Tascam Digital Mixing Console DM-24 Owners Manual

							7 – Module operations—Linked modules
 TASCAM DM-24 Reference Manual 61
Stereo linking (global)
There is a global screen which allows the viewing 
and setting of stereo links:
To use this screen:
1With the 
SHIFT indicator lit, press the LINK/
GRP
 key.
2Press the 
LINK/GRP key until the ST LINK 
screen appears (or soft key 3).3Use the cursor keys or the channels’ 
SEL 
keys to navigate round the screen (the cursor 
is an upward-pointing arrow – in this screen 
it is highlighting channel 3).
Linked channels and unlinked channels are 
shown in the following way:
4Press 
ENTER to make a stereo link from 
unlinked channels, or to break the link of 
linked channels.
Note that busses as well as aux sends can be stereo 
linked using this screen. When they are linked, the 
compressor settings, assignments, muting and fader 
levels are linked.
NOTE
The grouping patterns (“Grouping” on page 69) may 
change when channels are linked or unlinked. Recheck 
the grouping patterns after making or breaking these 
stereo links.
Screens for linked modules
The screens controlling stereo linked modules differ 
from unlinked modules in the following ways:
Phase Phase can be set individually for both mod-
ules of the pair
Pan Changes to balance, and an image width control 
is added.
The balance control can be centered, but naturally 
there is no gang option.
POD 3 is used as an image width (
IMAGE) control. 
This controls the width of the stereo spread of the two channels. The center position is labeled as 
L+R 
MONO
 and provides a pinpoint mixture of the two 
channels. Turning the control fully counterclockwise 
provides a full stereo (
STEREO) image. Turning the 
control clockwise from the center reverses the left 
and right channels in the stereo image. Turning the 
control fully clockwise shows 
REVERSE on the screen.
Mono switch (MONO SW) The mono switch 
is situated in the bottom row (POD 2). It allows the 
selection of either channel of the stereo pair (
L MONO 
or 
R MONO), as well as the normal (STEREO) position.
Linked Unlinked 
						

							7 – Module operations—UTILITY copying
62 TASCAM DM-24 Reference Manual
UTILITY copying
This screen allows the aux send levels and pan set-
tings for a group of channels to be set up to mirror 
the settings made on the channel faders, and the other 
way around. This may be useful when setting up a 
studio monitor mix, for example, and the levels and 
pans of the aux sends used for the monitor mix 
should initially be set to the same as the channels.
The screen above allows these copies to be made 
from one screen.
1With the 
SHIFT indicator lit, press the 
UTILITY key.
There is only one screen, as shown here.
2Check either of the two checkboxes (
PAN/BAL 
and/or 
LEVEL) to select the settings to be cop-
ied.3In either of the two boxes, select either the 
AUX -> CH or the CH -> AUX setting radio but-
ton.
Naturally, it is not possible to select both in 
the same box, though it is possible to select 
CH -> AUX in one box and AUX -> CH in the 
other.
4Select the source and the destination parame-
ters as explained here.
For pan/balance settings, aux sends must be linked to 
be used as either sources or destinations. It is not pos-
sible to select individual aux sends here.
The aux sends are selectable individually or as linked 
pairs as sources or destinations for level copying. 
Channels are divided into blocks of eight: 
1-8, 9-16, 
17-24, 25-32 and ALL. Individual channels cannot be 
selected.
5Move the cursor to the on-screen 
COPY button 
and press 
ENTER. A confirmation popup 
message appears.
6Press 
ENTER again to confirm the copy, or a 
cursor key to cancel.
If neither of the checkboxes is checked when you 
press the 
COPY button, an error message is displayed. 
						

