16
— TASCAM US-122
4 – Hooking up Audio and MIDI to the US-122
Hooking up audio
To monitor output from your computer,
connect the analog outputs of the US-
122 to your mixer, amplifier or powered
monitors. Output volume is controlled
by the
LINE OUT
level control.
To record audio from the US-122 into
your computer, simply connect a device
to the appropriate input. Microphones
should be plugged into the
L
and
R
MIC
IN
XLR inputs.
NOTE
The US-122 can supply phantom power, so
if you’re using condenser microphones, you
will not need an external preamp or power
supply.
You can connect line-level sources (e.g.
keyboards and sound modules) into one
of the two
LINE/GUITAR IN
jacks (
L
or
R
). If you wish to plug in a guitar, bass,
or other high-impedance source, simply
move the appropriate sliding switch to
the
GUITAR
position.
The inputs of the L and R channels are
available as either balanced XLR mic-
level inputs, or balanced (1/4") line-level
inputs (unbalanced when used as guitar
inputs).
While it’s possible to use both mic and
line level analog inputs simultaneously
on either input, in actual practice this is
not recommended, as the signal level of
the inputs will be summed and very
likely interfere with each other.
Input level is regulated by the
INPUT
level controls. The
INPUT
level controls
directly affect the input level at the A/D
converters on the US-122, so it’s advis-
able to use the
SIGNAL
and
OVER
indi-
cators to help set your levels. Unlike
analog tape, when recording digital
audio, it’s important to keep your input
level close to 0dB, but never to exceed it.
If the input level is too high, the audio
signal will clip - not a desirable sound. If
the input level is too low, then the
dynamic range of which the US-122’s A/
D converters are capable is not being
used, and the signal will be closer to the
noise floor than it needs to be. In either
case, this cannot be fixed after the tracks
have been recorded, so it’s important to
make this adjustment carefully.
Hooking up MIDI
The
MIDI IN
and
OUT
jacks give you 16
channels of MIDI I/O. Simply connect
the
MIDI OUT
of your keyboard or
other device to the
MIDI IN
jack on the
US-122, and vice versa. If you’ve got a
MIDI sync box, you can use the MIDI
ports to send and receive MTC (MIDI
Time Code). This allows you to sync
tracks from your MTC-capable Portastu-
dio, DTRS multitrack, or any other
machine that accepts timecode with your
digital audio software, transferring
tracks back and forth for editing and pro-
cessing.