I am dealing with an older analog Tascam M208 8 channel mixer. It has 8 channel faders, four program faders 1,2,3 and 4 and two stereo master faders. It then has program assign buttons for each of the 8 channels so that either program 1-2 or 3-4 can be selected for each channel. My problem:
The RCA jack outputs for the eight channels all work properly. The 1/4" plug outputs for stereo L and R work properly. The XLR outputs for programs 3 and 4 work properly. But the XLR outputs for programs 1 and 2 do not work. In addition, the XLR stereo outputs are not working.
So some XLR outputs work properly and others don't. Can someone advise what type of technical problem could result in some of these XLR outputs not working ? Is it a mechanical problem or could it be a settings problem ? Assume that it is not a cable problem. I am not very familiar with mixers so any help would be appreciated.
Steve
Comments
I have an M208, along with a Teac A3340SX, set up as a "museum p
I have an M208, along with a Teac A3340SX, set up as a "museum piece" in my den!!! Mine DOESN'T have XLR outs and I personally never saw a Tascam from that era that did. Are you SURE that the assign buttons and Pans are set correctly? I have that little mixer because of nostalgia and because the VU meters lit up the shelf the thing is on ( along with a pair of dbx 122 NR's and an original Advent Digital Room Simulator!! )...
Also, I believe that there is some sort of hardwired patching affair for the subs. I am not home now, so I can't look at the back of the mixer. I have had SO many Tascams, I lose track of what has what. I do remember that
some of the models had a "patch loop" insert on each bus, fitted with a whimpy RCA-based mini cable. Some used a hard plastic with molded-in RCA's. These can throw you for a loop (pun intended! ). In any case, you may easily have a simple problem with an insert or an assign button somewhere. That model used to drive me CRAZY with exactly the same stereo/submix problems you are describing. I finally bought a Mackie 8-bus.
Thanks for the feedback. I wanted to see if there were any speci
Thanks for the feedback. I wanted to see if there were any specific mechanical problems that would account for the problem. Sounds like basic soldering and wiring could be a problem, but given the light use and care given the mixer, that seems unlikely ( home use only and light use at that. ) I am going to check the settings again and then if need be, deal with Tascam support. If that fails, get it checked by a qualified tech. Thanks again.
This won't be a settings problem on that type of mixer. It's eit
This won't be a settings problem on that type of mixer. It's either mechanical, for example, an internal cable or connection has come adrift, or it's an electronic problem. I've seen a similar effect when some dumbhead has plugged an XLR-XLR cable into a mic input with phantom power applied and then plugged the other end into the mixer outputs, frying the balanced output drivers. It's not very likely that this could have happened to 4 out of 6 outputs on your unit, but it is possible.
When you say the outputs do not work, do you get no output at all on either the + or - pins (XLR pins 2 and 3)?