Tascam Digital Multitrack Recorder DA-78HR Owners Manual

							5 - Basic operations
 TA SCA M DA -7 8 HR 31
2
Enter shift mode, and enter the sub-mixer 
mode.
3
Make the l ev el  a nd pan settings  for th e tracks 
which a re to be combi ned, a s described in 7 .4, 
“Sub-mix er”. See this section fo r full details  o f 
how  to  ope r a te  th e su b-mi xe r.
4
Yo u can  use the DA-78 HR’s  SPDIF (
COAXIAL),  
TDIF-1 a nd an alo g out put s t o mon ito r  t r ac ks  7  
and 8 . Only tracks 7  a nd 8 will be output from 
the  
TDIF- 1 and analog outputs, and the other 
tra ck o utputs wi ll be muted.
5
Arm  tracks  7   and  8 .
6
Record track s 7 and  8.
5 .3 .4 R e tur nin g to  A LL  AN A LOG  s etti ng
After tracks  h av e b een set ind ivid ually, it may be 
n ecessary to return th e in pu ts to all analo g. It is  th en 
easy  to return to  all d igital (see 5 .3, “In pu t s el ec-
ti on”), but settin g all inp uts  to “all track” wou ld b e a 
s omewh at p oin tless  s ett ing !
1
While the unit is in “ pa tchba y”  mode, as 
described  in 5 .3.2,  “ I nput p atchbay  ro utin g” , 
pres s and ho ld down one of the s or  t key s, 
and press the other of these keys.
The ro uting will chang e to  a ll ana log  (
AL L 
ANALOG
).
5.4 More on digital recording
Th e DA-7 8HR  is  ab le to   accep t  (an d  ou tpu t) d igital 
s ignals  at the 
DIGITAL I/O connector in  TDIF-1 
format.
The DA-78HR s hould be connected  to  other TDIF-1 
e q uip me n t usin g a  PW- 8 8D  or  PW- 88 D L  c o nn e ct or  
cable.
NOTE
Only use a TASCAM digital cable when making digi-
tal audio connections to the DA-78HR. Other types of 
cabl e may cause damage to the system, and the 
wa rr an ty wi ll be  void ed  if su ch  d a mag e is ca use d b y 
u s e  o f  t h e wr on g c a ble s .
Th e DA-7 8HR  s ho uld  b e s et to   be  either  a  wo rd  
clock mas ter or a word clock s lave when connected 
to  oth er d igital equ ipment. Th ere can o nly  b e on e 
w o rd  c loc k m a ste r in  a se tu p.
5.4.1 Sampling  frequency and word 
l e ngth
If yo u attemp t to reco rd dig itally fro m a dig ital 
source whi ch has a different frequency from that pre-
viousl y recorded as the DA-78HR’s  tape format, the 
Fs in dic a tor  c or r es po nd ing  t o the  ta pe ’s s am pli ng  
frequ ency will start to flash. Th is in dicates a fre-
quency mi smatch.
Recordin g with  d ifferen t samp ling  frequ encies is no t 
recommended – problems  wil l certainly occur on 
replay of such a recording.
If yo u attemp t to reco rd dig itally fro m a dig ital 
sou rce with  a word len gth  (5 .1 , “Fo rmatting  a tap e”) 
different fro m th at for which  th e tape has b een  fo r-
matted , erro rs  will  o ccur. A g oo d rule is therefo re to  
keep one word length and one s ampl ing frequency 
throughout a tape.
5. 4. 2 Se le c ting  in put  wor d l en gth
Wh en  data is accep ted thro ug h the DIGITAL I/O con-
nector,  th e  word  len gth  o f th e in coming  d ata mus t b e 
set. This can be selected from between 16-bi t, 20-bit 
or 24 -b it. Thi s is no t th e same as the resolu tion  
recorded on tape.
To  set the word leng th:
1
Press th e 
SH IF T key s o tha t  the SHIFT indicator 
is flashi ng, and press the 
MENU key  until the 
displa y sh ows 
AUDIO. 1 -- (AUDIO1- -).
2
Press  the 
SU B ME NU key until the disp lay  
sho ws  
TDIF. ;; (TDIF xx, where xx is the cu r-
rent input wo rd length).
3
Use the s and t ke ys  t o  ch oo se  be t w e en  24 ,  2 0 
and  1 6-bit wo rd  len gths.
We  sug ge s t t ha t  you  ex pe r i me nt  w i th  th e  di th er  
settings (7.11, “Dither”) if you find you are 
reco rding  quantizatio n no ise at lo w levels when 
th e  input  wo rd leng th  is  set to  20  o r 2 4  bits a nd 
you  are  recording at 16-bit  resolution.  Though 
you  will lo se a little in the sig nal-to-no ise ra tio, 
to tal ha rm onic distortio n figures will be 
improv ed.
NOTE
If  y ou  ar e du bb in g t ra ck s  f ro m a DA -8 8,  th is  v al ue  
must always be set to 16 bi ts.
5.5 Overdubbing
Overdubbing subs equent tracks is carried out in a 
very  similar way to recordin g th e firs t tracks . 
