Tascam PORTASTUDIO 424 MKIII Owner's Manual

Also see for PORTASTUDIO 424 MKIII: Supplementary guide

Contents

Tascam PORTASTUDIO 424 MKIII Owner's Manual Manual pdf 33 page image

Using Effects With the PORTASTUDIO 424 MKIII35Effects and signal processing are areas whereyou can really start to have fun customizing yoursound, and develop your own unique recordingstyle. Because there are so many possibilities, italso can be confusing. There are many differenteffect units on the market, all with differentcontrols, types of inputs and outputs, and othercharacteristics. Read the manual of your effectsdevice, and the following sections to get thecomplete story of what's possible for yourparticular situation.1. In-line processing: The processing that'seasiest to understand doesn't involve the 424MKIII directly at all. You can plug yourinstrument directly into the input of the effectdevice, and plug the output of the devicedirectly into a line input of the 424 MKIII. Thewhole signal gets processed (flanged,doubled, limited, delayed etc.), and only oneinstrument can use that processor. Effectpedals for guitar are typically used this way.To get a mix of processed ("wet") and original("dry") signal, the unit must have its own MIXor BALANCE control.2. Send/return mix processing: This is the mostcommon method of effect processing,especially for reverb and delay. It allows anumber of different channels to use the sameeffect, while allowing you to control howmuch effect is mixed with each channel.Each of the 4 mixer channels can sendsignals to the EFFECT SEND 1 or 2 outputs onthe upper top panel. These outputs can thenbe connected to the input of effect devices.The processed signals from the devices comeback into the mix via the STEREO INPUTS.Finally, the effect is mixed onto the stereo leftor right buss with the ASSIGN switch on thestereo channels (7-8). This whole path—fromthe EFFECT SENDS to the reverb and backinto STEREO INPUTS — is called an effectsloop. The EFFECT 1 and 2 controls determinehow much signal goes to the reverb unit; theLEVEL control on the stereo channelsdetermine how much returns from the reverbunit. In this method, the stereo inputsfunction as effect returns.Setting effect send levelsSetting the output level of effect devicesThe goal is not to distort the device, whilestaying above the noise that effect unitsgenerate. To get the best signal-to-noise frommost effects units, you should send it as strong asignal as you can. With a properly set inputsignal in the 424 MKIII, the channel EFFECT sendset to about 2 o'clock position (for EFFECT 1 orEFFECT 2 feed), you should get a fairly loudsignal from the EFFECT SEND jacks.If your effects device has an input level control ofits own, it should be set so the meter or signallight of the effects device is just under theoverload point on peak signals. When you wantto hear less effect overall, turn down the returnLEVEL control on the stereo channels.If the effect send level has been set properly, inmost cases the output level of the effect unitshould be set as high as possible withoutclipping (distorting) the STEREO INPUTS of the424 MKIII, but low enough so that you have areasonable range of control. If you can get theeffect sound you want with the return LEVELcontrol in the 12 to 2 o'clock range, you're in theballpark. If, on the other hand, very smallsettings of the Effects Return still give you a mixdrowning in effects, turn down the output levelof your effect device.Some effect units have rear panel switchessetting input and output level ranges between"+4" and "–20 dB". In this case, try setting theinput to –20 (high sensitivity) and the output to+4 (full output level).When it's being used in a send-return mix, setthe mix/balance of your effect device all the wayto "wet" or full processing with no direct originalsignal. In send/receive processing, the dry signalgoes down the 424 MKIII's channel fader to bemixed with the effect return signal on the stereomix. Therefore, you don't need any "dry" signalcoming to the effects return. The mix/balancecontrol is set toward "dry" only when you'reusing the effects device as an in-line processor.Setting the mix/balance control on effectdevices