Hi,

I had a lot of fun with a Tascam 424 before I moved up to hard disk recording system. Avoiding hiss and getting the maximum recording level without distortion are the two main issues. For the best results I would recommend the following:

1) Always record using the highest speed feature to get the best SNR/bandwidth.

2) Always use good quality tapes as recommended in the manual.

3) Always clean the heads before every recording session.

4) If you have to bounce tracks try to restrict this to less important things and certainly not lead vocals.

5) Get hold of as good a mikes as possible - if you are on a tight budget in my opinion a Tandy PZM will beat everything under £200 for recording.

6) Due to the narrow track pitch of cassette tape adjacent tracks can spill into each other. Loud bass frequencies are the main culprits so be aware that if at mix down you don't like the reggae bass that put on an adjacent track to the vocals you may not be able to erase it completely.

7) Don't be too violent with the high equalisation as this will just lead to hiss. If you want a brighter guitar sound change your strings before resorting to adding treble.

8) When recording guitars use a mike and not an internal piezo pickup - they are good live but when recorded they tend to sound naff.

9) Experiment.

Have fun

Ian