Tascam Digital Portastudio 2488 User Guide

							2 – Mixer
 TASCAM 2488 User’s Guide 29
Soloing and toggle
Soloing is also an important part of the recording 
process, allowing you to temporarily isolate problem 
areas (channels or tracks) and listen to them with 
your full attention.
The 
MUTE keys for each channel also act as SOLO 
keys when the 
SOLO indicator is flashing (solo mode 
is active).The 
MUTE/SOLO keys of any soloed channels flash 
while being soloed.
Muted channels cannot be soloed or unmuted while 
solo mode is active.
The solo is an in-place solo—any changes to fader 
levels, pan position, etc. made in solo mode are 
reflected in the solo signal.
Sub mix
The 2488 sub mix facility allows you to add up to 
eight more inputs (usually on mixdown) to the 
twenty-four tracks already recorded. These could be 
inputs from a multi-timbral MIDI device, synchro-
nized using MIDI clock information from the 2488 
driving a sequencer.
The eight inputs from 
A through H are pressed into 
service here and they feed a bus that can be routed to 
the stereo bus (or to the recorder in bounce mix—see 
“Making a bounce mix” on page 49).
1Press and hold down the source INPUT key of 
an input to be assigned to the sub mix and 
press the 
SUB MIX key (above the STEREO 
fader) to assign the input to the sub mix.
2Repeat this process for all inputs to be 
assigned to the sub mix.
3Finally, assign the sub mix itself to the stereo 
bus. Press and hold the 
SUB MIX key, and 
press the 
STEREO key.Press the 
SUB MIX key to bring up the appropriate 
screen (if it’s not already displayed):
This shows the current assignment of inputs to the 
sub mix, and the current assignment of the sub mix 
output.
There is also a level control (
0 to 127, 100 is unity 
gain). Use the wheel to set this level.
NOTE
You can also bounce recorded tracks (“Bouncing tracks” 
on page 49). Because this uses the sub mixer, you can-
not use the sub mix as described here and perform track 
bouncing at the same time.
Scene memories
The 2488 can store and recall up to 100 scene memo-
ries. Each memory stores all the digital parameters 
for:
 Input assignment
 EQ settings 
 Effector settings and assignment (assignment and 
parameters for both internal effects units) Effect send and loop levels
Pan
 Digital pad/gain
 Fader settings (including the 
STEREO fader)
 Sub-mixer settings 
						

							2 – Mixer
30 TASCAM 2488 User’s Guide
NOTE
Monitor settings and TRIM control settings are not 
stored as part of a scene.
To access the scene memories:
1Press the SCENE key:
2From the scene library screen, use the wheel to 
select a scene. 
3Use the left and right cursor keys to select LOAD 
(settings from the library) or 
SAVE (current set-
tings to the library).
4When saving, use the wheel to select a setting 
which you will overwrite, or select the 
(new 
scene)
 option to create a new library entry.
When loading a scene, you should simply 
select the library entry.
5Press ENTER. The scene will be loaded or 
saved.
NOTE
Take care when recalling a scene. The audio level may 
jump dramatically from the current level.
You can also add meaningful titles to the scenes by 
pressing the shifted 
MENU key (TITLE). See 
“Titling” on page 12.  
						

