TASCAM DR-680 portable 8-track Part 2

[jbell]

You won't be dissappointed if you get one.  It has a solid construction and optical in/out, nice adc and great battery life.  I think people don't dig the size, but it is smaller than I expected when I bought mine.  I am thinking that I might grab the new SD USBpre2 to run with mine.  Sorry for the thread jack. 

I couldn't resist. I put in an offer.

[darby]

I went thru the entire menu and even tried to do analog in without running digital
plus I tried 2 SPDIF cables that worked fine with my V3 > P2 after wards
I would still get that error message even running NO digital in on the menu

sometimes it will read the cards, but give me the DIN unlock message
other times it would give me the Sys Rom Error message
when powering down and back up with the card still in the unit

cards... fine most likely, since my computer reads them and the unit was reading them
SPDIF cables... fine
digital out on V3... fine

basically the unit just started acting up with nothing changed on the menu and...
I went thru the settings when setting up at the show and things were set properly 2 nights in a row
I ASSUMED that things were alright yesterday morning by switching cards and the unit fired up
but I did not actually run any tests and got hosed last night when trying to fire up the unit at the show
and all that I'm getting now are the 2 error messages

I'm going to give TEAC a call tomorrow and send it in

I was busy last week and forgot to update this...
I received a call from Dennis @ Full Compass indicating the main board was FRIED
and it will cost me $140 to repair since LABOR is only 90 days from purchase, plus they are waiting for the part

latest update:
just received a call from Rich, head of service with Full Compass
apparently this problem is the ONLY time this has ever happened anywhere in the world with a 680
and TEAC did not even have a part number to assign the main board since they have never had to replace one
TEAC wanted to see if they could come up with another unit that they could just swap the board with
but at this point since I have waited TOO long IMO on this matter Full Compass is suggesting to TEAC to give me a NEW unit
especially after I mentioned to Rich that the AC transformer was DOA when I received the unit initially

[Chuck]

That's great news darby.

[ArchivalAudio]

Darby,
damn how many months without the unit has it been?
I think I would pressure both Full Compass and Teac Direct to send you out a new unit period
could the one off fired board be related to the the fact that AC transformer was DOA when I received the unit initially?
good luck -- Hope you get it (or another) back soon
--Ian

[darby]

Darby,
damn how many months without the unit has it been?
I think I would pressure both Full Compass and Teac Direct to send you out a new unit period
could the one off fired board be related to the the fact that AC transformer was DOA when I received the unit initially?
good luck -- Hope you get it (or another) back soon
--Ian

I waited over 2 months on the transformer and it has been 2 months now on the unit
Full Compass is behind me on this... thanks

[Chadfish]

I did a little testing with my Busman modded DR-680 last night. I plugged in my Rode NT4 directly, set to high gain,  then played some guitar & sang. Then I tried going through my Sound Devices MixPre into the 680 at line level and played/sang some more. I have to say that I liked the sound better WITHOUT the MixPre! The MixPre took out some bass response that really made the direct-in recording sound great. Direct was full and warm. MixPre was more thin and sterile. Not terrible, but lacking fullness.

It's got me confused. I triple checked to make sure that I didn't have any hi-pass filters engaged on the MixPre. I thought the mixer rout was the way to go, but now I'm not so sure. I'll have to try on different mics. I have an AT4053b that sounds a little dark. Maybe that will be a better fit with the MixPre.

What are your thoughts on using a Mixer/preamp? Is it that the NT4 is a bright mic and the clarity of the MixPre enhanced that?

[kirk97132]

I sold a pair of Rode NT-5's for that exact reason of them being too bright and thin sounding to my ears.  You'll see that a lot of people choose a certain mic/preamp combo because it works well together.  The flip side of that coin is that there are probably mic/preamp combos that don't work well together.  This example of yours.....running a preamp in front of a modded deck.....is exactly what we talked about previously in this thread.  IMHO it does not always work the way that it was envisioned.  IE: the thought process of well if it sounds good stock then it will sound great modded and if it sounds great modded then it will sound even more extra great with a good preamp in front of a modded box.    Although I suspect that the bright sound is the mic in this particular application.  It could also be that the choice of mic was not the best one for the particular application.  Any thing that is not liked about the mic will only be emphasized by putting a high end preamp with lots of gain into the signal chain.  I would try out some other mics not every mic is a good match for transformer based preamps. 

