Tascam Digital Multitrack Recorder DA-98 Owners Manual

							Section 6 – Basic operations  
6-4 – 1.00 – 06/97
and edited to frame accuracy, either from a cue list 
or “on-the-fly” in real time.
The DA-98 provides a rehearsal mode which sim-
ulates the punching process, allowing the artists to 
perfect the timing of the new material.
The mechanics of punching on a digital recorder 
appear to the operator to be the same as on an ana-
log recorder. 
Crossfading, however, is an important and useful 
function on digital recorders, to ensure continuity 
between original and punched material. In the 
case of the DA-98, this crossfade time is adjust-
able from 10 milliseconds to 200 milliseconds 
(see 8.4, “Crossfade times”). 
The 
AU TO  M O N mode is essential here: in both 
rehearsal and punch modes, the material prior to 
the punch point is monitored off tape. The moni-
toring of armed tracks changes to source while 
rehearsals and punching are carried out and then 
changes to off-tape again after the punch-out 
point.
6.6.1 Automatic punch point setting
Whenever recording takes place, the time when 
recording begins is automatically stored as a punch-in time, and the time when recording stops 
is stored as a punch-out time.
This is not usually the way in which you will want 
to set the punch points, however. There are several 
alternative ways in which you can set these points, 
as described below:
6.6.2 Setting punch points “on the fly”
This method demands sharp reflexes (but you can 
edit the punch points later as we show below).
1) Press the 
AUTO MON key [19] (the indicator will 
light).
2) Arm the track(s) on which you will be 
recording (use 
REC FUNCTION).
3) Press the 
RHSL (rehearsal) key [9].
The indicator will flash, showing that the DA-98 is 
in “rehearsal learn” mode.
4) Rewind the tape to before where the punch is to 
occur.
5) Start playing the tape (press 
PLAY).
You will monitor the off-tape signals.
6) At the point where the punch is to occur, press 
RECORD. 
The RECORD key will flash, and the REC FUNC-
TION
 indicator of any armed tracks will light 
steadily. 
The 
INPUT MONITOR indicator of any armed 
tracks will light and monitoring will change to 
input source recording for these tracks.
At any time when the rehearsal key is lit or flash-
ing, this means that recording will not actually be 
carried out, even if the 
RECORD key and/or the 
REC FUNCTION
 indicators are lit.
7) At the point where you want to punch out, 
press PLAY.
The REC FUNCTION indicator of any armed 
tracks will start flashing again. The 
RECORD key 
will go out.
The 
INPUT MONITOR indicator of any armed 
tracks will go out, and monitoring of these tracks 
will return to off-tape status. NOTE
Though you can perform punch recording in either the 
confidence mode (see 7.2, “Confidence mode”) or the 
ALL INPUT mode (see 7.1.1, “ALL INPUT [18] and 
INPUT MONITOR [29]”) , the monitoring in these 
modes does not make it easy to perform accurate punch 
operations. We suggest that you turn these modes off if 
you want to perform punch-ins.
Pre-roll 
pointPunch-in 
pointPos t -r ol l  
point Punch-out 
point
Pre-roll timePost-roll time
Rehearsal learn
TAPE SOURCE TAPE
Rehearsal
TAPE SOURCE TAPE
AUTO PUNCH
TAPE SOURCE TAPE
Replay check
TAPE TAPE TAPE 
						

