Great tutorial on the porta02 mkII. It goes to show that less is more for recording to tape. I love the Twscam and have been thrilled with the quality and mastering to DAT.

You are way too hard on yourself. I absolutely enjoyed this tutorial on this machine. Great song to feature and loved your guitar and your voice was just fine. Thank you for the help.

@MultitrackCassetteFans

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your kind words!

Just rewatched this one again and really had to say I like how the bass directly into the HiZ input sounds more than a bit like a tuba in the mix, which actually sounds cool! Looking forward to new content when you've got it.

Picked one of these up as a bargain recently. Great video for me to get started. Thanks!

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

Thank you for this thank you for this video someone just gave me the portable too after watching your video can't wait to play with it it looks like a great device for just getting ideas down thanks

thank you so much for doing this. it was all I needed to get going with my mkii

@MultitrackCassetteFans

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

A workaround I used to use with this very devuce was to do a stereo mix to minidisc then bouncing that back to 1 or 2 tracks , rinse and repeat if necessary (3 bounces was when the noisefloor was too much!) did over 50 recordings using this , was great fun and a necessary workaround!

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah, that’s an efficient way to build up track count, I’ve also heard people talk about mixing to a second 4-track recorder, or even a consumer stereo cassette deck. Personally I’d try to stay in the true analog domain as long as possible, but sometimes your project asks for more tracks than you have available. Thanks for your comment!

@nilespeshay1734

2 ай бұрын

@@MultitrackCassetteFans ya... a second 4-track would be ideal (if you wanna stay analog)... That would, ofc, effectively give you a "6-track recorder".

i use a boombox to bounce. record your output to another tape using a boombox, then put the new tape into the 4-track. once you do this you should pan track 1 all the way to one side and pan track 2 all the way to the other side, make sure they have relatively the same volume. now youu have 2 free tracks and it is all still in stereo and you can repeat this as many times as you want to.

Dude! that was amazing!

Pretty nice recording. I have the 02, and I use it for making ambient guitar music. I run guitars into an old Korg Pandora, then into the tascam. Not too sonically clean, but I can still get interesting sounds. It’s a fun machine that takes me back to the old days.

@MultitrackCassetteFans

Жыл бұрын

Nice! Recording to analog tape just sounds different, it can bring a lot of life to your project. Keep going 👍

Thanks for the help.

great video! I got close to being able to bounce on a Portra03MkII once. By panning the bounce tracks to the left, then routing the left Headphone Out channel to one of the inputs, I was able to record some signal onto the destination track. however the resulting signal was really quiet, and raising the input gain past a certain point created that feedback squeal. it would be cool to have a workaround for in-machine bouncing, since the resulting bounces are in sync with your current recorded tracks -- and that can have advantages when layering rhythmic components. as opposed to mixing everything down to another machine, then recording that back in...

@MultitrackCassetteFans

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

useful video, thanks for making it.

@MultitrackCassetteFans

5 жыл бұрын

Alireza Rowshan Nahad Thanks for watching!

The late Gerry Rafferty of Stealers Wheel lived just along the road from me in a place called Ferguslie Park. He even made an album of the same name.

Great wee machine - I just sold mine, used to use it live playing the channels like a cheap mellotron. Don't gig now so it was just gathering dust as I use my Porta one for recording in my studio.

@MultitrackCassetteFans

6 жыл бұрын

audiodeluxe Yeah, the Porta One has way more options for recording. There’s also a Porta One video on my channel. Thanks for watching!

@dezb1

6 жыл бұрын

Multitrack Cassette Fans Aye I've watched your porta one video I love these old machines.

Great video classi recording style

@MultitrackCassetteFans

5 жыл бұрын

tomblaze2 Thanks for watching!

I owned two of these back in the day. The transport buttons wore out do to excessive starts , stops, and pauses. Elected for Tascam's higher end models. Their original black model had a better, stronger transport.

@MultitrackCassetteFans

3 жыл бұрын

Wow, I didn’t know that! The black looks better in my opinion

VERY GOOD Job!