						

							5 -  Basic operations
32 T A SC AM  D A- 78 HR
If you are unsure about the difference between moni-
to ri ng  mod es as  impl emented  o n th e DA-7 8HR, no w 
is  a good time to read 6, “Monitoring”.
Ob vio usly  y ou  will  wan t to  reco rd wh ile y ou  listen  to  
the off-tape signals from previous ly-recorded tracks 
and the input source on tracks  where recording is  tak-
ing place.
5.6 Punch-in and punch-out
There are a number of ways in which the DA-78HR 
can be used to  perform  reliable punch-in  and  punch-
o uts  au tomatically. Pun ch p oin ts can  be set and  
edited to frame accuracy, either from a cue list or 
“o n-the-fly” in real time.
The DA-78HR provides  a rehearsal mode which sim-
ulates the punching process, allowing the art ists to 
p erfect the timin g o f th e n ew material.
The mechanics of punching on a digital recorder 
appear to the operator to be the same as on an anal og 
recorder. 
Crossfading, however, is an important and useful 
fun ction  on  d igit al recorders, to ensu re co ntin uity  
between original and punched material. In the cas e of 
th e DA-7 8HR , th is cro ssfade time is  ad just ab le from 
1 0 mill isecon ds to 2 00  millisecon ds  (7.5 , “Cros sfad e 
times”). 
The 
AUTO MON mod e is  es sential  h ere:  in  b oth  
rehearsal and  p un ch mo des , th e material prio r to  th e 
p un c h po int is mo nito r ed  off  ta pe .  T he  m oni tor ing  o f  
armed t racks  changes  to  source while rehearsals  and 
punching  are carried out  and then changes to off-tape 
ag ai n after the pu nch -o ut p oin t S ee 6 , “Mon itor-
in g”for details o f mon itoring  mo des, inclu din g th e 
AUTO M ON  mode.
NOTE
Though it is possible to perform punch recording in 
A L L I NP UT mo de , t h e mo ni to ri ng  i n t hi s  m od e d oe s  
not make it easy to perform accurate punch opera-
tions. We suggest that you turn this mode off when 
performing punch-ins.
5 .6 .1 A utom a tic  pu nch  po int  se ttin g
Whenever recording takes place, the time when 
recording begins is automatically st ored as a punch-
i n time, and the time when recordi ng s tops is stored 
a s  a   pu nc h - out  tim e .
Th is  is n ot  u sually  th e way  in  wh ich  yo u  will wan t to  
s et th e p un ch  p oin ts, h owever. There are several alter-
n ative way s in whi ch  yo u can set thes e p oin ts, as  
described below:
5.6.2 Settin g p unch p oin ts  “on  the fly”
This method demands  s harp reflexes (but you can 
ed it the pu nch  p oi nts later as we sh ow b elow).
NOTE
If an optional  footsw itch has been attached to the 
rear panel 
RE MOTE  P UNC H  IN /OUT jack X, t hi s  
can be used in the following steps instead of the 
RECORD an d PLAY keys (i.e. press the sw itch once 
to set the punch-in point, and again to set the punch-
out point).
1
Press the AU T O  M O N  key (the indica to r will 
light). 
This is not s trictly speaking necessary for set-
ting  the punch po ints, but the 
AUTO MON is  
neces sary  for punch o pera tions , so  we sug ges t 
you turn i t on  here.
2
Use the 
RE C FUNC TION ke y( s)  to  ar m t he  
tra ck(s ) on  which yo u will be recording.
3
Press the 
RHS L (rehearsal) key.
The indicato r will flas h, sho wing that the DA-
78HR is in “rehearsal learn” mode.
4
Rewin d the tape to before where the pun ch  is  
to occur.
5
Sta rt pla yin g th e tape (pres s 
PL AY).
You wi ll monitor the off-tape signals.
6
At the po int wh ere th e punch is  to o ccu r, pres s 
RE CORD. 
The 
RE CORD key will fla sh, and the RE C 
FUNCT ION
 indicator of any armed tracks will 
light steadily. M onito rin g will chang e to  inp ut 
sou rce record ing for these tracks.
Pre- roll 
po in tPu nc h-in 
pointPost- ro ll 
point P unc h- out 
poin t
Pre-roll timePost-rol l ti me
R ehe arsal  lea rn
TAP E S OURCE TAP E
R ehe arsal
TAP E SO URC E TAP E
AU TO IN /O UT
TAP E SO URC E TAP E
R epl ay ch eck
TAP E TAP E TAP E 
						

							5 - Basic operations
 TA SCA M DA -7 8 HR 33
NOTE
If you do not w ant to change to source monitoring on 
the punch track(s) between the punch points when 
setting the points, do not set the 
RE C FUNCTION on  
for  these tracks.
A t an y ti me  w he n t he  RHSL in dicator  is  lit o r 
fla shing , this mea ns that recordin g will not 
actually be carri ed out, even if the 
RE CORD 
key  and/o r the
 RE C FUNC TION ind icators  are 
lit.
7
At the po int wh ere you wa nt to punch o ut, 
pres s 
PL AY.
The 
RE C FUNCTION  indicator of any  armed 
tra cks will s ta rt flas hing a ga in. T he 
R ECORD 
key  will g o o ut. Mo nito ring  o f these tra ck s wi ll 
return to off-tape  status.
