I learned how to record, or at least got my start on a 244, and I loved it back then. Yours can only record on two tracks at a time, the 244 could record 4 at a time which was handy for live recordings. The damn think kept me up all night for about the first 6 months. My friend still uses his 144, it still works fine!
Love this tutorial, However I would encourage everyone to record drums!!! some of the best "crunchy" tape compression can happen to your mix to glue it together. CHEERS!
thats why i bought this mixer. going to use 4 drum mics and use a seperate focus rite with maybe 8 channels. put the 4 from tascam to the focus rite to computer and use the focus rite for guitar and dummy vocal. once recorded i'l go back and record em via the tascam to get that analog sound
those machines are one of tools for anything to get the BOC sound. And drums ARE getting better when bounced to tape, especially when going into saturation.
you can get drums without bouncing down using a separate mixer and using the 4 track like you would a 4 track reel to reel. you can record drums and other instruments on one track at the same time if you use a separate mixer
I love to use a single mic on the drums and speed the tape up while I record. Then when you play the tape back at normal pitch the drums are detuned. Sounds great.
this is not a masterclass because you cant record drums. some of the greatest drum tones have been recorded on a machine like this. you can bounce drums.
erm.....i cant see bonham quite agreeing but i'll take your word for it....maybe you could send me a link to some of these incredible drum tones produced on a cassette. im all ears pardon the pun.
The whole Tame Impala's "Lonerism" for exemple. And plenty of similar bands trying to have that lo-fi drums sound. Really, don't avoid recording drums on a cassette 4 tracks, it's one of the coolest sounds you can get from it xP
"some of the greatest drum tones have been recorded on a machine like this" says people who never used these CRAP machines 😂😂😂 We used these because it was all we could afford. You future people have some of the best .... oh never mind. 😂😂😂
I got one of these back when they first came out, about 1980. I still have it although it now has a "thump-thump" sound when running. Probably a belt. A couple weeks ago I pulled it out of the closet it's been in for many years to archive my old 4-channel tapes I made on it in the early 80s. Playback worked fine (even with the belt noise which you couldn't hear), speed was fine, pots not too noisy. At first I thought, "great, it'll work!" Unfortunately this does not have 4 discrete tape-outs like later models so be aware of that if you're looking at one. It was designed to record 4 tracks, but only playback those 4 into 2 outputs through the mixer section. My tapes are now, 30-40+ years old so it's time to archive them into the "devil's box" (haha! I love that term for the computer!). I'll be using a model 424 (with 4 tape outs) for that soon (along with a special codec to handle the Dolby B encoding on the original tapes). All my music back then was electronic, and I used a drum machine and bounced tracks all the time. Worked fine for me although a bit noisy due to the tech and format of the thing. What I used to do was lay down a midi sync track first, then add the drum machine synced to that, and any sequenced synth tracks also synced to that midi track (and those would of course also be synced with the drums). Once I had the 3 channels of synced stuff done I could either add something else using the track I had my original sync on, or, more common for me, bounce the 3 channels into the original sync track overwriting it, and then add 3 more channels, usually the main melody line(s). It was pretty complex to do but if things went OK it gave good results. The "charm" of the 144 is it's logical layout, solid build and ease of use. I always loved the 4 big VU meters and still do. I always thought the sound of the 144 was OK. While I can sort of see the attraction to this old gear now, back then it was the best you could do at the time given the cost and we just used what we had access to at that time!
i record drums with one mic into a 4 track, and it's the best sounding track lol You can push the drum lvls reallly high without hearing much distortion bcos the sound is transient. whereas with vocals you cant push it that high bcos usually the note is sustained and this will 'cos the sound to distort more noticeably. :) $0.02
Any analogue tape format is by its nature more forgiving of transients (that is not to say it has far less dynamic range). You can even distort on tape for an effect not something you can do with a digital format. You may be having a problem with level but this is to do with proper gain staging (using a compressor to reduce the dynamic range of the drums and then making up the output is how to overcome that problem). Not using a tape for drums (no matter what the width) is ridiculous and technically wrong. In fact the resurgence in portastudios recently is invariably to do just that: record EDM and hip hop stuff. Not exactly drum light material.
I must disagree with the idea of avoiding bouncing. Most of the attraction of Lo-Fi is the the feeling and sound of instruments mixed together on a single track. It's also a great template to base your focal point tracks on. Lo-Fi isn't about mixing every instrument to pristine clarity. It's about capturing the feel and energy of a song with the sound of actual instruments. Build a studio around your 4-track, as you would a REEL-REEL and you'll find there's very little you can't do with the addition of mid to high-end equipment. I got rid of my REEL-REEL 8 track, and used my mixer and doohickeys on my TASCAM 424 MKIII. I'll never record on anything else, I'm sure.
well i like that sound too....and every track is chocka block bounced.... still sounds like a decent 8 track to me tho...:) post up your results...would luv to hear em..
