Tascam Model 24 as an interface issue

[Chrisrcbp]

Tascam model 24 as an Audio Interface(?)

I don't mean to write a novel, but I feel I have to start from the beginning:

I've been recording my drums for my music on a 20 year old Allen & Heath analog mixer, using direct outs of 7 channels -> a behringer audio interface -> my computer and DAW. With this method, I was able to control individual DAW track recording levels with the faders on the A&H board.

The board is old and started dying on me. I do shows for a friend's band on the side, so I figured I'd invest in something new to help with my own stuff and their shows. I saw the Model 24 which had USB Interface properties and thought "this will cut out the middle man" (the behringer) and thought it was a great idea. I just received the board today, and if I'm understanding this correctly, I CANNOT control individual DAW channel recording levels using the faders on the Tascam? Just the gain?

If this is true, was anybody else blindsided by this? How did you adjust your workflow to work around this? I don't want to have to return the board, but I loved being able to use my mixer's faders to control recording levels on my DAW. Any help/advice/insight would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Max Relic]

Welcome, a look at the block diagram in the manual shows the channel Send Point is placed before the equalizer, then on the Model 24 you are only required to set Gain in order to have an adequate recording level (gain staging) in your DAW. Channel strip controls from the equalizer downward affect the signal coming either from analog input (Live), computer (Return Point) or multitrack recorder (MTR) for the mixdown.

 

[shredd]

Tragically, TASCAM manuals are not written for user-level intelligence - you gotta be as smart as @Max Relic ...
I myself had the over-100-page manual to my 'neo printed out and bound, and it literally lived stuck in the space between the '88 and my R monitor, so I could grab it for reference (which I DID, pretty much every single time I operated the 'neo, for nearly ten years!!!).
The good news is that the 'neo's manual was fantastic - and that's without a block diagram!!! Modern-day TASCAM manuals...not so much...

 

[Chrisrcbp]

Welcome, a look at the block diagram in the manual shows the channel Send Point is placed before the equalizer, then on the Model 24 you are only required to set Gain in order to have an adequate recording level (gain staging) in your DAW. Channel strip controls from the equalizer downward affect the signal coming either from analog input (Live), computer (Return Point) or multitrack recorder (MTR) for the mixdown.

"You are only required to set gain" - so this is an intentional choice and not being able to use the faders is not as big of an issue as I thought?

 

[Max Relic]

I would say it is so for a reason. Audio is best recorded at nominal level, once you have set input gain there is no need to have a fader along the signal path before the recorder (be it a hardware multitrack recorder or a DAW). Faders are at work during mixdown, in such a case you may choose to send recorded tracks back to the Model 24 channels where you would apply analog EQ and adjust levels.

 

[Mark Richards]

@Chrisrcbp I agree with Max. The rationale behind multitrack recording (as a general statement) is to optimize each individual track recorded dry except perhaps for some judicially applied compression. This enables maximum flexibility during "creation" of the song in the balance/mixdown stage.

 

[Chrisrcbp]

Awesome. Thank you all for your insight! You've made me feel better about the situation and investing in this board.