8
After the pos t-roll period, the ta pe will return 
to   the  pre-roll  po int (the p unch-in  po int m inus 
the  pre-roll  offset).
The 
RHS L indicator will now lig ht stea dily, 
showing that the DA-78HR is in rehearsal 
mode.
If you  need to  trim these pu nch  p oi nts to  s ub -frame 
accuracy, you can do so using the procedure 
d escribed  in  5.6.3 , “Settin g pu nch  p oin ts u sing  the 
f r on t pa ne l”  be lo w.
NOTE
If you want to alter the pre-roll and post-roll times, 
see 5.6.4, “Editing the pre-roll and post-roll times”. 
T he  p u nch -in  an d p un ch- ou t p oi nts will  r em ain  th e  
s a me  whi le y o u c ha n ge  t h e p re - an d p os t -r oll  t im es .
5 .6 .3 Se ttin g p unc h p oin ts  us ing  the  
fr ont pa ne l
S ett ing  th e p un ch-in  p oin t:
1
Press the 
RHS L (rehearsal) key twice s o  that 
the indicator l ights flashes  or l ights steadily.
2
Press the 
AU T O  M O N  key (the indicato r will 
light).
3
Press the 
SHIFT key to  enter  shift mode (SHIFT 
indicator flas hing).
4
Press the 
LOC  1 (MEMO 1) ke y.
The displa y will briefly  show 
IN PO INT (In 
Po i n t
), a nd will then sho w the current va lue o f 
the punch-in poi nt.
5
Use the  shifted s and  t keys (
LEFT and 
RIGH T) to select the “field” (hours, minutes, second s, fram es  o r  sub-fra mes) tha t  yo u  want 
to edit, and use  the s and t ke ys  to  c ha nge   the  
va lue o f the punch-in time. See 4 .3.5, “ “ Left”  
and  “ r ight ” ke y s” fo r  de ta ils.
Setting  the pu nch -o ut po in t:
1
If you  have not already  performed  steps  1  and 
2, as  des cribed for setting  the punch-in poin t, 
do them now.
2
Press  the 
SHIFT  key  to enter shi ft mode (SHIFT 
indica to r flas hing ).
3
Press  the 
LOC 2 (ME MO  2) key.
4
Use the shifted s a nd t keys  (
LEFT and  
RIGHT) to select the “fi eld ” (h ours, minutes, 
second s, fram es  o r  sub-fra mes) tha t  yo u  want 
to edit, and use  the s
 and t ke ys  to  c ha nge   the  
va lue o f the punch-out tim e. See 4.3.5 , “ “Left” 
and  “ r ight ” ke y s” fo r  de ta ils.
Th e v alue of the pu nch -in  po int can be reset to 
00:00:00. 00 (th is  inclu des  in  “inv isib le”  su b-
frame value) by pres sing the s an d t ke ys  to ge th e r.
After settin g the pu nch times , press 
SHI F T so  that the 
indicat or i s no longer flashing.
Yo u can lo cate the tap e to  t he pu nch-in  p oin t (min us 
the pre-ro ll time) b y press ing  
LOC 1.
NOTE
The methods described above can be used to “trim” 
punch points which have been captured “on the fly”.
5. 6. 4 Ed itin g th e  pr e-r oll  a nd  pos t-r oll  
ti mes
As  a  d efau lt (facto ry) s etting ,  th e DA-7 8HR  will 
po sitio n th e tape  5 s eco nd s b efore the  pu nch-in  po int, 
however this has  been set.
Th e d efau lt pos t-ro ll ti me is 3 secon ds . You  can  alter 
bo th thes e times us ing  th e fo llowing  meth od :
1
Ma ke s ure  t he 
SHIFT  indica to r is  fla shing  (the 
unit i s  in s hift  mo de).
2
Press  the 
CLE AR (PRE  RO L L) key.
3
When the disp lay s hows 
PR. 00 05. rh 
(
PR 0005 RH), the time of the punch pre-roll is  
sho wn  in  min utes  a nd  seconds  (when  the dis -
play  show s  
P R 0000 LC (PR 0000 LC),  t hi s 
refers to the location pre-rol l time, which is  
different).
4
Use the s a nd t  keys  to change the values (the 
shifted s and  t ke ys a c t as  cur s or  ke ys 
between minutes an d s eco nds). 
						

							5 -  Basic operations
34 T A SC AM  D A- 78 HR
5
Press the CLEAR (PRE ROLL)  ke y on ce  mo re  
s o  th at  t he  d ispla y  show s  
PO 0003 (PO 0003), 
i.e. the po st-roll time.
Sin ce th ere is little p oin t in  settin g pre- an d po st-ro ll 
times to frame accuracy, you can only set t hese val-
ues to second accuracy.
The minimum values you can s et  are 5 seconds (pre-
roll ) and  3 secon ds  (po st-roll) an d th e maximum 
va lu e  is 59  m inu te s 59  se c on ds f or  bo th.
