Tascam US-122 Manual


HOW TO
An Introduction
to Multitrack
Recording from

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It comes down to one
simple, unavoidable fact:
Every note you play
that’s not recorded is
lost forever. Whether it’s
a new song idea, a hot
riff or just a phrase that
you need to practice over
and over, record it and
it’s yours. To hear again.
To share. To develop. To
improve on. All it takes
to capture your art is a
multitrack recorder from
TASCAM.
Getting started in the
world of multitrack
recording.
Have you seen all the great re-
cording equipment available today?
Maybe you’ve read about it in music
magazines, heard about it on the In-
ternet, or have a friend who’s gotten
some equipment. No matter what
kind of music you make, this gear
can help you write better songs and
make better music. Even if you’re
not aiming for stardom, multitrack
recording can be a lot of fun.
But for a lot of us it just seems
too complicated. There are so many
different choices available, you
can’t  gure out what’s right for you.
When you ask questions, all you get
are buzzwords.
If the world of multitrack record-
ing makes you feel like you’ve just
walked into a private club where
everyone else speaks Geek, this guide
is for you. It explains, in plain Eng-
lish, the basics of multitrack record-
ing and what you can expect from
the different kinds of gear available.
It assumes you have no prior ex-
perience with recording. We know
what it’s like because TASCAM has
introduced hundreds of thousands
of people to the world of multitrack
recording over the last thirty years.
And you could be next.
First of all, don’t feel like you’re
the only one who has questions.
Even for people with recording
experience, the  eld has grown so
huge so fast that no one can keep up
with every new development. But
like learning how to use a new cell
phone, what seems baf ing at  rst
will become second nature after a
little bit of reading and trying it out.
Develop your skills by
recording your own music.
Forget all the jargon and technol-
ogy for a minute and remember why
this technology was invented in the
 rst place.
Music is made up of many parts.
Multitrack technology simply al-
lows you to separate the parts and
develop each one, making a good
recording better. This technology can
help you grow as a musician and/or
writer—and you don’t have to be a
tech-head to do it.
With your own multitrack record-
ing equipment, you can hear how
you sound without the pressure of
anyone else listening. By experi-
menting with different styles and
sounds in the privacy of your own
studio, you’ll become your own best
critic. You can push yourself to the
limits of your ability, keeping what
works and erasing the parts that,
umm, aren’t so hot. If you’re a writer,
you can record an interesting but
Capturing your art:
How to develop
your music by
recording it.

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incomplete song element, and play
around with it until you come up
with the magical combination of
the other parts or lyrics that make a
great song. That’s what it’s all about.
Need help putting your
lyrics to music?
If you’re a singer or lyric writer
without a band, take heart. Today’s
tools have become so advanced and
easy to use that they’re practically
like having a songwriting partner.
You can start simply, and work your
way up in technical and musical skill,
as far as your dedication will take you.
A lot of great musicians and
songwriters have been using these
tools since they were introduced, and
agree that recording helped them to
become better artists without getting
mired down in technology. So, don’t be
afraid. You have nothing to lose.
OK, now down to the nuts and bolts.
Tracking, overdubbing, and
mixdown.
Multitrack recording is a great
tool for any musician or songwriter
because it lets you build up a
musical piece one part at a time,
without having to organize a band
or having to play and sing parts
simultaneously.
Let’s start with a 4-track example.
We’re going to represent the four
tracks like this:
Let’s say you’re playing guitar
when an idea for a new pattern of
chords comes up. You simply plug
your guitar into Track 1, hit record,
and play the pattern for a few min-
utes (represented by the notes in
track 1 of the drawing below). This is
called
laying the basic track
.
Because the TASCAM recorders
we’re talking about here are multi-
tracks, not just stereo recorders, you
can now rewind to the beginning,
plug a microphone into Track 2, and
sing along with the guitar you just
recorded.
Rewind again, and you can record
a lead guitar part on Track 3.
Ô Simple 4-track cassette recorder
Ô One W" jack mic / line input for vocals and
instruments
Ô Four track level, four pan and one master
level control
Ô Master fader with 4-LED level display
Ô Headphone output
MF-P01
PORTA02 mkII
Ô 4-track cassette recorder with 2-track
simultaneous recording
Ô Two W" jack mic / line inputs for vocals
and instruments; Hi-Z guitar input
(assignable to both mic/line inputs)
Ô Easy-to-use 4-channel mixer section with
pan and level controls for mixing down
Ô Headphone output with separate level
control
Ô Dual faders with four-LED level meters
This
overdubbing
capability lets
you change or add any track at any
time, without affecting the others.
You can’t just give a multitrack
tape or disk to someone to play back,
however; you must  rst perform the
last stage of the multitrack process, a
mixdown
. You use a mixer to adjust

