PN: 9101437700

PHONES

REMOTE

AUX OUTPUT

MONITOR

STEREO
AUX INPUT R L MIC / GUIT INPUT D INPUT C INPUT B INPUT A
Edition Date: 08/16/TEAC/TASCAM, All Rights Reserved

OPERATIONAL TUTORIAL

Table of Contents
I) QuickStart - First Session.. 3 II) Mixer Functions.. 7 Mixer Overview.. 7 Input Section.. 7 Routing Input & Tracks.. 7 EQ Section... 8 Effects & Aux Sends.. 9 Inputs Submixer... 10 TRACK CUE.. 10 Monitor Section.. 10 Routing & Scene Libraries.. 11 ASSIGN MAP... 11 Bouncing Tracks... 12 Fader Matching.. 12 III) Recording & Editing Functions. 13 Song Menus.. 13 Basic Recorder Functions.. 14 Locate Points... 14 Punch-In/Out & Auto-Punch. 16 Virtual Tracks.. 16 Pre-Roll & Post Roll.. 16 Editing Functions.. 17 Pitch Control & SSA.. 18 Formatting Hard Drives.. 19 Selecting Target Record Drives.. 19 IV) Built-in Effect Processing.. 20 Effect Overview.. 20 Routing & Assigning Effects. 20 Recalling & Editing Effects.. 21 Available Effect Type List.. 21 V) Assigning Names.. 23 Naming Overview.. 23 The Naming Procedure.. 23 Editing the User Word List.. 24 VI) MIDI Functions.. 25 MIDI Functions Overview.. 25 MIDI Clock Explanation & Functions.. 25 MIDI Clock / Metronome Tempo Maps. 25 MTC - Generate, Offset & Chase.. 26 Internal Metronome.. 27 MMC - MIDI Machine Control.. 27 VII) Troubleshooting... 29 VIII) Tips & Tricks... 32
TASCAM 788 Operational Tutorial 8/2000 Edition
QuickStart - First Session
INTRO & INITIAL SET-UP
This section will walk you through your first recording session with the 788 to help you learn the basic operation of the recorder. Please be sure to read the other sections in this tutorial for deeper instruction on any particular feature. For ease of reference, the page numbers with more detailed information are listed. Before we actually start the recording session, let's make sure your 788 is set up with the following settings: The main screen should be shown, and the time location should read 0's all the way across the line. If not, press HOME/ESC to return to the main menu, then press STOP + REW to return to zero location. Your screen should look as shown here. The other issue is to make sure your monitor section is set up properly. The STEREO and CUE lights should
The STEREO and CUE lights should be on before you start on this QuickStart section.

Section I

RECORDING TRACKS
Plugging a Guitar Directly In If you are plugging a guitar directly into the 788, connect the cable from your guitar directly into INPUT D and flip the input level Pressing INPUT D + SELECT switch next to it to "GUITAR". for channel 1 will route the input to the channel. This sets the 788's internal electronics to match the guitar level input properly. To route INPUT D to track 1 of the recorder, you need to assign INPUT D to channel 1 of the mixer. (Channel 1 feeds track 1, channel 6 feeds track 6, etc.) Route INPUT D to channel 1 by holding down INPUT D and pressing SELECT for Pressing EFFECT 1 + INPUT D channel 1. The 788 confirms will assign the multi effect processor to INPUT D. the routing by flashing the LED for INPUT D and the SELECT LED for channel 1 together. If you raise channel 1's fader and the stereo fader, you should hear the guitar. If you want to apply a guitar effect to the guitar input, hold down EFFECT 1 and press INPUT D. You should hear some guitar processing on the channel now. By pressing EFFECT 1, you should see a screen listing the various effects on the multi-effect processor under different tabs at the top. Use the arrow keys to scroll through the various effects and parameters. If you want to recall a different guitar preset, press ENTER while you are in the effect screen; the library screen will pop up. Scroll down to the effect you want to load in, and press ENTER. Plugging In a Mic or Line Source If you are plugging in a microphone, use one of the XLR to TRS adapters that came with the 788 in the box. The 788 can accept a mic or line level input, so the adapter does not need to be an impedance converter.

P 7 P 20 P 7

be lit. If the STEREO LED is not on, press SELECT in the monitor section until it scrolls to the STEREO LED. To light the CUE LED, press CUE in the monitor section.

The CUE light is the only LED that you want on when you are bouncing tracks.
The three most commonly used edit functions have buttons accessible right on the front panel of the 788. We'll do a basic COPY function here, so you get the idea. The editing functions on the 788 use the IN, OUT and TO locate points. For copying, the IN and OUT points need to be placed around the area you want to copy. The TO point will show where you want the new part to start at.

COPY AUDIO

Set the locate points by playing to the part you want to have the locate point at, and press SHIFT with the locate point you wish to set. (IN, OUT or TO.) If you want to view the waveform of the audio when you are setting the locate points for the edit, press STOP + PLAY. The waveform screen will come up. If the waveform is too small on the screen, you can press the up and down arrow keys to increase the height of the waveform, and the left and right arrows to increase the zoom for the width of the waveform. You can use the JOG/DATA wheel to scrub the selected track. When you're scrubbing audio, you will only hear the one track you have selected. To select a different track to scrub, press SELECT for that track. If you need to
Then raise the TRACK CUE faders for tracks 7 and 8 only, and press REC READY on tracks 7 and 8.
Press PLAY and set your mix the way you want to hear it, complete with effects, EQ, and so forth. The recording levels will appear in the meter so you can set your recording level as well. Once you've got everything the way you want it, press PLAY + RECORD to record the bounce. When you're done, disarm REC READY for tracks 7 and 8. You can listen to your bounce by returning to the beginning of the recording and pressing PLAY. If you're happy with the bounce, you can resume recording other tracks. If not, you can go back and give it another pass until you are happy with the results. Remember too that you can "punch in" on a bounce, since it is recording to a track on the 788 itself. So, if you were almost to the end before you made a bad fader move, try backing up a little bit and punch in on the recording, just as you would a vocal or guitar part.