							Section 6 – Basic operations
06/97 – 1.00 – 6-5
8) After the post-roll period, the tape will return 
to the pre-roll point (the punch-in point minus 
the pre-roll offset).
The RHSL indicator will now light steadily, show-
ing that the DA-98 is in rehearsal mode.
6.6.3 Setting punch points using the 
menus
1) Press the RHSL (rehearsal) key [9] twice (or 
until the indicator lights steadily).
2) Press the 
AUTO MON key [19] (the indicator will 
light).
3) Go to menu group 1 and select the 
In
Point
 option using the cursor keys and 
ENTER:
4) Use the 
LEFT and RIGHT keys to select the 
“field” (hours, minutes, seconds or frames) that 
you want to edit, and use the 
UP and DOWN 
keys to change the values.
You can also use the function keys to enter the 
value directly, as described in 5.2.2, “Using the 
function keys as number keys”.
5) Press ESCAPE to return to menu group 1.
6) Select 
Out Point and repeat the process.
7) Locate the tape to the punch-in point (minus 
the pre-roll time) by pressing 
LOC 1 [22].
6.6.4 Editing the pre-roll and post-roll 
times
As shipped from the factory, the DA-98 will posi-
tion the tape 5 seconds before the punch-in point, 
whether this has been set by you, or set automati-
cally (as described above).
The post-roll is factory set to 3 seconds. You can 
alter both these times using the following method:
1) Enter menu group 1 and move the cursor to the 
Pre/Post menu option:
2) Press 
ENTER to set the pre-roll and post-roll 
times:
3) Use the 
LEFT and RIGHT keys to position the 
cursor by the “field” (minutes or seconds) that 
you want to change and use the 
UP and DOWN 
keys to alter the value.
You can also use the function keys to enter the 
value directly, as described in 5.2.2, “Using the 
function keys as number keys”.
Since there is little point in setting pre- and post-
roll times to frame accuracy, you can only set these 
values to second accuracy.
The minimum values you can set are  5 seconds 
and the maximum value is 59 minutes 59 seconds.
Any punch operation from now will take your set-
ting for pre-roll and use it when locating the tape 
to the punch-in point. 
For example, if your pre-roll time has been set to 
10 seconds (00:00:10:00), and the punch-in point 
is at 00:06:03:12, the tape will locate to 
00:05:53:12 when starting rehearsal or punch-in. NOTE
If you want to alter the pre-roll and post-roll times, see 
6.6.4, “Editing the pre-roll and post-roll times”. The 
punch-in and punch-out points will remain the same 
while you change the pre- and post-roll times.
Punch-in Point
00:09:21:12 ABS
NOTE
You can also use this process to edit punch points which 
have been set “on the fly
”).
In Point X-Fade
Out Point Dither
Pre/Post Rec Mute
00:00:06:00 ABS
Pre-roll Post-roll
Pre Post
00m05s 00m10s 
						

							Section 6 – Basic operations  
6-6 – 1.00 – 06/97
4) Post-roll is set in the same way. Use the LEFT 
and 
RIGHT keys until the cursor is by the Post 
field, and repeat the steps above.
The minimum value for post-roll is 3 seconds.
6.6.5 Rehearsing the punch-in
After you have set the punch points, and you have 
located the tape to the pre-roll point, as described 
above, you can rehearse the punch process.
1) Press the 
RHSL key [9] so that the indicator 
lights steadily.
This indicates that you are now in rehearsal mode.
2) Press PLAY. The tape will start playing from the 
pre-roll point.
3) At the punch-in point, monitoring will change 
to source.
The RECORD key will flash, and the REC FUNC-
TION
 indicator of any armed tracks will light 
steadily. However, recording will not be carried 
out.
4) At the punch-out point, monitoring will change 
back to off-tape monitoring.
The tape will continue playing to the post-roll 
point and then rewind to the pre-roll point.
5) Repeat the rehearsal process until you are 
satisfied with the performance.
6.6.6 Interrupting a rehearsal or punch 
recording
Very often while rehearsing a punch-in, you will 
not want to run the tape all the way to the punch-
out point (an entry cue is missed, or a mistake is 
made early on in the take). In these cases, the fol-
lowing procedure applies to both rehearsal and 
punch recording:1) While the tape is running, press the 
LOC 1 key 
[22].
There is no need to press STOP first.
The tape will return to the punch-in point, minus 
the value specified in the punch-in offset (6.6.4, 
“Editing the pre-roll and post-roll times”).
2) Pressing PLAY will then re-start the rehearsal 
or punch-in process.
6.6.7 Recording the punch-in
1) Make sure the tape is at the pre-roll point, and 
press the 
AUTO PUNCH key [10] once.
The indicator will flash, showing that the DA-98 is 
in auto-punch mode.
2) Press PLAY. The tape will start playing.
At the punch-in point, the RECORD indicator will 
light steadily, as will the 
REC FUNCTION indica-
tors of any armed tracks. Monitoring will change 
from off-tape to source and the 
INPUT MONITOR 
of any armed tracks will light.
Recording will now actually take place. Any 
recorded material which was previously on the 
armed tracks between the punch points will be 
replaced by the new recording. NOTE
If the AUTO PLAY mode is active (press the AUTO 
PLAY
 key [12] so that the indicator lights), playback 
will start again as soon as the pre-roll point is reached.
NOTE
The pre-roll location time (see 8.1.3, “Setting the loca-
tion pre-roll time”) is not used here.
NOTES
• Pressing the LOC 2 key will locate the tape to the 
punch-out position minus the punch-in pre-roll time.
• These functions are only operative when the 
RHSL or 
AUTO PUNCH indicators are lit or flashing. When 
they are off, the 
LOC 1 and LOC 2 keys will act nor-
mally.
• If the 
SHIFT key has been pressed, and the SHIFT 
indicator is flashing, the 
LOC 1 and LOC 2 keys will 
act as function keys (see 5.2.1, “The SHIFT key and 
function keys”). 
						

