TASCAM DP01FX misery

ghosttour · July 8th, 2008, 11:33 PM

I have been using the following setup for about a year:

AKG CS1000 --> PreSonus Bluetube --> TASCAM DP01FX

I was getting decent sounds until a month or so ago and then everything went south. I've been as scientific as I can about figuring it out, but I'm honestly not doing anything different than before and I have inspected every link of the chain to see if something is wrong. Everything seems to be in working order - the only difference is the quality of the recordings. Everything sounds like it's clipping, kind of. I tried setting the gain lower than previously and it's still fizzy and thin-sounding. It's absolutely maddening - particularly since I'd much rather concentrate on songs than knob twiddling. Even though I'm not particularly good at writing songs, I'm much worse at knob twiddling.

Here are my suspicions of what could be wrong:

1) Need a new tube for the Presonus - this seems unlikely since I don't record THAT much - but stranger things have happened, I guess.

2) XLR cords are cheap and have "gone bad"?

3) Damaged mic somehow? I have two of the same mic and both yield the same results so this seems unlikely.

Any comments or suggestions are welcome. I can of course provide more info as needed. Thanks y'all.

ghosttour · July 11th, 2008, 12:06 PM

bump.

jussishow · July 11th, 2008, 12:14 PM

Couple of questions :
Have You tried recording with a different preamp ?
Have You tried recording directly into the TASCAM ?

ghosttour · July 11th, 2008, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jussishow

Couple of questions :
Have You tried recording with a different preamp ?

Unfortunately, the BlueTube is the only preamp I have.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jussishow

Have You tried recording directly into the TASCAM ?

I was doing that before I got the preamp; the signal was always very low. I hadn't thought about taking it out the chain completely to see if it's the problem - I'll try this tonight and see what happens.

markophonic · July 11th, 2008, 01:21 PM

Sounds like a preamp problem to me.

Try using the built in preamps and see if you get the clipping. Push them hard if you are getting low levels.

I had a similar problem once using a cheap ART preamp that worked beautifully for awhile then just went south.

ghosttour · July 11th, 2008, 10:59 PM

I think markophonic is the winner - skipping the preamp seems to solve the problem. I don't think the DP01FX has a built-in preamp; I'll have to check the manual. It has effects, amp models and vocal "preamps" that are really more like vocal effects - big echoey rooms, "bullhorn" sounds, etc. However, the sound straight to the unit is sterile and boring - one of the reasons I got the BlueTube.

I guess I'm in the market for a new preamp.

July 8th, 2008, 11:33 PM	#1 (permalink)
ghosttour Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Atlanta, GA Age: 36 Posts: 477 6 Photos	TASCAM DP01FX misery I have been using the following setup for about a year: AKG CS1000 --> PreSonus Bluetube --> TASCAM DP01FX I was getting decent sounds until a month or so ago and then everything went south. I've been as scientific as I can about figuring it out, but I'm honestly not doing anything different than before and I have inspected every link of the chain to see if something is wrong. Everything seems to be in working order - the only difference is the quality of the recordings. Everything sounds like it's clipping, kind of. I tried setting the gain lower than previously and it's still fizzy and thin-sounding. It's absolutely maddening - particularly since I'd much rather concentrate on songs than knob twiddling. Even though I'm not particularly good at writing songs, I'm much worse at knob twiddling. Here are my suspicions of what could be wrong: 1) Need a new tube for the Presonus - this seems unlikely since I don't record THAT much - but stranger things have happened, I guess. 2) XLR cords are cheap and have "gone bad"? 3) Damaged mic somehow? I have two of the same mic and both yield the same results so this seems unlikely. Any comments or suggestions are welcome. I can of course provide more info as needed. Thanks y'all. __________________ www.myspace.com/brasssaddles

July 11th, 2008, 12:06 PM	#2 (permalink)
ghosttour Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Atlanta, GA Age: 36 Posts: 477 6 Photos	bump. __________________ www.myspace.com/brasssaddles

July 11th, 2008, 12:14 PM	#3 (permalink)
jussishow Tele-Holic Join Date: May 2006 Location: Norway. Age: 37 Posts: 530 16 Photos	Couple of questions : Have You tried recording with a different preamp ? Have You tried recording directly into the TASCAM ? __________________ B-bender, HW1 Texas & CS Thinline relic ... :-) + a bunch of other stringed instruments ... Pictures (family album...) in gallery

July 11th, 2008, 01:21 PM	#5 (permalink)
markophonic Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Michigan Age: 47 Posts: 956 1 Photos	Sounds like a preamp problem to me. Try using the built in preamps and see if you get the clipping. Push them hard if you are getting low levels. I had a similar problem once using a cheap ART preamp that worked beautifully for awhile then just went south. __________________ http://www.brianvanderark.com/

July 11th, 2008, 10:59 PM	#6 (permalink)
ghosttour Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Atlanta, GA Age: 36 Posts: 477 6 Photos	I think markophonic is the winner - skipping the preamp seems to solve the problem. I don't think the DP01FX has a built-in preamp; I'll have to check the manual. It has effects, amp models and vocal "preamps" that are really more like vocal effects - big echoey rooms, "bullhorn" sounds, etc. However, the sound straight to the unit is sterile and boring - one of the reasons I got the BlueTube. I guess I'm in the market for a new preamp. __________________ www.myspace.com/brasssaddles