Tascam PORTA02 Hints and advanced tips, Recording techniques, Recording electric guitars

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4 Hints and advanced tips

4 – Hints and advanced tips

This section gives a few hints and tips which may be useful to you when you make recordings using the Porta02.

4.1Recording techniques

Learning how to record is an art, not a science. One of the best teachers is expe- rience. However, there are a few things mentioned here which may be useful to

you, and there are several good books on the subject which can explain the theory of recording and some of the techniques.

4.1.1 Recording electric guitars

Much of the sound of an electric guitar (and also bass) is due to the effects, amplifier and speakers, as well as the gui- tar and style of playing. If you plug the guitar straight into the Porta02, you will, of course, be able to record it, but the sound will probably not be what you are used to.

Plugging effects units between the guitar and the Porta02 will certainly help to pro- duce a fuller sound. The sound which will come closest to a live sound, though, will be provided by the amplifier itself.

You can adopt one of two approaches: either to put a microphone in front of the guitar speaker and record this (at MIC level), or to connect the output of the pre-

.amplifier to the Porta02 and record at LINE level.

WARNING

Do not connect the speaker output (or head- phone output, if provided) of the amplifier to the Porta02. This will almost certainly dam- age the Porta02, and may damage the ampli- fier. Only use outputs which are marked

LINE OUT, PRE OUT, DIRECT OUT

and so on. Avoid using any outputs marked

SPEAKER OUT, SP OUT, 4Ω, 8Ω, 16Ω

or the like.

4.1.2Recording with effects

Professional recordings often use effects like digital reverberation on vocals, etc. You can add some of these effects by plugging the microphone into an effects unit, and plugging the unit into the Porta02. Note that the effects unit must be able to accept microphone-level sig- nals, and will output to the Porta02 at LINE levels.

In addition, you will need to use the inter- nal balance control in the unit to decide how much of the “dry” (un-effected) sound will be passed through to the Porta02 for recording.

If you do not have access to a reverbera- tion unit, you can try recording vocals in a very “live” room (without much furni- ture).

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Contents 9101411800 Table of Contents Important Safety Instructions An introduction to the Porta02 Multitrack recording a brief introductionAn introduction to the Porta02 Multitrack recordersSome safety notes and precautions Mixing downPlaying back stereo cassettes Tape cassettesRecord-protecting cassettes An introduction to the Porta02 Cleaning the heads Cleaning the pinch rollerConnecting the Porta02 Parts of the Porta02What you need to make recordings Parts of the Porta02Parts of the Porta02 Parts of the Porta02 Power in and switch Phones jack Mono switchMIC/LINE Trim 1Power indicator Tape counter and reset buttonREC Function switches Output Level controlsCassette compartment Cover Record indicatorTransport controls Setting up Making your first recordingGetting ready Making your first recordingSetting the level Set both Trim controls to the Line positionSet the REC Function switch of Input 1 to Recording the first trackRecording the next track Recording the stereo backing Mixdown Making your first recording Hints and advanced tips Recording techniquesHints and advanced tips Recording electric guitarsWhen you’re not recording Hints and advanced tips MeteringRecording more than four tracks Recording more than 4 tracksTroubleshooting TroubleshootingSpecifications SpecificationsTeac Corporation
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