Tascam DP-004 help?
 

This is my first attempt at recording and I am completely lost with this thing. I picked up one of these units and several months ago I recorded some songs off of an old cassette onto it planning on then exporting those songs to my computer and burning them onto CDs. I also want to record some guitar direct to the device and get that onto my computer as well.

I swear I've read and re-read that manual and I guess I'm just missing what I need the most. I can get the music onto the Tascam no problem. My problem is getting it onto my computer. There were 4 songs on the Tascam. Somehow I was able to export one song onto my computer. I don't know what I did different with it from the other three songs or even if it's something I'm doing now or something I did months ago when I put all four songs on the Tascam.

I'm using (or trying to) Windows Media Player and/or Nero to put the songs on my hard drive and then burn them. I'm able to get that one song to work. Both WMP and Nero see the device when I hook the USB up but they both say that there's nothing on the device.

Cab someone tell me very simply what steps I must take to get the songs from the Tascam to my computer? I'm using a 4GB SD card.

This is what I do:

Once I've loaded the relevant song on the DP004 (I'm always in multi-track mode - which you can check by hitting the REC MODE button at the top) I hit the MENU key and turn the main wheel so the menu goes to the WAVE option. Hit the > button on the screen and choose EXPORT TRACK and then highlight all the tracks from this particular song (1, 2, 3, or 4). Each track is individually exported into the part of the DP004's file memory to be accessed by a PC.

Then I plug the unit into my PC by way of the supplied cable (I've found other cables that I have that physically fit don't actually work - for some reason it has to be the supplied cable).

On the PC you can then see the DP004 memory just like any other hard drive and in the DP004 WAVE directory you'll see TRACK001 through to TRACK004. Drag them across to a directory on your PC and you're done.

I then drop all four (or three, or two, or even one) files into AUDACITY (free software) where I remix, add reverb, echo, equalise, silence, cut, remaster etc etc and then, from there, I create an MP3 and the job's done.

I suspect there are more pro-level tools than AUDACITY for the final element of the above process - but this is just for personal demos and ideas so it all works fine for me.

If you want to export a completed MASTER from the DP004 then I suspect the process is very similar to above, but I've never done it - I do my mastering on the PC.

I think it's a brilliant tool for sketching out ideas - and I've even started using it to record the audio for my occasional YouTube videos as the in-built mics are better than the mic in my (old) digi-cam.

Kind regards,
Derek

One other thing also comes to mind. I struggled when trying to import a whole song onto the TASCAM DP004 - it would appear on the file system when viewed on the PC, but not within the DP004 itself. Eventually I found that the file had to be in the right format (stereo wav, IIRC) and the right quality - the settings are in the book. Only when I ensured that all these were exactly as outlined in the manual was the DP004 able to recognise the song. I don't have the manual with me so can't say what those settings were - but it may be what you're experiencing.

Thanks so much for posting.



My issue is getting down the tracks. The input is turned high, yet the volume comes out very low...after a few hours going back and forth, it is discouraging.

The internal mics are very good (in my limited experience) - and very sensitive so you should be able to get plenty of volume. Click on the INPUT SETTING button on the top left of the unit and ensure that you've got the input settings set to something appropriate i.e INT MIC A - Mid, and the same for input B. If you're using a guitar or plugging in an external mic make sure these are set accoridngly. On the Mid or High settings the internal mics are generally way too sensitive for me - it can pick up the creaking of my finger bones. You then use the INPUT A and INPUT B dials and MASTER settings to fine tune these inputs.

I do find it quite easy to use, so I'm suprised that someone sold theirs due to its complexity.

Feel free to aask anyother questions you may have.

Kind regards,
Derek

Well, one thing is see is that There are 3 songs in there that I can load and play. I can hear them so I know they're there. But when I go to WAVE to export track, it only shows one track. Another thing confusing to me is that when you load the song, it's called a song but when you go to export, it's called a track.

If each of the three songs you have uploaded onto the Tascam are separate songs then you'll need to export them (i.e export TRACK001 via the WAVE function outlined above) one at a time. This is because each song, as you load, it will always use TRACK001.

Many years a go I copied a whole bunch of cassette songs onto a computer. I simply got hold of a cable (something like this) that linked directly into a USB on the PC from the cassette headphone socket and recorded into Audacity. It worked a treat and was far easier than using the Tascam.

Quality was fine too, though in this case you can here a bit of mobile phone interference!

