment to get the mics set up correctly is expensive. Got any recommendations by any chance? I love the idea of recording live a whole lot better than recording digitally, one instrument at a time.
>>60494407
really all you need for most every instrument is a shure sm57. you can even do vocals with it in a pinch. buy one and it will last you the rest of your life.
>>60494531
>dynamic mic for recording vocals
What. You use that for live singing or recording instruments.
>>60494548
>>60494531
nevermind i misread that
>>60494548
Nope I have gotten good vocal sounds many a time with 57's. Sm7 is one of my favourites for vox, it's a dynamic mic
Fun fact: 36 Chambers was mixed on a 244
>>60494190
if you get any portastudio manual or even a fostex manual...you should be able to translate instructions to the 244.
you'll find not having a graphical interface between you and what your creating is far better. stock up on tapes. turn off your computer. and experiment.
if you get into the habit or groove of using it, you'll probably find it far more enjoyable than having to constantly open and click shit on a computer.
its a far better way to make music. or atleast i found it to be. no bar matrixes. no click tracks. no cutting, pasting or editing.
>>60495099
And on the downside;
Signal degradation from bouncing tracks down repeatedly due to only having 4 channels to work with
Crackle and hiss from the tape (only OK if you want a retro sound)
Signal leakage as the tape thins due to repeated recording.
Majority of shops don't sell tapes anymore.
No useful tools like compressors.
Only a simplistic EQ
>>60495215
yeah i know.
im taking more about better for creative processes
not convenience or technical specifications
it does suck about cassettes. the supermarket in my city used to sell them still in 2010 but stopped.
its even harder to find the chromium dioxide or cro2 type II hi bias cassettes...
>>60494386
op-1 spotted
>>60494190
maybe try using it as an instrument like NIN guy
https://youtu.be/MMXEvNUjgCg?t=224