							 TASCAM DM-24 Reference Manual 63
8 – Dynamics processors
The DM-24 includes dynamics processors, which 
may be assigned as required throughout the mixing 
chain.
These high-quality processors are all digital and 
include compressors, gates and expanders.
The processor list comprises:
 Sixteen gate or expander units available for the first 
16 input channels Thirty-two compressor units for channels 1 through 
32
 Six assignable output compressors for the aux 
sends, the buss masters and the stereo outputs
In addition, the placement of the compressors may be 
controlled so that they affect the signal at different 
points in the processing chain.
Turning the processors on and off
When there is more than one processor available for 
a module (that is, for channels 1 through 16), the 
module screen is used to select whether the gate or 
the expander is on or off.
In all module screens, the compressor can be turned 
on and off (channels 1 through 16 also allow the 
independent turning on and off of the gate/expander).In the DYNAMICS screen (channels 1 through 16), the 
gate or expander can be turned on and off, and the 
compressor can also be turned on and off indepen-
dently.
DYNAMICS (input channels 1–16)
The screen accessed by the DYNAMICS key shows 
the settings for the currently selected input channel 
(as shown by the 
SEL indicator).If the selected channel is linked as part of a stereo 
pair, the settings affect both channels.
Pressing the SEL key of another channel (or chan-
nels) will bring up the dynamics settings for that 
channel.
Selecting a gate or an expander
The processors are selected using the library func-
tion. If a template, preset or user library entry which 
corresponds to a noise gate is selected from the gate/
expander library, the gate parameters appear on 
screen.If, on the other hand, an expander library entry is 
selected, the expander parameters will appear on 
screen.
When the 
DYNAMICS screen is shown, to change from 
a gate to an expander, or vice versa, use the 
G/E... LIB 
soft key to bring up the library screen, and recall a 
library entry of the appropriate type. 
						

							8 – Dynamics processors—DYNAMICS (channels 17–32)
64 TASCAM DM-24 Reference Manual
“Master” settings
The “master” settings for channels 1 through 16, 
affecting the dynamics processors, and accessed (by 
means of on-screen “on-off switches”) by moving the 
cursor to the appropriate on-screen control and press-
ing 
ENTER, are:
GATE/EXPAND This allows the gate or expander 
to be turned on or off for the selected channel.
LINK L->R This allows triggering of two gates or 
expanders by a common trigger signal.
NOTE
The linking of the gates or expanders cannot be turned 
off when two channels have been linked. The above 
screen display shows 
L=R when the channels are linked.
Trigger source (TRIGGER) is only valid when two 
gates or expanders are linked. This option (selected 
using 
ENTER key, the dial and ENTER key again) 
allows the triggering for both processors to be initi-
ated by 
L-ch (left channel), R-ch (right channel) or 
BOTH (both channels act as triggers—in other words, 
the first channel to be triggered will automatically 
activate the second channel’s processor).
Compressor This allows the compressor to be 
turned on or off for the selected channel.
Insert point (INSERT) allows the compressor to be 
inserted either pre-EQ or post-EQ. Move the cursor 
to this field and use the 
ENTER key to change this 
setting.
LINK L->R This allows triggering of two compres-
sors by a common trigger signal.
NOTE
The linking of the compressors cannot be turned off 
when two channels have been linked. The above screen 
display shows 
L=R when the channels are linked.
Trigger source (TRIGGER) is only valid when two 
compressors are linked. This option (selected using 
ENTER key, the dial and ENTER key again) allows 
the triggering for both processors to be initiated by 
L-
ch
 (left channel), R-ch (right channel) or BOTH (both 
channels act as triggers—in other words, the first 
channel to be triggered will automatically activate 
the second channel’s processor).
Soft keys (library)
There are two soft keys at the bottom of this screen. 
The first jumps to the gate/expander library, and the 
second jumps to the compressor library. In this way, 
it is easy to store the current settings to a library entry 
for future use, or to use the library to recall a previ-ously-stored set of settings for the current session, or 
in the case of channels 1 through 16, to change 
between gate and expander settings.
See “Library functions” on page 99 for full details.
DYNAMICS (channels 17–32)
The DYNAMICS screen shown when a channel 
between 17 and 32 is selected differs from the screen 
when a channel between 1 and 16 is selected:No expander or gate is available for these master 
screens. Any on-screen controls associated with 
these processors are therefore unavailable. This 
includes the soft keys—only the compressor library 
is available from these screens.
??? 
						