FINAL THOUGHTS

As we mentioned at the beginning of this section, this QuickStart "First Session" only scratches the surface of the potential of this recorder. There is deeper detail of the 788 in later sections of this tutorial. Aside from this tutorial, the 788 manual will go into even deeper detail on any specific feature. Be sure to at least flip through the book so you are familiar with what information is covered and where it is, so that you can quickly find what you are looking for.

Mixer Functions

MIXING SECTION OVERVIEW
The 788 offers a very flexible mixing surface. There are 6 inputs on the back panel, 8 tracks from the recorder, plus two effects which can all run at the same time. This adds up to 14 audio sources plus two stereo effects all running at the same time. NOTE: While you're reading this section, it may be helpful to refer to the foldout chart titled "788 Road Map". Input Explanations There are 6 audio inputs on the 788. These inputs can accept a wide variety of input levels, as listed: INPUT A, B, C - These are balanced 1/4" TRS inputs, capable of accepting signals from mic to line level. It's a "worry-free" input, since it will accept balanced or unbalanced plugs, at mic or line levels. INPUT D - This can accept mic or line level at balanced or unbalanced levels just like INPUT A, B and C, but it also has a switch for plugging a guitar or bass directly in. AUX INPUT - The AUX INPUT provides two unbalanced 1/4" inputs for line levels inputs from synths, effects, etc. These inputs can be assigned to any channel on the main mixer section of the 788 with the intuitive input routing scheme. Mixing Areas There are three distinct mixing areas on the 788: The main mixer can accept 8 sources and has feature rich channel strips. (Channels 1-6 are all independent, channels 7-8 have some functions linked.) Each channel strip has a three band EQ, with two sweepable shelf EQ bands and a parametric EQ band. There are also two stereo sends (labeled EFFECT SEND and AUX SEND), each of which can be adjusted as pre or post fader sends. Analog inputs and recorder tracks can both be routed to these channels. An input sub-mixer is available with simple level and pan controls; the output of this submixer can be routed directly to the L/R buss. This is useful for creating a submix to track, or for simply allowing the inputs to be monitored while the recorder tracks are routed to the main mixer section. A TRACK CUE section is available with simple level and pan controls; the output of this sub-mixer appears in the monitoring section. When recording parts, the channels of the mixer are used for feeding the recorder. So, the

The 788's effect processing can be used as a dynamic or multi-effect processing chain inserted on channels. When the effect is routed that way, the effect will be assigned as the first item in the signal flow chain. (For information about the effect capabilities or assignment, see Effect Processing, p20.) The EQ Section To view the EQ section of the 788, press the EQ button right in the middle of the 788's control surface, then press SELECT for the channel you wish to view. The screen to the right should appear. The 788's three band EQ is comprised of sweepable high EQ bands are arranged vertically, with matching parameters aligning and low shelf bands, plus a horizontally. Use the arrow keys parametric mid band. An to move between the parameters. ON/OFF switch allows A/B comparisons between the enhanced signal and the original. Finally, a PAD/GAIN control allows the signal to be padded down to prevent the channel from overloading from high boost EQ curves, or to increase signal strength when large frequency bands areas are dug out of the signal's power. Shelf and Parametric EQs Explained
ON/OFF control PAD/GAIN setting Channel indication

THE CHANNEL STRIP

The 788's main mixer provides extensive processing power and routing flexibility. Once the signal is routed to the main channel, the signal flows through the following steps:
Send/Return (insert) for built-in effects. This only applies if EFFECT 1 is assigned as a Multi-Effect processor on a channel or EFFECT 2 is assigned as dynamics. EQ Section If an aux send is assigned as pre-fader, it's level is independent of the channel fader. This is typically used for monitor mixes or allowing the channel to be washed out in an effect (no dry signal). Channel Fader If an aux send is assigned as post-fader, its level is affected by the channel fader. This is typically used for effect sends, because the relationship between the effect and dry signal will remain constant when the fader is adjusted.
EQ basically increases and decreases the volume of specific frequency ranges in a sound. Your standard hi-fi usually has a bass and treble control. the bass control can boost or cut the low Standard Boost/Cut frequencies, with the center 20Hz 20kHz between 80-120Hz. The treble Boost control will boost or cut the higher Cut frequencies, with a typical center between 6-12kHz. The next level of control from the standard boost/cut EQ is a sweepable EQ. Sweepable EQs have a gain control to adjust the boost or cut Mid Parametric Freq control, but also can change the Freq 20Hz 20kHz center frequency. This movable center allows accurate tuning of Sweep High/Low the EQ to specific "sweet spot" areas of the sound. Examples - Perhaps 80Hz boost will offer pillowy sound to a bass, while a 200Hz cut will take out a muddy tone.

