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i just got a teac model 5 in from ups. mixer is in great cosmetic condition. the only thing is that when i flick the power switch, the vus and lights flash for a second and then go dead.
it is not connected to anything as of right now. it is just plugged in to the wall socket.
does this thing need to be grounded to something before it stays on?
i do not have a manual for this thing.
help... please...

lumin

by the way I'm excited about having this thing. really looking forward to using it a lot... if i could just get it to stay on.
if anyon does have a copy of the manual they would be willing to let me get, it would be much appreciated
thank you in advance!

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moonbaby Sat, 10/15/2005 - 06:59

God, I used to have one of those beasts! Not very quiet, but VERY flexible. I think that you should use the short RCA patch cords that Hosa offers. Making RCAs is a real pain, especially if you want them that short. You might want to pick up a patch bay and then get the right lenth cords to patch to the access jacks. A longer cord also permits you to patch a channel over to the righthand-side submixer for monitor and/or FX mixes.
If the lights /power are intermittent, I would suggest replacing the IEC power input socket and check the wiring to the fuse(in fact ,that fuse might be the culprit, especially if it is old). You should get many hours of use as a monitor mixer with that desk...good luck!

Lumin Sat, 10/15/2005 - 11:00

ill be honest, i never have liked a clean sounding recording... im all about gettin a gritty sound quality. the grimier the better.
im a big fan of early 70s funk and reggae... just had that beautiful dirty sound. a lot of personality i guess.
i do a lot of underground hip hop, so i sort of make it work the same
id like to get a decent tape recorder to compliment this thing
how was that model 38? and it is expensive to get one these days?

FloodStage Sat, 10/15/2005 - 22:03

The Tascam 38 is a 1/2" 8 track. I bought one new in the 80's for 3250. 1 year later , bought the 8 tracks of DBX for it for 1000.

I picked up a model 5-EX (a 8 channel expander board for a model 5) used when I got the 38 for 300. The model 5 is an ancient piece of gear. It didn't pass many highs at all (which didn't matter, we were mixing to cassette and they didn't record highs so it worked okay!)

I don't remember exactly how we patched the thing, but I am sure we repatched whenever we went from record to play.

I think we had the send patched to the inut of the deck and the output of the tape deck patched to the RCV when recording.

When we mixed, we would repatch. I believe we would connect the send directly to the RCV (as pictured in the Model 5 pic above) and patch the tape deck output to the line in.

This way the EQ was in the path both recording and mixing. I think.

I'm not positive

I used to have a chart that showed the signal path in the Model 5 which is how we figured out how to use it. I'll look for it and post back if I can find it.

I've still got the 38. They sell for about 400 - 500 last time I checked. Tape used to cost 45-65 a roll for 10-1/2" roll. Have no idea what it costs now.

I gave the 5-EX to a friend a couple years ago and I think it sits unused on the floor in his den with a bunch of other old unused gear. Got a Mackie 1202 when they first came out and the difference the Mackie made was unbelievable. Can't say I'd reccommend a Model 5 unless you just like the styling of the thing. It's a lo-fi boat anchor.

The 38 was the first affordable 8 track deck released. Pro-sumer, yes, but still not a bad deck, especially when it came out. We made some good recordings with it and it still works.

(Bottom left in the rack)

JoeH Sat, 10/15/2005 - 23:51

I used to have a Model 5 with the expander. Dear god, that really takes me back, alright! I did tons and tons of commercials, jingles, and even a few CDs, er....Albums on that thing. Mine didn't owe me a dime when I finally sold it/gave it away.

I got every drop of fidelity out of it while I could, until I was able to get more/better gear. Even just moving up to a Mackie 1604 was a huge step up at the time, sonically. (I WAS going to upgrade all the chips, recap the thing entirely, and clean or replace all the pots. THen I saw (and heard) what a new Mackie cost in comparison, and it no longer made sense to keep the old beastie, hate to say!)

You can get short jumpers at even places like Radio Shack, although it's actually a "Y" cable, but it'll do the same thing - just cover the bare tip of the center plug with some tape or something. You can also just build your own stuff as well, you really don't need much to make a bunch of 'em.

As for the sound.......yeah, it'll give you that noisey, tired, late 70's sound alright, if that's what you're looking for. It's analog, but it's NOT a nice warm tube sound, so beware. Once you get tired of that, I'm sure you'll want to move on to something with better stats and much much better pre's, etc. I'd used it as a mixer in a pinch, but NEVER EVER for any kind of serious mic preamp use.

IMHO, it's much better off in a museum than in a working studio today, but enjoy it all the same. You'll hopefully learn something while working with it. 8-)

I've still got my fully restored 80-8 machine (w/dbx) in storage; I'm looking for the right charity or best offer to get rid of it....someday!

Lumin Sun, 10/16/2005 - 21:37

thank yall so much for the info
its going to come in handyu... from what i can tell, the signal flow is a lil more complex than i imagined it to be.
i did end up ordering a manual for it so i can actually see how this thing works
again this has been very informative to me
thank you!

ill post some audio when after i put this thing to use
peace

RemyRAD Sun, 10/16/2005 - 22:09

Well, it sounds as though your initial problem was power supply related. Probably why you got it cheap. A simply terrible but functional little mixer. Did you get it to work yet?

One thing nobody has mentioned here is that it uses Teacs -10 audio level and almost can't be used with any modern-day ancillary equipment because of the level match difference. It must be used only with -10 ancillary stuff otherwise, you will need a gain matcher interface. But don't use anything with it that is + 4.

Lumin Mon, 10/17/2005 - 10:21

power thing was solved. everything was cool. it was a mistake on my part

basically im just using this as an analog front end to my daw.
the only piece of outboard gear i really use is my preamp.
other than that i am not concerned about the -10 /+4 situation
my soundcard allows for either type

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