John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Hi all,

I have just become a music teacher at a school and have inherited a studio that has never been up and running successfully. There is a Tascam DM-24 Mixing Desk which I have connected to a Tascam MX-2424 Hard Disk Recorder via TDIF.

However, I am sure that there is a cable missing which will allow me to set the record enabled bits and bobs on the MX-2424 and also control playback and monitoring of the MX-2424 directly with the buttons on the DM-24.

I'm not sure what cable it is that I need to complete this, so I was wondering if any gurus here could tell me the exact cable that I need to buy. I assume that it came with either the DM-24 or the MX-2424 but I'm not sure as it could have been lost at the school before I got there.

Thanks for any help...

Matt

Hello Matt,

I haven't worked w/ those 2 pieces, so I don't know at the moment. If you have the manuals, see if there's a section for synchronizing the mixer to the HD recorder. It could be an RS232 or even Midi is a possibility. If I can find time, I'll take a look at the PDF's on their site. The HD recorder probably has the more detailed info about using the mixer as your controller. Hope this helps some.

Matt,

I just poked around for a few minutes on Tascams website, and so far, it doesn't look like they're even supporting it. Or they have a server down and I just can't access the files.

Take a look here: http://www.mx2424.com

Maybe you'll have better luck??

you'll need midi and WC first for sure.

Here's the DM-24 page,

http://www.tascam.com/Products/DM-24.html

you need to dnl the manuals and find out (forget which key combo does it) which firmware version you have, could be anywhere from V1.1 to V3.something, makes a HUGE difference in operation.

If your version isn't 3.something, you should consider updating the firmware; this has been a major pain in the ass and unless you're a super-midi guru it's easier to box the mixer up and send it to Tascam for updating; there is also a fairly low cost HARDWARE update for preamps that have a better range if you're doing much with lower level mic inputs - you may qualify for the factory offer of $200 to upgrade all the pre's, need to ask Tascam about that.

The DM-24 has been replaced by the DM-3200, so I doubt there will be much more in the way of firmware updates; IIRC, the NEXT-to-last version was the least "buggy" - you can find out more by joining the private BBS that replaced Tascam's dis-continued one -

http://www.tascamforums.com/

There are separate forums for the DM-24 AND the MX-2424, people there are usually pretty helpful. READ THE FAQ before posting questions, nearly everyone gets irritated when newbies do NOT do this.

Good luck... Steve

Also, make sure your MX-2424 is running the latest software, I updated mine at the place I used to work at and it really made a difference. Many more options and such, not to mention a slew of bugfixes.