On vocals, perhaps 2kHz will add an edge, 6kHz might take some "honk" out of the sound, and 10kHz will add an airy quality to the sound. A parametric EQ goes a step beyond the sweepable EQ by offering variable Q width. This controls how wide an area the EQ will affect around the center tone. This may take some practice to really use Mid Parametric Q effectively. However, the 20Hz 20kHz parametric EQ can be used as a tool to eliminate ringing noises, Wide/Narrow or it can be used with great precision to sweeten the sound by focusing in on the specific range of the sound you want to affect. The mid band of the EQ is a parametric band. Example - By focusing the frequency on a ringing tone from a floor tom and narrowing the bandwidth, offending rings can be reduced without greatly affecting the original tone of the recording. The other common shape of an EQ is called a shelf. The shelf will rise up to a point, just like a boost/but band will, but the shelf EQ continues that peak level of boost through the rest of the frequency High & Low Shelf band. So, a high shelf will slope 20Hz 20kHz as it approaches the center frequency, then it maintains that Shelf EQ boost or cut forever. The low shelf does the same thing, but the shape is inverted. On the 788, the high and low bands are shelf bands, with a sweepable center frequency. Effect & Aux Sends The EFFECT SEND and AUX SEND operate similarly to each other, although they are not identical. First, we'll cover their similarities, then Selector for PAN and MASTER we'll point out the few PRE/POST LEVEL send differences at the end. fader or OFF controls level Both the EFFECT SEND and AUX SEND are stereo sends, with level and panning controls. In the screen (at right), each send is arranged in a row with the EFFECT SEND on top and the AUX SEND on the bottom.
EFFECT SEND and AUX SEND labels

Channel Indication

To the right of the and dials is a dial labeled , which adjusts the overall level of the send. ( controls the amount of one particular channel in the send, affects the level of all the channels.)
2) Press the buttons for the input sources that you want to put in to (or take out from) the input submixer. The flashing lights should indicate the changes you are making 3) If the STEREO light is flashing under SOURCE, then the input submixer is routed to the stereo fader. If the light is not flashing, then it is not routed to the stereo fader. To change the status, press STEREO. 4) Release the SUB MIX button.

should light up when either button is pressed. To unlink the channels, press SELECT for the two channels at the same time again. The channel SELECT lights should only turn on for one channel at a time now. The screen at right shows the panning controls for channels 1 and 2, if the channels are not linked. The value is shown in this screen, as is the fader level. (The fader level value is displayed as under the level.) The fader level can only be changed with the physical fader on the 788; this fader level display is only for your information or session notes. The screen at the left shows what the screen will look like if the channels are linked. The faders are merged together, and the even channel shows for its value, indicating the level comes from the odd channel. When channels are first linked together, the panning is automatically set hard left and hard right. You can adjust this if you want to focus the stereo pair in the mix differently.

TRACK CUE

The 788 has an TRACK CUE section available on board which will be used to monitor tracks from the recording section. The TRACK CUE does not feed the stereo fader at all, so you can't use it in a mixdown situation. It has a dedicated button in the MONITOR section of the 788 in the upper right. To view the TRACK CUE section, press the TRACK CUE button just above the stereo fader. This screen functions much like the submixer screen. The CURSOR keys and JOG/DATA wheel are used to navigate and change the values of the pan and level controls. One notable difference is the TRACK CUE section takes two screens, since it has eight tracks to monitor. One screen shows tracks 1-4, and the other shows tracks 5-8. Tracks can be accessed directly by pressing SELECT for the track you want to change, or you can scroll with the arrow keys "over the edge" of the screen to the next one.

INPUT SUBMIXER

The 788 has an input submixer available on board which can be used to increase your available inputs on mixdown, or it can be used to monitor external sources without using valuable mixer channels. The input submixer is assignable only to the stereo fader. NOTE: The input submixer can be engaged and disengaged from the stereo fader. If you cannot hear the audio from the submixer, follow the instructions below on assigning the submixer. To view the input submixer screen, press SUB MIX. The screen at right should appear. Use the CURSOR keys and JOG/DATA wheel to change the values to your liking. To assign inputs to the input submixer and route the submixer to the stereo fader: 1) Press and hold SUB MIX. with graphic controls, as well as position values for accuracy. The SUB MIX light should flash, along with any channels already assigned to the input submixer.

Pan and volume are indicated The name of the input shows if the input is assigned to the submixer, "OFF" if it is not assigned.

MONITOR SECTION

Monitor sections are common on recording consoles, but not so typical on live mixers. The monitor section is designed to allow you to listen to different areas of the board (typically submixing areas) either for simple troubleshooting, for use as a headphone mix, or anything else you can dream up. The SELECT button in the monitor section will scroll through the various listening points one at a time. The last option is to monitor nothing at all. The LEDs to the left will indicate the source currently selected. (Monitoring nothing is indicated with all four LEDs off.) A mono switch is available by pressing SHIFT+SELECT. It is good practice to check your mix in mono to make
sure signals aren't out of phase with each other.
scene or routing library that you wish to wish to name and press SHIFT+MENU/TITLE. See Section V, "Assigning Names" on p23 for complete naming capabilities and instructions. When a scene is recalled, the display will immediately flip to the ASSIGN MAP screen to show you the routing scheme you've just recalled
The CUE button at the bottom of the monitor section switches the TRACK CUE section on and off in the MONITOR OUTPUT. As mentioned in the TRACK CUE section, the TRACK CUE mix does not appear in the stereo mix. This only turns the TRACK CUE mix on to the monitor section.
Pressing SHIFT + SELECT will monitor in mono. The LEDs in the monitor section will flash to indicate MONO mode. To go back to stereo, press SELECT.

