Volume problems

[Jeffrey Diggins]

I wrote several songs on a new DP32 AND IT WAS GREAT . I JUST WENT BACK IN TO WORK ON THE SONGS AND ALL THE VOLUMES ARE WAY DOWN EVEN WHEN I CRANK IT UP. THEN WHEN I CHANGE THE PANNING FROM ZERO , THE PANNING KNOB WORKS AS A VOLUME KNOB. AT A VERY LOW VOLUME AND THEN WHEN I PAN LEFT OR RIGHT THE VOLUME GOES WAY UP ? ANY IDEAS.....THANKS

 

[Jeffrey Diggins]

WHEN PANNING IS SET TO CENTER THE VOLUME IS LOW EVEN WHEN i PUT THE VOLUME SLIDE UP TO 10

 

[Phil Tipping]

Hi Jeffrey. At first it sounds as if there is an out-of-phase problem with the left & right sides of the recording.... but when you say 'it was great' do you mean all the songs used to load ok and playback perfectly with the correct volume?
If so, and it's only now when you load any of the songs and play them back, the volume is low, then it can't be a faulty setting within the song otherwise it wouldn't have played properly before.
So what else has changed in your setup? Different headphones, speakers etc.? Have you re-connected anything?

 

[Jeffrey Diggins]

Hi thanks for reply. I have been working on songs for weeks. All of the sudden last night I turn on recorder and this volume thing happened. Never changed anything it has been fine. Last nught went to work in the songs and all of them have the same issue. 9 songs. Volume is low unless I move the panning knob left or right then the volume of each track goes up as I move it. The volume slider doesn’t effect volume at all ?

 

[Jeffrey Diggins]

but yes i have not changed a thingall volumes were great everytime I powered it up, Just started happening ?

 

[Phil Tipping]

Very strange. All I can suggest is to create a new song (just to avoid damaging one of your existing ones), then do a factory initialise (via Menu, Preference). Do a test here... monitor a live signal via the stereo bus, then monitor it via an assigned track, then try a recording and play it back. If the problem is still there for any of these tests, sounds like a fault with the machine (or your external gear?). If it sounds ok then the machine itself must be ok, so load one of your problem songs. If the fault re-appears, then it's some setting inside the song itself.

 

[Jeffrey Diggins]

Just noticed that the stereo select slider is what I was using to raise volume as I listened and recorded.
I just noticed that the stereo select button on top does not light up when I push it ? This machine is only a month old. All nine songs it does it too now but yesterday everyone was fine ?

 

[Phil Tipping]

The stereo select button does not light up in normal mode. If you open the Assign screen, it should light up when you press it. The select buttons for this and the tracks are much mis-understood! Did you try the initialise tests?

 

[Jeffrey Diggins]

I will try test when I get home. Yah every song worked perfectly every time I booted up the unit and loaded the song to work on. Did this for like 3 weeks and then this volume thing happened on all songs. Volume only goes up when I turn the knob left or right on panning. In center position very low volume.

 

[Phil Tipping]

Ok, if possible do the test with headphones in the socket at the front, and also with speakers (or a headphone amp) connected to the stereo outputs at the back. This may help pinpoint the problem area.

 

[Jeffrey Diggins]

Phil. Thanks for all your help. It was the Tascam head phones all along.
Still don’t know why panning was helping volume go up and down pit where the head phones jack in I wiggle it and low and behold back to normal.

 

[Phil Tipping]

That's great news. If the common earth connection on the headphones is broken, and you have a similar signal on the left & right sides, they will cancel out so the volume will be low. When you turn the pan to left or right, you're reducing the signal on one side so this will reduce the cancelling effect.
A few things you could try to make the fix more permanent. You may just be unlucky and have a plug (or adapter) which is out of tolerance, in which case replace it. If it looks tarnished, switch cleaner may help. If the machine is only a month old, the socket should be clean & ok... unless it was 2nd-hand or kept in humid conditions.