Derek,


PS: Derek, your version of Vestapol is really nice.

Seamus,

-can I take a song off iTunes, put it on my desk top, and bring it over to the Tascam so 'fool' with the mixing?

No. If you have a song on your desktop and you convert it to a WAV file and ensure that the settings are correct (there's a section on importing songs in the manual, at the back) you can bring it over to the DP004, but it'll just come over as one track. So you won't be able to remix it - although it's pretty cool to play along and record on one of the other three tracks. This isn't really what the unit is designed for - the import function is really there so that any songs (i.e. groups of Tracks) that you've exported to your PC as a back-up can be reloaded into the DP004 if ever necessary.

-How does the internal mic compare with the Zoom h1 or h2 quality? I have the H1 and have used H2, and the quality is terrific to my inexperienced ears.

I don't know - I bought the DP004 because I'd read good things about the quality of the condenser mics and I haven't been disappointed - but things have moved on rapidly with other units since then, and I suspect the H1 and H2 are easily the equal.

-Do you know of any good tutorials online? The DVD is expensive (I found on one ebay)

Have never looked, to be honest. I didn't even know there was a DVD. The key thing is that the unit is designed to be a notepad for recording four (or more tracks) mixing them down and creating a master track/song or exporting them and doing the mastering externally. Doing this is really easy once you've done it a few times. Doing anything else (i.e. trying to get the DP004 to be something it was never designed to be) isn't so easy and probably isn't possible.

I am thinking of parting with it, out of frustration. It is complicated. Part of my discouragement has to do with heavy work schedule, Little League, limited free time to practice, and a host of words that are unfamiliar to me, including "jump", "partition", "FAT", and so on. The H1 appealed to me because of the high quality sound, and ease of 1 button use.

The beauty for me of the Tascam is that I can record and overdub very easily and practice harmonies (both guitar and vocals) and mess around with song ideas and jamming etc etc. I've now taken to using it to record the audio for my occasional YouTube videos as I can then export the audio and add a touch of reverb or eq before resynching it with the video and posting it up. It's probably not the best unit for simple one-touch live recording, but again, it's horses for courses.

PS: Derek, your version of Vestapol is really nice.

Thank you :)

I finally got my H1 back from repair and it records in MP3 or WAV format, so it is easy to go back and forth from one to the other.

I laid down 4 tracks of "Sportin' Life Blues" and then recorded it on the H1 in Mp3 for iTunes, though I am still in shock how God-awful my voice really is!

I did have a lot of fun inventing a lead, and supporting the vocals on one track with slide in the background. I have not gotten to the point of mixing a master yet...little by little.

I have ordered the 60 minute DVD for the Tascam dp 004

The reviews of it seem to indicate that it is best for beginners...which suits me well.

When I finally learn the dp 004, my next step in the journey will be to get an acoustic bass guitar.

It's a lot of fun.

This might already be well known, but in case a newbie missed it...

Wav to MP3

I put together a 4 track acoustic song "Sportin' Life Blues" and haven't gotten to the next step of properly mixing it, (I'm getting there...the tutorial DVD is helpful), but I did want to change it to MP3 so it could go in iTunes.

I simply plugged in the Zoom H1 into the Tascam dp 004 and it recorded it nicely to MP3 and iTunes. It's a small step but fun to be making progress. I use the H1 at work (recording interviews and large room lectures), and put larger cards in it and in the dp-004, so there is plenty of room to play with the songs.

Using the male to male line worked nicely, with no outside noise.

I hope this helps, but cannot help but wonder if I am posting something so obvious that it brings a chuckle or two here! :)

That sounds great Seamus. I am following your progress in recording with great interest. :)

The tutorial DVD has proven invaluable to me. Even just positioning the DP 004 off the coffee table and on to a pillow made a huge change in sound. The demo of where to place a microphone on a guitar was very helpful as the changing was dramatic. I feel like the DVD is perfect for someone like me who is just getting started in recording and needed to even learn the terminology and basics of recording, plus it is teaching me the ins and outs of the unit itself.

My newest attempts at recording (yesterday) sound so much better...not the playing, mind you. :)

Cool! I'll try the pillow trick next time out :)

There are a few free programs for converting WAV to MP3, but I have never had much luck with them so, I convert the old way; I burn an audio CD with the WAV file and then "rip" the CD with Windows Media Player. I use a rewritable disk so I don't waste disks.