ASSIGN MAP

The ASSIGN MAP on the 788 is a chart that shows you where the various signals are routed in the 788. You can view this at any time by pressing SHIFT+QUICK SETUP. Audio sources are listed down the left side of the screen, with mixer channels listed across the top.
Main Mixer Channels Input Submixer
ROUTING & SCENE LIBRARIES
As easy as the signal routing is on the 788 with the controls on the surface of the recorder, it is sometimes easier to just recall a set-up from a preestablished library. This is especially true when you're switching projects, or moving from recording tracks to bouncing down, etc. The three basic routing setups under the QUICK SETUP key are: - Routes inputs straight to mixer channels. (Input A to track 1, input B to track 2, etc.) - Routes recorder tracks to all channels on the mixer for playback. - Routes tracks 1-6 to channels 1-6, and assigns the stereo mix to tracks 7/8 for bounce down. There is also a ROUTING LIBRARY where you can store your own routing set-ups, and a SCENE LIBRARY which can store a complete snapshot of the mixer settings (ie - fader levels, EQ curves, aux sends, etc.) Both the scene library and The READ and SAVE tabs indicate whether the selected scene will the routing library work be loaded, or the target for saving the same way. and the current set-up. tabs are shown at top. If the R tab is selected, the chosen scene or routing scheme will be loaded into the mixer. If is selected, the current mixer settings or routing scheme will be saved to that location. Use the CURSOR keys to switch tabs and select the scene. Pressing ENTER/YES will recall the selected scene. A 12 character name can be assigned to each scene and routing scheme. To assign a name, highlight the

Silk screened around the main transport keys are a couple of combination functions.
RTZ - Pressing STOP and REW together functions as Return to Zero. That will bring you to 00:00:00:00:0 in the time window (the very beginning of the project). LRP - Pressing STOP and FFWD together will take you to the beginning of your last recorded passage. This is helpful in getting right back to the same point on a punch in, or even for finding your IN point for an edit removing extra space in front of a region. Keep in mind that LRP can go backwards or forwards to the last recording point. Don't let the fact that it is on the FFWD button confuse you. JOG - Pressing STOP and PLAY together will enter audio jog/scrub mode, allowing you to scrub a track in the song by turning the JOG/DATA wheel. The display will show you the waveform display of any track to assist in finding a sparse part visually. If you need to zoom in or out of the waveform, you can use the LEFT and RIGHT CURSOR keys to select the zoom aspect for time (horizontal). The UP and DOWN CURSOR keys can increase the height of the waveform, offering a better view of softer passages. Pressing STOP will take you back out of the waveform screen. You can also choose which track you are viewing the waveform of by pressing the select button above that track. In other words, to view the waveform of track 3, press STOP and PLAY to get to JOG mode, then press SELECT over channel 3. One other item of note - if you use the RIGHT CURSOR key to take you to 32x zoom, you are scrubbing at the subframe level giving you more resolution than the other resolutions which only scrub to the frame.

BASIC RECORDER FUNCTIONS

Routing to the recorder is simple. Whatever comes from channel 1 on the mixer goes to track 1 on the recorder. Channel 2 feeds track 2, channel 3 feeds track 3, etc. There is no routing matrix here, which keeps things very simple. The tracks are armed by the REC READY buttons just above the channel faders. The lights will flash to indicate they are armed for recording, and will go solid when they are recording. "The Big Buttons" Don't skip this part! While the primary functions of the big buttons labeled PLAY and REC seem fairly straight-forward, there are some very cool keycombination commands available in there to help you fly through your project with the greatest of ease.

LOCATE POINTS

Locate points can be used to directly recall a particular time location in the song, allowing faster and more accurate project navigation than the traditional fast forward and rewind. The 788 can store up to 999 locate points for each song, so you won't run short on memory points.
There are three locate points on the surface of the 788 labeled IN, OUT, and TO. These can be used as standard locate points, although these do have a specific application with editing and auto-punching. (These functions will be addressed in the sections on editing and auto-punching.) The rest of the locate points are stored in the LOCATE menu of the 788. Storing Locate Points To store a locate point in the IN, OUT, or TO points, press SHIFT plus the IN, OUT, or TO button. To recall the point, just press the IN, OUT, or TO button. To store a locate point in any of the other locate points, press SHIFT and LOCATE. The locate point will be stored in the next available memory point. Recalling Locate Points To recall IN, OUT or TO locate points, simply press their dedicated buttons on the surface of the 788. To recall any of the other locate points, press LOCATE, dial up the locate point you want to recall, and press ENTER/YES. If you want to know the time location of any of the locate points, you can use the LEFT and RIGHT ARROW keys to toggle between the locate point titles and times. Trimming & Deleting Locate Points If the locate point is close to what you want, but not exactly where you want, you can adjust the position of it. Highlight the locate point you want to adjust and press TRIM. The screen will go to the JOG window, showing a waveform view so you can more accurately place the locate point. To save your new location, press ENTER/YES. If you want to get out of this screen without changing anything, press EXIT/NO.