							 TASCAM 2488 User’s Guide 31
3 – Effects
The 2488 includes high-quality effects that may be 
used to enhance your playing.
They may be used in a number of different ways for 
use in different stages of the production process.
 Firstly, the effects may be used on up to eight chan-
nels and/or inputs (that is, eight signals in total) as 
inserted mic effects.
 Alternatively, up to four mic effects may be used 
together with an inserted multi-effect.
 Lastly, a single high-quality effect may be used. 
This is fed by the internal LOOP (“Effect send” on 
page 23).The parameters of the effects may be edited and 
stored in libraries allowing the same effect setting to 
be used on multiple tracks or used in different parts 
of the same project.
These library effects are available between songs 
(and disk partitions—see “Disk management” on 
page 65).
Whether or not the parameters are stored in a library 
entry, effect assignments and parameters are always 
stored as part of a song.
Mic effects
MIC X 4 Select four mic effects and the multi-effect 
by pressing the 
MICX4 EFFECT key.
If the eight mic effects setting has previously been 
selected, the mic effect assignments already made are 
unassigned.
MIC X 8 Select eight mic effects by using the 
MULTI and MICX4 EFFECT keys (MICX8)located above the channels. Press and hold one of these keys 
and then press the other one. 
If the four mic effects + multi-effect setting is already 
selected, the multi-effect is unassigned, and the four 
mic effect assignments are left in place.
To “unlink” these two keys, press and hold them 
together again. 
Assigning mic effects
Assign and unassign channels and inputs in the same 
way that channels are assigned to inputs (see “Inputs 
and assignments” on page 21). In other words, press-
ing and holding the 
MICX4 key (whether four or eight 
mic effects are selected) and pressing a channel or 
input 
SELECT key assigns or unassigns the mic 
effect to or from the channel/input.If all available mic effects are being used, attempting 
to assign another channel or input has no effect. You 
must free up some inputs or channels to allow new 
ones to be assigned.
A stereo channel (13-14 through 23-24) counts as 
two channels. In other words, up to eight mono or 
four stereo, or intermediate combinations at a time, 
can use mic effects in this mode.
Selecting mic effects
1When the MICX4 key is pressed (regardless of 
whether eight or four mic effects have been 
selected), and the 
SELECT key of the input or 
track is pressed, the 
MIC EFFECT screen is shown:
2Press ENTER to access the effect library:
3Use the left and right keys to select either the 
preset (
PRESET) library, the user library (USER) 
or save (
SAVE) the current setting. 
						

							3 – Effects
32 TASCAM 2488 User’s Guide
The basic types of mic effects available are:
Vo c a l  c o m p r e s s o r  (VOCAL-COMP/CMP)
De-esser (DE-ESSER/ DSR)
Vocal exciter (VOCAL-EXC/EXC)
4Use the wheel to select the effect to load (or 
when saving, the “slot” in which to save).
If you’re saving an effect, you can give it a 
title, such as 
SLAP BASS, FUNKY KOTO, etc. The three-letter abbreviation for the effect type 
cannot be changed. See “Titling” on page 12.
5Press ENTER to load (or save) the effect. The 
display shows the parameter editing 
MIC EFFECT 
screen. 
Pressing 
EXIT cancels the load and returns the 
settings to the previous parameters.
Editing mic effects
The parameters to be edited for the effects differ 
according to the type of effect selected.
TIP
If you are unsure of the operation of a compressor or 
any of the effects described here, it is a good idea to 
read one of the many excellent introductory books on 
audio and recording.
Compressor (CMP) The THRESHOLD at which the 
compressor kicks in, the 
RATIO of the compressor, and 
the 
ATTACK and POST GAIN times.
De-esser (DSR) The FREQUENCY at which the de-
esser operates and the 
DEPTH of the effect.
Exciter (EXC) The FREQUENCY and the DEPTH of the 
effect.
Multi-effect
On the 2488, a “multi-effect” is a chain of effects 
which can be used together as one insert effect for 
processing a guitar sound, for example.A multi-effect is made available together with the 
four mic effect setting.
Selecting the multi-effect for use is done in the same 
way as selecting the four mic effects (see above).
Assigning the multi-effect to a channel or input
The multi-effect is assigned in the same way as the 
mic effects: press and hold the 
MULTI key and press 
the input or channel 
SELECT key. 
Any input or channel assigned when the 
MULTI key 
is first pressed flash.Unassigning the multi-effect follows the same proce-
dure: press and hold the 
MULTI key, and press the 
flashing 
SELECT key.
NOTE
The multi-effect can be freely assigned to mono inputs 
or channels or to linked or stereo input or channels.
Editing the multi-effect
Pressing the MULTI key brings up the multi-effect 
screen.At the bottom of the screen, below the parameters, is 
a block of three-letter abbreviations (circled in the 
illustration here). These represent the different indi-
vidual components of the multi-effect. The positions 
of the effect components in the chain cannot be 
changed.
Use the right and left cursor keys to navigate between 
them.

