ugh...

[ateolf]

well the other day i couldn't get the recorder/mixer to work right together...the type of connection thingie i was usuing worked when i borrowed David's single cable...but now that i went out and bought what i needed for 16 of my own it doesn't work right...agh! and i'm pretty clueless as to why...it's quite fucking annoying...i guess i'll eventually get the whole thing figured out...if anyone knows anything about mixer->recorder interface, ummm...that'd be cool or something...after that failed attempt, Brad and i went over to Keith's and sat around while Keith and Chris and two of their friends painted their apartment...when everyone had left and they were too tired and all i finally drug myself home...

i worked today...la la...durring my split i went to Wherehouse:
Dinosaur Jr: Bug
The Fucking Champs: IV
more cock rock than possible for one whole night...the Dinosaur Jr's pretty good...some of it's really good (of course until J starts up his blazing, cock shreddery thus ruining a perfectly decent song...) but i think this one's relatively hard to come across so i'll hang on to it...although i'm prob'ly hanging my hat on any future Dinosaur purchases...this and Green Mind are prob'ly more than enough...or something...as for The Fucking Champs...they're ummm...fucking terrible...i heard they were supposed to be good...compared to Trans Am and the like...but they're just fucking cock...sounds like fucking Van Halen and shit...it's not even good stuff w/ a little cock thrown in for wackiness...it's just pure fucking cock rock...it's god-awful...hipsters'll listen to anything nowadays...jesus...this one's definately not a keeper...

after that i went by Black Lodge to drop the Destroy All Monsters video off...i then rented Strange Früt Detroit Culture Part 1: Rock Apocrypha...i think it's a re-enactment of the old Detroit scene...i think Destroy All Monsters might be in it...but i'm not sure...not sure when it was done exactly...but it should at least be worth a watch...

then back to work...i got there a little early 'cuz i ran out of things to do, but Floyd had run out of gas while on a run and they were backed up and needed me anyway...they even offered me free food again for almost no reason...so when it was all over i got a small pizza even though i had eater earlier and wasn't that hungry...and i ate it while driving home...exciting shit here...

Comments

[deadmaxi.livejournal.com]

i dunno the configuration of your mixer, but what are you hooking to what?

bug is splendid! those songs get in your head.. and 'don't' is so fucking weird and creepy..

my friend likes the champs alot. but he also (seriously) like iron maiden, so i dunno. i too find them very boring.. i saw them live like 2 years ago and it was really boring.

woo

[ateolf.livejournal.com]

okay, i might give a few unnecessary details, but ummm...i'll just say whatever i think might be of some worth...

mixer: SoundTech ST164
recorder: Fostex E-16

going out of the mixer, i have the 1/4" end of the cords going into the 'insert' jacks...and into the recorder, the end of the cords which are double rca cords are going into the respective 'in' and 'out' jacks...it worked when i borrowed one of my friends' cords for the purpose of testing this out...

also, on the snakes that i got, for the rca ends, each split end says either 'tip' or 'ring' and i was wondering what that might mean...different types of not working properly happen when i switch them around...

but the other half of the cables are just, for each track, 2 rca's going into a y cable making them into one 1/4" on the other end...so they don't have the 'tip' or 'ring' thing going on...but those don't work either...

the main thing that happens is when i plug the cables into the insert jacks, i can only hear what i'm playing if i have everything on the mixer turned all the way the fuck up...and then it's still not too loud...when normally it doesn't take much to get really loud happening...the recorder plays back into the mixer normally when the 'tip' and 'ring's are positioned in 'in' and 'out' a certain way (i don't remember which...i think it's tip->in, ring->out but i might be wrong...and i'm pretty sure when i have it the other way around, nothing at all happens when i'm trying to hear anything pluged in the mixer...not even turned all the way up...it also seems like when the mixer end works, albeit far from properly, the recorder end doesn't play back...and the recorder end plays back when the mixer end won't have any sound at all...but that might not be right...BUT i do know that when i can't hear anything at all out of the mixer, the level meter on the recorder responds properly...but when i can hear anything at all out of the mixer when it's turned all the way the fuck up, the meter lights on the recorder don't happen...) i'm sorry if i just bombarded you w/ a bunch of stuff...hopefully it makes sense to you, although i fear i just spewed forth a confusing mess of crap...thanks a LOT for at least trying to help...i dunno if you can make sense of any of this or not...but i'll shut up about it before i make too much more of a mess w/ my words...i could use some juice about now...

and Bug's good...though J's solo wankery always gets to me...he can be a good song writer while he's not trying to flaunt his baditude...