The 788 will now let you audition your takes. Use the CURSOR keys to select which take you want to listen to, and press PLAY. When you've decided on which one you want to keep, highlight it with the CURSOR and press ENTER/YES. If you don't like any of them, select ORIGINAL. Last Take Load If you start mixing, and don't like the take you selected from the last Auto Punch session, you can go back and recall that entire list of takes (so long as nothing else has been recorded yet). To do this, press AUTO PUNCH and select. You will be able to choose from all the takes in that AUTO PUNCH session again. Pre Roll & Post Roll The other issues related to the Auto Punch functions are Pre Roll and Post Roll settings. Pre Roll determines how far ahead of the punch in point the 788 will begin playing, allowing you to get a feel for the song and allowing time for externally synchronized devices to lock together. The Post Roll determines how long after the punch out the 788 will continue playing so you can hear if the punch out worked well or not. To get to the settings for Pre Roll and Post Roll: 1) Press MENU. 2) Select with the JOG/DATA wheel and press ENTER/YES. 3) Select with the JOG/DATA wheel and press ENTER/YES.

VIRTUAL TRACKS

What is a Virtual Track? Think of a virtual track as a reel of tape that only holds one track. On the 788, you can have 250 virtual tracks per song. In our example, that is 250 reels of one track tapes for you to choose from. A physical track would be like a tape machine for that reel of tape. In the case of the 788, there would be 8 machines capable of accepting those reels of tape. So, while there are 250 reels of tape on the shelf, there are only 8 tape machines available to play at a time. Virtual Tracks are valuable for keeping extra takes of a part, so they can be edited together later.
(Editing will be covered later in this section.) You can also use them to keep original tracks that were used to create submixes, which allows you to alter the submix balance later on, or even add or subtract parts from those mixes. Other common uses for virtual tracks include storing maintaining count-ins on a separate track, click tracks, or even spoken cues. Assigning Virtual Tracks The Virtual Track assignments are handled through the screen, which is accessible by pressing the TRACK button. (The TRACK button is located in the INPUT SOURCE area in the upper left of the 788 surface.) Tracks can be selected with the left and right arrow keys, or by pressing SELECT on that track. (Pressing SELECT for track 7/8 will flip back and forth between track 7 and track 8.) The JOG/DATA wheel or UP and DOWN CURSOR keys can be used to scroll down the list of tracks. To accept the virtual track for that channel, press ENTER/YES. Naming Virtual Tracks With 250 virtual tracks at your disposal, you may want to give them more descriptive names than "Track001". You can give them names up to 12 characters long to help you remember which track had what audio on it. To name a track, press TRACK to get to the screen, scroll to the track you want to name, then press SHIFT and MENU/TITLE. See Section V, "Assigning Names" on p23 for complete naming capabilities and instructions.

Press EFFECT 1 or EFFECT 2 to see the parameters of the effect each processor is running. The various parameters will be displayed in the screen. Change the value on the parameter by turning the JOG/DATA wheel, and use the UP and DOWN CURSOR keys to move between the various effects. If EFFECT 1 is assigned as a multi-effect processor, you will notice the multiple tabs at the top of the screen. To flip between the various effects in the chain, press the LEFT and RIGHT CURSOR keys. If EFFECT 2 is assigned as Dynamic Processors across all eight mixer channels, you will need to select which channel's compressor you want to see. Selecting the channel is simply done by pressing SELECT for the channel you wish to view. The channel number is displayed in the screen above the L/R metering. RECALLING/STORING EFFECTS There are three different effect libraries, one for each type of processor: stereo effects, dynamics, and multieffects processor. Having the three separate libraries helps in that you don't have to worry about overwriting a guitar effect chain with a mastering dynamic patch. Each library has 128 user definable memory locations, so you won't run out of space. In order to access the libraries, first press either EFFECT 1 or EFFECT 2. The screen should show the parameters of the current effect. Then, press ENTER/YES, located just above the arrow keys. The library will have three main tabs at the top. The tab contains programs that cannot be changed. The tab is the area where you can recall your own patches from memory. The last tab, ,

EFFECT TYPES

Each processor is capable of producing a number of different effect types. Below is a list of all the effect possibilities for each effect assignment. The multieffect processor can be set up to hold different effect combinations of up to five at a time. All of the possible combinations are listed. When designing your own effects, it is probably best to pick a guitar sound close to what you want to start with, then make your minor adjustments. EFFECT 1 and EFFECT 2 offer the same effect capabilities when used as a stereo effect processor, and use the same library. As such, they are listed together in the chart. EFFECT 1 & 2 STEREO EFFECT PROCESSOR Reverb Delay Chorus Pitch Shifter Flanger Phaser Reverb + Gate