@MultitrackCassetteFans

5 жыл бұрын

Clifford Pearson jr. Thanks for watching!

so good!!

Fun stuff! The high frequency boost during recording is interesting. I don't think my machine had that, but it did have excessive hiss even when the tape wasn't playing. I guess these old machines just have their quirks. ✌️

@MultitrackCassetteFans

6 жыл бұрын

David Paul Thanks David! Yes, these old machines have their quirks, especially the cheapest stripped down ones like the porta02. I have seen the inside of this recorder, and there was the bare minimum of electronics in there. The fact that you can use it as a 4-tracker is a miracle in itself :)

@DaveZula

6 жыл бұрын

Multitrack Cassette Fans Did you do your own repairs on the Porta02? I'm always too scared to open these things.

@MultitrackCassetteFans

6 жыл бұрын

David Paul No, this time a fellow cassette enthusiast did the repair for me: replacing 4 capacitors. There is a very helpful video on youtube on this, which we followed exactly. After that, it worked again. I’m not too eager to repair these things myself either: soldering or taking too many parts apart is where I draw the line. I just don’t have enough knowledge and skills

@DaveZula

6 жыл бұрын

Multitrack Cassette Fans It's always helpful to have friends with those kinds of skills. By the way I love that Sennheiser mic you use for your voice. Do you think there's any difference between the white/grey MD421 and the more common black ones?

@MultitrackCassetteFans

6 жыл бұрын

David Paul Yeah that’s a nice mic isn’t it? I have two of them, one of which has a filter ring at the bottom, for music / speech (or Musik / Sprache, as it’s a German mic:)) My Sennheisers are very old, I think they must be from the 70’s. Last week an audio engineer told me they sound much better than the later black colored mics, but I really don’t know. I’ve seen an RE20 in some of your videos, now that is a charismatic piece of gear!

Thx good job..!! 🎸

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

Pepp5150 Thanks for watching!

A very nice demo. Weird, that high presence, but the recording is ok. Maybe try a different dynamic microphone, and no extra pre-amp.

@MultitrackCassetteFans

6 жыл бұрын

bonno666 Weird indeed...I have a feeling it’s within the recorder. Thanks for watching! (And repairing :))

I liked your rendition of that. Shame you don't have one more channel to put in a harmonizing part. I have a Porta03. I haven't used it in a long time and I am going to get a digital version. The 03 has Dolby but yours has a 4 LED meter which is better than the 2 on the 03. I didn't know there were fans of these out there.

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

Fred Flintstone Thanks! Yes, a harmonizing part would have completed the mix. No tracks left indeed ;)

I have had one of these for years and never used it ive got loads of blank tapes to use as well just got it out to keep me occupied, ive never been good with technology no matter how primitive it is but its give me some hours of fun and help my guitar playing. One question i have when I have used all 4 tracks I can mix them send to another cassete tape but then can I use the mixed cassete and add 3 more track mix them 3 tracks send to another tape then add more tracks and so on ? Also nice video and great explination I had it almost right the way i was using mine and yours video has quashed any doubts i had about what i was doing

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

Yes, you can do that, mix to a regular stereo tape, and put that one back into your porta02. This is possible because the porta02 has regular tape speed. (Most fourtrackers have double speed) Thanks for your kind words 👍

I have one of these as new at home, barely used.

Thanks for making this! Is the only difference between the original porta02 and the mkII the addition of the guitar input/pre?

I miss my porta2. 😢

7:59 When the bass part rudely refuses accept your request.

Great video, you got a pretty good sound! I don't think cassette can reproduce the high frequency as good. I'm guessing your machine goes up to 16khz, but where does the high frequency start to roll off at? My Fostex x26 can only go up to 12khz. So even though you have a basic machine, it sounds way better than a cheap machine with all the bells and whistles.

