Tape outs to Mic ins ?

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Tape outs to Mic ins ?

By Roots Renegade Tue Dec 04, 2012 4:22 am
My MPC2500SE is connected to my Tascam MidiStudio 688 via MPC multiple outs :arrow: 688 XLR mics ins.

I want to connect the 688 RCA tape outs to my soon to arrive Tascam US-1800 via the 8 XLR mic ins.

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So: RCA tape outs from my Tascam 688

to :arrow:

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US-1800 mic ins.

I will be using 8 of those cables:

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Hosa 10 Ft XLR Male-RCA Male Audio Cable XRM-110

My question is:

I understand mic inputs have +db added. Would this produce an overdriven sound? Are tape outs considered like being line outs ?

Would it have been better with line ins instead of mic ins (meaning an audio interface with 8 line ins instead of 8 mic ins )?

What do you guys think ?
Last edited by Roots Renegade on Tue Dec 04, 2012 6:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Tape outs to Mic ins ?

By mr_debauch Tue Dec 04, 2012 4:52 am
I have a feeling you will run into an unbalanced to balanced issue... check the us-1800 manual for what type of connections are supported because I know nothing about those models. I dont think it will work correctly, and could cause a problem.

Somebody once plugged a tape out from a really old old PA mixer to a video cam stereo input using some sort of adapter once at a club I was doing work at... nobody saw it happen because it was the camera man and the bar owner who plugged it in... well it caused a pile of sh!t to go wrong. the old mixer couldn't deal with plugging the wrong type of signal anywhere on the board like newer gear can.
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Re: Tape outs to Mic ins ?

By mr_debauch Tue Dec 04, 2012 5:25 am
RootsRenegade wrote:So i understand it would be better with line ins...


absolutely it would!!
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Re: Tape outs to Mic ins ?

By dabmeister Wed Dec 05, 2012 2:39 pm
RootsRenegade wrote:So i understand it would be better with line ins...


First off...the 688 works mainly on a -10dB nominal level regardless of what type of cable is being used on it. I've used mine in the past to record to tape as well as strictly as a mixer only (which I still do 'til this day).

Are you recording to the 688 first (tape) then transferring this to daw? If not, then it would seem to be better to just go the route of connecting the group outs and work the routing matrix for mixer purposes only.

On the other hand...I understand if you are going to tape first for the sake of capturing "that tape sound", but you still would have better control over the tracks (volume/channel control) if going the group out scenario rather than the tape outs.
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Re: Tape outs to Mic ins ?

By tapedeck Wed Dec 05, 2012 3:30 pm
if you ran the tape outs to a stereo (or two mono) di's, you should be fine.
these are cheap, passive boxes, and very handy to have.

the tape outs are line level :mrgreen:

Re: Tape outs to Mic ins ?

By Roots Renegade Wed Dec 05, 2012 6:55 pm
dabmeister wrote:
RootsRenegade wrote:So i understand it would be better with line ins...


First off...the 688 works mainly on a -10dB nominal level regardless of what type of cable is being used on it. I've used mine in the past to record to tape as well as strictly as a mixer only (which I still do 'til this day).

Are you recording to the 688 first (tape) then transferring this to daw? If not, then it would seem to be better to just go the route of connecting the group outs and work the routing matrix for mixer purposes only.

On the other hand...I understand if you are going to tape first , but you still would have better control over the tracks (volume/channel control) if going the group out scenario rather than the tape outs.


Yes, absolutely, i want to mix AND record to tape on the 688 for the sake of capturing "that tape sound", then track out to Cubase for FXs and final mastering. That is why i use the tape outs and not the group outs.

dabmeister wrote:but you still would have better control over the tracks (volume/channel control) if going the group out scenario rather than the tape outs.


Why is that ? Please explain (How will i be capturing "that tape sound" then if I want to do the final digital mastering in Cubase ?) The point is that i want to run the analog tape sound and digitalise it in Cubase, not take the Cubase digital signal and run it through the tape, cause i would have to bring it back to digital after. Plus i will have more control over the tape sound in Cubase then i would have with the opposite.

Now i need to find/choose an interface with unbalanced 1/4'' line ins since the US-1800 (mic ins) won't work.

mr_debauch wrote about the motu ultralite and i like the idea of having the choice of plugging balanced OR unbalanced 1/4'' cables in it without any problems.
Last edited by Roots Renegade on Wed Dec 05, 2012 7:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Tape outs to Mic ins ?

By Wal Martian Wed Dec 05, 2012 7:01 pm
tapedeck wrote:the tape outs are line level :mrgreen:

^What he said.
The name tape out is from back when lots of studios used tape machines. You can send your master outs or your aux or group or even inserts to your tascam, they are all line level so you should send them to a line input. Sending line level to a mic input is a bad idea because mic level is much lower and you will be boosting a line level which does not need to be boosted. Try a line in if your tape machine has some or do the DI box thing.

Re: Tape outs to Mic ins ?

By Roots Renegade Wed Dec 05, 2012 7:14 pm
Wal Martian wrote:
tapedeck wrote:the tape outs are line level :mrgreen:

^What he said.
The name tape out is from back when lots of studios used tape machines. You can send your master outs or your aux or group or even inserts to your tascam, they are all line level so you should send them to a line input. Sending line level to a mic input is a bad idea because mic level is much lower and you will be boosting a line level which does not need to be boosted.


I already understood that, thanks :lol:

Re: Tape outs to Mic ins ?

By Roots Renegade Wed Dec 05, 2012 8:30 pm
Wal Martian wrote:Peace :-D , it sounded like you were thinking tape outs would somehow help provide the sound palette you were after.


Well yeah, these jacks (tape outs) are the outputs of the multitrack recorder (the tape cassette outputs). They are the ones who provide the lo-fi sound of the recorded tape cassette.

The group outs jacks are only the outputs of the mixer section of the MidiStudio. They have nothing to do with "that tape sound" i am looking for.

Peace :-D
Last edited by Roots Renegade on Wed Dec 05, 2012 8:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Re: Tape outs to Mic ins ?

By Roots Renegade Wed Dec 05, 2012 8:44 pm
Wal Martian wrote:The tape sound comes from the audio being written to a magnetic tape with a tape head, not from the type of outputs. Line level will always be line level as a mix bus or a single channel output it's still line level audio.


Wrong my friend:

The tape sound comes from the audio being written to a magnetic tape with a tape head... right, but the tape outs are the outputs of the playback sound recorded on the tape cassette.

The group outs jacks don't care about the tape cassette, they are just the outputs of the mixer section, like when you want to send the mixer outputs to the sub inputs of a larger console for exemple, or to an interface, without having to record on a tape cassette.

So the tape outs are the one to use for that lo-fi tape sound.
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