An y p un ch op eratio n fro m now will take yo ur s etting  
for pre-ro ll an d u se it wh en locatin g th e tap e to  the 
p un ch-in po int. Fo r ex amp le, if yo ur p re-ro ll time h as 
been set to 10 seconds (00:00:10.00), and the punch-
in  po int is at 00 :06 :03 .1 2, the tap e will lo cate to  
00:05:53.12  when starting  rehearsal or punch-in.
5 .6 .5 R eh ea r si ng  the  pu nch -in
After you have set the punch points, and you have 
lo cated the tape to  th e p re-roll p oin t, as d es crib ed 
above, you can rehears e the punch proces s.
1
Press the 
RHSL key s o that the indicator l ights 
s tea dily.
This indicates that you are now in rehearsal 
mode.
2
P ress 
PLAY. The ta pe will s ta rt pla ying  from  
the pre-roll po int.
3
At th e punch-in po int, mo nito ring will cha nge 
to s ource.
The 
RECORD key  will fla sh, and the REC 
F UNCTION
 indica to r o f a ny a rm ed  tracks  will 
li ght steadily. However, recording will  not be 
carried out.
4
At the punch-o ut  point, mo nito ring  will chan ge 
b ack to  off-tape mo nito ring.
T he ta pe will co ntin ue pla yin g to  the po st-roll  
point and then rewind to the pre-roll point.
5
Repea t the rehea rs al process  until yo u are s at-
is fied with the perform ance.
5.6.6 Interrupting a rehearsal or punch 
recording
Very  often while rehearsing  a p un ch-in, yo u will no t 
want  to  ru n the tap e all the way to  th e p un ch-ou t 
point (an entry cue is mis sed, or a mistake is made 
early on  in th e take). In  th ese cas es, th e fo llowin g 
procedure applies to both rehearsal and punch 
recording:1
While the ta pe is running , press the 
LOC 1 key  
(there  is  no  need to press 
STOP first).
The ta pe will return  to the punch-in p oint, 
minus th e va lue sp ecified in the punch-in o ffset 
(5 .6.4, “E ditin g th e pre-ro ll a nd po st-roll 
ti m es ”) .
2
Pressin g 
PLAY will th en  re-s ta rt the rehea rs al 
or punch-in pro cess.
• Pr essin g th e 
LOC 2 key  will  lo cate  th e tap e t o  the 
pu nch -o ut  p os ition  min us th e p un ch-in p re-ro ll 
time.
• These  functions  are only operative when  the 
RHS L
 
or  AU TO IN/OU T ind icato rs are lit or flash ing . 
When they are off, the 
LOC 1
 and LOC 2
 ke ys will 
act normally.
5 .6 .7 R e co rdi ng  the  pu nc h-in
1
Make sure the tape is at the pre-roll point, an d 
pres s the 
AUTO IN/OUT key once.
The indicato r will flas h, sho wing that the DA-
78 HR is in auto -pun ch  mo de.
2
Press 
PLAY. The tape will start pl ayi ng.
At the pu nch-in  po int, the 
RECORD indicator 
will l ight stea dily, a s will th e 
RE C FUN CTION 
indicators  o f a ny  a rmed tracks .  M onitoring  
will cha ng e from off-ta pe to so urce a nd the 
IN PU T  M O N I TO R of any  armed tra cks will 
light.
Reco rding will no w a ctua lly take pla ce. Any 
record ed  material which  was  previously  on the 
armed tra cks between the punch poin ts will be 
replaced b y th e new recording.
3
At the pu nch-o ut po int, the monito ri ng will go  
back to off-tape (the 
INPUT MONITOR indica-
to rs o f a rmed tracks  will  go  o ut), a nd  when the 
pos t-ro ll poin t is reached, the tape will rewind 
to the pre-roll point.
4
The 
AU TO IN/OUT  in dicator will light steadily, 
showing  tha t the DA-78 HR is no w in replay  
mode.
5 .6 .8 R e pla yi ng  the  pu nc he d m a ter ia l
1
To replay  the punch-in, p ress  the PLAY key.
Pla yb ack will start (the 
R EC FU NCTION indi-
cators o f the a rmed tra cks will co ntinue to  
fl a sh) .
2
At the po st-ro ll point, the tape will autom ati-
cally rewind to th e pre-roll p oint. 
						

							5 - Basic operations
 TA SCA M DA -7 8 HR 35
3
If yo u wa nt  to  reco rd  the punch-in  ag ain,  pres s 
the  
AUTO IN/OUT key so that the indicator 
flashes, and  repeat the process  d es crib ed  
abo ve .
4
If yo u are satisfied with the pu nch-in, fo llow 
the steps below, otherwise, pres s 
LOC 1 to  
return to  the punch-in point, press  the 
AU TO  
IN /O U T
 key  s o that the indica to r fla shes, and 
repeat the take.
5. 6. 9 Ex iti ng pun ch -in mo de
1
Disarm any  armed tracks (press  the REC 
FUNC TION
 switches so that the indicators  go 
out).
2
Press  the 
CLE AR key.
This  will ex it the 
AUTO IN/OUT (or rehearsal ) 
mod e.
The 
LOC 1 a nd LOC  2 keys will return to  their 
usua l functio ns, but th e pun ch  po ints are s til l 
retai ned in  memo ry.
3
Press  the 
AU TO  M O N key so that the i ndicator 
go e s out .