MIDI MACHINE CONTROL (MMC)
MIDI Machine Control is a simple command set to control transport commands (ie PLAY, STOP, REC, LOCATE etc.) It is important to realize that MMC is only transport control, and has no timing reference for synchronization. (MTC or MIDI Clock provide time references.) The 788 is able to send or receive MMC commands. The settings are made in the MMC screen. To get to this screen: 1) Press MENU. 2) Select with the JOG/DATA wheel and press ENTER/YES. 3) Select ENTER/YES. 4) Select the with the JOG/DATA wheel and press tab in the menu with the arrow keys.
The key settings here are and. determines the status of the 788's MMC logic. If is set to , then the 788 will neither broadcast MMC commands, nor respond to them. status means the 788 will broadcast MMC commands. status indicates the 788 will follow MMC commands. The parameter allows you to address multiple machines individually, for functions like track arming. Establishing MMC IDs will allow you to arm track 1 on one machine. If all the machines are set to (or to
The last function is which determines whether mixer parameters can be affected with MIDI controller messages. In any setting, the 788 will not broadcast any of these events, it will only receive them. These control messages can be sent by any number of devices. Guitar players may want to use a MIDI pedal board to recall specific effect patches. Keyboard players might use a synth to recall a mixer scene for a particular song. In the studio, a software based sequencer can be used to automate the entire mixer section of the 788, giving real-time control over volume, EQ, pan, etc. Check the 788 Operational Manual for complete mapping of the parameters and the functions they relate to. If you are not using the various control items, turning them off will help the 788 interface speed up considerably.
the same ID), you would end up arming track 1 on all machines. However, if you only have a MMC master and one slave, it is usually easier to simply leave the status set to ALL so that you know the 788 will get the signal. MMC with MIDI Sequencers The primary application for MMC with the 788 is to allow a MIDI sequencer (or other MIDI device) to control the 788. In other words, pressing play on your sequencer will send an MMC message to the 788 to start playing. Typically, the 788 will be set to transmit MTC or MIDI Clock for the sequencer to follor,, and everything then runs as one system. This is a common practice for musicians to use when making minor modifications to the sequenced tracks, either balancing MIDI tracks, fixing wrong notes, or even experimenting with different parts once the audio tracks are recorded. Controlling the 788 through MMC allows you to focus on one set of controls. You don't have to go to the 788 to start playback. In order to set the 788 up to work this way, the 788 will be set to be an MMC slave. The screen will need to be set up to broadcast either MTC or MIDI Clock, with the set to (internal). Then make sure your sequencer is set to follow the time code coming from the 788, and you're all set!

Make sure that the SYNC SRC is set to INT. If it is set to EXT, the 788 will wait for time code to follow. Waiting for time code is indicated by a flashing PLAY LED.
When I lock the 788 to another source, the pitch wavers and the sound cuts in and out. ORThe 788 is out of time from the source. Chances are you have different MTC frame rates selected for the two machines, or the machines might be running too fast or too slow. To check the frame rate on the 788, press MENU, select , and choose. Make sure the frame rate is the same on both your master machine, and your 788. If you are only experiencing minor variation over time and your frame rate is a variation of 30 or 29.97, pay particular attention to the drop and non-drop status of the frame rates. If the two machines just seem to be out of time from each other, check the same screen for MTC offsets that dont belong. (If the tracks were recorded with an offset, the offset must be maintained through the entire project. Otherwise youll probably want to set the MTC offset to 00:00:00:00. Another possible cause would be that the machines are not locked with time code, but instead are reacting to each other with MIDI Machine Control. Make sure you have MIDI Time Code enabled; you may want to disable MIDI Machine Control. To turn off MIDI Machine Control, press MENU, select , and choose. Under the tab, choose to be.

Tips & Tricks

TIPS & TRICKS OVERVIEW
This section was assembled by the crew of Engineers and Product Specialists that worked on the 788. During the course of beta-testing, programming effect patches, and recording demos into the 788, we've come up with a short list of neat tricks. Some of these functions were designed in, some were just a good stroke of luck. Either way, these are yours to benefit from. You should really be familiar with the 788 before going through this section. These are not primary recording techniques, but rather ways to really stretch the capabilities of the 788. are using the EFFECT 1 as an insert processor, the first aux send doesn't feed anything. You may want to bring the send out of the 788 so you can process it with an external effect processor. You can set the MONITOR OUTPUT to monitor the EFFECT SEND. So, connect your effect processor to the MONITOR OUTPUT, and listen to your mix from the STEREO OUTPUT. If you've got a mixdown deck attached there, listen from the output of the mixdown deck. While this means you won't be able to use the MONITOR LEVEL control on the surface of the 788, it does offer a way to solve the problem in a pinch. Teaching Tool - "SSA: Slow Speed Audition" This is actually a standard feature on the unit, but people often overlook little things like this. The SSA feature can play back a stereo pair of tracks at slower speeds without changing the pitch. The variable speeds are 85%, 65%, or 50% of the original tempo. The main function of SSA was to enable you to play a track of a song you wanted to learn, then use SSA to slow it down so you can learn it better. For years, musicians used the tape speed control on our cassette based Portastudios for this very function. However, the 788 can process this so that the pitch is not changed. The sound quality of this process will not be as clear as the original, but it should give you plenty of clarity so that you can make out the part. Sound Creation - "Speed Games" In the days before digital audio workstations and digital synthesizers, the most convincing sound effects were made by recording sounds, then applying filters and listening to the sound forwards and backwards at different speeds. Try recording different sounds in the 788, then scrubbing them at slow speeds. Heck, try it with the Slow Speed Audition too, perhaps it can add a mechanical quality to it. Or, slow the pitch way down then add the SSA feature to it after that! If you find something you really like, record it on an external recorder. Then, record it back on the 788 at normal speed so you have that wild sound you can use in your project! Whether you're making your own video, making wild sounds for your drum loops or simply trying to create a unique sound effect, these effects can be the highlight of your project!