Thanks, jon. I'm going to be working on a new demo, shortly. Have to admit, I'm a bit of an idiot when it comes to digital. Do you have a link, or a quick explanation as to how to post? Q: What is so great about the TEAC 144, vs. the TASCAM MKIII? When I started on a used Fostex 280, I found 4-tracking to be quite limited. Moving up to a MKII prior to the MKIII blew me away by comparison. You rave about it, but don't quite give a reason for it's superiority. I'm just wondering if it's really worth tracking one down. I love to get advice from people who know more than me. I'd really appreciate a reply on that, as well.
well...you are gonna have to simply convert your master to a dig master using a puter. thats it. then just post the file as a movie. any app in any puter will do this ie IMOVIE etc etc. your a smart lad...its easy. if you want a more lo fi sound then master to cassette...its all up to you and the sound you want.
Sounds like I WANT ONE! I love "Nebraska", but resented that "Atlantic City" was so obviously not done on a 4 - Track. It made the concept of the album rather hypocritical, I think.
i think they sexed it up a bit but the bulk of the mix was done in his bedroom. apparently the first thing they did was re bounce the cassette master onto a 2 inch tape. plus it was mastered back when mastering was an artform in its own right. really tho (and im not actually a massive bruce fan) its shows the devasting vocal performance of da boss.
Jon, love your Analogue Masterclass videos. I hope you continue to make more in 2014. I dislike computer recording also, way too complicated and all of it sounds weak and hyper. In the MR10 video you mentioned that you used Logic. Do you use Logic to record your music or just for making You Tube video?
i use logic only when i absolutley HAVE to. Basically another p.o.s. generic sampler. just a ton of numbers. thats it. When everyone has the same kit...everyone sounds the same. Basically its a question of cash. given enough cash i wont go near computers....i did a country LP in 2007 which cost about 11,000 dollars and was mastered on 2 inch, recorded on 24track, took it to abbey road to transfer to digital. i can safely say i was probably the last person you will talk to who went through a totally analogue process. To answer your question: nothing good ever came out of puter productions. In ten years time these modern recordings are gonna sound so dated and cheap its a joke. Huge con job. and terrible for rock, country, indie. Terrible for drums n vocals. give me a 57 and a free track and you will get a better result in 5 mins flat. this is a long freekin answer!
Hey, that's fun that I just commented below, but hey, i'm that person that can say you're not the last person to have made a 100% analog LP. In 2016 with my ex band/duo, Cachinus, we made our second album "Had To Happen" on 8 track (Otari MX5050) and I went to cut the lacquer from our 1/2" master tape at Abbey Road too ! :)
You can check my channel for some beat heavy stuff, and im not even focusing on drums. All portas sound great in whatever u throw at them, it has everything this era needs to make good interesting music. I wouldn't ever try to stop someone from recording drums, possibly i'd do the exact opposite.
hi i have a soundcraft 760 deck 1 and 2 inch they cost a lot to run power and tape i fixed them up very hard to find a working studio deck i know people have master on a 4 track deck they used to in the past computer make you lazy i have been there with adat
there a man in the uk who buys there of ebay in the uk and fix them way the prices are very very high i just payed £60 pounds not working i am a tec so i can fix it you are right any thing in side made of rubber you have to change over the tascam ones can be hard work
Yes please. I record on a tascam 424mkIII, so i'm intrigued to know your methods, eqing and all that. And where you talk about recording onto tracks 3-4 first, then recording on 1-2 and it 'coming to life'. Would be interesting to see this process in action. :)
i think this may have to be a private vid as 1. early experiments show the vid to be ridiculously long and perhaps somewhat boring to non participants....
Could you edit it? I didn't know you could do private videos ha. I'd really be interested in it, and I'd assume most music tech geeks would be. It's entirely up to you mate how you want to go about it. I've listened to your album Dead Cassette and really enjoyed it. A lot of music tech videos never have good results. But I've heard the results of yours and you nail it. Be interesting because you actually know what your doing.
@@jonryman if this video exists could you please send it to me as well? I've just aquired a 144 and would really appreciate it since there no videos on this unit whatsoever on the net, and it does slightly differ from each unit built after and especially modern portastudios (aux sends/eq-ing, non-4 track recording)
These machines are great if you want to sound like a crappy 80s garage band. 😏Everything you distribute is going to be digital, so might as well use a robust digital muti-track recorder. You can still use analog gear and you can always downgrade your final mix, even add pops and scratches if you like. But you can't make a crappy 4-track recording sound good, only decent.
ahh...you old sourpuss. what if you are a crappy 80s garage band? also, a number of tunes made the charts in the uk with a cassette back in the day when a chart placement meant serious dollar/pounds. i still defy anyone to find a better 4 track lp than the one I humbly present:)!
not sure bout that....i have heard it and to me it sounds like it was just mixed on that machine and not tracked. i know for a fact they mixed on this. maybe your right? idk. more investigation. it is a dope lp tho.
I know that its a digital machine, but you should check out the new Tascam Model 24. It's basically a super-souped-up Portastudio, with 24 track recording to SD card, and with good preams, effects, busses, etc. You could basically make an entire album out of it if you got the time and patience. It will definitely belong in my studio once I get the money for it.
