Recording a Series 1 into 7 separate analog channels

[gtrguy]

I am experimenting with recording my short scale Series 1 into 7 channels (at once) on my Tascam 388 8 track that I bought last summer. After recording the tracks, I will be putting them into my DAW (Sonar Platinum) on 7 tracks and messing around with them even more. This is a good exercise for now to get familiar with the Tascam.

Tracks 1 & 2 are going straight in through the blue box with an active & passive DI. Track 3 is going through an F-1X and track 4 from 1 half of an F-2B (track 7 will be from the other side later on). Track 5 comes from my SWR amp using a Shure BETA 52A mic.  Track 6 comes from my SF-2 from the ACC bus, which means I can add any amount from any of the other channels into the track for signal (pre or post EQ). The other rack units each get only one pickup until I add the other pickup into the other half of the F-2B later on for track 7.

Total overkill! So far I have recorded some of the tracks into my computer, but I am waiting on some more RCA to ¼” adapters to get them all. From there I can mix & blend and add tons yet more stuff.

Interesting things I have learned:
Surprisingly enough, it all sounds good! Often when doing something like this you can just get a mis-mash of noise, but that is not happening.

The two SS Series pickups sound like two different bass instruments, with a huge amount of tonal difference from each other.

The Tascam vintage DBX system does a good job of eliminating tape hiss, but at the expense of losing some highs. I think I can make up for this with a brighter EQ.

 
I’ll update as I learn more. The tonal variations are endless, of course, and I will record some songs this way to see how it all sits in the mix.

[tbrannon]

I love it.  Such a cool project to work on. Not only is it very fun, but you're going to come out the other side of this with crazy amounts of knowledge and insight on each one of those pieces of equipment.  That is the ultimate win-win situation.

[gtrguy]

So far I now have 6 channels going. I don’t have the 2^nd channel of the F-2b hooked up yet. I also have it all recording back into my computer on separate tracks from the tape recording. Thank gawd I have the Tascam remote control, since I have the Tascam in one room and the computer in another.

I first tried some Ampeg 1 mil mastering tape that I transferred from a 10.5” reel, but it has a shedding problem that some old tape can get. I then put some Scotch 207 1 mil mastering tape in the Tascam & it works fine.

Sound-wise, it sounds great! I really thought I would end up with a couple of track outputs I liked and that the others would be redundant, but they all, with the possible exception of the Beta SM-52 mic channel, add something nice to the mix.

I now see how the two pickups that sound so different from each other create a fuller tone when they are both used on the Series One that adds the best of both into the sound. They blend into a nice full bass sound.  The neck PUP by itself has more of what I think of as a Rickenbacker sounding low end (probably because I used to have one) and the bridge pickup is just a little too bright for my recording purposes, but together they cancel out the disadvantages and accentuate the tones that I want in the mix for the style of music I am doing.

 
Of course this is subjective and others would not necessarily agree.  Too bad I can’t post audio files here. Maybe I’ll do a YouTube video or something. 

[kdh]

Here's the frequency response of a Series 1 based purely on pickup positions with the pickups blended for a broad response. For double-pickup instruments this is obtained using the neck pickup set about 12db below the bridge pickup.

[gtrguy]

Cool! What do the downward spikes mean? I would assume lack of response at those frequencies?

[kdh]

Cool! What do the downward spikes mean? I would assume lack of response at those frequencies?

Exactly, the "notches" are where there is little response. Here's a basic article describing the effect of pickup position.

http://www.till.com/articles/PickupResponse/index.html

For certain harmonics the string isn't vibrating where the pickup is located.

[gtrguy]

Is there any phase canceling going on with 2 normal pickups due to the spacing??

[kdh]

There is, and that's incorporated into the model.