Tascam Digital Portastudio 2488 User Guide

1 – Setting up and introduction
 TASCAM 2488 User’s Guide 9
Copyright
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tive holders.
An overview of the 2488
The “road map” above can help you find your way 
around the 2488. At first, the array of keys and con-
trols may seem a little daunting, but we are sure that with a little time, you will become familiar...

1 – Setting up and introduction
10 TASCAM 2488 User’s Guide
Setting up the 2488
First, find a flat level surface for the 2488 which is 
stable and can’t be jogged or jolted easily.
This should be a hard surface. Don’t put the 2488 on 
a carpet or furnishings, as this will block the airflow 
and possibly cause overheating.
You should avoid moving the 2488 while it is 
switched on. Especially, you should never move it 
while the HD indicator by the display is lit or 
flashing.
Leave a little space at the...

1 – Setting up and introduction
 TASCAM 2488 User’s Guide 11
Shutting down the 2488
It may seem odd to talk about turning off the 2488 
before you’ve even started to use it, but there is a rea-
son for this. The 2488 contains a hard disk which is 
used to store your song data. If you simply turn off 
the unit using the power switch, there may be some 
data in the 2488’s memory which hasn’t been written 
to disk and you will therefore lose that data when you 
turn off the unit.
You should always use the...

1 – Setting up and introduction
12 TASCAM 2488 User’s Guide
Confirming Press the YES/ENTER key to do an 
action, to enter a sub-menu or to answer “yes” to a 
question. We’ll often refer to this as just the 
YES key 
or the 
ENTER key.
Escaping Press the NO/EXIT key to do the opposite 
of confirming (that is, to “escape” from a screen 
without performing an action, to go up a menu level, 
or to answer “no” to a question). We’ll often refer to 
this as just the 
NO key or the EXIT key.
SHIFT key Many keys...

1 – Setting up and introduction
 TASCAM 2488 User’s Guide 13
Main menu This is the “control center” for the 
2488’s setup, maintenance and preference setting, 
etc. operations.
Press the 
MENU key to enter the main menu screen:
Use the cursor keys to move around the screen, and 
press 
ENTER when the function you want to use is 
highlighted.
NOTE
When the menu screen is active, you may not be able to 
perform some operations on the 2488 (including trans-
port operations). 
Home screen This shows the...

1 – Setting up and introduction
14 TASCAM 2488 User’s Guide
Handling of compact discs
Observe the following:
 Always place the compact discs in the trays with 
their label facing upward (compact discs can only 
be played on one side).
 To remove a disc from its storage case, press down 
on the center of the case, and lift the disc out, hold-
ing it carefully by the edges.
 Finger marks and dust should be carefully wiped 
off the disc’s recorded surface with a soft cloth. 
Unlike traditional vinyl...

1 – Setting up and introduction
 TASCAM 2488 User’s Guide 15
Never use a stabilizer or printable discs
Using commercially available CD stabilizers or 
printable recordable discs with this player will dam-
age the mechanism and cause it to malfunction.NOTE
Never use a disc that has had a stabilizer mounted to it. 
The residual adhesive may cause the disc to stick to the 
mechanism of the 2488. If it sticks to the mechanism, 
you will need a technician to get it out.
Setting up your first song
This first...

1 – Setting up and introduction
16 TASCAM 2488 User’s Guide
Setting the tempo
The 2488 has a built-in metronome. We’ll set up a 
very simple 4/4 beat which stays the same all the way through, to drive the metronome and help you stay in 
time.
Making the first recording
We assume that you’re recording the rhythm guitar to 
start with, and that you are going to be recording it on 
track 1.
Note that inputs on the 2488 are lettered from 
A 
through 
H. Tracks are numbered from 1 through 24.Input 
H is...

1 – Setting up and introduction
 TASCAM 2488 User’s Guide 17
Recording the guitar
1Plug the guitar into the GUITAR [H] 
input on the front of the 2488.
Then plug a pair of headphones into 
the 
PHONES jack on the front 
panel.
2Play the guitar, and adjust the level 
using 
TRIM control H so that when 
you play a loud note, the 
OL indica-
tor above the 
INPUT-H key lights 
very briefly. Then turn the 
TRIM 
counterclockwise a little more.
If you want to tune the guitar using 
the 2488, see “Tuner” on...

1 – Setting up and introduction
18 TASCAM 2488 User’s Guide
7Adjust the tone of the guitar, by 
pressing the 
SELECT key of channel 
1, and then pressing the 
EQ key.
8Use the cursor keys and the wheel to 
move around the display and change 
values. The settings are shown as 
numbers and as a graph.
Use the on-screen 
SW on the left side 
of the display (or press and hold 
SHIFT and press EQ) to compare the 
sound with and without the equaliza-
tion.
9Press and hold down the RECORD 
key and press the...