Normal monitorin g mod es  wil l now b e in oper-
at io n ( se e  6,  “M onit or in g”) . 
						

							36 TASCAM DA-78HR
6 -  Monitoring 
NOTE
We strongly advise you to read this section – the 
effective use of multitrack monitoring is one of the 
keys to an effici ent r ecording sessi on. 
Like all mu ltitrack  reco rd ers , th e DA-7 8HR h as a 
n um be r  o f dif fe r e nt mo nito rin g mo de s , de pe n din g on  
the current monitor status, trans port status and 
whether the  track is  armed  or not.
When a DA-78HR track is in pl ayback mode, the 
mon itorin g is off-tap e.
The controls which affect  monitoring are:
•ALL INPUT
• AUTO M ON
In ad ditio n, there are two  men u items  affectin g the 
mon itorin g:
• sh uttle mon itor
• sh uttle mute
6.1 ALL INPUT
When this is active, the s ignal from t he DA-78HR’s 
o utp uts  will always b e th e ap pro priate in pu t sou rce 
s ign al  for  all  track s. 
When the 
A LL IN PU T key is pressed, its indicator 
will lig ht. Mon itoring  fo r all track s will be so urce 
mon itorin g, rath er th an  off-tape. 
6.2 AUTO MON
Thi s mo de is primarily  u sed  in  pu nch o peration s. 
W he n  a u to mo ni tor  m od e  is e nte r e d (b y pr e ss ing  th e  
AUTO M ON  key), the AUTO M ON  in dicato r lig hts .
Thi s automatically changes the moni toring on armed 
tracks  from off-tape to source when recording or 
rehearsing a  recording, and back to off-tape when the 
p un ch-ou t po int is reach ed.
6 .3 Shu t tle  mo nit o r
In ad ditio n to th ese mo des, there is  one further set-
tin g, that affects mo nito ring , bu t on ly in  o ne sp ecial 
case –  sh utt le  mo de. Usu ally, wh en s hu ttling  th e tape, 
y ou  will wan t to  mo ni tor o ff-tap e.  However,  if  a track  
is  armed , y ou   may  want  to  l isten  to  th e s ou rce  inp ut 
s ign al ,  rather th an  th e  o ff-tap e recordi ng .
NOTE
A LL IN PU T overr ides  any  shuttl e  moni tori ng  selec-
tions described below. Any shuttle monitoring while 
A LL IN PU T i s o n  w ill  a lways  be   sou rce  m on itor in g.
Th e s hu ttle mon itor mo de h as  n o effect when AUTO 
MON
 is off. 
When t he 
AU T O  M O N and s hu ttle mon ito rin g  are 
b ot h on , th e o utp ut fro m all armed  tracks  wil l be the 
source input.
If 
AUTO M ON is  o n,  bu t s hu ttle mon itorin g  is  off,  all 
armed  track s will mo nito r o ff-tap e in  shu ttle mo de.
Yo u  can  als o  disab le o ff-tap e sh uttl e  mo ni toring  with  
t he Shu ttle Mu te fu nctio n (6 .3, “Shu ttle mo nito r”)
.
S hu ttle mon itorin g is attenu ated by  1 2 d B compared 
w it h oth e r m on itor ing  mo de s.  T his h el ps to  a vo id 
d amag e to  tweeters, etc. wh en  shu ttlin g fas t.
6 .3 .1 Ena bli ng  an d d is ab ling  s huttl e 
mo nit o ri ng
1
Press the SHI F T  ke y s o t hat  t he  SHIFT in dicator 
is fla shing .
2
Press the 
ME NU key until the disp lay  s hows 
AUDIO. 2-- (AUDIO2--).
3
Press the 
SUB MENU key  until the displa y 
shows  
Sh TL. MoN. ; (SHTL MON x, where x 
can be 1 (o n) o r  0 (off).
4
Use the s or t ke y t o c ha nge  th e v alue  to  
1 
(s huttle mon ito ring ena bled) o r 
0 (shuttle 
monito ri ng disa bled).
6.4 Shuttle muting
It may  be sometimes  d esirable to mute off-tape o ut-
p ut  wh en  shu ttlin g.  Th e s hu ttle mute  fun ct ion  allows  
y ou  to do  this :
1
Press the 
SHI F T  ke y s o t hat  t he  SHIFT in dicator 
is fla shing .
2
Press the 
ME NU key until the disp lay  s hows 
AUDIO. 2-- (AUDIO2--).
3
Press the 
SUB MENU key  until the displa y 
shows  
Sh TL. MuT. ; (SHTL MUT x, where x 
can be 
1 (o n) o r  0 (off).
4
Use the s or t ke y t o c ha nge  th e v alue  to  
1 
(s huttle  mute ena bled) o r 
0 ( shu tt l e  mute  
disa bled). 
						

							6 -  Monitoring
37 T A SC AM  D A- 78 HR
6.5 Sum mar y o f  mo nit or  mod es
The  follo wi ng  tab le s hows  wh at will  b e mon itored  
from a track. This depends  on the 
AL L INP UT, AUTO MON
 an d t h e  R EC FU NCTION setting s, and  o n th e 
t ransport  mode current ly  engaged.