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the volume, EQ, effects, and stereo
position of each track, producing a
standard CD , DVD, or cassette for
other people to listen to.
Differences in multitrack
equipment.
No matter what equipment you
buy, the basic process of tracking/
overdubbing/mixdown is the same.
The differences between equipment
consist of:
ó
The number of tracks
(4, 8, 16, or more)
ó
The
medium
that the tracks
are recorded on (tape, hard disk,
RAM, etc.)
ó
How  exible the mixer is (how
many channels, what kind of EQ,
how many effect sends, what
kind of inputs, and whether the
mixer can be
automated
)
ó
What other equipment is includ-
ed with the
workstation
such as
effect processors
that add reverb
effect processors that add reverb effect processors
or special effects, synthesizers
and drum machines, or even mi-
crophones
ó
Whether a stereo mixdown
machine is included in the work-
station (for example, some can
make standard CDs or MP3s to be
posted on a web site)
ó
Whether the system can be ex-
panded for more tracks or chan-
nels or recording
time, without
switching to an
entirely new
system
ó
Whether it
includes a
MIDI
sequencer
which can play syn-
sequencer which can play syn-sequencer
thesizers and drum machines
in sync to the audio (these are
called
virtual tracks).
Don’t worry if you don’t com-
pletely understand these differences
yet...it will become clear when we
explain each product.
What route should you
take?
TASCAM pioneered the concept
of the personal project studio when
it introduced the  rst affordable
4-track recorders in the 1970s. It
now offers many different products
designed to help you get started in
multitrack recording, depending on
your needs:
ó
Portastudios
: a 4-track analog
cassette multitrack combined
with a mixer (the features of
TASCAM’s various models are
described in the colored boxes
on page 3 and at right.)
ó
Pocketstudio
5
: a self-contained
recorder/arranger/mixer/effects
device that records into digital
memory (see page 7)
ó
788
: a high-quality 8-track
digital Portastudio with a
digital mixer and effects
(see page 9)
ó
Computer interfaces such as
our
US-
122
,
US-
224,
US-
428
and software that turn your
personal computer into a complete
multitrack music production
system (see pages 9 and 11).
We’ll explain the advantages of
each of these products, but the “right
one” depends on your musical goals
and how you like to work. In addi-
tion to  nding out about the gear,
you need to answer a few questions
about yourself:
?
How musically advanced are
you?
What kind of music will
you be producing? Do you need
a lot of tracks for overdubbing vocal
and instrumental parts? Will you
play the tracks yourself, or are you a
vocalist singing over someone else’s
tracks?

