TASCAM 2488MKII
Mixdown is the mixing of the audio from every track in a
recording into a stereo pair. On the 2488MKII, writing this mix-
down signal to a master stereo recorder is called
”
mastering.
”
You can make an audio CD using the CD-R/CD-RW
recorder built into the 2488MKII.
However, before mastering (burning) a CD, the stereo mix
must first be recorded to an internal stereo master track.
You can also send your mixdown signal directly to the
STEREO OUTPUT
jacks to record your song on an
attached MD, DAT, cassette or other recording device.
In this case, you do not need to conduct pre-mastering.
NOTE
These operations all deal with songs on the currently-
selected partition. If the song you want is on another
partition, you must select that disk partition as the
active partition before proceeding (see “Selecting the
active partition” on page 13).
The procedures for burning a CD using the internal CD-R/
CD-RW recorder after recording the stereo mix to an inter-
nal stereo master track are explained below.
Pre-mastering
As previously mentioned, before burning a CD, the stereo
mix signal must first be recorded to an internal master track.
The start of the pre-mastered material is always the
00:00:00:00 point, and the end of the pre-mastered material
is the OUT point.
Before starting the pre-mastering process, make sure that if
you are using the sub-mixer, it is assigned to the stereo bus.
The modes related to pre-mastering include the
“
pre-
mastering mode
”
for recording the master track and the
“
master check mode
”
for checking the recorded master
track. Press the
MASTER
key to cycle through normal,
pre-mastering, and master check modes.
1 Set the OUT point at the end of the material that
you intend to pre-master.
2 Press the
MASTER
key to enter pre-mastering mode
(
PreMastering
appears at the upper left of the
home screen).
If any
REC
indicators are on, they are turned
off, and they cannot be turned on again while
pre-mastering is being carried out.
While pre-mastering, transport controls work in the usual
way, except that:
Playback and fast forward will stop at the OUT point,
and the playback position cannot move past this point.
Auto punch operations are disabled.
Jog and trim are disabled.
Pitch control and SSA are disabled.
Direct location and repeat playback are disabled.
Recording is carried out as explained below.
•
•
•
•
•
•
To record the master track, press and hold the
RECORD
key, and then press the
PLAY
key. Both the
PLAY
and the
RECORD
indicators light.
Recording always starts (regardless of the current position)
at 00:00:00:00.
The mastering records the effects of all mixer settings and
effect settings, etc.
If you stop the recording before the OUT point is reached,
the master recording ends there, and the length of the mas-
ter track is from the 00:00:00:00 point to the point where
you stopped the recording
NOTE
The minimum length for a CD track is four seconds. Be
sure that all master tracks are at least this long.
The maximum length for a CD track recorded from the
2488MKII is 80 minutes. Master tracks made with the
2488MKII should not exceed this length.
During the mastering operation, all channel operations
(EQ, send, fader/pan) can be carried out, either from the
2488MKII’s controls, or by means of MIDI commands.
T I P
While you are recording the master, synchronization
and the sub-mixer can be used to add synchronized
MIDI sound sources to the stereo master mix.
You can set and edit effect parameters and recall effects
from the effect libraries in pre-mastering mode.
It is also possible for you to make assignments while mas-
tering, and recall scene memories.
After recording the master track, you can play back the
master track to check it
When you have mastered the recording, you can either
re-master the recording (simply press and hold the
RECORD
key and press the
PLAY
key again). Therefore,
you can record the master track several times and then use
UNDO
to choose one of the earlier recordings. Or proceed
to the master check operation.
Exiting pre-mastering mode
Press the
MASTER
key once to enter the master check
mode where you can play back and check the master track.
Press the
MASTER
key again to return to the home screen.
Recording the master track
8 − Mastering and CD recorder