Inserts not working on Model 16...

[Denver Risley]

I cannot find the answers I'm looking for anywhere, even in these forums. I have my inserts arranged as you see in the accompanying diagram. CH's 1 & 2 are set to PC and I'm in Pro Tools. I have set my playback engine to TASCAM 16 and outs are set to 1-2. CH 1 & 2 faders are up, Master fader is up, CR fader is up and my monitors are connected to CONTROL ROOM L & R. Thresholds on the limiter/compressor channels are set low enough that anything would trigger them. Nothing in playback. Same for the EQ. What am I missing? Does this not work for playback?

 

[shredd]

Not TOTally sure I can help - I don't own a ModelXX (and wouldn't, even at gunpoint!). But I'll try...and mebbe summa the smart guyz here can jump in...

As inserts go - assuming you've got those insert cables properly connected (make sure the ends opposite the TRS plug in the [INSERT] jack of each channel are in the right direction, meaning you're not "backwards" - in MY studio, my insert cables have the SEND on the RED plug; it looks like yours is opposite - unless you've hooked them up wrong!) - it looks to me like those circuits are OK.
You could check this by simply pulling the insert cables out of the insert jacks, and seeing if your signal flow is restored.

If that checks out OK - you might wanna proceed to the two DBX units, to be sure THEY'RE config'd correctly, meaning processing signal and passing it as intended ("Gain staging: Learn It. Know It. Live It"...).

After that - you might have isolated your problem to the settings in the Model16, and/or the ProTools. This is an area I'm NOT familiar with, and wouldn't subject myself to upon pain of death...

Good luck!

 

[Denver Risley]

These particular breakouts are coded: BLACK=send & RED=return. Thanks for responding. Still stuck.

 

[shredd]

Kewl...one down.
Move on...to the DBX units (though it seems unlikely those're it), and on to ModelXX/PT if necessary...

Unless one of the smart guyz here actually knows the answer - good on you for providing full details in OP. Someone here has surely suffered the same ModelXX/ProTools torment as you and found a solution (too bad they didn't post it for others to find w/search...) -

 

[Max Relic]

@Denver Risley, the answer is in the Block Diagram that came with your Model 16.
Insert jack is in the analog input signal path before the input select switch.
Please confirm you read the manual beforehand.

 

[shredd]

Please confirm you read the manual beforehand.

Thanks @Max Relic - since I dunno flock-all about the ModelXX's, I guess I wuz just blindly assuming the OP can read - and did read (the manual)...I guess this is the part where I impart more of my sage wisdom: "Block Diagram. Learn It. Know It. Live It". ROUTING MATTERS!!!

 

[Max Relic]

@shredd The Golden Rule!

 

[Denver Risley]

Well, to be fair, if everyone memorized the manual there might not be any reason for the forum. I wouldn't have thought Tascam wouldn't include the inserts in the signal flow of the only two output channels in PC mode. but that is the case. Seems like a missed opportunity for more versatility. At any rate, I have forsaken the insert jacks and simply routed my hardware through the plain, boring old AUX sends. I'll just print each track as I adjust the hardware for each one. Good ol' days.

 

[shredd]

No one’s talking about memorizing manuals…if you think about it: every piece of gear has a manual - whether it’s a 4-page blurb or a 120-page mess written by a guy in china who learned English the week before from a Lucky Charms box.
Whutcha need is to have yr manuals handy, for reference. And familiarity w yr gear lessens the need.

As far as number/location of inserts: plenny gear suffers that…my own mixer (which I dig & think is nicely designed) also has them on only ch’s 1&2…
The usual culprit is design/production costs limiting features in the interest of market competitiveness.

So - ya work w whutcha got, like the rest of us!

And - speakin’ fur meself: I’mma glad the forum’s around…so that there’s somewhere in the world where I’m not the stewpyd-est person in the room!

 

[Max Relic]

Well, to be fair, if everyone memorized the manual there might not be any reason for the forum.

A forum is a place for discussion, a place for sharing points of view and knowledge between people with common interests, and also possibly find solutions to related issues. It's a misconception of these days to think that fora (or any other discussion platform for what it worths) are merely free of charge substitutes of official technical support: unfortunately there is no remedy to this drift other than wish "Best luck and ask AI next time".

Back to the topic: obviously memorizing manuals is a hyperbole, seriously no one would want to do this for more than a few products.
What I do is keep manuals -prerably in pdf format- at hand for a quick refresh when memory can't help, which is becoming more frequent with age.

 

[shredd]

Yuh-huh. That's whut I meant...

 

[Mark Richards]

@shredd, @Max Relic, well said.

The ones that fry me join the forum, ask a question easily answered by: Reading the owner manual or viewing the sticky threads or making a forum search; and after receiving a reply, aren't even courteous enough to acknowledge the help given, or worse just disappear after starting the thread.

Then there's the "I'm too old, too clueless [etc.] to know what I'm doing. Please tell me step by step how to....".

It's as though they think we sit around all day with nothing to do but wait for them to show up with their "problem".

Those types go straight to "ignore".

When my youngest came of age, my eldest, 7 years her senior, told her "Dad will move heaven and earth to help you when you need it, but first you have to show him that you've tried to help yourself". Maybe I'll make that the tag line in my sig.

 

[shredd]

first you have to show him that you've tried to help yourself

Preachin’ to the choir, mate!
This is one of my fundamental philosophies in life - borne of both my upbringing & my professional experiences:

While my altruistic character guides me to help when I can - I have no particular interest in helping those who can’t be bothered to help themselves!

 

[mixerizer]

Good news is, the music got made and the sound got recorded!

My approach when people ask me for gear related help is to try to help encourage them to make the connections and fill in their own informational blanks and context by answering their question in the form of an informationally loaded question like a syllogism (eg “if a + b = c, then what might we be able to say about how the value of c - b relates to a?”)

Thanks to all on the forums who help make these musical projects possible for those of us in need of a little help over the hump.

PS So many manuals… so very many manuals…