							8 – Dynamics processors—DYNAMICS (master channels)
 TASCAM DM-24 Reference Manual 65
DYNAMICS (master channels)
The screen accessed by the DYNAMICS key when a 
master channel (an aux send, a buss or the stereo 
master) is selected is slightly different from the 
screen displayed when a channel 1–16 is selected:The screen above shows two linked aux sends (1 and 
2), but the same principle applies to buss masters as 
well as the stereo master.
Note that the following features are different from 
the channel 1–16 dynamics screens:
No expander or gate  available for these mas-
ter screens. Any on-screen controls associated with 
these processors are therefore unavailable. This 
includes the soft keys—only the compressor library 
is available from these screens.
Insert point The insert point is fixed to pre-fader.
Linking The way in which the links are labeled is 
different for master modules. Instead of the channels 
being referred to as left and right, they are referred to 
as 1and 2 (“left” and “right” do not have any real 
meaning in these cases).
Assigning processors to master channels
The assignment of stereo compressors to up to three 
master channels is done using the 
I/O display ASSIGN 
SECT.
 sub-screenUse the fourth soft key to bring up the master assign-
ment section.
Move the cursor to the second column (MASTER 
COMP INSERT MATRIX
), and use the dial to assign the 
possible master channels (confirm with 
ENTER).
NOTE
The stereo master counts as two channels, as shown in 
the sample screen here. 
						

							8 – Dynamics processors—Dynamics diagram
66 TASCAM DM-24 Reference Manual
Dynamics diagram
The following display provides a graphical represen-
tation of the compressor settings, as shown below. As the signal is fed through the compressor, bargraph 
meters are shown on the appropriate scale:
Gates/expanders
The following parameters affect the gate and 
expander, if these have been assigned to the selected 
channel.
Gate
Threshold (THRESH), controlled by the POD 1 
knob, allows the setting of the threshold at which the 
gate will open. Variable from 
-80dB to 0dB in 1 dB 
steps.
Range (RANGE), controlled by the POD 2 knob, sets 
the gate range, from 
60dB to 0dB in 1dB steps.
Hysteresis (HYST), controlled by the POD 3 knob, 
from 
0dB to 24dB in 1dB steps.
Gate attack time (ATTACK), controlled by the 
POD 1 knob on the last row. Variable from 
0ms to 
125ms in 1ms steps.
Gate hold time (HOLD), controlled by the POD 2 
knob on the last row. Variable from 
0ms to 990ms in 
100 steps.
Gate decay time (DECAY), controlled by the POD 
3 knob on the last row. Variable from 
50ms to 5.0s.
From 5 ms to 200 ms, the steps are 5 ms apart; from 
200 ms to 300 ms, the steps are 10 ms apart; from 
300 ms to 500 ms, the steps are 20 ms apart; from 
500 ms to 1.00 s, the steps are 50 ms apart; from 1.00 s 
to 3.00 s, the steps are 0.1 s apart; and from 3.00 s to 
5.00 s the steps are 0.2 s apart.
Expander
Threshold The threshold of the expander function, 
from 
–48dB to 0dB, in 1 dB steps.
Ratio The ratio of the original signal relative to the 
expanded signal. Values are 1:1, 1:2, 1:4, 1:8, 1:16, 
1:32, 1:64.
Attack The attack time of the expansion effect. 
From 
0ms to 125ms in 1 ms steps.
Release The release time of the expansion effect. 
From 5 ms to 5.00  seconds.
From 5 ms to 200 ms, the steps are 5 ms apart; from 
200 ms to 300 ms, the steps are 10 ms apart; from 
300 ms to 500 ms, the steps are 20 ms apart; from 
500 ms to 1.00 s, the steps are 50 ms apart; from 1.00 s 
to 3.00 s, the steps are 0.1 s apart; and from 3.00 s to 
5.00 s the steps are 0.2 s apart.
Output 
levels
Gain 
reduction
Compressor 
“knee”
Input levels 
						