It’s analog studio mixer with built in digital record … u can run all channels to pc and back and give it analog summing and record it back to pc or sd card … basically it’s just AD/DA convertor as well as analog mixer
yeah of course. you bounce! three tape trax to 1...endless possibilities. You need the source select to tape on the router...those 4 buttons in the centre that depress (not literally/mentally). Its a bit more than a response here will allow. you should be able to dload a manual still. take a look for a manual to begin with...
you posted this when you could get them cheap. every single kind of tape recorder is so expensive on the internet. i was lucky to get my 414 for just over $100, but they easily go for $400/500. i can imagine that the 144 is somewhere closer to $1,000 by now. i wish i would’ve known sooner!!!
interesting video......but its not cheap anymore, these teacs go for serious wedge on ebay, presumably because of the myths and legends emanating from springsteens use of a 144 to record his album Nebraska. Would be buyers probably fantasise about recording their own Nebraska and hitting the big time.....lol......but seriously, you have to decide what you want to do with it and what it can do for you and what price you are willing to pay. The cassette tapes are not cheap either. Just come off ebay and the asking price for one maxell cro2 is around £7 each, bulk purchase deals bring the price down. Compared to 5 cdr's from homebargains for a quid, then the digital domain is much cheaper using machines like BR900 BR1200 and BR1600. If I was giving some advice to newcomers on home recording with a limited budget then I would recommend consideration of the Boss BR8 (so underrated) and then taking the line outs to a nice cassette tape machine (with speakers) for mastering. Google those two items kids!! You'll be surprised at how cheap you can put together a complete home recording system that will give you surprising results. Oh and the 144 is not the mother of portastudios!, the fostex 160 and the even better 260 with sweep eq walks all over it.....I still want a 144 for my collection though.....lol.....Keep the tapes running Jon!
You were 100% correct brotha....I just recorded a Elliot Smith type of song with a Tascam 246, audio technica 4047 microphone, art pro channel 2 "tube" pre/comp/eq, and a Arion 1986 stereo analog chorus pedal...no drums...and like you said...absolutely killer!! I could not get this sound with protools, and plugins...totally different vibe...I LOVE IT!! TRACKS 1&2 stereo acoustic guitar TRACK 3 synth pad from Roland JV1080 TRACK 4 lead and back ground vocals Rich deep sound!!! thank you for your expertise and advise!!!!!
Jon, Thank you for sharing your wisdom. Does the 144 unit have built in phantom power in case you plug in a dynamic mic that demands phantom power such as an RE20?
Whole Heartedly Agree! I own a fuck ton of multi-track cassette recorders including a Teac 244, Tascam Porta One, Porta Two, Porta 7, 414, 688 and a Fostex Model 280... Subtle differences in charactor on the mid 80s to 90s 4 tracks but my 244 really stands out from the rest. My track #1 is a bit murky however, as the heads are getting a bit too worn. Nice Demos~!
its probably the last AFFORDABLE analogue set up. 8/16 tracks are way cool but the tape is getting crazy with the price.its not a realistic option for a 17 year old. I aslo hear the price of cassette tapes a la tdk sa60 are going through the roof. im loadin up for the next 5 years. the volume of hi quality cassettes sold this year has also skyrocketed.....
+William Roth I concur. The 244 is the best cassette 4-track ever made. I'm obsessed with these machines, have been since the late 90's. I currently own a 244, 424, and a 424 MKIII and I love each one for different reasons but they all add something unique to the song you record. I'm not anti-digital but staring at a computer makes my head hurt. Tape inspires me. Great vids brother!
+jon ryman Check out National Audio Company. The last company making Chrome Type !! cassettes out there. Cheap too. I got a 10 pack of 60 min tapes for under $20!
I just got that today man , awesome I popped in one of my mix tapes (not a CD an actual cassette for 80's and 90's goodness) and the audio played a bit faster than on my Kenwood double stereo cassette deck . and it's a beast to move on your own , YIKES and it's got a built in PSU no need for a damn wall wart when that could be lost and then your up shit creek without a paddle .
@@jonryman I'll be sure to look into it another thing to note is that it struggles to rewind tapes likely due to something slipping I think . my Kenwood double stereo cassette deck rewinds tapes just fine .
Sorry i'm quite new to analog recording, but do most people who use these types of 4tracks use their mixing desk with it? Im guessing there is no XLR input or do most people solely use the recorder with XLR to jack leads? Great video, you explained it really well.
if you master of the 4 track you will get it a good result. if you take the outputs (4) from the back of the unit you will get a good result. dont worry bout the leads....its a small thing compared to the fact your recording on one quarter of the width of a cassette tape! there is XLR on some models. makes fuck all difference really...
ive done both obviously and on balance i prefer straight from the 4 track. but using a mixer is very cool as well. more mix options. just ram the audio from the back of the unit into the DAW. easy.
nice....yeah the cassettes are basically no go......personally im glad i managed to get this thang together cause theres no way in hell i could ever do it again!!
great review, I just don´t agree that this is no good for drums, I record my drum parts on four mics (or even just two) and it sound great with a little help of the eq
+jani pashkvan well if dedicate the recorded to JUST this then of course its gonna give you a nice result to whack back into the puter. if your trying to incorporate a SINGLE track of drums into a 4 track tune...then thats much much harder.
you are. mistaken. it happens. he recorded it on a digital portastudio. i've seen the machine! think it was a 24 track...he doesnt like to spend money ol hank...:)
How does the 144 compare to the 246? I struggle getting the leveling right on mine. Maybe I'm doing something wrong? The Peak LEDS flash, but the sound is fine, and the needles dont jump very high, and the overload trim lights never light. Any ideas?
well if sounds ok then it probably is....the heads can give false levels if worn. check the heads. de mag it as well. that can cause false levels.....finally....dont expect too much as at the end of the day the machine can struggle to represent levels accurately. its one of the hardest things to get right sometimes. just push it high until it starts dropping out or distorting...