@MultitrackCassetteFans

6 жыл бұрын

MrMetalclay Thank you very much! Quite frankly, I’m not aware of high end roll-offs. I always record something and try to make it sound as good as possible. The Porta02 has only single tape speed, unlike many other 4-tracks. Yesterday I repaired a Fostex 280, my first Fostex :) and I’ll post a recording tutorial on that one soon. Let’s see if there’s a difference in freq response between tascam and fostex. Thanks for watching...!

howdy - thank you for the tutorial! I'm trying to determine how to mix down to a master stereo cassette from a Porta 02. Would this necessarily require purchasing a professional mixing recorder (ex the tascam 102)? or are there less costly/space-consuming (maybe more modern?) workarounds? I just want to make lots of tapes!

@MultitrackCassetteFans

3 жыл бұрын

I would mix down to your computer, if you don’t have a stereo cassette recorder

Came across this tutorial while experiencing/exploring the exact same high frequency issue as this one has. Found out that the high frequency increases when you raise the level of the tracks on the other recording track (so if you have track 1 armed, track 2 or 4 will cause the change in sound and vice versa). When you mute those tracks the armed track will sound normal during recording. Some weird feedback issue maybe... Did your reparation also target this issue or was it done before the recording of this video? I thought these caps might have something to do with the sound changing, like a tone knob on an electric guiter (idk, just guessing). Anyway, great vid!

I wouldn't consider it cheating to mixdown to a standard (quality) cassette deck, then put the mixdown tape into the Pota02 for an extra 2 tracks with a decent amount of stereo image preservation throughout. Especially since this only runs at the speed of a standard cassette deck. I'm planning to do a project soon with my 2 portastudios, and I'm going to be doing all the bouncing to digital with tape emulation, or possibly bouncing between the two 4 tracks or syncing them to my DAW with SMPTE (if that's possible) to create a six track. We shall see. I love all the ideas an planning that you have to put into getting around the limitations of these. Even though I was quite glad to leave them behind for computers back in the day.

@MultitrackCassetteFans

5 жыл бұрын

Roger Sullivan yes that’s not cheating at all, just do whatever you need for your project 👍. I feel exactly the same about working around these limitations, and yes, I too fell in love with the limitlessness of digital back then. But it never got me the results I wanted, even though it seemed to promise so much more. Thanks for your comment, and please share your project on youtube if you can!

Hi! Thanks for the nice video! Quick question, what kind of cassette its recommended for quality recordings in models such as this or the Porta 03?

@MultitrackCassetteFans

3 жыл бұрын

Tascam usually recommended Type II cassettes. Like TDK SA 60 or 90, or even better the Maxell XLII 60 or 90. Never use 120 minute tapes!

@andresgualdron

3 жыл бұрын

@@MultitrackCassetteFans Cool, just bought the Maxell XLII - 90. Thanks for the info!!

Thanks I just got mine from a cousin I had asked him about it for awhile and he said he would fix it for me he maid it usable but for some reason track 1 and 2 don't work but 3 and 4 do im just glad it works but would you have any idea what the problem might be awesome video btw

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Perhaps there are some capacitors that need to be replaced. There are two youtube channels that might be able to help you: Tetrakan Supermonobloc, and 3rd Island

@liammcconnell4014

4 жыл бұрын

@@MultitrackCassetteFans thanks so much your awesome

Hi! Recently purchased but the lights don't turn on to detect sound when I plug in my mic, any solutions?

You can bounce with it or ping pong .i have the silver one alll you do is line out to tape deck then record it there then the tape from tape deck putt in 4 track recorder it will be on track one and two

I have one, but it has terrible hiss - even when there's no tape in and the headphones are down to 0. When I record, this is picked up. If I transfer the tape to digital, there is still bad hiss, although not quite so much as when I'm listening through the headphones. Do you think it's possible for me to fix that if I look inside? (I've already checked things like, making the input as hot as possible etc. I couldn't even imagine turning the trim towards the mic setting!)