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?
What is the end product you
want to make?
Rehearsal tapes? Demo CDs?
Trading MP3s with friends on the
Internet? A fully-produced CD for
sale at gigs?
?
What’s your attitude towards
computers
, and what computer
skills do you have? Do you have
a computer or are you planning on
getting one? What kind is it? What
operating system does it use? Does
it have USB ports or PCI slots? Are
you comfortable with computer
operations, such as connecting hard
disks and optimizing them? Is the
world of cassette tape more your
style, or are you somewhere in the
middle?
As we noted, each of the TASCAM
products mentioned is covered in
the colored boxes on the right-hand
pages of this booklet. For more infor-
mation visit
www.tascam.com
or ask
the dealer from whom you got this
booklet.
Recording starts with the sources
you want to record, for example, micro-
phones and electronic instruments.
These are plugged into a mixer, which
sends the signals to the multitrack.
The multitrack plays the signals back
through the mixer, which is usually con-
nected to effects processors that add
reverb, distortion, echo, etc.
In order to hear everything, you need
speakers and an amp (which can be your
home stereo to start out with).
Finally, you need to mix down to a
2-track CD or cassette, to share your work
with other people.
These six components are often
combined. TASCAM Portastudios
combine the mixer and multitrack in a
single unit. A Pocketstudio adds MIDI
instruments and a microphone, plus
effects processors. Computer systems
may add a built-in CD recorder.
Even though elements are com-
bined, it helps to understand them as
separate blocks.
The six components of a complete multitrack studio
MIXER
EFFECTS (REVERB,
CHORUS, ECHO)
INSTRUMENTS
MICROPHONES
MONITOR SPEAKERS/HEADPHONES
(OPTIONAL)
MIDI
SEQUENCER
CASSETTE DECK
OR CD BURNER
MULTITRACK
RECORDER
The mixer and
multitrack are
usually combined
into one unit
text continues on next page
˘
414 mkII
Ô 4-track simultaneous recording
Ô 8-input mixer section
Ô 2-band high/low equalizer on 4 main
input channels
Ô Two dedicated W" stereo inputs
Ô Two XLR balanced mic inputs assignable
to Channels 1 through 4
Ô One W" dedicated Guitar input
Ô RCA unbalanced stereo SUB inputs
Ô Separate main and monitor outputs
Ô Headphone output with level control
Ô Two effect sends, one of which is switch-
able to Tape Cue
Ô 3-3/4 i.p.s. high tape speed
Ô dbx® noise reduction
Ô Optional RC-30P punch-in pedal
424 mkIII
Ô 4-track simultaneous recording with logic-
controlled 4-track tape transport and dbx®
noise reduction.
Ô ±12% pitch control
Ô RTZ and 2 locate points, repeat function,
auto punch I/O with rehearsal function
and more
Ô 6 full-function input channels with MID
sweepable 3-band EQ, 2 aux sends for
effects processing
Ô Four assignable XLR Microphone inputs
Ô Dedicated W" stereo inputs (channel 7-8)
Ô Separate main L-R and monitor outputs
Ô Dedicated W" tape outputs
Ô Sync output
5

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Getting started
with multitrack
recording: cassette
tape Portastudios
Number of tracks: 4
Number of mixer
channels: 1 to 6
Recording medium:
analog cassette tapes
Mixdown to: external
cassette or CD recorder
Extras: none
T
ASCAM’s Portastudios® are the
TASCAM’s Portastudios® are the T
easiest and least expensive
Teasiest and least expensive T
way to get started in multitrack
recording. The
MF-P
01
,
Porta
02
mkII
,
414
mkII
, and
424
mkIII
are
4-track tape decks complete with
sound mixers. They record on the
same blank cassette tapes you can
buy anywhere and connect to all
standard electronic instruments,
speaker systems, and microphones.
Because of noise reduction tech-
nology (and in some cases a faster
tape speed), the sound quality is very
good even though it’s not digital.
On these TASCAM Portastudios,
you can record up to four separate
tracks or channels on a cassette tape.
What are the differences
between the Portastudios?
The biggest differences are
the mixers. For example, on the
Porta
02
mkII, the mixer has only
two inputs, so you can’t record
more than two tracks at a time. It
also has no effect send, so you can’t
add reverb or other effects while
mixing down. The
424
mkIII lets you
record up to four tracks at once from
its six-input mixer, has two effects
sends, a sweepable midrange EQ on
each channel, and four high-quality
XLR inputs for low-impedance micro-
phones. Another difference is that
the larger Portastudios have better
sound quality because of dbx noise
reduction and faster tape speeds.
If you plan on getting together
with friends to record several
instruments at once, the
414
mkII
or
424
mkIII is probably your best
choice. If you like to work alone,
even the MF-P
01
can do the trick.
Linear or nonlinear?
Portastudios use tape which makes
editing more dif cult than on the
other products. For example, if during
the overdubbing process you come
up with an idea for a new section
in-between two verses, you’ll have to
erase the second verse (by recording
the new bridge over it) and re-record
everything after it. By contrast, all
the other multitrack systems we’ll
talk about later are nonlinear, which
means they allow you to insert new
material in-between other sections
without having to re-record anything.
However, most people start track-
ing only after the structure of a song
is complete, so layering and punch-
ing-in is more important than cutting
up sections.
PORTA02 mkII
Pan Controls (four)
Output Level Controls (four)
These knobs control the
playback levels of the tracks you’ve
already recorded during
overdubbing and mixdown.
Input Level Faders (two) These faders
set the level of the microphone or instru-
ment as you’re recording them.
Level Indicators (two)
424 mkIII
3-band (high, mid, low) equalization
Midrange EQ gives you more control over
the tone of each track in a mix.
The two EFFECTS knobs on each chan-
nel determine how much signal goes to
an external effect device like a reverb, so
each track can have the right amount of
effect (a lot on a vocal,
not so much on a guitar).
Pan Controls (six)
Level Controls (six) adjust
both input and output levels
Level Indicators (six)