There's a pretty big difference between the two. Soundwise, you can do a lot more with the mixer on the 246 as it has 6 channels and sweepable lows and mids as well as effects sends. I also like the dbx noise reduction on the 246 more than the Dolby B that's on the 144. I have both machines and I actually love them both, but given the choice I would chose the 246 every time. It's easier to repair and parts are widely available while the 144 was the first one and they hadn't perfected the build yet. There's some strange parts in it that break down and since they are made with rubber pieces, there's no way to find them anymore. The 246 always impresses me. It's one of the best examples of the Portastudio ever made.
What parts would you recommend I purchase to make sure I keep this machine running for a long time? I really like my 246. I'm about to start tracking drums. I can't wait!
yeah. bring the plastic tip of the demag slowly close to the record and p back heads. WITHOUT touching the heads let the demag go as close as possible to them. then slowly move it away and turn it off AWAY from the unit approx 1 metre away. JOB DONE> if you dont know where the heads are which of course you do mail us back.
+Derek Riojas you shoulda tried workin with the YAMAHA cs5 music computer i think came out in 85ish. they shipped it without a quantise function and the thing barely worked. total nightmare months wasted on that thing.
@@EARART 144-244-246; it evolved & improved .. not subjective/more features. Wish I kept my 244 .. perfect ergonomics. Had it serviced & ran beautifully. Replaced it with 246 .. more useful features still but board got cramped. Similarly serviced 2 perfection. Found the remote 4 it 2 complete the setup.
ok. well...i would love to discuss this hegelian dialectic further with you but a tiny voice in my head urges me make a derogatory comment about your utterly ridiculous haircut. your bald but appear to have, despite this fact, a semblance of a haircut. I use that word in the loosest possible sense by the way. In other words....you look like a third class ticket mate.
lol they are tiny toy soldiers stuck on my head for a laugh (probably you'd need a 3rd opinion to tell you what a laugh was) I was playing a charity event and it was fun so specsavers for you my friend ;) ...... 3rd class ticket sounds like an improvement on missing the boat though matey peeps ;) .... rock on
yeah? really? well try this on then. your a seven n six a number. but dont worry im just decking with a ticket and frankly aint in the mood for a jump through....franklin.library.upenn.edu/catalog/FRANKLIN_99843583503681 th-cam.com/video/MDQIax89JSY/w-d-xo.html
This was my first Multitrack recorder. I got this for my 12th birthday and learned so much from using it. Thanks for making this video
I learned how to record, or at least got my start on a 244, and I loved it back then. Yours can only record on two tracks at a time, the 244 could record 4 at a time which was handy for live recordings. The damn think kept me up all night for about the first 6 months. My friend still uses his 144, it still works fine!
Love this tutorial, However I would encourage everyone to record drums!!! some of the
best "crunchy" tape compression can happen to your mix to glue it together.
CHEERS!
thats why i bought this mixer. going to use 4 drum mics and use a seperate focus rite with maybe 8 channels. put the 4 from tascam to the focus rite to computer and use the focus rite for guitar and dummy vocal. once recorded i'l go back and record em via the tascam to get that analog sound
those machines are one of tools for anything to get the BOC sound. And drums ARE getting better when bounced to tape, especially when going into saturation.
you can get drums without bouncing down using a separate mixer and using the 4 track like you would a 4 track reel to reel. you can record drums and other instruments on one track at the same time if you use a separate mixer
yup this is an old schoolish way of doin it...put the whole band on track 1!!!!!!
I love to use a single mic on the drums and speed the tape up while I record. Then when you play the tape back at normal pitch the drums are detuned. Sounds great.
this is not a masterclass because you cant record drums. some of the greatest drum tones have been recorded on a machine like this. you can bounce drums.
erm.....i cant see bonham quite agreeing but i'll take your word for it....maybe you could send me a link to some of these incredible drum tones produced on a cassette. im all ears pardon the pun.
The whole Tame Impala's "Lonerism" for exemple. And plenty of similar bands trying to have that lo-fi drums sound.
