Teac Model 15 - Manual Question

[JackMaverik]

Hey guys,

I just landed a cool Teac Model 15 board (tascam series). It's in great condition, I just cleaned it up and it looks brand new.

Those 70's mic pre's are just amazing, but, I don't have the manual and can't find one online. It's a bit older, so some of it still confuses me (such as the Echo Receive knobs, and the fact that it is an 8 bus, but doesn't have a 2 channel master fader section).

I'm a little lost on the older stuff, cuz I didn't grow up using it (i'm 23) and I just landed a ton of studio equipment for super cheap (right place at the right time).

I just don't know all the little nuiances of the board like I want to.

It's similiar to the Tascam M520 model I believe (it's just unbalanced)

[LaptopPop]

The mixer is an 8 output mixer, not an 8-bus mixer. The difference is that there is no summing down to a stereo signal, like on other mixers. This can be helpful if you are tracking to a 8 channel analog tape deck, like Teac/Tascam had at the time.

From the Teac website:

1978...TASCAM introduced its most functional and professional mixer up to that point in its history, the Model 15. There were two versions: (16-in, 8-out) and (24-in, 8-out). The Model 15 had a width of 61.5 inches, a shipping weight of almost 400 pounds and was priced at $7,500...substantially less than its nearest competitor boasting similar features.

Lots of ways you can go --
1) You can just use the first two channels as your main output.
2) You could buy a summing box, like the Dangerous LT (about $1350 -- http://www.mercenary.com/dan2buslt.html)
3) You could build your own summing box if you were willing to have some signal loss. Tie all the grounds from the outputs together, and put each signal from the outputs through a 1K resister and tie the other end of the resisters together.
4) You can use a pretty decent little mixer to sum the channels - http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SM82/
(about $450).
5) (With an impact on sound quality) you can use any old junk mixer to sum the channels.

Have you tried emailing Teac about the manual? They may be able to send you one. There is a link in the support section of www.teac.com.

-lee-

[JackMaverik]

Hey Lee, thanks for getting back to me. It does have 8 busses, (clearly labeled as such on the board).

But that's not the issue at all. It's pretty much all RCA on the back, and i'm not too concerned with getting it down to a stereo master channel.

I just want to know how to set it up, optimize it well, and use it to it's fullest extent. It's really a cool board, but it's definately got some stuff on there I've never seen/used before, because of it's age.

It seems that each bus channel has an effects loop and stuff.

very strange to me.

Anyway, i guess I will have to email Teac about it. I wish there was like just one website with PDFs of every manual ever made.

Jack Maverik

Originally posted by LaptopPop:
The mixer is an 8 output mixer, not an 8-bus mixer. The difference is that there is no summing down to a stereo signal, like on other mixers. This can be helpful if you are tracking to a 8 channel analog tape deck, like Teac/Tascam had at the time.

From the Teac website:

1978...TASCAM introduced its most functional and professional mixer up to that point in its history, the Model 15. There were two versions: (16-in, 8-out) and (24-in, 8-out). The Model 15 had a width of 61.5 inches, a shipping weight of almost 400 pounds and was priced at $7,500...substantially less than its nearest competitor boasting similar features.

Lots of ways you can go --
1) You can just use the first two channels as your main output.
2) You could buy a summing box, like the Dangerous LT (about $1350 -- http://www.mercenary.com/dan2buslt.html)
3) You could build your own summing box if you were willing to have some signal loss. Tie all the grounds from the outputs together, and put each signal from the outputs through a 1K resister and tie the other end of the resisters together.
4) You can use a pretty decent little mixer to sum the channels - http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SM82/
(about $450).
5) (With an impact on sound quality) you can use any old junk mixer to sum the channels.

Have you tried emailing Teac about the manual? They may be able to send you one. There is a link in the support section of www.teac.com.

-lee-

[LaptopPop]

Fair enough. I meant bus in the way of a typical 8 bus board where they go into one stereo output. Each of the busses accepts multiple inputs.

Here's a thought. There's a guy selling a model 15 on ebay that says he's including the tech manual. You might try contacting him and asking him to xerox it.... Just a thought.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=23785&item=7331245615&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

-lee-

[JackMaverik]

Hey Lee, you rock.

I did email that guy and ask him and he's kicking me off a copy on Monday.

Thank you for all your help.

Can you feel the love?

[misterfrosty]

I just found your post on your TEAC Model 15 mixer. I just got a Model 16 which is very similar. I also see you are in Arizona. I live in Phoenix. I cannot find a manual for my mixer and was wondering if I could get a copy of the manual you got for your Model 15. Also, if you live in Phoenix maybe we could get together and share info. I'm just now starting to get my mixer up and running. Thanks, Craig