4 track

i saw tascam 8 track and it reminded me that i wanted to ask how you get more than 4 tracks on the 4 track. i know this has been answered before but i cant find the thread. im also talking about the tascam model.

I'm not positive about the specific model... But most multitrackers have one fader that can control more than one track... Not sure about the Tascam though... For instance... Boss makes a line of digital multi trackers... On their 8 track recorder it has 8 faders.... corresponding to the 8 tracks... However, the last fader can be used to control multiple tracks... all of which will be operated at the same volume level... So you could have up to 16 tracks... 8 independantly controlled... then 8 more controlled off of the 8th fader.... I'm not sure if there is a feature like that on your Tascam... I'm assuming that your Tascam is the one that records onto cassette tapes... So I'm also assuming that you're left with just the basic 4 tracks... Those aren't meant to be hardcore recording devices... but rather just rough tools to lay out songs and to get ideas down.

If it is a digital machine you can use virtual tracks which live "under" each track. These comes as a standard feature on most machines. You can then take your mix of the 4 tracks and bounce then to a stereo or mono track (this means to play all the tracks together and record them to a stereo or mono mix). This then frees up more tracks and allows you to play back the mix you have just bounced and record another 2 or 3 tracks along side.
This is a non destructive feature meaning the original tracks still exist in their original format and can be remixed at a later date after an initial bounce.

If it is an analogue machine you need to bounce your 4 tracks to a mono or stereo mix and then record over previous tracks. This is destructive and means you are stuck with the mix you have generated

tell me if i understand this correctly. i mix the original 4 tracks onto a stereo that has rca jacks, then take that mixed tape and use the 2 b side tracks to record more? this is just a bare bones 4 track piece o crap, im not into great recording quality, i could care less as long as the tracks are somewhat understandable. i like cheap things. i feel that true talent shines through crappy equipment. d.i.y. or die

You should be able to do the bouncing within the 4 track itself.
For instance, record drums on track 1, bass on track 2, guitar on track 3.
Then bounce those down to track 4.
Then you have tracks 1, 2 and 3 to record on again.

Then you can repeat the process... record keys on track 1, strings on track 2.
Bounce those down to track 3.
Now you have tracks 1 and 2 open again to do vocals.

You should end up with.

Track 1: Drums/Bass/Guitar
Track 2: Keys/Strings
Track 3: Vocals
Track 4: Vocals or another instrument

i dont understand the whole bounce thing. the four track has 4 buttons that light up and led for each corresponding track. which light button, or combonation of, do i press in order to "bounce"?

You'll need the owners manual to be sure. On some 4 tracks there's a sequence of steps you have to take... ie, setting which tracks to play and which to record, assigning which bus the signal is routed, setting the levels.
It's an art in itself and too involved to explain here.
You really need the manual for your machine so you can go through the process step by step and then do it several times until you get used to it.

turnes out i just have to connect the output back into the imput and record it that way, problem is that there is a lot of feed back, it sounds cool as hell and i may even use it sometime, but i dont want it there all the time. the only way i seem to be able to get rid of it is to turn it down, but when i do that, the tracks are really low.

Yeah.. that's definitely not the right way to do it.
There'll be a way to internally bounce tracks so there's almost no loss in quality..ya just have to find it.

what schmange said, their will be a routing option that allows you to bounce to one or two tracks

they were selling my model online, and thats what it said to do. the owners manual only said to add one more track while ur mixing it. there really isno other way to do it. its a cheap 4 track. it get interesting feedback that way

You can always bounce to an external machine using your monitor outs if needs be. Get creative and with digital, the sky is the limit !

I used to use a VCR recorder as an external recorder to bounce stuff down.

i dont really care so much about digital but vcr sounds like a really good idea. i dont have a stereo that has rca jacks but i think the vcr does

VCRs make higher fidelity recordings than cassette tapes however one thing to be aware of is that doing an analogue bounce will result in a los of sound quality. Staying digital bypasses this problem.