[Chadfish]

Well the brightness, or more accurately, the lack of bass, is coming from the mixer since the bass is there when I plug straight in. I imagine mixer/mic parings can vary a lot. I'll report back what I find after I test more of my mics.

[Chadfish]

I can't find whether this is possible in the manual, but can you have it so each take goes into a separate folder? Right now no matter how many takes I do, or whether I turn the unit off or not, all the files go into one folder. It would make it easier to trash unwanted takes.

[kirk97132]

For some reason I thought you had to either direct it to a new folder or create one other wise it will default to the same folder.  But I am not looking at manual and working from memory.  The reason it seems to stick is that I thought I choose to have save to same folder all the time.  There is no option for folder setup/saves?  Maybe on initial set-up type thing.  I'll review when I can and see what I can figure out but it would be odd to me that it won't let you do that. 

[Chadfish]

I think you can make a folder, and direct files to it. I guess I'm just used to working with the Edirol R4-Pro, what makes a new folder by default for every take. Not too big of a deal I guess.

On another note I did an A-B test with 5 different mics yesterday. I played guitar through a mic plugged straight in to the DR-680, then again going through the MixPre and into the 680. I recorded and filmed the tests, and will be making a shootout video of sorts to illustrate the effects of the MixPre on the mics. I chose video because I can get pretty good audio using Vimeo, and to be able to put up text to show what mic/mixer is being played through is much easier to get a seamless A-B comparison. In most cases I think I liked the DR-680 pres better than the MixPres. The MixPre seemed to suck out the fullness of the signal. I say "seemed" because I need to dig into it and level match all the takes before I decide for myself. But my preliminary results show a lack of low end with the MixPre. It was most pronounced with the Rode NT4 though.

[kirk97132]

I can't find whether this is possible in the manual, but can you have it so each take goes into a separate folder? Right now no matter how many takes I do, or whether I turn the unit off or not, all the files go into one folder. It would make it easier to trash unwanted takes.

I Don't see how to get new folders automatically, you have to use the menu each time.  But, you can have do new takes after each pause (pg. 25).  Here is my shorthand take of it:  Menu, scroll data wheel to "REC",  press enter, scroll data wheel to "PAUSE", press enter,  scroll for "SAME TAKE" or"NEW TAKE".  At least the files are easier to pick out then and I believe you can delete from menu, since you can play takes separately from menu?.  There are also markers set automatically each time you hit pause but I can't see anyway to access them thru the menu. 

[darby]

I went thru the entire menu and even tried to do analog in without running digital
plus I tried 2 SPDIF cables that worked fine with my V3 > P2 after wards
I would still get that error message even running NO digital in on the menu

sometimes it will read the cards, but give me the DIN unlock message
other times it would give me the Sys Rom Error message
when powering down and back up with the card still in the unit

cards... fine most likely, since my computer reads them and the unit was reading them
SPDIF cables... fine
digital out on V3... fine

basically the unit just started acting up with nothing changed on the menu and...
I went thru the settings when setting up at the show and things were set properly 2 nights in a row
I ASSUMED that things were alright yesterday morning by switching cards and the unit fired up
but I did not actually run any tests and got hosed last night when trying to fire up the unit at the show
and all that I'm getting now are the 2 error messages

I'm going to give TEAC a call tomorrow and send it in

I was busy last week and forgot to update this...
I received a call from Dennis @ Full Compass indicating the main board was FRIED
and it will cost me $140 to repair since LABOR is only 90 days from purchase, plus they are waiting for the part

latest update:
just received a call from Rich, head of service with Full Compass
apparently this problem is the ONLY time this has ever happened anywhere in the world with a 680
and TEAC did not even have a part number to assign the main board since they have never had to replace one
TEAC wanted to see if they could come up with another unit that they could just swap the board with
but at this point since I have waited TOO long IMO on this matter Full Compass is suggesting to TEAC to give me a NEW unit
especially after I mentioned to Rich that the AC transformer was DOA when I received the unit initially

just got off the phone with Rich,
they are shipping me a new 680 TODAY
it's been long overdue... I nearly forgot how to run the thing

[rastasean]

long time comin'. still planning on selling it?

[darby]

long time comin'. still planning on selling it?

I'm going to run it for a couple shows and then see what the market is
it will be new in box when I receive it