							8 – Dynamics processors—Compressors
 TASCAM DM-24 Reference Manual 67
Compressors
The 32 channel compressors and the six assignable 
output compressors all have the following parameters 
which may be set. The controls here refer to the con-
trols on the 
DYNAMICS screen:
Threshold (THRESH), controlled by the POD 1 
knob, and variable from 
-48dB to 0dB in 1 dB steps.
Compression ratio (RATIO), controlled by the 
POD 2 knob, and variable from 
1:1 to ∞:1 (infinite 
compression).The steps are as follows: 
1.00:1, 1.05:1, 1.11:1, 1.18:1, 
1.25:1, 1.33:1, 1.43:1, 1.54:1, 1.67:1, 1.82:1, 2.00:1, 
2.22:1, 2.50:1, 2.86:1, 3.33:1, 4.00:1, 5.00:1, 6.67:1, 
10.0:1, 20.0:1, ∞:1.
Attack time (ATTACK), controlled by the POD 3 
knob, and variable from 
0ms to 125ms in 1ms steps.
Release time (RELEASE), controlled by the POD 4 
knob, and variable from 
5ms to 5.0s in 100 steps.
From 5 ms to 200 ms, the steps are 5 ms apart; from 
200 ms to 300 ms, the steps are 10 ms apart; from 
300 ms to 500 ms, the steps are 20 ms apart; from 
500 ms to 1.00 s, the steps are 50 ms apart; from 1.00 s 
to 3.00 s, the steps are 0.1 s apart; and from 3.00 s to 
5.00 s the steps are 0.2 s apart.
Auto make-up (AUTOmk-up), controlled by POD 
3 used as a switch. This is used if the compression 
settings have resulted in gain reduction.
Output gain (OUTGAIN), controlled by the POD 4 
knob on the last row (grayed out if the auto make-up 
above is on). Variable from 
-20dB to +20dB in 1 dB 
steps.
Preset library entries
The following preset entries are provided either to be 
used “as-is”, or to be used as templates or starting 
points for experimentation. 
These library entries are read-only (marked with an 
inverse 
R on the display), and may not be overwrit-
ten. However, it is possible to load the entries, edit the parameters, and then store them to a different 
library entry.
As always, there are no hard and fast rules as to what 
“works”. Feel free to use the settings in a variety of 
contexts and change them as seems appropriate to 
you.
Compressors
Program 
NumberName Comment
000Sample SnareFor use with snare drums 
001
Slap bassFor use with slap-type bass inputs
002
Wood bassFor use with upright bass (double-bass or contra-bass)
003
Synth.Bass 1For use with synthesized bass lines
004
Synth.Bass 2For use with synthesized bass lines
005
Acoustic GuitarTo be used with acoustic guitars (nylon or steel-strung)
006
Ele.Guitar 1For use with electric guitars
007
Ele.Guitar 2For use with electric guitars
008
Ele.Guitar 3For use with electric guitars
009
Brass Effective with brass (horn) sections, etc.
010
Vocal 1Use with vocal lines 
						

							8 – Dynamics processors—Preset library entries
68 TASCAM DM-24 Reference Manual
Gates/Expanders
011Vocal 2Use with vocal lines
012
Total Comp 1Overall compressor setting
013
Total Comp 2Overall compressor setting
014
Total Comp 3Overall compressor setting
015
Post Pro.1Useful in post-production environments
016
Post Pro.2Useful in post-production environments
017
NarrationFor the spoken word
Program 
NumberName Comment
000Noise Gate 1General noise gate setting
001
Noise Gate 2General noise agate setting
002
Light ExpanderAn expander setting which is not too strong
003
Slow ExpanderA slower expander setting
Program 
NumberName Comment 
						

