TASCAM DP-03SD
51
9 – Mixing down and mastering tracks
Checking the stereo master track
Follow these procedures to listen to a stereo master track after
you have completed recording it.
1 In MIXDOWN mode, press the MIXDOWN/MASTERING
button.
After the
Mastering !
pop-up message appears the
unit switches to
MASTERING
mode and the Home Screen
reopens.
NOTE
• When in MASTERING mode,
MASTERING
appears in the
bar at the upper left of the display.
• When in MULTITRACK mode, press the
MIXDOWN/
MASTERING
button to activate MIXDOWN mode, and then
press the
MIXDOWN/MASTERING
button again to activate
MASTERING mode.
• MASTERING mode cannot be entered if there is no stereo
master track.
2 In this state, press the PLAY (
Á
) button to start playback of
the stereo master track.
NOTE
Confirm that both the EQ and COMP items are shown to
be OFF. If either is ON, the sound heard will be affected by
the equalizer and/or compressor. (See “Using mastering
EQ (equalizer)” on page 52 and “Using mastering
compression” on page 52.)
3 In MASTERING mode, the transport controls have the
following functions.
• Press the PLAY (
Á
) button to play the stereo master
track from the current position until its end.
• Use the REW (
Ô
) (TO ZERO) and F FWD (
) (TO
LAST REC) buttons to search backward and forward, in
the same way as in MULTITRACK mode.
• Press the STOP (
ª
) button to stop playback.
• Ordinary recording is not possible.
• Repeat and location mark functions cannot be used.
Since the stereo master track playback signal is output from
the PHONES jack and LINE OUT jacks, you can record the
output to an external stereo recorder.
If you are not happy with the completed stereo master track,
you can conduct a mixdown again.
NOTE
To listen to a stereo master track recorded in a saved song,
load that song, set the recorder mode to
MASTERING
,
and press the
PLAY (
Á
)
button to start playback.
TIP
A stereo master track can be copied to any track pair among
tracks 1–8 by creating a “clone” track (see “CLONE track
(track duplication)” on page 47).
End stereo master track checking
When you are done checking the stereo master track, press the
MIXDOWN/MASTERING button to return to MULTITRACK mode.
Mastering the stereo master track
This unit has specialized tools for mastering the stereo
master track. Use multi-band compression, equalization and
normalization to adjust the overall volume and sound quality.
Put the unit into MASTERING mode and use the mastering tools
to finish (master) the stereo master track.
Mastering procedures
Follow these steps to master a stereo track.
Step 1. Enter MASTERING mode.
In mixdown mode, press the MIXDOWN/MASTERING button.
After the Mastering ! pop-up message appears the unit switches
to MASTERING mode and the Home Screen reopens.
NOTE
• When in MULTITRACK mode, press the
MIXDOWN/
MASTERING
button to activate MIXDOWN mode, and then
press the
MIXDOWN/MASTERING
button again to activate
MASTERING mode.
• MASTERING mode cannot be entered if there is no stereo
master track.
Step 2. Use the mastering tools to adjust the sound of the track.
Press the F1 (
EQ
), F2 (
COMP
) or F3 (
NORM
) button to open the
screen for the desired tool.
These include
MASTERING EQ
(equalizer),
MASTERING
COMP
(compressor) and
NORMALIZE
screens. You can also
select either a single band or multi-band compressor using the
library. The multi-band compressor screen is split into a LOW
BAND, a MID BAND and a HIGH BAND.
Make settings for each on their screens. (For details, see “Using
mastering compression,” “Using mastering EQ (equalizer)” and
“Normalizing” below.)
In MASTERING mode, since you can use the PLAY (
Á
), STOP
(
ª
), REW (
Ô
) (TO ZERO) and F FWD (
) (TO LAST
REC) transport buttons, adjust the settings as you monitor the
playback signal.
Step 3. Record with mastering effects.
After adjusting the settings of the mastering tools, press and
hold the RECORD (
–
) button and press the PLAY (
Á
) button to
start recording. During recording, the PLAY (
Á
) and RECORD
(
–
) indicators light.
Recording always starts from
00:00:00:00
regardless of
the current position.
Recording in MASTERING mode overwrites the stereo master
track.