							Section 6 – Basic operations
06/97 – 1.00 – 6-7
3) At the punch-out point, the monitoring will go 
back to off-tape (the 
INPUT MONITOR indicators 
of armed tracks will go out), and when the 
post-roll point is reached, the tape will rewind 
to the pre-roll point.
4) The 
AUTO PUNCH indicator will light steadily, 
showing that the DA-98 is now in replay mode.
6.6.8 Replaying the punched material
1) To replay the punch-in, press the PLAY key.
Playback will start (the REC FUNCTION indica-
tors of the armed tracks will continue to flash).
2) At the post-roll point, the tape will 
automatically rewind to the pre-roll point.
3) If you want to record the punch-in again, press 
the 
AUTO PUNCH key [10] so that the indicator 
flashes, and repeat the process described 
above.
4) If you are satisfied with the punch-in, follow the 
steps below, otherwise, press 
LOC 1 to return to 
the punch-in point, press the 
AUTO PUNCH key 
so that the indicator flashes, and repeat the 
take.
6.6.9 Exiting punch-in mode
1) Disarm any armed tracks (press the REC 
FUNCTION
 switches so that the indicators go 
out).
2) Press the 
CLEAR key [11].
This will exit the AUTO PUNCH (or rehearsal) 
mode.
The 
LOC 1 and LOC 2 keys will return to their 
usual functions, but the punch points are still 
retained in memory.
3) Press the AU TO M ON key so that the indicator 
goes out.
Normal monitoring modes will now be in opera-
tion (see 7, “Monitoring modes”) NOTE
If the AU TO  P LAY mode is active (press the AU TO  
PLAY
 key [12] so that the indicator lights), playback 
will start again as soon as the pre-roll point is reached. 
						

							Section 6 – Basic operations  
6-8 – 1.00 – 06/97 
						

							Section 7 – Monitoring modes
06/97 – 1.00 – 7-1
7 – Monitoring modes
Like all multitrack recorders, the DA-98 has a 
number of different monitoring modes, depending 
on the current monitor status, transport status and 
whether the track is armed or not.
In addition to the “standard” modes common to 
most multitrack recorders, the DA-98 includes 
two new monitoring features: the 
CONFIDENCE 
MODE
 [17], and the individual track INPUT MONI-
TOR
 switches [29]. These are described in this 
section.
7.1 Monitoring controls
The controls which affect monitoring are:
•
ALL INPUT [18]
•
INPUT MONITOR [29]
•
REC FUNCTION [28]
•
CONFIDENCE MODE [17]
•
AU TO  M O N [19]
•
SHTL MON [20]
7.1.1 ALL INPUT [18] and INPUT 
MONITOR [29]
When these are active, the signal from the DA-
98’s outputs will always be the input source signal 
received at the input for the appropriate track or 
tracks.
When the 
ALL INPUT key is pressed, its indicator 
and the 
INPUT MONITOR indicators of all tracks 
will light. Monitoring for all tracks will be source 
monitoring, rather than off-tape. 
When the 
ALL INPUT key is pressed again to turn 
off this mode, the status of the 
INPUT MONITOR 
indicators will revert to the status before the 
ALL 
INPUT
 key was turned on.
The 
INPUT MONITOR switches are disabled until 
the 
ALL INPUT key is turned off (the ALL INPUT 
indicator goes out).The 
INPUT MONITOR switches allow you to per-
form the same function on a track-by-track basis, 
allowing you to adjust the level balance between 
off-tape monitoring and the input source, and are 
available from a number of modes as described in 
the table below.
7.1.2 AUTO MON
When replaying a track, you will usually want to 
monitor the program material recorded on the 
tape. However, there are times when you want to 
monitor the source input rather than the off-tape 
signal, even in play mode. 
The following table shows what will be monitored 
from a track. This depends on the 
AU TO  M ON and 
the 
REC FUNCTION switch settings, and on the 
transport mode currently engaged.
The 
AUTO MON function therefore allows you to 
switch automatically between monitoring modes 
as the tape transport function changes. 
a. “Selectable” as used here means that individual tracks’ 
INPUT MONITOR switches can be used to switch between 
source and tape monitoring. Off-tape monitoring is obviously 
only possible when the tape is moving (in recording or play-
back modes).
b. Confidence mode (see 7.2, “Confidence mode”) is possible 
in this mode (
AU TO  M O N off and REC FUNCTION on) 
and when confidence mode is active, the monitoring is select-
able between source and tape.
NOTE
We strongly advise you to read this section – the effec-
tive use of multitrack monitoring is one of the keys to an 
efficient recording session. 
ON ONTape Source Source
ON OFFSelectableaSelectable Selectable
OFF ONSelectable SourcebSelectable
OFF OFFSelectable Selectable Selectable
NOTE
The ALL INPUT key overrides the monitoring mode 
from the table above (when this mode is active, monitor-
ing for all tracks will always be source monitoring, 
regardless of the status of 
AU TO M ON). 
						