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

xoxb2 I think this might gave to do something with some broken capacitors, although I’m not an electronics expert. There’s a link in the descripion on replacing these capacitors. Also, there is a great channel dedicated to repairing cassette 4-trackers: Tetrakan Supermonobloc kzread.info

I bought an Art Studio V3 after watching this video . I used it for about an hour and when I went to unplugged the A/C adapter , it was quite warm . It was almost hot . Do those preamps cause that ?? I'm too scared to use mine now :(

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

That’s perfectly okay! They should get quite hot 👍

Of course you can 'bounce' tracks. It's very simple. You record your tracks, mix them down onto a standard cassette player, then use this tape to record from onto the 4 track again leaving you with extra tracks. Planning the tracks in advance is important. When I was around 10 I realised that when I pressed record on my little tape player the two heads would touch the tape. I worked out that one was an erase head and the other a play/record head. I would stick tape over the erase head and make multi-track tapes.

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

True, you can bounce that way, but not with just the porta02 itself. On most 4-trackers, you don’t need an extra recorder for bouncing

@rexterrocks

4 жыл бұрын

@@MultitrackCassetteFans No, that's very true. My method does take a lot longer than other 4 tracks. It's the same method The Beatles used on their studio 4 tracks. They would have to mix to another recorder too. Doing the same with a Portastudio can become rather 'muddy' sounding. I have to say that your video did inspire me to get my Tascams out and do some recording.

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

Paul Evans Okay thanks, I’m glad to hear that

If you had two of these, could you bounce it down on to the other one by plugging the output of one into the input of the other? You’d lose quality but would it have a feedback loop?

@MultitrackCassetteFans

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, that could definitely be a solution

I had an idea for bouncing (kinda) keep track 4 open. Put the tracks you want to bounce on “safe” then take headphone output of recorder and send it to input 2, then hit record on track 4 and it should in theory send the headphone signal into track four. Then you can record over the other three. I have to try this and see if it works.

Great video, Help... I just bought a porta 02 mkii, can I record on any cassette type? just to try it? I plug my electric guitar and I get sound out of it but when I record and then rewind and playback I hear nothing from the headphones at all... Im using a regular cassette just to try if it works, should I get another cassette or is it a problem with the unit? thanks brother

@MultitrackCassetteFans

5 жыл бұрын

Lucas Mares Yes, any type of cassette will do. Although Type II (Chrome) is recommended. Your problem is probably not the cassette. Please check if you have set the correct “REC FUNCTION” and the correct “TRIM” level (check the levels) while recording, and while playing back, have the “TRK” of the recorded channel turned up. If nothing happens, it might be a problem in your unit. I have had to replace 4 capacitors in mine.

@lucasVazquez77755

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the quick response, I picked up this tascam this morning for 80 dolars, owner said it was working fine. I already made sure TRk, trim functions and REC into the correct track, I hear audio coming out from my instruments through my headphones, (I dont have a RCA cable to test the L & R outputs, I can only listen through headphones for now) but it doesnt seem to be recording anything, also, when I play a used old cassette, I dont hear any audio out of it, and I know it is not an empty cassette, weird..

@MultitrackCassetteFans

5 жыл бұрын

Lucas Mares Then it seems like your unit is broken. By the way IMHO, $ 80 is quite a lot for a malfunctioning Porta02...perhaps you can get your money back from the seller? If not, this video may help you repair it (if the capacitors are the problem): kzread.info/dash/bejne/iqN51rWBktDHYbA.html Not too difficult, you have to solder and replace 4 capacitors. I hope you find a quick solution, let me know 👍

Can I use tdk ferric 90 min tape & also scotch bx 90 min in this machine?

@MultitrackCassetteFans

5 жыл бұрын

I believe you can. Don’t use 120 min tapes. Chrome (or Type II) tapes are the best for these machines

Do you absolutely need a dynamic mic to record instruments like electronic drums and electric guitar? Would I just go from my LINE OUT on the back of my Amp to the back of this recorder?

