Hi

I got a Yamaha 4Track, MT4-X and have questions because I like to use it creatively. My buy has some problems and I have some questions.

1. I need to replace the record head I guess. Serious hiss, but seems to be a old record head. I have not heard one lately, but I still remember that. Is this a killer argument these days as a different machine with record heads avail might be cheaper. I am not sure here.

2. Is this a unit that is favorable, or do I need to hunt for another one for specific stuff that this one cant do?

3. Tapes, Tapes, Tapes.

4. More workflow ideas please! I have "drum compression trick" and a tricky chord setup with different parts of a chord on the channels

5. Whats to know about the dehissing feature in the recorder, apart from deactivating it and feeding enough signal?

Any ideas are welcome

MOVE ON! You`re talking 25+ year old tech! Good luck finding the right cassette tapes, I have 1 still in the wrapper I`m waiting to use for a special occasion(What Type II Cro)? You`re trolling or seriously confused.

I don't condone arrogant dismissive replies, however, your post is all over the place and I'm not even sure what you're looking for here. I'm not trying to jump to conclusions but it seems as if yr brand new to 4-tracks, which is fine, but instead of worrying about replacing record heads or buying a new one with "more features," you should just keep on making recordings and learning as you go. Play around with the pitch wheel and backwards tracking and read everything you can on cassette recording.

There's no point whatsoever in replacing the record head on any 4-track unless you are an experienced tech with the proper tools. These machines have heads that will not wear out like a reel to reel as the tape in cassettes is running slow and is very thin etc.

You mention dbx noise reduction and I tend to use it on certain stuff. You mention having a lot of hiss, which is normal and something you can start to control more with proper gain staging and mic techniques.

Have you been cleaning the tape path and using good tapes that are 60 mins (90 tops)?

Thanks.

1. Head replacement - Thank you for that information, I jumped to the conclusion: must be old - must be replaced.

2. DBX- Thought that was always off, but I will experiment now.

3. "keep on making records" - Yes, I will use this device again then and try some of the stuff

Sir, exactly the answer I needed and the ideas I was looking for. Thank you!

I am running a mackie1604 mixer as well, so the 25 year old tech has kinda a friend with a design as old as the production date from the yamaha might be. So all cool.

FWIW, I think its a great idea to record to a 4 track for a while. Its a lot of fun IMO. The MT4x is definitely a little noisy and the noise reduction is rather useless IMO because to my ears it just simply muddies everything up. The Tascam Porta 02 is a much better quality. I bought an MT4X new in the mid to late 90's and gave up on it after a few months. Went back to my Tascam machine with what I thought were better results.

I'd recommend just sticking with the Yamaha for a while. More than likely you will find your way back to recording in a DAW.

There is a old Desk, where some synths and that tapedeck may reside. The questionable quality of the result is disconcerning. maybe I scavenge for another tascam unit while i use this. Thanks for the report, I was suspecting this

Visual inspection should reveal if a tape head needs replacing. If so, it'll look all warn down. Another thing, degaussing, which should be done correctly and carefully. After that, I'd look into what type tape the machine wants. Or just experiment with a couple different ones in hopes to reduce hiss. Btw, I don't mind hiss as long as it's only there at the beginning and ending of songs lol.

I've gotta disagree with the opinion of the Tascam Porta 02 being better than the MT4X. The Porta 02 is a regular speed 4-track with no EQ and only two inputs. It's the most basic one Tascam built, while the MT4X was one of the last models put out towards the end of cassettes era. I bought one new in 1999 and it was great. I also think that the dbx can basically get rid of most of the hiss that you will hear while listening at normal to normal/loud volume. You just need to make sure that you watch your tracking levels while recording bass or anything with a lot of lower frequencies as it will cause a "breathing" effect.

I too think it's awesome to use 4-tracks and that you can learn how to really be an effective song writer when you don't have endless tracks and editing capabilities. It can strengthen your process and spark a ton of creativity! I like to record a guitar or vocal and then do an overdub with the pitch turned slightly up or down. When you play it back with the wheel back in the middle it will give you a wavy, harmony kinda feel.

You've got a nice model with that MT4X. If you decide to move up to another one there's other well made and machines by Tascam (244, 246, 424 MKII, MKIII) and Marantz (PMD 720, 740), and Audio Technica (RMX64). I've used all of these except for the Marantz, and they're all fun and capable of some good sounding recordings with a ton of character.