							Section 7 – Monitoring modes  
7-2 – 1.00 – 06/97
7.1.3 Shuttle monitoring
In addition to these modes, there is one further 
control, 
SHTL MON [20], that affects monitoring, 
but only in one special case – shuttle mode. Usu-
ally, when shuttling the tape, you will want to 
monitor off-tape. However, if a track is armed, 
you may want to listen to the source input signal, 
rather than the off-tape recording.
The 
SHTL MON key has no effect when AU TO  
MON
 is off. While shuttling, you can use tracks’ 
INPUT MONITOR switches (regardless of arming 
status) to change between source and off-tape 
monitoring.
When the 
AU TO  M O N  and SHTL MON are both on 
(the indicators will light), the output from all 
armed tracks will be the source input. This cannot 
be changed.
If 
AUTO M ON is on, but SHTL MON is off, all 
armed tracks will monitor off-tape in shuttle 
mode. This cannot be changed.
7.2 Confidence mode
When actually recording in a studio, it is usual to 
monitor the input signals, rather than the tape. 
This allows accurate synchronization between stu-
dio events and the actions of the control room 
staff. If a “glitch” is later discovered in the record-
ing, or it is discovered that a signal has been wrongly routed, resulting in an unwanted record-
ing being produced, it is a relatively simple matter 
to re-record the take.
In a live recording situation, this luxury is not pos-
sible. One can hardly ask an orchestra giving a 
concert to repeat a movement of a symphony for 
re-recording purposes! 
For this reason, the DA-98 includes a confidence 
mode which permits off-tape monitoring on a 
track-by-track basis while recording is in 
progress. 
Confidence mode provides monitoringoff-tape 
while recording for all tracks, except those tracks 
whose 
INPUT MONITOR switch is active. The 
monitoring of these tracks will be the input 
source, not tape.
The actual mechanics of how this is accomplished 
internally are quite complex, but the result is that 
off-tape signals are delayed by about 240 millisec-
onds relative to the input signal. This means that it 
is not recommended that you perform punch-ins, 
etc. in the confidence mode.
In the confidence mode, overdubbing will be out 
of sync with previously recorded tracks, as well as 
with the input source. 
We suggest you use confidence mode only when 
laying down long takes of basic tracks which will 
not need punching for correction (e.g. laying 
down tracks from a video worktape, or classical 
live recordings). You may also choose to use con-
fidence mode when you are dubbing from another 
audio multitrack tape to the DA-98, to ensure the 
quality of the transfer.
Another use for the confidence mode is when you 
are recording using dither (see 8.13, “Dither”). 
You may want to check the effects of dither on the 
re-quantized recording as the tracks are being laid 
down.
NOTE
ALL INPUT overrides any shuttle monitoring selec-
tions described below. Any shuttle monitoring while 
ALL INPUT is on will always be source monitoring.
NOTE
 You can always (regardless of any other status except 
ALL INPUT) use the INPUT MONITOR switch of 
unarmed tracks to switch between source and tape 
monitoring.
NOTES
You can also disable off-tape shuttle monitoring with 
the Shuttle Mute function (see 8.6.2, “Shuttle muting”)
.
Shuttle monitoring is attenuated by 12 dB compared 
with other monitoring modes. This helps to avoid dam-
age to tweeters, etc. when shuttling fast. 
						

