D i g i t a l 8 • B u s
6
The Basics
Monitoring
But wait! Of course you want to be able to
monitor the signal as you’re recording it. And
your preference is to monitor the signal actually
recorded onto the tape rather than the signal
going from the console to the tape machines,
so you can hear if there is any distortion or
unusual noise going down. Even if you’re using
all 24 channels for tracking, you’ve only used
half the channels available. There are another
24 channels available for Tape Inputs (Fader
Bank 2). This is the
split-console concept
.
You can connect all 24 tracks from the
multitrack recorders to the Digital 8•Bus, and
monitor them on channels 25–48, which are
assigned to the L-R bus. The tracking half is
not assigned to the L-R bus, so you can use the
monitoring half to hear the tape outputs on the
L-R bus.
What’s more, all 48 channels have full DSP
capability, so you can apply EQ and effects to
the post-tape signal. And thanks to snapshot
automation, you can even create a rough mix
and store it for future use.
Overdubbing/Bouncing Tracks
The setup is the same throughout the
mixing process. No need to crawl around
behind your gear and move cables around. The
Digital 8•Bus has its own built-in patch bay to
reassign the inputs to various output
destinations.
A corollary of Murphy’s Law states that no
matter how many tracks you have available to
record, you will always need at least one more.
If you need to bounce some tracks down to
make room for the background vocal parts,
simply assign the tracks you want to bounce
Digital
Multitrack
Recorders
DAT Recorder
2-Track
Master
CUE MIX
OUT
Channels 1-24
MIC/LINE IN
Tape Outs
or Bus Outs
To Tape
From Tape
Tracks 1-24
TAPE IN
L/R MASTER
OUT
Channels 25-48
MONITORING HALF
Fader Bank 2
Channels 1-24
TRACKING HALF
Fader Bank 1
Figure 4. The Split Console — Tracking
Digital
Multitrack
Recorders
CUE MIX
OUT
Tape Tracks In
to
Bus Outs
(This routing
is internal)
Bounce down to
one or two tracks
Bus Outs
START
Tracks being
bounced
Channels 25-48
MONITORING HALF
Fader Bank 2
Channels 1-24
TRACKING HALF
Fader Bank 1
Figure 5. The Split Console — Bouncing Down