REC 
FU NC TI ONPL AYRECORDSTOP, REW, 
FFWDSHUT TL E
(shuttl e moni tor)
ALL I NPUT ONON
INPUTOFF
ALL INPUT 
OFFAU TO MON 
OF FON
OFF
TAPEAU TO MON 
ONON
INP UT
OFFTA P E
ONINPUT
OFFMUTE
OFFTA P E
ONMU T E 
						

							38 TASCAM DA-78HR
7 - Advanced operations
7.1 Autolocation
The DA-78HR contains  t wo location memories, 
accessible through  the 
LOC  1 and LOC 2 ke ys.  Th e se  
a l s o  a l l ow  a “A
«B rep eat ” facil ity, which  allo ws 
you to rehearse part of a mixdown, for instance. 
Thes e two location memory points  are referred to as  
“MEMO 1” and “MEMO 2”.
As with  the pu nch  recordin g p oin ts (5 .6, “P un ch -in 
an d  pu nch -o ut ”), i t is  p os sibl e  to  s et an d  edit  th ese 
p oin ts in a nu mb er o f ways.
7.1.1 Setting  MEMO  1  an d MEMO  2 “on  
the fl y”
T hi s ca n  be  do ne  re g ar d le ss of  the  c ur r en t sta tus  of  
the tape transport (playing, recording,  winding, 
s top ped, or sh uttle).
1
Press an d h old down the 
SHI F T key  a nd pres s 
the 
ME MO  1 or ME MO  2 key.
The curren t tape pos ition (when the 
ME MO ke y  
was pressed) wil l be stored to th e appropriate 
location memory (MEMO 1 or MEMO 2).
T he displa y will indicate tha t the loca tio n 
m em ory point h as been stored (
PRE SET 
(
PRESET)).
7.1.2 Checking, editing and  manually 
enteri ng  MEMO 1 and  MEMO  2
The check ing , ed iting , an d man ual entry  o f th e 
Memo  1 and  Memo 2 lo cation  p oin ts are all essen -
tially  the same o peration . Locatio n po ints  can  b e 
edited and entered to frame accuracy.
1
Press the 
SHIFT key so that the SHIFT indicator 
flashes.
2
Press either the 
ME MO  1 or  ME MO  2 key, 
d ep en ding  o n which  lo cation  po int is  to  be 
accessed.
3
T he displa y briefly  shows  
M EMO ; (MEMO x),  
and then  the currently-stored location  memory 
is  s how n on the  displa y. The  “c ur so r ” (f la shing  
period) is at the  “hours” field.
4
Us e the s and t keys to  set the  “hours”  value, 
and move the “cursor” with the 
SHIFTed s 
a nd t key s.
For details regarding the entry of time values, 
in cl uding  sub-fra me entry, see 4 .3, “M enus a nd 
s ub-menus” .5
When the location times have been set, press 
the  
SHIFT ke y to  tur n t he  SHIFT mo de o ff an d 
return the counter to its  normal dis play.
7.1.3 Setting the  location pre-roll time
W hen  y ou  locate to a location  memory, th e tap e will 
s top  at th e memo rized  location  po int, min us  a p re-
d efin ed pre-ro ll time.
As  s hip ped , th e DA-7 8HR ’s defau lt locatio n pre-ro ll 
t ime is 0 seco nd s. You  can  edit this  to a v al ue 
between  0  seconds  (the tape wil l locate to  the  exact 
l ocation  po int) an d 5 9 minu tes , 5 9 secon ds , in  1 sec-
ond increments.
NOTE
This pre-roll time is independent of the punch pre-roll 
time. See 5.6.4, “Editing the pre-roll and post-roll 
times”.
1
Set the unit into shift mode (press the SHIFT 
key so that the 
SHIFT  indica to r is  fla shing ).
2
Press the 
CLE AR (PREROLL) key.
3
The dis play  will  sho w 
PR 00 00.  LC (P R 00 00  
LC
).
4
Use the s a nd t ke y s to  se t t he  l oc a ti o n pre -
ro ll time in minutes an d s eco nds (up to  59  m in-
utes , 59 second s). The 
SHIFTed s an d t keys  
can als o be used to move the cu rs or between 
the minutes a nd s econds “ fields” .
When a  loca tio n memory  i s used, the ta pe will 
now locate to the location point, minus the 
value you have just entered. For  instance, if the 
location point is at  “00:12:04.03”  and  you have 
set a location pre-roll time of 5 seconds, the 
ta pe  wi ll lo c at e  to  “ 00 : 11 :5 9. 03 ”.
Th is p re-roll ti me is  different  to th e pre-ro ll time us ed 
fo r p un ch  op eratio ns as d es crib ed in 5 .6 .4, “Ed iting  
t he pre-rol l and post-roll times”.
7.1.4 Movin g to  MEMO  1  an d MEMO  2
When you have set the location memories as 
described above, you simply need  to  press  the 
LOC 1 
or 
LOC 2 keys to  mov e th e tap e to  these lo catio n 
points.
Th e tap e will lo cat e to  t he locatio n memory minu s 
t he  loc a tio n pr e -r o ll t ime ,  as  d e sc r ibe d  a b ove .
