Tascam Portastudio 424mkIII Owners Manual

OW NER’S MANUAL
424@$
3D0023100A 

2 Safety Instructions 3
Introduction 4
The Recording System 5
The three steps to multitrack 5
Understanding the Mixer 6-7
Signal flow in the 424 MKIII mixer 6
Tape cue monitor system 7
Multitrack Cassette Recorder 8
Track Format and Tape Recommendations 9-10
PORTASTUDIO 424 MKIII Brief Guide 11-14
Step-By-Step Operations Guide 15-24
Lets try the 424 MKIII mixer 15
How to record on track 1 16
Track 1 playback through TAPE CUE 18
How to make an overdub on track 2 19
How to record tracks 3 and 4 20
How to...

3
Safety Instructions
CAUTION:
·Read all of these Instructions.
·Save these Instructions for later use.
·Follow all Warnings and Instructions marked on the
audio equipment.
1) Read instructions— All the safety and operating instructions
should be read before the product is operated.
2) Retain instructions — The safety and operating instructions should
be retained for future reference.
3) Heed Warnings— All warnings on the product and in the operating
instructions should be adhered to.
4) Follow...

Using this manual: To get the most out of your
424 MKIII, please take the time to read through
this manual. Some time spent now will keep you
from overlooking some of the features that make
the 424 MKIII a more creative tool. You may
discover some new tricks you havent tried
before.
Use of capital letters
: In general, we use all upper
case type to designate a particular switch,
control, jack name or label (like PAN). Transport
modes and some features are described with an
upper case first letter (like...

5 The PORTASTUDIO 424 MKIII is a complete audio
production facility in a single box. It is divided
into two major sections: a full-function mixer and
an 4-channel, multitrack cassette recorder.To complete the recording system, youll
additionally need these: Input devices
(microphones, instruments), Output devices
(headphones), 2 track recorder, Effects
processors, etc.
The Recording System
The Three Steps to Multitrack
In TRACKING and Overdubbing, the mixer inputs
are usually microphones or instruments,...

6
jacks. This is the most important signal route in
the mixer and is called Main Mix. The illustration below shows how input signals
pass through the 424 MKIII Mixer section. After
the MASTER fader they go to the L/R LINE OUT Signal Flow in the  424 MKIII Mixer
Understanding the Mixer 

7 Tape Cue Monitor System
The TAPE CUE mix and MONITOR switches are
also crucial for successful multitrack recording,
because they control what you hear in the
headpnones. This CUE mix is totally independent
from the Main Mix going to tape. If you dont use
the CUE mix, you run the risk of  accidentally
bouncing tracks every time you record new
material.The 4 TAPE CUE controls act like a separate 4x1
mixer, dedicated solely to enabling you to hear
playback from the multitrack recorder in your
headphones....

8·A three-point autolocator (MEMO/LOC 1 and 2
and RTZ) lets the tape STOP at, or PLAY from
preset points.
·REPEAT allows a section to be played over
and over between the MEMO 1 and MEMO 2
points.
·REHEARSAL programs the 424 MKIII to repeat
a punch-in/out sequence as many times as
you wish, and AUTO PUNCH actually executes
it on tape exactly as you previewed in
REHEARSAL.
·Two tape speeds offer HIGH for greater
fidelity, and NORMAL for compatibility with
standard cassette tapes.
·The tape speed can be...

9 Tape Speed and Track Format
The Portastudio 424 MKIII uses a HIGH speed of
9.5 cm/sec. (3-3/4 inches per second) which is two
times (2X) the normal speed of a standard audio
cassette. Its NORMAL speed is 4.8 cm/sec (1-7/8
i.p.s.), the same as that used by conventional
recorders.It also employs a discrete 4-channel format head
developed especially by TEAC for TASCAM
multitrack cassette recorders. Here is a
comparison of various cassette formats:
Track Format and Tape Recommendations
Playing back...

10Accidental Erase/Record Protection
To protect a finished master tape, it is necessary
to punch out both record protect tabs. Even
though you are recording in only one direction,
the 424 MKIII uses the entire width of the tape, as
mentioned above. If, for example, you remove
only one of the tabs, you could accidentally insert
the cassette into the 424 MKIII backwards and
erase all four tracks of the master.
Tape Length
Use the shortest possible tape for a given work. It
is not unusual to play a tape 100...