NSP: Noise Suppressor (noise gate). This effect is 
always at the start of the chain. Adjust the 
THRESHOLD, amount of SUPPRESSION, ATTACK and 
RELEASE. You can also SWITCH this effect on or off 
(in or out of the chain). 
						

							3 – Effects
 TASCAM 2488 User’s Guide 33
DST: Distortion. Either this effect or the compressor 
(below) is in the second position in the chain. 
Adjust the 
DISTORTION level, TONE and amount of 
POST GAIN (gain applied after the effect). You can 
also 
SWITCH this effect on or off (in or out of the 
chain).

CMP: Compressor. Either this effect or the distortion 
(above) is in the second position in the chain. 
Adjust the 
THRESHOLD, compression RATIO, the COMP 
LEVEL
, and the amount of DIRECT MIX. You can also 
SWITCH this effect on or off (in or out of the chain).

AMP: Amplifier model. This effect is always the 
third in the chain. Adjust the 
PRE GAIN (corresponds 
to pre-amplifier gain setting, the 
TONE, the BOX SIZE 
(speaker cabinet size), and the 
POST GAIN (overall 
output volume). You can also 
SWITCH this effect on 
or off (in or out of the chain).
 Modulation, etc. effects (see below). One of these 
effects is always in the fourth place in the chain.

DLY: Delay. This is always the final effect in the 
chain. Adjust the 
DELAY TIME, amount of FEEDBACK, 
HI DAMP (the amount by which high frequencies are 
damped with successive repeats) and the overall 
MIX LEVEL. You can also SWITCH this effect on or off 
(in or out of the chain).
Modulation effects One of the following effects 
always takes the fourth place in the chain.
FLG: Flanger. Adjust the SPEED, DEPTH, RESONANCE 
and 
MIX level of this flanging effect. You can also 
SWITCH this effect on or off (in or out of the chain).

PHA: Phaser. Adjust the SPEED, DEPTH and RESONANCE 
of this phasing effect. You can also 
SWITCH this 
effect on or off (in or out of the chain).

CHO: Chorus. Adjust the SPEED, DEPTH, TONE and MIX 
level of this chorus effect. You can also 
SWITCH this 
effect on or off (in or out of the chain).

EXC: Exciter. Adjust the FREQUENCY and DEPTH of this 
exciter effect. You can also 
SWITCH this effect on or 
off (in or out of the chain).

PIT: Pitch shifter. Adjust the PITCH (in semitones) 
and use the 
FINE setting for fine-tuning. Set the MIX 
LEVEL. You can also SWITCH this effect on or off (in 
or out of the chain).

TRM: Tremolo. Adjust the SPEED and DEPTH as well 
as the 
SHAPE of the waveform. You can also SWITCH 
this effect on or off (in or out of the chain).

VIB: Vibrato. Adjust the SPEED and DEPTH of this 
vibrato effect. You can also 
SWITCH this effect on or 
off (in or out of the chain).

WAH: Wah effect. Adjust the ATTACK of the effect, 
the 
SENSE (sensitivity) of the effect, and whether the 
PEDAL (the EXPRESSION pedal connected at the 
front of the unit) is used or not to control the effect 
(if 
OFF, this becomes an auto-wah effect).
Using the multi-effect library
1From the multi-effect parameter screen, press 
ENTER:
2Use the left and right cursor keys to select 
either the 
PRESET memory banks, the USER 
memory banks, or 
SAVE the current setting.
The left side of the 
PRESET memory banks pro-
vides a description of the effect (
GRUNGE, LEAD 
SOLO
, etc.).In the right column, you can see the chief com-
ponents of the effect. The first part of the 
name represents the second effect in the chain 
(either 
DIST- for distortion, or CLEAN- for com-
pression, followed by one of the eight modula-
tion effects (
FLG, PHA, CHO, EXC, PIT, TRM, VIB, and 
WAH). There are therefore 16 “starting points” 
for multi-effect settings.
3To save the current settings as an effect in the 
USER bank, move the cursor to SAVE and press 
ENTER. Select an existing effect to overwrite, 
or pick a new library entry into which to save 
the parameters.
You can rename any entry in the user banks 
using the techniques described in “Titling” on 
page 12. The basic type of effect (for instance, 
DIST-FLG) is always shown in the right column 
of the list, so even if you call it 
HEAVY LEAD, for 
example, you can still recognize the basic 
starting point. 
						