Really, don't avoid recording drums on a cassette 4 tracks, it's one of the coolest sounds you can get from it xP
100%
"some of the greatest drum tones have been recorded on a machine like this" says people who never used these CRAP machines 😂😂😂 We used these because it was all we could afford. You future people have some of the best .... oh never mind. 😂😂😂
I got one of these back when they first came out, about 1980. I still have it although it now has a "thump-thump" sound when running. Probably a belt. A couple weeks ago I pulled it out of the closet it's been in for many years to archive my old 4-channel tapes I made on it in the early 80s. Playback worked fine (even with the belt noise which you couldn't hear), speed was fine, pots not too noisy. At first I thought, "great, it'll work!" Unfortunately this does not have 4 discrete tape-outs like later models so be aware of that if you're looking at one. It was designed to record 4 tracks, but only playback those 4 into 2 outputs through the mixer section. My tapes are now, 30-40+ years old so it's time to archive them into the "devil's box" (haha! I love that term for the computer!). I'll be using a model 424 (with 4 tape outs) for that soon (along with a special codec to handle the Dolby B encoding on the original tapes).
All my music back then was electronic, and I used a drum machine and bounced tracks all the time. Worked fine for me although a bit noisy due to the tech and format of the thing. What I used to do was lay down a midi sync track first, then add the drum machine synced to that, and any sequenced synth tracks also synced to that midi track (and those would of course also be synced with the drums). Once I had the 3 channels of synced stuff done I could either add something else using the track I had my original sync on, or, more common for me, bounce the 3 channels into the original sync track overwriting it, and then add 3 more channels, usually the main melody line(s). It was pretty complex to do but if things went OK it gave good results.
The "charm" of the 144 is it's logical layout, solid build and ease of use. I always loved the 4 big VU meters and still do. I always thought the sound of the 144 was OK. While I can sort of see the attraction to this old gear now, back then it was the best you could do at the time given the cost and we just used what we had access to at that time!
i record drums with one mic into a 4 track, and it's the best sounding track lol You can push the drum lvls reallly high without hearing much distortion bcos the sound is transient. whereas with vocals you cant push it that high bcos usually the note is sustained and this will 'cos the sound to distort more noticeably. :) $0.02
hmmm yeah. some say there is no tape saturtion on a 4 trak but i think thats a load of old poople. nice to hear you r grooving the groove tho...
Yeah! Same here, re: drums through 4 track. One of the best drums sounds I recorded had a Tascam 424 overdriven as the room/trash mic ;)
Any analogue tape format is by its nature more forgiving of transients (that is not to say it has far less dynamic range). You can even distort on tape for an effect not something you can do with a digital format. You may be having a problem with level but this is to do with proper gain staging (using a compressor to reduce the dynamic range of the drums and then making up the output is how to overcome that problem). Not using a tape for drums (no matter what the width) is ridiculous and technically wrong. In fact the resurgence in portastudios recently is invariably to do just that: record EDM and hip hop stuff. Not exactly drum light material.
All hail Jon Ryman analog revolution!
its a very quiet revolution.
Just copped a 244...... Shopped and shopped... guess all the 144s are broken?
Do wish it had a manual transport though. Check out the Marantz PMD 740, that's gotta be the nicest 4 track ever
Get an analog transient designer and you can soften or strengthen the drums
It always helps to record with the pitch on full if you want more quality its adds another almost 3/4 of an inch to the recording.
I must disagree with the idea of avoiding bouncing. Most of the attraction of Lo-Fi is the the feeling and sound of instruments mixed together on a single track. It's also a great template to base your focal point tracks on.
Lo-Fi isn't about mixing every instrument to pristine clarity. It's about capturing the feel and energy of a song with the sound of actual instruments. Build a studio around your 4-track, as you would a REEL-REEL and you'll find there's very little you can't do with the addition of mid to high-end equipment. I got rid of my REEL-REEL 8 track, and used my mixer and doohickeys on my TASCAM 424 MKIII.
I'll never record on anything else, I'm sure.
well i like that sound too....and every track is chocka block bounced....
still sounds like a decent 8 track to me tho...:) post up your results...would luv to hear em..
Thanks, jon. I'm going to be working on a new demo, shortly.
Have to admit, I'm a bit of an idiot when it comes to digital. Do you have a link, or a quick explanation as to how to post?
Q: What is so great about the TEAC 144, vs. the TASCAM MKIII?
When I started on a used Fostex 280, I found 4-tracking to be quite limited. Moving up to a MKII prior to the MKIII blew me away by comparison.
You rave about it, but don't quite give a reason for it's superiority. I'm just wondering if it's really worth tracking one down.
I love to get advice from people who know more than me. I'd really appreciate a reply on that, as well.
well...you are gonna have to simply convert your master to a dig master using a puter. thats it. then just post the file as a movie. any app in any puter will do this ie IMOVIE etc etc. your a smart lad...its easy. if you want a more lo fi sound then master to cassette...its all up to you and the sound you want.
Sounds like I WANT ONE!
I love "Nebraska", but resented that "Atlantic City" was so obviously not done on a 4 - Track. It made the concept of the album rather hypocritical, I think.
i think they sexed it up a bit but the bulk of the mix was done in his bedroom. apparently the first thing they did was re bounce the cassette master onto a 2 inch tape. plus it was mastered back when mastering was an artform in its own right. really tho (and im not actually a massive bruce fan) its shows the devasting vocal performance of da boss.
