Recording 8 tracks on a 4 track cassette | Tascam 424 Mk II tutorial | Making Panthro's theme

The finished song which I recorded entirely on this Tascam 424 Mk II can be listened to here;-
• Panthro's theme | Thun...
This tutorial is for anyone who wants to use bouncing to record a up to eight tracks on a 4 track cassette recorder. It will be of particular interest to anyone whop owns a Tascam 424 mark two, though nearly everything demonstrated will work exactly the same way on a 464 or 4a 24 Mk III, and much of what I'm showing is going to be relevant on any multitracker - other Tascams, Yamaha, Fostex etc.
I've tried to use affordable gear as much as possible - most instruments and pedals featured int he recording were second hand bargains which cost between £20 and £90. Obvious exceptions include my guitar and bass, but honestly if I'd used cheap beginner stuff instead, it wouldn't have sounded that much worse - don't let your budget hamper your creativity!
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TETRAKAN - Fix & Use Tape Recorders
Overviews; tear-downs; repair vlogs; techniques; tutorials; demo recordings...
...covering every cassette multitrack recorder ever made!*
*(eventually)
/ tetrakan
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If you would like to make a regular donation check out my Patreon account;-
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I prefer to answer questions in the youtube comments where my answers can help more than one person, but if you need to share photos etc, you can message me via facebook.
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Tools and equipment I use when repairing portastudios;-
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[@InspiringTracks]

This video is awesome in a lot of different ways. Super cool song choice, great playing, fun to watch, and informative. Keep up the great job!!

[@VultureCulture]

I have really been enjoying your deep dives into the world of MCR's. Hoping to pick one up someday soon.

[@schance1666]

how cool that two of my favorite channels just collided here! hey VC! yeah, these old multi-tracks are loads of fun and loads of vibe. I've got a 488 mk1 and mk2 i just mod'd (thanks to Tetrakan!) to have dedicated outs, and replaced the gears and belts. also got a few of the era synths you sometimes feature on your excellent channel, so yeah you guys should hang out for a shared stream sometime!!! you might have more fans in common than just me! cheers.

[@protopost]

You can also use a crossover filter on tape out to separate one recorded track with two instruments that have different frequency range, and route them to two different mixer channel, effectively doubling your recorded tracks amount. For example bounced 'hats on top of kick' on track one going through a 2 way filter entering back in channel 1 line input for the kick and 5 line input for the hats, if you have extra input channels on your 4 track of course (you can also route to an other mixer with more tracks). You have to arrange your track with very different instruments so boucing around become more a challenge but It's great because you keep instruments isolated for later FX processing. The resulting hard EQing on some instrument to avoid spill can be quite inspiring too. And most crossover filters are running two channel and can split up to 3 different frequency range!

[@savingsoul]

Good sound , nothing like going back to where we started over 30 years ago

[@kosmo_komputer]

Hi! I was wondering why I’m getting a buzzing noise in my recordings on the 424 mkii. It’s not normal tape hiss, but a high irritating buzz...

[@Tetrakan]

Sounds like part of the system isn't connected to common ground. If you or a previous owner opened it to change belts etc, could be a ground connection was left loose or attached to the wrong place, I have a tear down series for thatodel, refer to those videos

[@BluesBrethrenofPolishPeoplesR]

Thank you for a detailed video, very inspirational, and one could spot some analog beauties around ;-) (6-tracks & 8 tracks)

[@Tetrakan]

Thanks! Yeah, got about 30 of the buggers in various states of disrepair or waiting to be recorded on...my 2021 NY resolution is to thin the herd by 2022!

[@ocean457]

Why don't you upload this song you did somewhere we can listen to. It sounds cool af.

[@Tetrakan]

Thanks! I did! Here's the link;- kzbin.info/www/bejne/p5fTo416oriUl80si=RH1qFBibAUr3ifwR

[@Mark_Williams300]

Have you considered a career doing voice overs for action movie trailers?

[@Tetrakan]

I've tried to contact Michael Bay, but his secretary keeps fobbing me off

[@ralis]

I use say I have been doing the deep dive into you videos! I just got a fostex 280, I have not tested yet, cassette are on there way. Thank you for all of this wonderful information

[@cedrickjmackniddle3861]

Now I'm motivated

[@yourunmarathons]

Awesome, loved watching the process! I’m in the middle of trying to record an album on my 424 and this was helpful

[@Mark_Williams300]

That's more bounces than a cheque from the Venezuelan government!

[@sloobydoobyboo]

Where can we listen to your music?

[@Tetrakan]

Music what I done gone wrote my own self? Well, there's not much of it on this channel yet, but stay tuned... meantime here's the bandcamp of a progressive piano punk ensemble I wrote and played with in the 2000s lapsus-linguae.bandcamp.com/album/ghosts

[@sloobydoobyboo]

@@Tetrakan Thank you!

[@sloobydoobyboo]

@@Tetrakan I've returned to report that this music is fucking sick. I love this.

[@Tetrakan]

Why thank you!

[@DaveZula]

Killer sound even after multiple bounces. 👍

[@Tetrakan]

thanks, love your channel btw!

[@DaveZula]

@@Tetrakan Thank you. I love your channel too. ✌️❤️

[@yoanndrumming]

Awesome! Thanks for this video!

[@kosmo_komputer]

Super helpful, thanks so much.

[@stacys7528]

would this exact technique work on a 464

[@Tetrakan]

Yes!

[@igor_timofeev]

Oh, this was great!

[@pshrboro933]

Hello, I have a 488 mk 1 that will not record on tracks 1 or 5. Do you know what could be the cause? Thanks.

[@pshrboro933]

It actually records on 1and 5 but it has no level meter on play back and is very low in volume. There is level meter from the input when armed. Both tracks do playback fine and show levels with a different tape from my 414.

[@Tetrakan]

It's been a while since I calibrated one if these but I remember Ch 1 and 5 are mutually exclusive - you can record on one but not both - so maybe they share the same record amp trimpot and it needs to be turned up? Service manual for that model is up for free download on my blog btw

[@pshrboro933]

@@Tetrakan ok thank you I will look into that. Thanks for all the work and vids you do man I really appreciate it.

[@klosmexi]

Hell yeah dude!

[@goldenearring725]

I have one of these. When I record a second track, it interferes with the other tracks recorded. The fourth track doesn’t get any levels at all. What do you suggest doing to diagnose and maybe repair these problems?

[@Tetrakan]

4th track - have you definitely got the sync switch off? Interfering with prerecorded tracks - are you recording in direct mode? If you use buss mode it’s easy to get confused - I have a complete tear down series plus videos on calibration and troubleshooting, check my channel

[@goldenearring725]

Ahh. Sync mode was responsible for the interference. The fourth track still is not working. I was able to buss to it, but playing it back it was very quiet. I will watch the troubleshooting videos again. Thanks for the help!

[@goldenearring725]

@Frank De Ruiter that’s a great idea. I can test that today.

[@goldenearring725]

@Frank De Ruiter so track 4 does not record. It plays sound through the system but no levels show up when in direct mode. If you buss to track 4, levels show up but still does not record. I want to open it up but worried about breaking something else.

[@robertremington6273]

This is so kick ass , first the song and then the instruction . Those keys sound killer as well as everything else. I’ve had my MK424 since 1998 and still running . I think I will try to just start pinging something and then go from there . Also I should probably not smoke weed prior to recording anything on this unit ,,, easy to space shit out …. Sounds great !!! Cheers !

[@Tetrakan]

Thanks! Pace yourself with ickle one skin joints and you'll be fine