Tascam 788 manual Bouncing Tracks, Fader Matching

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Mixer Functions (Continued)

BOUNCING TRACKS

Bouncing tracks is the process of taking previously recorded tracks on the recorder and mixing them down to a stereo or mono mix. This process allows you to add more tracks to the song by freeing up the individual tracks from the other parts.

Since the 788 has 250 virtual tracks per song, you don't have to give up the original tracks when you're bouncing down. The original tracks can be kept in the virtual track screen, in case you want to submix them again later, change a part, or even take one part out all together.

To bounce tracks down in the 788, the stereo output needs to be fed to a channel or channels. You might think this would cause a feedback loop. However, the channel's output will automatically become un-assigned from the stereo buss when the stereo buss is assigned to the channel's input.

While bouncing tracks, you'll probably want to monitor the return from the recorder to make sure the level isn't overloading the track level. The place to do that is the TRACK CUE section. The other tracks should be playing through the main mixer, so make sure that the levels for the other tracks are down so the only tracks you're hearing in the TRACK CUE mix are the tracks you're recording.

To bounce the tracks:

1)Assign the source tracks to the mixer section.

2)Assign any other inputs you want bounced with the tracks (ie drum machine, external effect unit, etc.) to the input sub mixer.

3)Assign the stereo output to the target recording tracks (press and hold STEREO, press SELECT on the target track(s), then release STEREO).

4)Arm the target tracks by pressing REC READY.

5)Press CUE in the monitor section, to monitor the return from the recorder.

6)Turn off any other sources by pressing SELECT in the monitor section until none of the associated LEDs light up. (This makes sure you are listening only to the return from the multitrack, and that the levels you are hearing are exactly what is being recorded.

7)Play the music, and set up your mix. The track levels on the recorder should indicate the level of the input coming to the track. Make sure the level does not overload the track

Section II

8)When you're ready to bounce the tracks, press PLAY+RECORD. Keep in mind that if you make a mistake in the mixdown, you can punch in on the mixdown. For example, if you forget to bring down the level of a loud vocal passage, you can rewind back just before that passage, press record, and make the change. You don't need to start over.

FADER MATCHING

Since scenes can be recalled in the 788, the level of the physical fader on the 788 may not match the level the fader is being processed at.

This is also true if a sequencer is used to automate the mixer levels of the 788. The FADER MATCHING preference chooses from a number of different behavior patterns to deal with this situation:

- This overrides the scene fader level, and makes the physical fader level the processed level at all times. The positive side is you always know the processed level of the fader. The bad news is you can't recall any levels or utilize any MIDI level automation with this setting.

- This setting will have the processed fader level automatically go to the physical level when the physical fader is moved. While this makes the levels react faster to your commands, it can mean some large jumps in volume if the fader is all the way at the top, and the processed level is at the bottom.

- Catch will not change the processed fader level until the physical fader matches the processed fader level. This is the most elegant, since the levels won't jump all over the place when you bump a fader. This allows you to make smoother adjustments to the levels mid-mix. However, if you are not aware of the processed fader levels, you might take a little while finding them.

Mixer Functions TASCAM 788 Operational Tutorial • 8/2000 Edition