Tascam 788 Owner's Manual

Also see for PORTASTUDIO 788: Supplementary guide Addendum Tutorial Brief guide

Contents

Tascam 788 Owner's Manual Manual pdf 94 page image

94 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio11 – SynchronizationYou can expand the options available to you whenusing the 788 by connecting it and synchronizing itto other musical equipment.Typically, this extra equipment will be MIDI-based(sequencers, drum machines, synthesizers, etc.).Of course, although it is possible to record MIDIinstruments on the 788 tracks during the initial stagesof the recording project, it may make more sense touse the eight audio tracks of the 788 for material thatcannot be automated via MIDI (guitars and otheracoustic instruments and of course vocals).When it comes to mixdown time, the 788 allows youto extend the eight available audio tracks by playingadditional sources through the sub-mixer and addingthem to the mix (see “Sub-mixer” on page 48).To make this work, though, the MIDI instrumentsand the 788 must be synchronized to each other, sothat playback on one set of sound sources (therecorded audio tracks) keeps time with the sequencedMIDI tracks.The 788 can synchronize with MIDI equipment in anumber of different ways, as explained in this sec-tion, allowing a high degree of flexibility in thesetup.As well as synchronizing to other devices, it is alsopossible for the 788 to control other devices or to becontrolled by them (see “MMC and MIDI functions”on page 101).NOTEAll synchronization is carried out through the two MIDIports on the rear panel of the 788, no matter what kind ofsynchronization is used, or the role of the 788 in the syn-chronization chain.The 788 cannot use audible SMPTE/EBU timecode fromthe timestripe track of a tape. If the source to be synchro-nized with the 788 only has audible timecode available, itmust be converted to and from MIDI timecode (MTC) asappropriate.Master or slave?The terms master and slave are used to name the con-troller and the controlled units in a chain of devicessuch as the 788 and other audio devices.However, it is possible for a unit to be a master unitin one configuration at the same time as being a slavein another.For example, the 788 may be set up to be a timecodemaster (other units receive their timecode from the788 and act accordingly), and a control slave (itreceives stop/start commands, etc.) from other units.A 788 can also be a timecode (MTC) slave, and inthis way, two 788s can be synchronized.How to measure time?There are two ways of counting time in music: one isthe number of minutes and seconds since the begin-ning of the piece. This is the way in which taperecorders, etc. count time.The other method of counting time is the number ofbars (measures) since the beginning of the piece.This is the way in which MIDI sequencers typicallycount time.There is no direct relationship between these twoways of counting, as the relationship depends on thetempo of the piece.When synchronizing, therefore, one unit in the chainmust be capable of making a map which relates theminutes and seconds of one system to the bars andbeats of the other. If the tempo stays fairly constantthroughout a piece, this is a matter of fairly simplearithmetic, but if the tempo changes through a piece,this is not so easy to do.