EFFECTS (REVERB,
CHORUS, ECHO)
US-
224
INSTRUMENTS
MICROPHONES
MONITOR SPEAKERS/HEADPHONES
CASSETTE DECK
OR CD BURNER
MULTITRACK
RECORDER & MIXER
BUILT INTO
DAW SOFTWARE
DAW SOFTWARE
MIDI SEQUENCER
12
13
Steinberg’s Cubase, can record au-
dio tracks and MIDI tracks in the
same program, side-by-side. This
has a lot of advantages, especially
when you’re experimenting with
a song’s structure. Want to repeat
the chorus? Simply copy and paste
all the audio and MIDI data in the
new location. Want to add a bridge
between two sections? Don’t start
from scratch—simply create new
space in the middle without erasing
anything. For people who come up
with new ideas all the time but don’t
want to re-do tracks over and over
again, the digital audio workstation
is a godsend. This is a real advantage
over “linear systems” (like the
Portastudios) that use tape.
Some computers come with a tiny
speaker for playing back computer-
generated tones, others might even
have a microphone, but they’re usu-
ally meant more as a minor accesso-
ry than for serious recording. If you
want to use a computer as a digital
audio workstation (DAW), you’ll need
an interface.
What’s an interface?
Think of an
interface
as a way of
connecting between two different
things. Need to get audio into or out
Steinberg’s Cubasis, a basic digital audio
workstation/sequencer program that
ships free with the TASCAM US-
122
,
US-
224
and US-
428.
Note the “virtual”
mixer that can be mapped to US-
224
or US-
428
faders for hands-on control.
TASCAM computer interfaces can also be
used with more complex DAW programs
such as Nuendo, Digital Performer, Logic
Audio, etc.
of a computer? You need an audio
interface. Want to get MIDI data in
and out so you can “play” a keyboard
from a computer sequencer? You
need a MIDI interface. The arrange-
ment of windows on a computer
screen may be called a
user interface
,
because that’s where you “connect”
with the software. The computer
connects with the outside world
with a USB interface, or to a hard
disk with a Firewire interface.
Making a computer into a
digital audio workstation
with TASCAM interfaces.
TASCAM makes three multipur-
pose interfaces that can bridge the
gap between the computer and your
music. We call them “multipurpose”
because they act as an audio inter-
face, a MIDI interface, and a fader
hard disk. MIDI sequencing is also
controlled through the computer.
On the other hand, the US-
224
Interface provides the functions of
the mixer in our fi rst drawing, as
well as better access to DAW functions
such as transport controls.
The components of a multi track studio revisited.