Mixer RCA in/out connections

[Nerm]

Just a heads up I know next to nothing about audio systems so I am hoping someone can help me out here. I basically am having trouble understanding how the RCA "tape" in/out connection works. For example If I have a mixer with speakers and mic's plugged into and I want to connect a sound system to it that plays tape and CD's through the speakers hooked to the mixer but I also want to be able to record from both the tape/cd that is playing along with the input from the mic's on the mixer to that same sound system. If I hook the RCA out from the sound system/recorder to the RCA input on the mixer and then the RCA out from the mixer to the RCA input on the sound system/recorder won't that create some kind of audio loop? A local music shop told me this is how it is done but didn't make sense to me. I come from the networking world so we avoid "loops" of any kind like the plague lol.

[Stonerboy779]

The tape in/out is so you can record playback and the mixer in/out is to hook up a equalizer. A lot of the time if the mixer or rather equalizer in out isn't been used the pins get shorted together.

 

If you are having issues with playback you may want to connect the in and out mixer RCA. However could you post a pic of all the inputs/outputs before doing anything.

[Nerm]

Actually playback works fine it is the recording part I can't get to work. I can record from tape to CD and from CD to tape but not from the mic's. I could take some pics if that would help.

[Stonerboy779]

That would help.

[Nerm]

Ok I haven't had time to take some pictures, but here is what I do have.

 

Sound recorder/player: http://tascam.com/product/cc-222slmkii/

 

Not the mixer I have but similar in connectors:

 

I will get pictures of the actual mixer when I can.

[Stonerboy779]

Ahhh so I was right in thinking I was a little confused in what I was reading. Ignore everything I have said to this point haha

 

So can your recorder support simultaneous playback and recording so playing a CD while recording to tape or playing tape while recording to CD. If it can then from what I can make out you can do what you want to do. I would then recommend choosing one as in CD or tape as the recording medium otherwise you'll need to keep juggling inputs and out puts.

 

Now to record to tape and play from CD you'll need to go from line out (CD) to mixer in and then from mixer out to line in (tape)

 

The other way now to record to CD and platform tape you'll need to go line out (tape) to mixer in then mixer outto line in (CD).

 

However if the recorder only allows use of either CD or tape not both simultaneously then you'll need a desperate tape/CD player.

 

The mixer input should take whatever you feed it and mix it with all the mics then that will be fed out from the mixer input into the e.g. line in tape the line out tape will be the same as the mixer out then so no feeding that into mixer in

[Nerm]

Yes, it does support playing tape/cd while recording on the other so maybe this is possible after all. What I still don't get is what keeps this setup from creating backfeed or whatever through the system? 

[Stonerboy779]

Because the tape and CD are separate. They have independent inputs and outputs, there is one shared phono input. However their audio paths are independent of one another.

[Nerm]

You were right. Once I got it hooked up right and the output to tape enabled on the mixer it all worked like a charm. Thanks for all the help.

[Stonerboy779]

Not a problem, have fun recording