dbx question

[Montanawildlives]

OK, total newb here and I’m just trying to figure out dbx noise reduction on my 424. From what I can glean from the interwebs, if you use dbx during recording you have to use it during playback. But, I’m not just recording to listen to songs on my 424. I want to mix down to my external cassette deck. I want to make copies of the tapes to share with others. Maybe I want to upload the songs to a streaming service. In all of these cases (my external cassette deck, any cassette player that anyone I might give a copy of the tape to, and any online streaming service) there will be no dbx during playback! So, what does this mean? It will sound terrible played anywhere that doesn’t use dbx? I know there are cassette decks that have dbx but…I don’t own one and don’t know anybody who does. So, does that mean I should not use it during recording? If not, then how could anyone? You would be forever restricting the number of devices or ways that the music could be played dramatically (unless I’m wrong).

I must be missing something because we never worried about this back in the day, whether it was Dolby or dbx. You got a tape and you played it wherever and whenever you could—nobody worried what noise reduction algorithms had been applied, or playing it on specific devices only, etc.

Thanks!

 

[Jack Saturn]

You're making it sound like noise reduction is a virus that can be spread from tape machine to tape machine! Not to worry — you're just overthinking it.

Noise reduction is essentially a compression/expansion format for certain frequencies in order to overcome the noise floor. When you record on your Tascam 424 with DBX on, the signal is compressed to tape. If you play that same tape back on another machine without DBX, the high end will be artificially boosted because you don't have DBX expanding the output. However, if you play back the tape on the same Tascam 424 where you recorded it, with noise reduction still turned on, you'll get the playback you're expecting.

Unless you are recording a multitrack tape on the Tascam 424 and handing out that exact 4-channel tape to someone else to play, there is nothing to worry about. You'll be handing out a cassette that was dubbed from the 424 on to an external stereo cassette deck, where you will leave noise reduction turned off. Make sense?

 

[Montanawildlives]

LOL yes, I am making it seem that a virus is being spread, or at least that that particular recording will be forever tainted!
Well I’m sure you’re right because otherwise DBX would be unusable by anyone (except those who know that nobody will ever play or listen to their music without DBX decoding on their device/source).
I’ll play around with it, but “the high end will be artificially boosted because you don’t have DBX expanding the output” still seems like a problem. Who wants their high end to be artificially boosted (nearly) all the time (since virtually nobody who ever listens to my music, whether it is my friend who listens at my house on my external tape deck (after mixing down), a friend to whom I send a dubbed (mixed down) tape, or anyone who listens online….that is…everyone everywhere…will hear it without the artificially boosted high end).
Thanks!

 

[Jack Saturn]

You're still misunderstanding. DBX is a method to achieve a very low, near-silent noise floor. The expectation is that when the user of the 4-track machine makes their master recording, DBX is engaged during both recording and playback. It is not expected that the master tape will be disseminated to the end listener.

When you use your Tascam 424 to record and then play back your master 4-track mix, and use an external stereo cassette deck to capture the mixdown, the effect of DBX will be inaudible to the end listener of that mixed-down copy. They'll simply hear a regularly-EQed recording with an improved noise floor.

 

[Montanawildlives]

Ahhhhh, ok. So, “during both recording and playback.” means playback *on the Tascam device* not playback in *any* other form (mixdown, dubbing, streaming, etc.).

Great, thanks!