Could you make a tutorial on how to use it for recording and mixing ?
Jon, love your Analogue Masterclass videos. I hope you continue to make more in 2014. I dislike computer recording also, way too complicated and all of it sounds weak and hyper. In the MR10 video you mentioned that you used Logic. Do you use Logic to record your music or just for making You Tube video?
i use logic only when i absolutley HAVE to. Basically another p.o.s. generic sampler. just a ton of numbers. thats it. When everyone has the same kit...everyone sounds the same. Basically its a question of cash. given enough cash i wont go near computers....i did a country LP in 2007 which cost about 11,000 dollars and was mastered on 2 inch, recorded on 24track, took it to abbey road to transfer to digital. i can safely say i was probably the last person you will talk to who went through a totally analogue process. To answer your question:
nothing good ever came out of puter productions. In ten years time these modern recordings are gonna sound so dated and cheap its a joke. Huge con job. and terrible for rock, country, indie. Terrible for drums n vocals. give me a 57 and a free track and you will get a better result in 5 mins flat. this is a long freekin answer!
Hey, that's fun that I just commented below, but hey, i'm that person that can say you're not the last person to have made a 100% analog LP. In 2016 with my ex band/duo, Cachinus, we made our second album "Had To Happen" on 8 track (Otari MX5050) and I went to cut the lacquer from our 1/2" master tape at Abbey Road too ! :)
You can check my channel for some beat heavy stuff, and im not even focusing on drums. All portas sound great in whatever u throw at them, it has everything this era needs to make good interesting music. I wouldn't ever try to stop someone from recording drums, possibly i'd do the exact opposite.
Whats the song on the back? Nice one
I sold mine cheap. But dont miss it. I bought a newer one. Yet I enjoyed your vid and the memories.
hi i have a soundcraft 760 deck 1 and 2 inch they cost a lot to run power and tape i fixed them up very hard to find a working studio deck
i know people have master on a 4 track deck they used to in the past computer make you lazy i have been there with adat
there a man in the uk who buys there of ebay in the uk and fix them way the prices are very very high i just payed £60 pounds not working i am a tec
so i can fix it you are right any thing in side made of rubber you have to change over the tascam ones can be hard work
The devils box that was funny lol i keeep laughing it is the devils box porn galore nasty things everyday you your on the devils box haha
Could you do a video where you mix a song on this? Showing the full process? Please.
the full process huh? ok well i will see what i can do for you ok?
Yes please. I record on a tascam 424mkIII, so i'm intrigued to know your methods, eqing and all that. And where you talk about recording onto tracks 3-4 first, then recording on 1-2 and it 'coming to life'. Would be interesting to see this process in action. :)
i think this may have to be a private vid as
1. early experiments show the vid to be ridiculously long and perhaps somewhat boring to non participants....
Could you edit it? I didn't know you could do private videos ha. I'd really be interested in it, and I'd assume most music tech geeks would be. It's entirely up to you mate how you want to go about it. I've listened to your album Dead Cassette and really enjoyed it. A lot of music tech videos never have good results. But I've heard the results of yours and you nail it. Be interesting because you actually know what your doing.
@@jonryman if this video exists could you please send it to me as well? I've just aquired a 144 and would really appreciate it since there no videos on this unit whatsoever on the net, and it does slightly differ from each unit built after and especially modern portastudios (aux sends/eq-ing, non-4 track recording)
These machines are great if you want to sound like a crappy 80s garage band. 😏Everything you distribute is going to be digital, so might as well use a robust digital muti-track recorder. You can still use analog gear and you can always downgrade your final mix, even add pops and scratches if you like. But you can't make a crappy 4-track recording sound good, only decent.
ahh...you old sourpuss. what if you are a crappy 80s garage band? also, a number of tunes made the charts in the uk with a cassette back in the day when a chart placement meant serious dollar/pounds. i still defy anyone to find a better 4 track lp than the one I humbly present:)!
not sure bout that....i have heard it and to me it sounds like it was just mixed on that machine and not tracked. i know for a fact they mixed on this. maybe your right? idk. more investigation. it is a dope lp tho.
I know that its a digital machine, but you should check out the new Tascam Model 24. It's basically a super-souped-up Portastudio, with 24 track recording to SD card, and with good preams, effects, busses, etc. You could basically make an entire album out of it if you got the time and patience. It will definitely belong in my studio once I get the money for it.