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Make the
Pocketstudio 5
your own private
backup band
Number of tracks:
4 plus up to 16
“virtual” tracks
Number of mixer
channels: 2 inputs,
4 faders
Recording medium:
Compact Flash
memory cards
Mixdown to: MP3  les
(internal), external
cassette, CD-R
(via computer)
Extras: 3 effect processors,
MIDI arranger, 16-voice
General MIDI tone
generator with MIDI IN
W
hat if you’re beginning to
What if you’re beginning to W
have ideas for your own
Whave ideas for your own W
songs, harmonies, or arrangements,
but don’t know how to get them out
of your head and onto a recording?
You could wait until you’ve learned
how to write and play every instru-
ment in a band before you get
started. Or, you could get a
Pocket-
studio
5
: TASCAM’s stand-alone
music workstation for people who
want to express musical ideas, but
can’t do everything themselves.
The Pocketstudio
5
is a perfect
“step up” for musicians who started
out playing along with CDs or sing-
ing to karaoke machines and are
ready to advance to the next level of
musical understanding. It lets you
be musical in a fun framework that’s
 exible enough to start writing your
own songs. To call it an “entry-level”
product doesn’t do it justice, because
there is a lot of potential built into
this little under-$500 device.
From the outside, it looks some-
what like a small 4-track recorder,
POCKETSTUDIO 5
Ô 4-track digital
Pocketstudio
Ô Up to 9 songs per card
Ô Mac OS 10.1 and higher support
Ô Record four digital audio tracks on
Compact Flash media
Ô Internal synthesizer module for playback
of MIDI sequence files
Ô Over 100 built-in high-quality effects for
vocals, guitars and other instruments
Ô Audio/MIDI editing: copy/paste to exact
bars/beats, bounce tracks, automate
punch-in/out
Ô USB port for interfacing your music with
Mac® and Windows® computers
Ô Mix down to MP3 format for putting
your music on web sites and emailing to
friends
Ô Playback MP3 audio files
Ô Includes 100 song styles that can be
re-arranged to create original music
Ô Built-in condenser mic included
Ô Headset mic included
Ô AC power supply included
Ô 32MB Compact Flash card included
up to 256k cards optional)
but it also contains a “band-in-a-
box” or auto-accompaniment device.
This means that the Pocketstudio
has electronic instruments (such as
keyboards, bass, and drums) built
right in. These internal instruments
can be played by the internal MIDI
Arranger, giving you backing tracks
in a variety of styles without hav-
ing to know anything about “MIDI”
or “sequencers” (but it will expand
your knowledge and let you grow
in that direction). That gives the