Re: woo

[deadmaxi.livejournal.com]

alright, i pulled up the mixer on ebay so i can try and figure this out. i don't think using the inserts as tape i/o would work because they are simply designed as a loop and most likely not providing enough gain to work that way. also, among the mackie stuff which I'm most familar, the inserts are pre-fader (might be switchable), and i think pre-fader is the norm. which means even if it did work, there'd be little you could control. alright, crossing fingers now. each channel has a seperate mic and line input, that would be a cannon/xlr, and 1/4 inch or RCA right? and does it have a little switch, should be at the top of the channel near the trim, that switches mike/line? try that.. hook say:

a mic to mic in channel one
tape out from fostex channel one to mixer channel one line

and the same for ch. 2 on each.

record something and see if switching the mic/line will allow you to monitor what's coming off the tape. in this way you're using the channels relatively independently. my general thoughts is that if you don't have true mic/line switching (some shitty mixers have one but it only alters the gain of the single input) your out of luck as this board looks to me like designed for pa systems. on the positive side, you'd have to get a mackie 1604, which isn't a ton of money, and infinitiely better. the soundtech looks nice, but i question the sound for this one on ebay that sold for $200. 200 bucks.. wow. anyway, try that stuff..

Re: woo

[deadmaxi.livejournal.com]

i left out one important thing.. do the channels have direct outs? if they dont, you're prolly REALLY out of luck, as my instructions wouldn't get you very far. i suppose you could use the 4 group outputs to go to tape, but if that's the case things will get cramped fast as you're trying to monitor a buncha channels. now i think i've confused even myself.

Re: woo

[ateolf.livejournal.com]

you're right...there aren't any direct outs for each channel...that's why i had been trying to use the inserts...i had been afraid of this from the beginning of my trying to hook the mixer up to the recorder...(seeing 'line in' but no 'line out' on each channel...) i thought there might be some trick w/ the insert this mixer used or something...ach...so basically i need another mixer? it sucks 'cuz this mixer has the most beautiful sound i've ever heard or something...

Re: woo

[deadmaxi.livejournal.com]

you could keep the mixer, and get some seperate pres. figure out how many things you'd need to record at once (or simply how many mics you have) and get that many units.. rack mount preamps units. this is kind of a trendy way of making records these days, but in this case it's practical. the ART stuff is pretty low end but would work, even something like a tube mp would work. dbx has some decent looking budget tube stuff as well. but especially check out the presonus blue tube ($150, maybe for 2 channels) and the joe meek british channel (or one of their cheaper ones). the joe meek stuff is supposed to be fantastic, especially their compressors.. the british channel has one built in.

so basically, you use the seperate preamps to track going directly to the inputs on the tape machine. you keep the mixer and use it permanently hooked up as a monitor/mixdown unit.

man, recording stuff is cool....

Re: woo

[ateolf.livejournal.com]

okay...assuming i do this, where do the preamps hook up between the mixer and the recorder?

Re: woo

[deadmaxi.livejournal.com]

they go straight to the recorder. the preamp will provide enough power to drive it directly. and then the tape channel outs go to the mixer.

Re: woo

[ateolf.livejournal.com]

also, the switch at the top of each group of 4 tracks is for "phantom power 48V"...it's not a line/mic switch (at least not that i know of...) any clue as to what that's for? and possibly to clear anything up...each track has a 1/4" "line in," a 1/4" "insert," and an xlr "balance in"...

Re: woo

[deadmaxi.livejournal.com]

oh, it does phantom power by groups.. that's weird. phantom power is for condenser microphones.. it's a way of powering them through the audio connection. i have no idea what the 'balance in' is for.

Re: woo

[ethangrim.livejournal.com]

the xlr "balance in" may be for a balanced line(2 signal) cable. lemme know if you get it set up or not. I don't know too much but I might be able to help if I can see it.

oh, yeah

[ethangrim.livejournal.com]

is this an analog 16-track? I don't recognize the model. I didn't think to ask 'til I noticed your comment on the phantom power configuration. I may or may not be able to assist but I'm willing to try. you gots my numbah, gimme a call if you like.

Re: oh, yeah

[ateolf.livejournal.com]

yea, it's analog...you're more than welcome to come look at it all...i'm beginning to suspect that the materials i have are a hopeless situation, but there might be some way around it...even w/ what i have...who knows...

the fuckin' champs!

[techstep.livejournal.com]

I'll readily admit to liking the Fucking Champs (or the Champs, or C4AM95) for what they are: ironic cock-rocking goodness. In moderation, it's got kitch value, and the group does it well enough for it to be fairly sincere. It's one of the more interesting takes (especially with the wacky electronic interludes), it's kind of fun in a goofy arena-rock sort of way. Kind of why I can also listen to The(e) Speaking Canaries (the band fronted by Don Cab's Damon Che on vocals and Van Halen-style guitar) -- as a significant part of my collection, it would get boring fast, but for what it is it's kind of cool.

Then again, I do a war metal/NWOBHM/power metal show, and I also dig early Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, so what do I know?

Re: the fuckin' champs!

[ateolf.livejournal.com]

i can *almost* reach that point of view...but then i realize that the cockitude just gets on my nerves...it's just that guitar sound being the highest possible on MY cringe factor at least...