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

Yes, that’s perfectly possible. Start with the trim knob all the way down, in order not to damage your input

@enjoi3647718

4 жыл бұрын

@@MultitrackCassetteFans I also have another question, what can I use the RCA line out for? I have an rca to rca and rca to 3.5mm headphone jack

Hey Dennis, I have one more question. My device works okay now. For a friend i want to convert the cassette to a digital file on my Macbook air. Unlike older mcbook airs, mine doesn't have a audio input. Do you have any idea on what external device to use? thanks again for the great video's

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

Hi Pelle, for getting audio into my own Macbook I use a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface. It has 2 mono inputs and 2 outputs. The inputs are switchable between line and instrument. You can plug in a jack cable or an XLR mic cable. the mic preamp sounds very good. It also has a stereo headphone jack. I would definitely recommend this audio interface. FYI: I always use my iphone for shooting my videos, and the audio of my last couple of vids was captured with the Scarlett connected to my iphone. To me, this thing is a Swiss army knife 👍

@pelleyntema4942

4 жыл бұрын

@@MultitrackCassetteFans so this wil allow me to get audio from the recording on the casette to my computer as well?

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

Pelle Yntema yes, 100%

I'm from India, gujarat, Vadodara.

im sorry if you already said in the video but do you know why there's terrible high end when recording only? my fostex does the same thing.

Does the v3 have enough clean gain for sm7b

@MultitrackCassetteFans

5 жыл бұрын

Jason G I have never used an sm7b, but I’m sure it does

if you wanted to bounce could you do this? - Once you have all four tracks filled, record that onto a computer program using the RCA cables as one track on the computer. Then play that track and record it back onto track 1 on the Tascam using one of the "line ins". Essentially freeing up tracks 2,3,4 to record ontop of? would that work?

Hey Dennis, I bought this tascam on ebay sometime ago now. Just last week I finished my complete setup with a condense mic, supported buy a phantom power supply. Only thing is that the tascam doesn't pic up any sound from the mic like in your video. any idea what could be wrong?

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

Pelle Yntema It might have something to do with a couple of capacitors. My own Porta02 had to be repaired as well. In the description of this video, there is a link to a repair tutorial video about replacing 4 capacitors. It worked for my recorder, hopefully it works out for yours too!

@pelleyntema4942

4 жыл бұрын

@@MultitrackCassetteFans Hey Dennis, Thanks so much. I opened up my machine, the capacitors weren't positioned right. Now that I'm recording I experience a soft reverb of my voice in the background. Any idea what this could be?

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

Pelle Yntema Ah nice, so you managed to fix it? I really don’t know about that reverb. Can it be the room you record in?

if i wanted to erase a take on a track how would i go about doing this ??

Couldn't you just come out of one side of the stereo out, return it to an input, and assign the input to another unused track?

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

Ian Davidson I believe I’ve tried that, and it didn’t work. This would be the most logical thing to do when trying to bounce tracks though. Thanks for commenting!

Couldn’t you just record to a second decent tape with Dolby C NC, perform even a 5th track while recording, and then record that whole mix back into just track one, giving you 8 possible tracks in all? Is it just too noisy? Cuz if I wanted a clear sound I’d just use GarageBand on my iPhone lol

Good day master!!! Could you possibly recommend sites where I can buy such gadgets?

you're voice like lou reed from the velvet underground

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you!!

No double speed..... But what IS the speed?? Most 4 tracks record at 3.75 ips. What speed does this record at???? Thanks.

So do you actually mix while the tape is playing? And then when you take it out and put it in a cassette player it will play how you mixed it? I just did my first test and when I put it in a walkman style cassette player, each track is panned all the way right or left in the headphones. Keys play in the left ear and drums in the right? Am I supposed to mix the tape to another tape at that point?

@MultitrackCassetteFans

5 жыл бұрын

Richard Hughes Thanks for your question. When you mix, you always record the stereo out signal onto another recorder. Usually this is a computer, or a stereo cassette or tape recorder. (In my case, making this video, the mix is recorded onto the camera audio track) So the cassette in your 4-track will still contain the separate tracks, that’s why you hear everything panned hard left & right when you play it in your walkman.