Section VIII

TIPS AND TRICKS
Guitar Processing - "0 Hz Flanging" The multi-effect processing chain used for guitar effects has a few set-ups that use a flanger. If you set the flanging RATE to 0 Hz, you can use the DEPTH control to create a phase angle type of sound. The more you increase the DEPTH, the more the phased sound increases. The location of the sweeping sound of the flanger is constant at 0 Hz, and seems to always recall the same position, thus guaranteeing you the same sound each time. Try recalling the patch "Boxed Start" to see this an example of this sound. You can experiment with the settings there. You can switch the effect on and off to give you a better idea of the sound compared to the original. Guitar Processing - "Pitch Shift as Chorus" Another neat effect in the guitar processing is the pitch shifter. While most people think of the pitch shifter for creating intervals between the original tone and a synthesized tone (such as creating a perfect fifth), it can also be used to create a different type of chorus sound. Chorus effects are typically created by taking the original sound, and combining it with the original tone that wavers in pitch ever so slightly. This generally thickens up the sound. The pitch control can be used to create a similar effect, by combining the original with a copy that is just slightly out of pitch. Try recalling "Shimmer Verb" or "Double Play" to see this in action. All you need to do is adjust the FINE control out to about 10, and you'll be in business. Typically, moving up works a little better than moving down in pitch. Signal Routing - "Getting Effect Send External" While the AUX SEND has dedicated plugs on the back of the unit, the EFFECT SEND does not. If you
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A Brief Guide to the 788

Unpacking your 788
When you unpack your 788, you should find, in addition to this sheet: The 788 itself A power adaptor (PS-P788) for your local voltage Two balanced XLR to balanced 1/4-inch stereo jack adaptors for use when recording using balanced sound sources An OPERATIONAL TUTORIAL manual

9101436900

An Owners Manual A 788 Road Map If any of these items are missing, you should contact your TASCAM distributor. Retain the carton and any packing materials, in case you need to transport the 788 to another location at a future date.

Setting up the 788

This is fully described in the other documentation, but take careful note of the following points: The 788 contains a hard disk. Like the hard disks in laptop and notebook computers, it is quite robust, but when the unit is in operation, sudden shocks and vibration may damage the hard disk, causing possible loss of data. Always make sure that the 788 is mounted on a stable, level surface. Treat the 788 as you would a notebook or laptop computer, and you should have no cause for concern, The underside of the 788 can become quite hot in normal operation. This does not indicate a fault, but you should be aware of this when picking up the 788 after it has in operation for some time. In addition, we strongly recommend that the surface on which the 788 is mounted is a firm, non-upholstered surface. Avoid standing the 788 on carpets, rugs, cloth coverings, etc. Always make and break connections to and from the 788 with the power to all units turned OFF. This is especially true of SCSI devices. If you are connecting or disconnecting a SCSI device (removable disk, hard disk, CD-R drive), etc. to or from the 788, you should turn off the power to the 788 and the SCSI device before making or breaking the connection. When powering up the system, any SCSI devices should be turned on before the 788. Audio sources should be turned on before the 788, which should be turned on before the monitoring system.
Loading and playing the demonstration song
1 Connect the 788 MONITOR OUTPUTs to your monitoring system (or plug headphones into the PHONES jack). Turn the MONITOR LEVEL control 7 fully counterclockwise, Turn on the 788, and then turn on the monitoring system. Turn up the volume of the monitoring system and turn the MONITOR LEVEL control 7 clockwise about halfway. When the 788 has finished its start up (taking about 30 seconds), press the MENU key I. Use the dial W to highlight SONG and press ENTER e. Use the dial to highlight LOAD, and press ENTER. Use the dial to highlight LIQUOR STORE, and press ENTER. 9 When the song has loaded, press the QUICK

SETUP key 4.

Use the dial to highlight MIXDOWN, and press ENTER. Press the HOME/ESC key J.
10 Press the MONITOR SELECT key E so that the STEREO indicator lights. 11 Press PLAY j to start playing back the song. 12 The channel faders X can be used to adjust the individual disk tracks, and the STEREO fader Y adjusts the overall level. The onscreen meters show the level. 13 Use the MONITOR LEVEL control to adjust the monitoring level. You can experiment with the EQ settings, effects, etc. as described in the other manuals provided with the 788.

TASCAM 788 Brief Guide 1

Front panel features

4 AC D B FG H 5 I J E K

P M N O R S U V Y T Z a b cd e g h i j k
Because the 788 relies so much on its internal software for control, many of the features described here have one or more functions. This section is not intended as a complete guide to the operation of the 788, but should give you an idea of the basic use of the controls and connectors on the front and rear panels.
3 EFFECT 1 key and indicator Controls and shows the settings and assignments of the first internal effector. 4 QUICK SETUP/ASSIGN MAP key Controls settings and display of routing and assignments, etc. as well as library functions.
1 TRIM controls Control the level from the
analog inputs to the assigned mixer channels.

5 Display screen (backlit) Shows settings

and parameters.

2 POST indicator Shows the pre/post settings of the internal effectors.
6 Contrast control Controls the contrast of

the display screen.