							3 – Effects
34 TASCAM 2488 User’s Guide
Single effect
The single effect provides you with a quality effect in 
the internal effect loop. This is most useful in the 
mixdown and mastering stages, but it can be used at 
any time.
The send level to this effect is controlled by the chan-
nels’ 
LOOP levels (“Effect send” on page 23) and the 
master 
LOOP level.
The return from this effect is sent to the stereo master 
bus, or to the bounce sub mix (“Making a bounce 
mix” on page 49).
Press the 
SINGLE EFFECT key. It lights, and the 
screen changes to the 
SINGLE EFFECT screen:Press the 
ENTER key to enter the library screen to 
recall a preset effect or a user effect or to save the 
current parameters.
Use the “left” and “right” cursor keys to select the 
PRESET choices, the USER settings, or to SAVE the cur-
rent parameters.
Scroll up and down through the list that appears, and 
press 
ENTER to confirm your choice.
Single effect library presets
The choices available from the PRESET library are 
based on the following basic types, as shown in the 
right column of the library screen:
REV A reverb effect with different types and charac-
teristics. Adjust the 
ROOM TYPE, PRE DELAY, REV TIME, 
DIFFUSION and LEVEL.
DLY A flexible delay effect with different settings. 
Adjust the 
TYPE, PRE DELAY, FB DELAY (feedback delay), 
FEEDBACK and LEVEL.
CHO A warm-sounding chorus. Adjust the RATE, 
DEPTH, FB DELAY (feedback delay), FEEDBACK and LEVEL.
PIT Pitch shifting with delay. Adjust the PITCH (in 
semitones), the 
FINE pitch adjustment, the PRE DELAY, 
the 
FEEDBACK and the LEVEL.
FLG An expressive flanger. Adjust the RATE, DEPTH, 
FB DELAY (feedback delay), FEEDBACK and LEVEL.
PHA A phasing effect. Adjust the RATE, DEPTH, 
RESONANCE, STEP and LEVEL.
GRV Gated reverb. Adjust the TYPE, the gate 
THRESHOLD, GATE TIME, DENSITY (of the reverb) and 
LEVEL.
Once you have loaded a preset, you can adjust the 
parameters to suit your project.
Saving your own settings
Like the mic and multi-effects, it is possible to save 
and name your own single effect settings, either over-
writing an existing setting or adding a new setting.In the library, no matter what name you give to an 
effect (for example 
HEAVY BASS), the three-letter 
abbreviation of the original preset that was edited to 
create the user setting is always shown (for example 
PHA). 
						

							3 – Effects
 TASCAM 2488 User’s Guide 35
Tu n e r
This is not really an effect, but uses one of the keys.
Press the shifted 
MULTI key to bring up the TUNER 
screen.The tuner is used with the signal from input 
H on the 
front panel (reserved for guitars and basses). It can-
not be used with any other input.
When a note is played, the 2488 tuner displays the 
note closest to that note, and the bars under the name 
show whether the actual note is more sharp (the bars 
to the right of the center are highlighted) or flat (the 
bars to the left of the center are highlighted) than the 
true value.
When the larger center bar alone is highlighted, the 
instrument is tuned to the displayed note.
You can set the reference A to a value other than 
440Hz if necessary.
Exit the tuner by pressing the shifted 
MULTI key 
again. 
						

