1 – Starting out with your
Mixdown and matering
This is the last stage in cresting a song, allowing you to creat a file which you can play back into a stereo recorder, and export to a WAV file for further processing, archiving, recording, etc. on a personal computer (“Exporting the mastered stereo tracks” on page 47).
Mixdown
This is the art of mixing the different tracks you have recorded earlier so that the whole song sounds “right”– everything is at the right volume, and the song sounds like one piece of music.
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The most important components of a mix are your
Use the eight track faders to adjust the relative volume of the tracks and the MASTER fader to adjust the overall level, and watch the L and R meters at the right of the display to make sure that the mix is not too loud (if it’s too loud, it will distort, and sound bad).
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You don’t have to keep levels the same through the whole song (try raising the level of a guitar during solos, for example).
Use the EQ HIGH and EQ LOW (tone) controls to boost or cut bass and treble from the individual tracks.
If you have an external effect processor connected through the SEND and RETURN loop, adjust the EFFECT SEND levels for each track. This is the amount of signal sent from each track to the effect. You can use this to add effects
only to certain tracks. Use the EFFECT RETURN control to adjust the amount of the effect returned to the mix.
NOTE
On the
Use the PAN controls to adjust the
To cut out the sound of a track, use the SHIFT key and the track’s REC key to mute (the orange MUTE indicator lights for muted tracks) and
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If you have two tracks with different versions of the same part, you can use the mute function to make easy comparisons between the two.
NOTE
The track meters show the level of the signal recorded on the track, not the level sent from the track.
Mastering
This is where the actual stereo recording takes place, once you’re happy with the mix you’ve created. You create a mixed master stereo track, starting at 00:00:00:00 (the “zero point”) and continuing to the OUT point.
The mixed stereo master is stored on disk as part of the song.
NOTE
A song can only hold one stereo master mix.
Before starting the mastering procedure, you must set the OUT point. This is where the mastering process stops. See “IN and OUT marks” on page 30 for details.
NOTE
While the unit is in the mastering mode, you will notice that a number of playback functions are not available. If you try to perform these operations, a popup message tells you that you are in mastering mode.
1.Press the MASTER key so that it flashes.
2.Press and hold the RECORD
Make the mix moves (faders, pan, etc.) that you practiced earlier. These mix moves will affect the sound of the final master stereo track. When the playback point reaches the OUT point, recording stops.
NOTE
You can hear any signals received at the STEREO MIX inputs, but they won’t be recorded on the master track.
3.Press and hold the SHIFT key and press the PLAY (MASTER) key so that it is lit steadily. Now when you press PLAY (MASTER), you can hear the master stereo mix you have just created. This mix is output
TASCAM