7 – Appendix

ªªDrum Presets

18 DrumAlert

Adds weight and snap to drum

 

kit, adjust model mic proximity to

 

work kick sound, and Low Pass EQ

 

to control high end.

19 TiteSnare

Adjust compressor threshold, EQ

 

1&2 gain to taste.

20 KickEnhance

Will give even a well-recorded kick

 

drum some spectral enhancement.

 

Use input level to increase or

 

decrease the overall effect.

21 LoFoDrLoop

A patch designed to properly

 

trash a mono beat (or one side of a

 

drum loop).

ªªBass Presets

22 FatBass

Adjust EQ 1 frequency for your

 

specific mix.

23 FunkBassBeef

Adds power bass and slap sizzle

 

to funky bass parts — adjust

 

model mic proximity for low end

 

response.

24 PopBass

Adjust compressor threshold, EQ 1

 

frequency, and EQ 2 gain.

ªªInstrument Presets

25 ElecGtrWarm

Adjust Tube Warmth, EQ 1&2 gain.

26 TheSaxCuts

Adds grit, tone and presence to

 

saxes. Adjust model mic proximity

 

for low end thump.

27 MonosynthDbl

Enhance and spread out that

 

mono synth track. You can also use

 

this one on guitars. Pan outputs R/

 

L.

28 PianoCuts

Allows piano to peak through a

 

mix. Adjust modeled mic proximity

 

for bass response.

29 BrightAcGtr

Adjust compressor threshold, EQ 1

 

frequency, and EQ 2 gain.

ªªSpecial Effect Presets

30 Destructo

Adjust compressor threshold for

 

desired effect.

31 Telephone

For that special phone moment

 

— less is more! Depending on

 

your source level you may need to

 

boost Output gain.

ªªUtility Presets

32 LiveVoxFix

Preset built around a live vocal

 

track recorded at Caesar’s Palace in

 

Vegas in the ‘60s. Mostly designed

 

as damage control.

33 GateThatKick

Pumps and isolates the kick drum

 

from the rest of the kit (and live)

 

sound. Adjust the gate threshold

 

to your track.

34 SnareGate

Adjust the gate threshold and

 

Notch EQ frequency to your track.

35 TomGate

Adjust the gate and compressor

 

thresholds to dynamics.

Realistic Mic Modeling

Expectations

Although the TA-1VP’s Microphone Modeling seems in many ways to be almost magic, it is, in fact, simply very clever science. And as such, it has some limitations that you must be aware of.

To get the maximum satisfaction out of Mic Modeling, it is important to have realistic expectations of exactly what it can and can’t do. (Most of what it can’t do relates to the physical impossibility of recovering information that wasn’t in the original signal to begin with.) Here are the main issues to be aware of:

•• Choice of Input Microphone Luckily for all of us, the general quality of “affordable” microphones has reached a remarkably high level. Consequently, if you stick with well-known manufacturers, most any reasonable quality mic will provide sufficient performance to allow the TA-1VP to do its processing with good results.

On the other hand, you can’t expect to pick up a cheap mic and expect the TA-1VP to make it sound like a classic Neumann U87. If a source mic has massive roll- off in a particular frequency range, there is no way the TA-1VP can produce the signal that would have been captured had the source mic had better response.

•• Microphone Technique In getting the best possible recorded sound, mic technique and placement are at least as important (if not more so) that mic choice. A good engineer can record a great track with an SM57 while a poor one can make a U47 sound like a toy. If your audio is not well-recorded in the first place, the TA‑1VP can to do very little to improve it. If you start with a poorly recorded track, all the TA-1VP will do is make it sound like a track that was poorly recorded with a great mic.

•• Excessive Frequency Boost Although the TA-1VP’s processing does not itself add noise to your signal, any noise in your original audio or noise added by intervening processes (e.g., A/D conversion, pre-TA‑1VP dynamics processing, etc.) will be accentuated by any large amount of frequency boost. This should only

36 TASCAM TA-1VP