7 .1 .5 L oc ati on an d p lay ba ck
I f  yo u pr e ss th e  PLAY k ey  while the tape is lo cati ng  
(the 
PLAY k ey  will flash ), th e tap e will start play ing  
wh en it reach es the locatio n po int. 
						

							7 - Advanced operations
39 T A SC AM  D A- 78 HR
If you  press PLAY twice wh ile the tape is lo catin g, 
th e 
PLAY key will ligh t steadily, th e tape will stop  
an d play back  will start immediately.
If you  are  using the DA-78HR with  a remote  control 
unit,  and you have have pressed  the 
AUTO P LAY ke y 
o n th e remo te co ntro l u nit, rep lay will start au to mati-
cally when the locati on point is reached.
7.2 Repeat function
You can repeat playback continuously between the 
two  lo cation  memo ry  po ints  (Memo  1   an d  Memo   2). 
NOTE
When we talk about the “first” and the “second” loca-
tions here, we are referring to the earl ier and later 
location times. Memo 1 could be at a later time than 
Memo 2, and hence we would refer to it in this sec-
tion as the “second location point”.
The tap e will wind  to a little before th e first po int (if 
it is no t there already ) and  s tart pl ay ing . Th e o ff-tap e 
mon itorin g will start at th e first memory locatio n and  
co ntin ue un til the secon d lo cat ion  is  reached. The 
tap e will th en sto p play ing , an d rewin d to a little 
b efo re th e firs t p oin t and  s tart p lay in g again.
7.2.1 To start  repeat play
1
When the two location points have been set, 
p ress  the 
RE PE AT key. 
2
T he ta pe will lo cate to  the first loca tio n point 
a nd start play ing until the s eco nd loca tio n 
p oi nt ,  r e w i nd to  the  fi rs t l o ca t i on po i nt,  an d 
p lay  a ga in. T his  process  will  be  repea ted .
Wh ile the ta pe positio n is between th e two 
lo catio n p oints, the 
REPEAT indi ca tor will be 
li t steadily. It will flas h whi le the ta pe p ositio n 
is  outside th e two loca tion po ints .
3
S to p the rep ea t function by  press ing the 
REPEAT key (the RE PE AT  indicator wil l go 
out).
 If the tap e is pla yin g, it will continue pla ying  
(past the second location point). 
I f the tape is  rewinding to the first location 
point  when the 
RE PE AT key is pressed, it will 
stop.
NOTES
T he t wo locat ion point s must  be at least  5 sec onds apart  
for the repeat fac ility  t o be operat ional—if you att empt  a 
repeat  operat ion w hen t hey  are  clos er t ogether  than  this , 
t he dis play  s hows  
Too  NEAR (TOO NEAR). I f  you  have only  s et  one loc ation  point,  t he repeat  w ill be 
bet ween “00:00: 00.00” and t he loc ation point.
P re s s in g a ny  t ran s p or t  c o n tr ol wh ile  re pe at  pl ay  is  in 
p ro gr ess wil l sto p  th e re pl ay, b ut will  n ot ca nce l th e  
repeat mode. To restart the repeat playback, locate 
to  e ithe r lo catio n po in t, an d wh ile  the  ta pe  i s wi nd ing , 
press 
PL AY.  Alternatively, press PLAY w hil e the tape 
is before the second location point.
7.3 Track delay
Th e DA-7 8HR  allows  y ou   to  delay   tracks  relative  to 
t he other tracks, either when recording or playing 
back. You can use this function for post-production 
“s lip”, compens ate for delays  caus ed by external pro-
ces sing  eq uip men t, allo w for prop agatio n d elay  in 
mu lti-micro ph on e sessio ns  o r ad d sp ecial effects.
Th e track d elay  can  be set from –2 00  s amp les to 
+7200 samples. A  negative  number means that  the 
t rack o n which  the “delay” settin g is made is 
ad vanced  in  time relativ e to  t he oth er track s. How-
ever, this  does  not mean that the  DA-78HR includes a 
t ime machine! Si nce the monitoring head is a “vir-
t ual” head, made of a composite of delayed off-tape 
an d inp ut so urce s ign als, th e “p ositio n” of the reco rd -
i ng head can be adjusted in both directions.
1
Make sure that the unit i s in shift mode (the 
SH IF T ind ica tor is fl ashin g).
2
Press the 
RHS L (DE LAY) ke y.
3
The displa y can  s how the dela y in sa mples or 
milliseco nds in which the delay  is counted. 
Press and release the 
DE LAY key  briefly in 
order to ch ange between these two units.
Millis eco nd delay s are s hown as  3 -digit va lues, 
and sa mple displa ys  a re sh own as 4 -di git v al-
ues (always with  leading zeroes).
4
Ty pically, a ll tra cks will have their dela y set 
together (as shown by the display). Use the s 
and t ke ys t o c han ge  the  va lue .
Yo u ca n als o use th e 
DATA/LEVEL kno b to  set 
the  delay  value (see  4.3.7, “Using the  DATA/
LEVE L knob to set va lues”).
5
Press a tra ck’s 
REC FUNCTION k e y  to  s el ec t  a n  
individu al tra ck whose dela y va lue ca n be 
changed.