7 MONITOR LEVEL control Controls the
level of the signals from the MONITOR OUTPUTS and PHONES.

2 TASCAM 788 Brief Guide

8 INPUT (AD) keys and indicators
Control and show the assignment of inputs A through D to the mixer channels.
O LOCATE key Used to recall the list of memory location points. When shifted, used to input a memory location point. P IN, OUT and TO keys Used with three special location points for auto punch, repeat playback, location, and track editing purposes. Unshifted, these keys locate to the playback points. Shifted, they are used to set the playback points.
9 AUX INPUTS key and indicator Controls and shows the assignment of the AUX INPUTS to the mixer channels.
A TRACK key and indicator Control and show the assignment of recorded tracks to the mixer channels and virtual tracks to active tracks. B STEREO key and indicator Control and show the assignment related to the STEREO pair of channels as well as settings for these channels C SUB MIX key and indicator Control and show the assignment of the 788s internal sub-mixer, as well as the settings for the sub-mixer. D EFFECT 2 key and indicator Controls and shows the settings and assignments of the second internal effector. E MONITOR SELECT key and indicators Controls and show the signals that are
sent from the MONITOR OUT and PHONES jacks. Shifted, this key allows mono monitoring.
Q REC READY keys and indicators Used to set and display the recording status of the tracks. R TRACK CUE key Used to bring up the screen controlling the level and pan of recorded tracks to the track cue monitoring subsystem. S SEND key Used to bring up the screens controlling the level, etc. of the channel sends and master sends to the Aux and Effect send loops.
T FADER/PAN key Used to bring up the
screen controlling pan settings, and providing the fader view (for use when physical and internal fader positions do not match).
U SHIFT key Used with other keys to provide a
secondary function. When used, the SHIFT key is always pressed and held down while the other key is pressed.
F EJECT/SHUT key and indicator Used to shut down the 788, and eject removable media, and to show the status of the shutdown process. G UNDO [REDO] key Used to control the undo and redo of recording, editing operations, etc. H TRACK EDIT key Used to enter the nondestructive track editing functions (cut, move, etc.).

V MARK/CHAR [EDIT] (DELETE [SILENCE], TRIM [COPY TO], INSERT [MOVE] keys Used unshifted to insert/delete
characters in titles, add/remove selections from lists, and to enter/edit/remove location memories. Used shifted as short cuts to commonly-used track editing functions.
I MENU [TITLE] Used unshifted to enter the
system menus. Shifted, this key enters titling mode (songs, library entries, virtual tracks, etc.).
W JOG/DATA dial Used to adjust the playback position (in jog mode) and to edit parameter data. X Channel faders Used to adjust the output
level from the channels (channels 7 and 8 are always linked together). The 0 fader setting represents the nominal level.
J HOME/ESC key Returns the display to the

home screen.

K CUE key and indicator Controls and shows the replay of the track cue signals from the MONITOR OUTPUTS and PHONES connectors. L SELECT keys and indicators Used to
assign inputs to mixer channels, to link channels in stereo pairs, to select channels for parameter adjustment and soloing, tracks for virtual track assignment, etc.
Y STEREO fader Used to adjust the level of
the stereo mixed signals from the STEREO OUTPUTs and from the DIGITAL OUTPUT. The 0 fader setting represents the nominal level.
M SOLO key and indicator Used to select and show the status of mixer channels selected for soloing. N EQ key Used to bring up the channel equalization adjustment screen.
Z AUTO PUNCH key and indicator Used to set and display the current auto punch status when punching new material into previously-recorded material. a RHSL key and indicator Used to set and display the status of the rehearsal facility used in recording (including auto punch modes).

TASCAM 788 Brief Guide 3

Rear panel
b REPEAT key and indicator Used to set
and show the status of repeat playback and recording, as well as to set the gap between repeats. c JOG indicator Lights when jog (trim) mode is in operation, as set by the STOP+PLAY key combination. d PITCH/SSA key and indicator Used to set and display the status of varispeed (pitch control) as well as the SSA (Slow Speed Audition) function. e ENTER/YES key Used to go down a level in the menu system, to confirm settings, or to give a positive answer to questions asked by the 788. f EXIT/NO key Used to go up a level in the menu system, to exit without making settings, or to give a negative answer to questions asked by the 788.

g REW key Used to move the playback position
backwards in the song. Also used with STOP to locate to the zero point. h F FWD key Used to move the playback position forwards in the song. Also used with STOP to locate to the last recording position. i STOP key Stops playback, recording or winding. Used with PLAY for jog mode. j PLAY key Starts playback. Uses with RECORD for recording. k RECORD key Use with PLAY for recording. l Cursor keys Used to navigate around menu and parameter setting screens to highlight parameters, options, etc.

m n o p q r s t

m PHONES jack Used with standard stereo
headphones (1/4 jack). n REMOTE jack 1/4 jack used with a footswitch such as the TASCAM RC-30P for hands-free punch operations. o AUX OUTPUT jacks Output unbalanced signals from the Aux loop at 10 dBV. Connect to the L output only for mono. p MONITOR OUTPUT jacks Output the selected monitor signals. RCA (phono) jacks at a level of 10 dBV. q STEREO OUTPUT jacks Output the mixed stereo signals. RCA (phono) jacks at a level of 10 dBV. r AUX INPUT jacks Accept 10 dBV unbalanced signals (1/4 jacks) to the Aux input channels for assignment to mixer channels or the sub-mixer. s MIC/GUITAR switch Switches the input impedance of INPUT D between MIC/LINE (MIC)
and a value suitable for electric guitars, basses, etc. (GUITAR). t INPUTS A through D Accept 50 dBu to +4 dBu balanced signals. Use the supplied XLR-tophone convertors to connect XLR-equipped sources. u DIGITAL OUTPUT Outputs the mixed stereo signals in digital audio IEC60958 TYPE II (SPDIF) format from a coaxial RCA connector. v SCSI connector SCSI-2 connector for connection of external storage devices, CD-R drives, etc. w MIDI IN and OUT Accept and transmit MIDI information as described in the manuals. x POWER IN Connect this only to a PS-P788 power supply unit where the voltage requirements match your local power supply. y POWER switch Press to turn on, and press again to turn off after shutting down the 788 using the EJECT/SHUT key F as described in the manuals.
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Phone: (0422) 52-5082

4 TASCAM 788 Brief Guide

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