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Pocketstudio the power of an 8-track
recorder, since the rhythm section
is handled internally via these MIDI
“virtual tracks,” leaving the four digi-
tal audio tracks open to record live
vocals, guitars, or anything you want.
For example, the Pocketstudio
lets you select a background style
(like “hard rock,” “jazz,” or “country”)
that’s not a speci c song. This ac-
companiment isn’t a recording...it’s
actually playing the drums, bass,
keyboards and other instruments in
real time through its internal syn-
thesizer. It’s not quite a “sequencer”
(where you’d have to program every
single drum and every note of every
chord), but it’s much more than just
a sequence playback device.
Growing into songwriting.
Most people get interested in
multitrack recording equipment to
help them with songwriting and
arranging. Songwriters have a lot
of things to struggle with, and just
having a drum beat to play with can
be a big help. Add a bass part and a
keyboard part playing open, general
arrangements, and it’s easier to start
improvising a melody to those words
you jotted down on a napkin last
night. The Pocketstudio
5
even pro-
vides a headset mic and can run on
batteries so you can work on lyrics
and melodies while you’re walking
down a country road.
New songs don’t always  t into
pre-established beats, keys and
arrangements. This is where the
Pocketstudio goes beyond a
“beat box” or “auto-arrang-
er.” You can change the key,
harmonies and structure
of any arrangement
after its initial built-
in style has inspired
you. As long as you
understand the dif-
ference between a C
major chord and an
E minor chord, you can program the
Pocketstudio to play different chords
than what came in the “standard”
arrangement at any point.
Digital recording with no
moving parts.
The Pocketstudio records its au-
dio tracks onto Compact Flash cards
instead of tape. A 32 MB card is sup-
plied, which gives you about 10 min-
utes of 4-track recording plus 10 min-
utes of 2-track mixdown time, and
you can double or quadruple that
time with larger cards available at
electronics and of ce supply stores.
The sound quality is very good,
competitive with the best cassette
recorders and similar to commercial
MP3 units. Recording onto solid-
state memory cards is trouble-free
and allows nonlinear editing with
simple copy and paste commands.
There are built-in effects (like reverb,
distortion, chorus) and even a guitar
tuner!
Basic Pocketstudio 5 connections.

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Building creative networks
via your computer.
The Pocketstudio’s mixdown for-
mat is MP3, a compressed data  le
used to send audio over the Internet.
If you have a computer with a USB
port, you’ll be able to post your  n-
ished songs on a web site or email
them to friends, collaborators and
publishing companies. TASCAM has
established the
Pocketstudio Network
so you can get together with other
musicians to write and record over
the Internet.
Taking it beyond the box.
As you grow as a songwriter
and musician, you’ll  nd there are
more things you can do to stretch
the capabilities of the Pocketstudio.
You’ll want to control the speci c
notes played in a chord, or custom-
ize a drum  ll. No problem—the
Pocketstudio can import detailed
arrangements in the “Standard
MIDI File” (SMF) format. SMFs can be
downloaded from the Internet, or
written from scratch in most MIDI
sequencers.
The next step.
Eventually, you’ll run into other
musicians who want to work with
you, in real time. The Pocketstudio
will still be great as a writing tool,
but with only two inputs “live” for
recording at a time you’re limited to
overdubbing most parts.
The time has come to look at the
next step in your musical and tech-
nical development. What tools will
you need? Perhaps you need some-
thing more elaborate than the units
we’ve described so far. This depends
on how you write and perform, and
what you  nd inspiring:
ó
If you have some keyboard
skills and are turning into a
composer with ideas for every
part of an arrangement,
you’ll probably be happiest
with a computer-based digital
audio workstation.
ó
If you’re a musician or singer
whose best ideas spring from
the moment, or if you’re just
turned off by computers, you’ll
be happiest with a top-quality
multitrack recorder/mixer.
Let’s look at that next.
The Pocketstudio has 100 built-in preset
backing arrangements, selectable by
category (in this case, “Rock 1”) and style
(“60s Hrock”, an abbreviation of “1960s
hard rock”). You can change the tempo
and key of each arrangement, and make
them your own.
Ct
g
r
y
: Rock 1
St
y
le: 60sHrock
Tem
p
o:

= 100
Arn
g
e: Preset
788
Ô 8-channel digital mixer with 7.5 gigabyte-
built-in hard disk for nearly two hours of
8-track recording
Ô 8 track, 24-bit or 16-bit linear recording
with 250 virtual tracks per song, 999 levels
of undo/redo and more
Ô Non-destructive editing (copy, paste,
insert, move, cut, clone track, more)
Ô Two advanced internal effects proces-
sors with compression, reverb, distortion,
chorus and much more
Ô Four W" mic/line inputs with 4th input
switchable to Guitar Level with processing
Ô Two W" AUX outputs
Ô RCA stereo aux inputs, stereo outputs and
monitor outputs
Ô W" headphone output
Ô MIDI in and out
Ô SCSI port for connection to external hard
disk or…
Ô Optional CD-RW788 rewriteable CD
recorder for stereo mixdown to CD and
data backup
US-122
Ô USB audio/MIDI
computer interfacing
Ô Mac® and Windows®
compatible
Ô Two XLR-fed phantom-powered mic inputs
with inserts
Ô Two line level inputs (switchable to guitar
level)
Ô 16 channels of MIDI I/O
Ô Adjustable zero-latency direct monitoring
Ô Two line outputs with level control
Ô Headphone output with level control
Ô Self-powered via USB: perfect for both
studio and location recording
Ô Includes ASIO, WDM, GSIF and Apple Core
Audio (OS X) drivers
Ô Includes audio recording/MIDI sequencing
software
Ô Includes GigaStudio 24 sampling
workstation software
Ô Compact and rugged steel construction
128
instruments
100
song styles
including
including
Harpsicord
GlamRock
Marimba
LatinRock
Church_Or
g
Motown
Steel Guitar
DrumNbass
Fretless
House
Cello
Grun
g
e
SlowStrin
g
FastBeBo
p
Trumpet
Ska
So
p
ranoSax
Western
Bassoon
Hi
g
hTec
Sitar
Blue
g
rass
SteelDrums
Hi
p
Ho
p
Gunshot
Re
gg
ae1

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Ultimate 8-track:
the 788 Digital
Portastudio
Number of tracks: 8
(6 recordable at once)
Number of mixer
channels: 8
Recording medium:
internal hard disk (over
3 hours of 8-track at
16-bit, capable of 24-bit),
expandable with
external SCSI drives
Mixdown to: optional
CD recorder or external
cassette
Extras: two effects
processors, mixer
automation, MIDI sync,
internal tempo map/
metronome
TASCAM invented the Portastudio
many years ago, and has brought the
mixer/multitracker into the digital
era with the
788
. The faders and
transport controls work the same way
they do on a cassette Portastudio.
But we’ll admit it — with dozens
of switches and lights, and some
cryptic names on its top panel, the
788
can be intimidating when you
 rst look at it, especially if you’ve
never recorded before. Don’t worry
— the
788
’s “QUICK SETUP” button is
designed to help you out. One push
sets all the mixer controls to the
right settings for tracking, another
push sets them for mixing. So, you
can be clueless about what some
of the buttons do, and still start
recording.
When you need no-com-
promise sound quality.
Of the TASCAM products described
so far, the
788
leads the pack in sound
788 leads the pack in sound 788
quality. Our cassette Portastudios are
good, and the Pocketstudio is digital,
but the
788
’s 24-bit digital recording
and excellent analog-to-digital
converters are state-of-the-art.
What does that mean? It means
that the
788
’s frequency response
is wider, and the noise is lower, than
previous generations of analog or
digital multitracks, resulting in bet-
ter-than-CD sound quality. Essen-
tially, what you plug into the
788
is
exactly what you’ll get out of it—no
extra noise or hiss.
Hidden features of the
788’s digital mixer.
The
788
has 8 faders and 4 trim
knobs, but you don’t see any other
knobs for EQ and effects sends. That
knobs for EQ and effects sends. That
Track Assign (seven buttons
serve eight channels)
Record Ready buttons
Channel faders (seven)
Jog/Shuttle wheel
Editing controls
Transport controls
Cursor controls
Master fader
Source selection (Inputs A-D,
Aux inputs, Track or stereo
Input trim controls (four)
(inside) hard disk
Effects 1 and 2 buttons
EQ, Send and Fader/Pan buttons
work with LCD screen
788 back panel show-
ing audio, MIDI and SCSI
connections.