6
To c hang e  f r om e dit ing indiv idual t r ac k valu es  
back to all tracks  tog eth er, pres s and ho ld the 
DE LAY key for more than one second . 
						

							7  - Advanced operations
 TA SCA M DA -7 8 HR 40
7
Press a nd hold the SHI F T key for more than 
three seconds  to exit the d elay setting mode.
The meters can also be used to 
give  a  v isu a l in dic a tio n o f the  
track  d elay. 
Press  
SHI F T and one of the 
REC  F UNCTION ke ys  ( a s 
de sc r ibe d  in  4. 1. 1 , “ Pe a k 
meters”) to  to gg le this  meter 
mo de  of f a nd  on . T he  de f a ult 
at  po wer-on  is  fo r th is mod e to  
be  on .
The track del ay, expressed i n 
s eco nd s, is between – 4 to +1 50  millis eco nd s. At a 
ty pi ca l  so un d  p ro pa g ati on  r a te ,  th e  m a xim um   va lue  
corresponds to  about  50 meters (about 160  feet) of 
distance. 
7.4 Sub-mixer
On e i mp ortant  featu re  o f  th e DA-7 8HR  is  th e  ab ility  
to mix  input  sources and off-tape signals into a  stereo 
s ignal which is routed to tracks 7 and 8 and can be 
output  at the rear panel S PDIF  (
COAXIAL)  ou t pu t  ( a s 
w e ll a s th ro ug h c ha n ne ls 7  a n d 8 o f th e  
TD IF- 1 digi-
tal an d analo g ou tpu ts). As  well as the track  delay  
availab le o n th e DA-7 8HR for the tape track s, this  
internal mixer als o features  level  and pan  controls, so 
that a s imple mix can be obtained. 
T h is m ixe d sign a l is ou tpu t on ly w he n the  
MIXDOWN 
in di cato r is  lit. Pressin g th e (un sh ifted ) 
MI X DOW N 
k ey will tog gle the in dicator between o n and  o ff.
A temporary “patch” can als o be set up for this sub-
mix ,  overridin g  the cu rren t in pu t p at ch  s etting s wh ile 
the mixdown mode is active.
NOTE
When MIXDOWN is on, the signals from channels 1 
through 6 (analog and digital) are not output.
7 .4 .1 En ter in g m ix dow n m od e
1
Make sure th e SHIFT indicator is off.
2
Press the 
MI XD OWN key. The MI X DOW N indi-
ca tor will light.
P ress ing the 
MI XD OWN k ey  ag ain (with sh ift mod e 
o ff) will exit mixd own mod e.
7.4.2 Setting the  master level
Th is is the mas ter level of all s ign als  out pu t th rou gh  
channels 7 and 8.1
With mix down mo de ena bled, pres s the 
SHIFT 
key so  tha t the i ndicator is flas hing.
2
Press  the 
MI X DOWN (LEVEL/PA N) key. This 
enters the level/pan setting mode.
3
If the dis play  do es  not s how 
M ST. L ; ;; (MS T 
L xx x
 — master level), con tinu e to press the 
LEVEL/PA N key  until  this is sh own.
Repeated press es of the 
LEVEL/PA N ke y  o r  th e  
currently-selected ch annel (as exp lained 
below) wi ll cycle through the following:
mas ter level ®
 ® ®  ® cha nnel level ®
 ® ®  ® cha nnel pa n ®
®® ® 
chann el inpu t selection
4
Use the da ta  knob a nd/or the s an d t keys  to 
change the level between 
0 (–¥ 
¥ ¥  ¥ dB) 
    a nd 127 
(0 dB) .
The 7 and 8 meters  may be used to show the 
level (to gg le with 
SHIFT+RE C FUNCTION). The 
0dB segment represents  a value of 12 7, a nd 
th e 
–12 dB segm en t rep resents a value of 64.
7.4.3 Leaving edit/pan setting mode
Wh en  t he u nit  is  in  edi t/pan  settin g  mode  as  abov e,  it 
can be returned to normal operations (as shown by a 
chang e in the di splay ) by  either o f th e fo llowing  
me th od s:
Entering  a nother s hift  mo de function  (e.g . 
delay )
or
Press ing the 
SHIFT key so  tha t the SH IF T ind i-
c at or  st op s fl a shi ng  (e x i ti ng  shi f t mo de ).
NOTE
Remember that turning off the edi t/pan setting mode 
will  n ot a utom atica lly tur n  o ff th e mixd ow n mo de . To  
turn off the mixdown mode, you must turn off the shi ft 
mode and then press the 
MI X DOW N ke y.
7.4.4 Setting levels and  pan positions
To  set the ind ivid ual chann el lev el s an d p an 
po sitio ns:
1
Ma ke s ure that the unit is in lev el/pan setting 
mod e, as d escri bed above (7.4.2, “Setting the 
mas ter level”).
2
Press  the 
RE C FUNCTION key who se number 
correspon ds to the chan nel you want to set. 
The 
REC FUNCTION indicator at  the bottom  of 
th e  meter will  start to fla sh, sho wing tha t  this  is 
th e a ctiv e cha nnel being edited .
positiv e values
0 (zero)
negat ive values