It’s analog studio mixer with built in digital record … u can run all channels to pc and back and give it analog summing and record it back to pc or sd card … basically it’s just AD/DA convertor as well as analog mixer
Is there a way to overdub on this? I own Malcolm Young's 144 that I just got and have no idea on how to overdub
yeah of course. you bounce! three tape trax to 1...endless possibilities. You need the source select to tape on the router...those 4 buttons in the centre that depress (not literally/mentally). Its a bit more than a response here will allow. you should be able to dload a manual still. take a look for a manual to begin with...
you posted this when you could get them cheap. every single kind of tape recorder is so expensive on the internet. i was lucky to get my 414 for just over $100, but they easily go for $400/500. i can imagine that the 144 is somewhere closer to $1,000 by now. i wish i would’ve known sooner!!!
rumours are...tascam may reintroduce a new 4 track...
interesting video......but its not cheap anymore, these teacs go for serious wedge on ebay, presumably because of the myths and legends emanating from springsteens use of a 144 to record his album Nebraska. Would be buyers probably fantasise about recording their own Nebraska and hitting the big time.....lol......but seriously, you have to decide what you want to do with it and what it can do for you and what price you are willing to pay. The cassette tapes are not cheap either. Just come off ebay and the asking price for one maxell cro2 is around £7 each, bulk purchase deals bring the price down. Compared to 5 cdr's from homebargains for a quid, then the digital domain is much cheaper using machines like BR900 BR1200 and BR1600. If I was giving some advice to newcomers on home recording with a limited budget then I would recommend consideration of the Boss BR8 (so underrated) and then taking the line outs to a nice cassette tape machine (with speakers) for mastering. Google those two items kids!! You'll be surprised at how cheap you can put together a complete home recording system that will give you surprising results. Oh and the 144 is not the mother of portastudios!, the fostex 160 and the even better 260 with sweep eq walks all over it.....I still want a 144 for my collection though.....lol.....Keep the tapes running Jon!
maybe your right. perhaps i was a little over excited by da thing. i have one to sell at the momement.
You were 100% correct brotha....I just recorded a Elliot Smith type of song with a Tascam 246, audio technica 4047 microphone, art pro channel 2 "tube" pre/comp/eq, and a Arion 1986 stereo analog chorus pedal...no drums...and like you said...absolutely killer!! I could not get this sound with protools, and plugins...totally different vibe...I LOVE IT!!
TRACKS 1&2 stereo acoustic guitar
TRACK 3 synth pad from Roland JV1080
TRACK 4 lead and back ground vocals
Rich deep sound!!! thank you for your expertise and advise!!!!!
Get tape now. Every day it goes up in price. Tdk sa60... Always look for 60s n 30s
@@jonryman
Thank you, brotha
@@jonryman Is there a particular reason not to go for the 90 minute version of the SA from TDK?
Jon,
Thank you for sharing your wisdom. Does the 144 unit have built in phantom power in case you plug in a dynamic mic that demands phantom power such as an RE20?
Pretty sure it does....
brother seen them at yard sales for 50 american,,,,great video
how i miss all that kinda stuff....its way more fun than clickin da net
and more ideas off the top of your own head ,,,,,,,lol
or off your head:)
Well you can have Drums if you use a musical keyboard with this!
i normally try to include a track with the vid.....but this box is just so simple to use i held back.....next vid i will record to logic pro.....cool?
Excellent video. I really appreciate the point on the VU meters. I'll be on the lookout for one of these.
Whole Heartedly Agree! I own a fuck ton of multi-track cassette recorders including a Teac 244, Tascam Porta One, Porta Two, Porta 7, 414, 688 and a Fostex Model 280... Subtle differences in charactor on the mid 80s to 90s 4 tracks but my 244 really stands out from the rest. My track #1 is a bit murky however, as the heads are getting a bit too worn. Nice Demos~!
its probably the last AFFORDABLE analogue set up. 8/16 tracks are way cool but the tape is getting crazy with the price.its not a realistic option for a 17 year old. I aslo hear the price of cassette tapes a la tdk sa60 are going through the roof. im loadin up for the next 5 years. the volume of hi quality cassettes sold this year has also skyrocketed.....
+William Roth I concur. The 244 is the best cassette 4-track ever made. I'm obsessed with these machines, have been since the late 90's. I currently own a 244, 424, and a 424 MKIII and I love each one for different reasons but they all add something unique to the song you record. I'm not anti-digital but staring at a computer makes my head hurt. Tape inspires me. Great vids brother!
+jon ryman Check out National Audio Company. The last company making Chrome Type !! cassettes out there. Cheap too. I got a 10 pack of 60 min tapes for under $20!
again thank you for the video,,,,, one day I have to get my porto one working
I just got that today man , awesome I popped in one of my mix tapes (not a CD an actual cassette for 80's and 90's goodness) and the audio played a bit faster than on my Kenwood double stereo cassette deck . and it's a beast to move on your own , YIKES and it's got a built in PSU no need for a damn wall wart when that could be lost and then your up shit creek without a paddle .
check the heads for wear n tear. its the main thang!
@@jonryman I'll be sure to look into it another thing to note is that it struggles to rewind tapes likely due to something slipping I think . my Kenwood double stereo cassette deck rewinds tapes just fine .
Sorry i'm quite new to analog recording, but do most people who use these types of 4tracks use their mixing desk with it? Im guessing there is no XLR input or do most people solely use the recorder with XLR to jack leads? Great video, you explained it really well.
if you master of the 4 track you will get it a good result. if you take the outputs (4) from the back of the unit you will get a good result. dont worry bout the leads....its a small thing compared to the fact your recording on one quarter of the width of a cassette tape! there is XLR on some models. makes fuck all difference really...
ive done both obviously and on balance i prefer straight from the 4 track. but using a mixer is very cool as well. more mix options. just ram the audio from the back of the unit into the DAW. easy.
found one on eBay 8 years ago. paid only $70. and unit is running smooth. but I have some trouble finding quality chrome cassettes these days
nice....yeah the cassettes are basically no go......personally im glad i managed to get this thang together cause theres no way in hell i could ever do it again!!