@refhughes4097

5 жыл бұрын

Multitrack Cassette Fans ok so for example i would connect them with the rca? L and R out to my focusrite and into my daw? What sort of tape recorder can I record the mix into?

@MultitrackCassetteFans

5 жыл бұрын

Richard Hughes Yes, that’s correct, L+R rca -> focusrite -> DAW. In your DAW you can add some EQ and conpression to the stereo mix, if you like

@refhughes4097

5 жыл бұрын

@@MultitrackCassetteFans Awesome. But if i want to keep the mix on cassette? rca to? and i have to record to a different type of tape?

@MultitrackCassetteFans

5 жыл бұрын

Richard Hughes If you want to have a mix on cassette, mixdown to a separate stereo (regular) cassette deck. So then you will have a atereo mix on 1 cassette, and the original 4 tracks on another

Can you record to 2 tracks simultaneously?

@MultitrackCassetteFans

3 жыл бұрын

Yes you can 😀

The output level of your guitar preamp needs to be line level to start with. Don’t plug an amp level line into those inputs - could be problematic.

why is the mike 1 on the input 2 side

@MultitrackCassetteFans

5 жыл бұрын

Richard Blystone It depends on which track you want to record onto

Can bounce to pc or what ever. Phone..

WHAT IF YOU USED TWO CASSETTES AND RECORDED YOUR OUTPUT TO A NORMAL TAPE RECORDER? AND THEN PLAYED IT BACK TO THE TASCAM TO A SINGLE TRACK??

@MultitrackCassetteFans

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, that’s possible. People do this to get more tracks in a way

@bicelikesrice7302

2 жыл бұрын

@@MultitrackCassetteFans thank you!

I remember these were not normal cassettes...these were the ones to overdub...that s to say to re-record over what was recorded already...different from normal cassettes which got erased when recording back...recording now only the last record...

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

There were no special multitracking cassettes, at least not that I know of. The only way to not erase your pre-recorded material is to disable the erase head in the recorder itself, although I would not recommend this (if it’s at all possible).

@ozzmannsanchez6180

4 жыл бұрын

@@MultitrackCassetteFans ok...i remember so with Yamaha...1985..approx...but ( ???????? )...🤔

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

Ozzmann Sànchez I you do find the name or any other information, please let me know

@ozzmannsanchez6180

4 жыл бұрын

@@MultitrackCassetteFans ok..

I have the port 1 to bounce you have to bounce to a tape deck what strange it from tape deck take that tape putt it in the recorder it a be on track 1 and 2 my ideal is just record over 2 again so you can get 3 more tracks to record over

Do you live in nyc?

Wow! That's tiny!

@MultitrackCassetteFans

5 жыл бұрын

The MPF Project Yes, and very light weight as well 😜

@MikeFoerster

5 жыл бұрын

@@MultitrackCassetteFans I'd love to see it beside a DP004, 006 or 008.

@MultitrackCassetteFans

5 жыл бұрын

The MPF Project I don’t own any of those models, only way too many cassette 4-tracks 😂

Cuanto vale nuevo

Can your finished product be transferred to garage band?

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

Busywave Yes! In fact, sometimes I record the stereo mixdown to Garageband, and put some EQ and compression on it there

@Busywave

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much.

@dylankochvideos

4 жыл бұрын

​@@MultitrackCassetteFans How would you make this transfer to Garageband (or a MacBook in general)? Are significant further devices required to do so? I'm just starting to get into tape recorders, and want to make sure my recordings wouldn't just be trapped in tape form. Thanks!

@MultitrackCassetteFans

4 жыл бұрын

Dylan Koch You need a LINE INPUT terminal on your computer, or, even better, a USB audio interface. I use the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, which is perfect for this and many other tasks

@dylankochvideos

4 жыл бұрын

@@MultitrackCassetteFans Thanks for the quick reply. If it isn't too much trouble, could you give a list of items totally necessary for recording and mixing using the Porta 02 in the way you did in the video? Thanks again!

Lekker, pik