Also, check out some albums by artists who did them on machines like yours and the ones I mentioned. There's Elliott Smith's Roman Candle, Guided By Voices Bee Thousand, and Alien Lanes, Ween's The Pod, and Pure Guava, and a ton of early Sebadoh/Sentridoh stuff that Lou Barlow did.

And remember to look up how to clean the tape heads and pinch roller wheel because I have a feeling you're getting noise from oxide left on the rec/play head.

Sir, thank you for this answer.

As far as Tape Types go, type4's seem to be rather expensive: is there an alternative?

Type IV Metal cassettes aren't supposed to be used on 4-tracks. All the ones built were biased for type II chrome and won't sound their best with anything else (more hiss, less headroom etc), not to mention that yeah, they're incredibly expensive. I see them sell for $20-$60 a piece on the auction site that shall not be mentioned. I used them back in the day without realizing it wasn't the best idea and didn't notice any difference in performance but I was also 15 so... Type IV won't erase all the way either, so you'll have audible last takes when overdubbing so there's a bunch of reasons not to use em. Mixing down to a metal cassette is awesome though, if you have a deck that can play them.

Stick to Maxell XLII, TDK SA, Sony UX, Fuji ZII or tapes from National Audio Company and Tapeline. Type II only.

lots of love for this shopping list and a really helpful explanation

I have a Yamaha MT4X, in perfect working condition.

Here is what I recommend :

1) Use Chrome tapes (type 2). This unit doesn't work well with standard type 1 tapes, especially in the high frequency range. If you use type 1 tapes, make sure you don't overdrive the sound and keep it from hitting the red too much/too frequently in the display. Always record at double-speed.

2) You can order chrome tapes at https://www.duplication.ca

3) Use DBX. Seriously. It'll reduce the noise floor a ton, everything sounds cleaner/better. Frankly I find the MT4X to be rather noisy without using DBX.

4) Keep it clean. Use a q-tip and alcohol for the head, dishwasher soap water (with q-tip) for the rubber parts. Use a demagnetizing cassette, if you can find one. I bought one on ebay, came from the UK, works well, worth it. Try cleaning the unit before changing the head, see it gets rid of the hiss you are experiencing.

4) Don't listen to people who tell you to give up on tape. Art is as much as process as the result.

All good advice. I find that anyone who says things like, "Don't bother with tape/cassette etc," are usually older and are from the experience of having no other choice but to work with it and in that case I can understand the frustration and subsequent hate of cassettes and tape multitracks in general. Other people have only the memory of recording demos on a 4-track that sounded terrible but they don't account for the fact that they were also most likely using really bad gear combined with a lack of recording knowledge. I know when I listen to some of my old recordings I wish I had done a lot of things differently but at the time I didn't even know what a mic pre was and even if I did see one I would've wondered why I needed one if I already had perfectly good ones on the 4-track already.

These days we have so much awesome tech available to us that back in the 90's would've cost tens of thousands of dollars and we can combine that with a 4-track and get something totally awesome! Case in point, I used to bounce down tracks on my Tascam until I was filled up, then mixdown to a VCR and run that back to two tracks on the Tascam to finish up (2 tracks of vocals usually.) Today we have a computer that we can use in tandem and make some really unique sounding stuff. I think people should be encouraged to use tape because it definitely shapes the recordings into something unique to the user and gives you your own "sound" for lack of a better term.

I could go on and on...

Glad to hear it sparks your creative process. In 30 years people will be recording on 2010-era MacBooks with Ableton Live 9 and getting some cool results.

it is hilarious when people say "move on from tape machine its 25+ year old tech..." - how come that everyone today detest 15 yrs old digital audio cards? but those cards were great and better than anything 15 yrs ago?
hahaha


i'll summarize my 2 cents about mt4x:

- mt4x is not only a good machine, it is one of better cassette multitrack machines from the solid brand, known for durable audio devices.

- it is capable not only of good demos. if you know what you're doing, it is capable of broadcast-worthy material. i've done stuff for national radio on it.
if a person doesn't know the job, it is capable of bad recording too, like any recording device.

- dbx is ok to start with. its kind of "safety net", a safe recording but hi freq is slightly lost. once you know your way, it is possible to record without dbx, and to keep the hiss down. either with very hot recording (compressors might be the key...), or to use gates on mixdown. we all have some outboard, don't we?