Are chrome cassettes like the best sounding? Or high Fidelity/vibey?
Software is isolated this is alive
I have teac a-3340s R-R. will i get better results with this machine considering that it is much older but w/ wider tracks?
in one word...yes. dont matter how old it is...but be aware keeping these machines operating is an artform in itself.
Yep, luckily I have resurrected mine and saved from going to the dumpster. Both heads were almost trash
great review, I just don´t agree that this is no good for drums, I record my drum parts on four mics (or even just two) and
it sound great with a little help of the eq
+jani pashkvan well if dedicate the recorded to JUST this then of course its gonna give you a nice result to whack back into the puter. if your trying to incorporate a SINGLE track of drums into a 4 track tune...then thats much much harder.
If I’m not mistaken Hank III “Straight To Hell” album was recorded on this.
you are. mistaken. it happens. he recorded it on a digital portastudio. i've seen the machine! think it was a 24 track...he doesnt like to spend money ol hank...:)
How does the 144 compare to the 246? I struggle getting the leveling right on mine. Maybe I'm doing something wrong? The Peak LEDS flash, but the sound is fine, and the needles dont jump very high, and the overload trim lights never light. Any ideas?
well if sounds ok then it probably is....the heads can give false levels if worn. check the heads. de mag it as well. that can cause false levels.....finally....dont expect too much as at the end of the day the machine can struggle to represent levels accurately. its one of the hardest things to get right sometimes. just push it high until it starts dropping out or distorting...
There's a pretty big difference between the two. Soundwise, you can do a lot more with the mixer on the 246 as it has 6 channels and sweepable lows and mids as well as effects sends. I also like the dbx noise reduction on the 246 more than the Dolby B that's on the 144. I have both machines and I actually love them both, but given the choice I would chose the 246 every time. It's easier to repair and parts are widely available while the 144 was the first one and they hadn't perfected the build yet. There's some strange parts in it that break down and since they are made with rubber pieces, there's no way to find them anymore. The 246 always impresses me. It's one of the best examples of the Portastudio ever made.
The 246 I bought came with a demagnetizer. I'm not sure how to use it though. Can you describe what I should do? Thanks!
What parts would you recommend I purchase to make sure I keep this machine running for a long time? I really like my 246. I'm about to start tracking drums. I can't wait!
yeah. bring the plastic tip of the demag slowly close to the record and p back heads. WITHOUT touching the heads let the demag go as close as possible to them. then slowly move it away and turn it off AWAY from the unit approx 1 metre away. JOB DONE> if you dont know where the heads are which of course you do mail us back.
Nice one, thanx :-)
Wow you lost your mind.
shit happens....to loosely quote donald rumsfeld.
when you are done with your cassette recordings how do you convert them into digital format online?
+Derek Riojas as you would expect...shoved into a computer. has to happen or no sound file.
+Derek Riojas you shoulda tried workin with the YAMAHA cs5 music computer i think came out in 85ish. they shipped it without a quantise function and the thing barely worked. total nightmare months wasted on that thing.
Still using this machine?
No. Sold it. Have a mk3 for sale tascam 4 track all singing all dancing model
244’s better ... the 246 better still!
how??? 244 is Tascam under DBX lisence.
144 is TEAC under DOLBY lisence. WAYYY better than 244 or any DBX 4 track at that
Depends what you class as better, it's subjective
@@EARART 144-244-246; it evolved & improved .. not subjective/more features. Wish I kept my 244 .. perfect ergonomics. Had it serviced & ran beautifully. Replaced it with 246 .. more useful features still but board got cramped. Similarly serviced 2 perfection. Found the remote 4 it 2 complete the setup.
yup ur fkn bonkers
theres a known correlation between madness and artistic genius. i fear you have neither. WEEKENDER.
ok. well...i would love to discuss this hegelian dialectic further with you but a tiny voice in my head urges me make a derogatory comment about your utterly ridiculous haircut. your bald but appear to have, despite this fact, a semblance of a haircut. I use that word in the loosest possible sense by the way. In other words....you look like a third class ticket mate.
lol they are tiny toy soldiers stuck on my head for a laugh (probably you'd need a 3rd opinion to tell you what a laugh was) I was playing a charity event and it was fun so specsavers for you my friend ;) ...... 3rd class ticket sounds like an improvement on missing the boat though matey peeps ;) .... rock on
yeah? really? well try this on then. your a seven n six a number. but dont worry im just decking with a ticket and frankly aint in the mood for a jump through....franklin.library.upenn.edu/catalog/FRANKLIN_99843583503681
th-cam.com/video/MDQIax89JSY/w-d-xo.html
met some wankers in my time mate but u take the fkn biscuit x x x Bellender ;)
I had a Tascam 244 and it looked exactly the same.
did you? look the same:).....
yeah they are the same machine.