							 TASCAM DM-24 Reference Manual 69
9 – Grouping
TheDM-24 provides the ability to group channels in 
either fader or mute groups or both.
Note the following points with regard to the use of 
these groups:
Up to eight groups of each type may be used.
The pattern of the mute groups can be copied to the 
fader groups, so that the two group sets are identical.
A channel cannot be a member of more than one 
group of each type. In other words, it can be a mem-
ber of only one fader group (or of no fader groups) 
and/or only one mute group (or of no mute groups).
In a group (whether fader or mute) there is always 
one channel which is referred to as the “master” 
channel. This channel sets the status for all the other 
“slave” channels in the group. For a mute group, this means that the slave channels echo the mute status of 
the master channel. For a fader group, this means that 
moving the fader of the master channel will move the 
faders and alter the levels of the other channels in the 
group.
A “slave” channel in a group can be operated inde-
pendently of the other channels in the group. 
In addition to channels being members of the groups, 
groups can also be members of groups, allowing 
hierarchical “group layers” to be created. Fader 
groups can only be members of other fader groups, 
and mute groups can only be members of other mute 
groups.
The grouping screen includes a linking sub-screen, 
and this is covered in “Linked modules” on page 60.
Mute groups
The two grouping screens (for fader grouping and 
mute grouping) are similar. This is the mute group 
screen.
As the name suggests, mute groups allow the chan-
nels to be grouped together in such a way that press-
ing the 
MUTE key of the master channel of a mute 
group affects the mute status of all the other (slave) 
channels in the group.
Slave mute may be turn on or off independently of 
the other mutes in the group.Groups are shown as 
horizontal rows in the matrix in the upper part of the 
screen. The 32 channels are shown as columns.
If a row (group) has no check marks or large “bullet” 
dots in it, no channels have been assigned to that 
group.
To assign a channel to a group, use the § and ¶cur-
sor keys or dial to move the cursor to the appropriate 
row.If any channels have previously been assigned to the 
group, the 
SEL key of the master channel flashes 
when the group is selected, and the 
SEL keys of any 
slave channels light.
NOTE
It may not always be possible to see the flashing SEL 
key indicating a group master when you select a group 
on screen, as the master channel may be in an inactive 
fader layer.
Press the unlit SEL key of any channel to assign the 
channel to the group.
If the channel is the first one to be assigned to the 
group, the symbol changes to a large bullet point, 
showing that it is the master channel of the group and 
the 
SEL indicator flashes.
If the channel is assigned to a group and it is not the 
first channel in the group, it is shown with a check 
mark to show that it is a slave channel, and the 
SEL 
indicator lights.
If a channel has already been assigned to a group as a 
slave and that group is currently selected, pressing 
the 
SEL key unassigns it from the group.
If a channel has already been assigned to a group as a 
master and another group is currently selected, press-
ing the 
SEL key to turn the channel into a slave chan-
nel brings up a warning message (
Re-assign mute 
grouping?
), and pressing ENTER reassigns the group. 
Any of the cursor keys may be used as “no” or 
“escape” keys here. 
						

							9 – Grouping—Fader groups
70 TASCAM DM-24 Reference Manual
If a channel has already been assigned to a group as a 
master, pressing the 
SEL key clears the whole group. 
A popup message appears (
Clear this mute grouping?), and pressing 
ENTER clears the group. Any of the 
cursor keys may be used as “no” or “escape” keys 
here.
Turning groups on and off
When a group is highlighted on screen (the cursor 
box surrounds it), either use the fourth soft key or the ENTER key to turn the group functionality on or off. 
This does not clear the group settings.
Copying mute settings to the faders
At the right of the display, about halfway down the 
screen, there is an on-screen 
LINK button. 
When this button is off, it is labeled 
MUTE>FADER.
Moving the cursor to this button and pressing 
ENTER brings up a popup asking whether a link 
should be made: 
Grouping link(Mute -> Fader) (ENTER 
for yes, cursor keys for no).This transfers the mute groupings to the fader group-
ings (that is, the fader group settings become identi-
cal to the mute group settings). This is a “live link”—
when changes are made to the mute groups, they are 
echoed in the fader groups and the other way round.
The button is now labeled MUTE=FADER and is shown 
in inverse, showing that the link is active.
Pressing the 
LINK button in either the mute or the 
fader group screens deactivates the link.
Fader groups
As the name suggests, fader groups allow the chan-
nels to be grouped together in such a way that mov-
ing the master fader of a group affects the fader level 
of all the other (slave) faders in the group.
Slave faders may be moved independently of the 
other faders in the group.
Groups are shown as horizontal rows in the matrix in 
the upper part of the screen. The 32 channels are 
shown as columns.
If a row (group) has no check marks or large “bullet” 
dots in it, no channels have been assigned to that 
group.To assign a channel to a group, use the § and ¶cur-
sor keys (or the dial) to move the cursor to the appro-
priate row.
If any channels have previously been assigned to the 
group. the 
SEL key of the master channel flashes 
when the group is selected, and the 
SEL keys of any 
slave channels light.
NOTE
It may not always be possible to see the flashing SEL 
key indicating a group master when you select a group 
on screen, as the master channel may be in an inactive 
fader layer.
Press the unlit SEL key of any channel to assign the 
channel to the group.
If the channel is the first one to be assigned to the 
group, the symbol changes to a large bullet point, 
showing that it is the master channel of the group and 
the 
SEL indicator flashes.
If the channel is assigned to a group and it is not the 
first channel in the group, it is shown with a check 
mark to show that it is a slave channel, and the 
SEL 
indicator lights.
If a channel has already been assigned to a group as a 
slave and that group is currently selected, pressing 
the 
SEL key unassigns it from the group.
If a channel has already been assigned to a group as a 
master and another group is currently selected, press-