							Section 7 – Monitoring modes
06/97 – 1.00 – 7-3
7.2.1 Arming tracks in pairs
In confidence mode, tracks are armed and 
unarmed in pairs (1+2, 3+4, 5+6, 7+8). 
1) Pressing the 
REC FUNCTION of either track 1 or 
track 2, for instance, will arm both tracks 1 and 
2. 
2) Pressing either track 1 or track 2’s 
REC 
FUNCTION
 key will unarm both tracks 
(regardless of which track’s 
REC FUNCTION key 
was used to arm the tracks).
3) If confidence mode is turned off, track arming 
and unarming can now be carried out on a 
track-by-track basis.
Even if tracks were armed in pairs while confi-
dence mode was enabled, when confidence mode 
is disabled, they can now be unarmed individually.
7.2.2 Using confidence mode
1) Adjust the recording levels on all armed tracks.
2) Turn off 
AUTO MON mode and make sure that 
the ALL INPUT switch is off.
3) Press the 
CONFIDENCE MODE key [17] once. 
The indicator will flash.
4) Press the 
CONFIDENCE MODE key again within 
five seconds of pressing it for the first time. The 
indicator will light steadily.
If you do not press the CONFIDENCE MODE key 
twice within five seconds, the indicator will stop flashing. This is to stop you from entering the con-
fidence mode by accident.
5) To leave confidence mode, press the 
CONFIDENCE MODE key once.NOTE
Turning on confidence mode unarms any tracks which 
have been armed prior to turning on confidence mode.
NOTE
Using confidence mode, it is possible to monitor some 
tracks off-tape during recording while monitoring the 
input source of others. However, as explained above, the 
way in which the confidence mode is implemented 
means that the off-tape signals are delayed by 240 milli-
seconds relative to the input source signals. Hence, the 
off-tape and source signals will be out of sync, and we 
suggest that if “mixed-mode” monitoring is to be carried 
out, the same operator should not attempt to listen to 
both off-tape and source monitor signals. 
						

							Section 7 – Monitoring modes  
7-4 – 1.00 – 06/97 
						

							Section 8 – Advanced operations
06/97 – 1.00 – 8-1
8 – Advanced operations
8.1 Autolocation
The DA-98 contains two location memories, 
accessible through the 
LOC 1 and LOC 2 keys([22] 
and [23]). These also allow a “A
«B repeat” 
facility, which allows you to rehearse part of a 
mixdown, for instance. These two location mem-
ory points are referred to as “MEMO 1” and 
“MEMO 2”.
In addition to these two location memories, the 
DA-98 can also store 10 more location memories, 
which are accessed through the function keys ([9] 
through [13] and [18] through [22]).
As with the punch recording points (see 6.6, 
“Punch-in and punch-out”), it is possible to set 
and edit these points in a number of ways.
8.1.1 Setting MEMO 1 and MEMO 2 “on 
the fly”
This can be done regardless of the current status of 
the tape transport (playing, recording, winding, 
stopped, or shuttle).
1) Press the 
MEMO 1 or MEMO 2 key; [13] or [14].
The current tape position will be stored to the 
appropriate location memory (MEMO 1 or 
MEMO 2).
The display screen will indicate that the location 
memory point has been stored.
8.1.2 Checking, editing and manually 
entering MEMO 1 and MEMO 2
The checking, editing, and manual entry of 
MEMO 1 and MEMO 2 location points are all 
essentially the same operation. Location points 
can be edited and entered to frame accuracy.1) Go to menu group 0:
If you are only checking the location points, you 
can see the value of the location point on the bot-
tom line of the display screen. As you move the 
cursor between 
Memo 1 and Memo 2, the 
value shown will change appropriately. Press 
ESCAPE when you have finished checking.
2) Move the cursor to Memo 1 or Memo 2 and 
press 
ENTER to select the location point to edit.
3) Use the 
LEFT and RIGHT keys to select the field 
you wish to edit (hours, minutes, seconds or 
frames) and the 
UP and DOWN keys to change 
the value.
You can reset the value of a location point field to 
“
00” by holding down the UP key and pressing 
the 
DOWN key (or the other way round).
There is also an “invisible” field to the right of the 
location value, which you can use to fine-tune the 
location point time, as described in 5.1.4, “Editing 
values”.
You can also use the function keys to enter the 
value directly, as described in 5.2.2, “Using the 
function keys as number keys”.
8.1.3 Setting the location pre-roll time
When you locate to a location memory (whether it 
is one of the MEMO 1/2 points or the 10 “function 
key” memories), the tape will stop at the memo-
rized location point, minus a pre-defined pre-roll 
time.
As shipped, the DA-98’s default location pre-roll 
time is 0 seconds. You can edit this to a value 
between 0 seconds (the tape will locate to the 
Position saved in
location memory
10:03:12:24 ABS
Delay Memo 1
Trk Copy Memo 2
Pitch Loc Pre
10:04:12:12 ABS
Memo 1
00:04:12:12 ABS