							36 TASCAM 2488 User’s Guide
4 – Recorder
First steps in recording (song management)
These functions are not completely recorder-related, 
but they do have play important roles in the recorder 
operation. These are all accessed through the 
SONG menu from the main menu (press 
MENU, navigate to 
SONG, and press ENTER).
Creating a song
Before starting work on any project, you need to 
1Press the MENU key, and use the cursor keys 
to highlight the 
SONG item. Press ENTER.
2At the SONG menu, use the cursor keys to high-
light the 
CREATE option. Press ENTER.
3Use the wheel to select between 16-bit and 24-
bit resolution. As you might expect, 24-bit 
songs take up more space on disk than 16-bit 
songs of the same length, but the audio quality is higher (there is more subtlety in the 
dynamic range).
4In the CREATE screen, press the SHIFT key fol-
lowed by the 
TITLE key to enter titling mode.
5Use the wheel and the cursor keys to give the 
song a name up to 12 characters in length.
Press 
ENTER when you’re done. The display 
shows the home screen.
Loading a song
To load a previously-saved song from disk (the cur-
rent song will be written to disk automatically when 
the song is loaded):
1Press the MENU key and use the cursor keys to 
highlight the 
SONG item. Press ENTER.
2At the SONG menu, use the cursor keys to high-
light the 
LOAD option. Press ENTER.
3Select the song to be loaded.
The current song is automatically saved, and 
the selected song is loaded from disk.
NOTE
This menu reads the songs stored on the currently-
selected partition. If you are loading a song from another 
partition, you must select it first.
Saving a song
The function described here saves the song to disk.
1Press the MENU key and use the cursor keys to 
highlight the 
SONG item. Press ENTER.
2At the SONG menu, use the cursor keys to high-
light the 
SAVE option. Press ENTER.As the song is saved, appropriate messages are 
displayed. The current song will be reloaded 
after it has been saved, and you can resume 
work on it.
Reverting to the previously saved version of a song
If you have saved a song and you want to return to 
the version of the song at the time it was last saved:
1Press the MENU key and use the cursor keys to 
highlight the 
SONG item. Press ENTER.
2At the SONG menu, use the cursor keys to high-
light the 
REVERT option. Press ENTER.
3The 2488 asks if you are sure. Press YES if you 
want to throw away all changes since the last 
save operation, otherwise press 
NO.
NOTE
You will lose all recordings and edits made since the last 
save, and they will disappear from the undo list. This 
revert operation is not undoable. Be sure that the work 
you have done since the last save operation is really 
work that you do not want to keep before reverting to 
a previous version. 
						

							4 – Recorder
 TASCAM 2488 User’s Guide 37
Erasing a song
To free up space on a disk partition, and delete a song 
or songs, you should perform the following opera-
tions:
1Press the MENU key and use the cursor keys to 
highlight the 
SONG item. Press ENTER.
2At the SONG menu, use the cursor keys to high-
light the 
ERASE option. Press ENTER.
3Select the song or songs to be erased using the 
wheel to highlight the songs and the 
INSERT 
key to place a check mark (
✔) beside them.
If you select a song for erasure by accident, 
use the 
DELETE key to deselect it.
4Press YES to erase the selected song(s).
5The 2488 asks you if you are sure. Press YES if 
you really are sure that you want to erase 
these songs.
NOTE
This operation cannot be undone. Erasing songs is a 
permanent operation. Always think carefully before 
you erase a song or songs.
This menu can erase only the songs stored on the cur-
rently-selected partition. If you want to erase a song or 
songs from another partition, you must select it first.
If you have selected all the songs on a partition for era-
sure, a new song will automatically be created after all 
the existing songs have been erased.
Copying songs
As well as copying songs, so that you can work on 
another version of them, you can also use this menu 
item as a tool to back up songs to another partition 
(you can also back up to CD-R, but this is a separate 
process).
1Press the MENU key and use the cursor keys to 
highlight the 
SONG item. Press ENTER.
2At the SONG menu, use the cursor keys to high-
light the 
COPY option. Press ENTER.
3Select the song or songs to be copied using the 
wheel to highlight the songs and the 
INSERT 
key to place a check mark (
✔) beside them.
If you select a song for copying by accident, 
use the 
DELETE key to deselect it.
4When all the songs to be copied have been 
marked, press the 
ENTER key. A list of all the 
currently-available partitions is shown.
5Use the wheel to select the partition to which 
the selection will be copied, and press 
ENTER.
6The 2488 asks you if you are sure that you 
want to make the copy. Press 
YES to continue 
with the operation, and 
NO to cancel.
NOTE
Copying a song may take some time. Be patient while 
the song is being copied, and take care not to power 
down the 2488 in the middle of a copy operation.
If you copy a song to the partition where it was origi-
nally stored, it will be copied with the same title as orig-
inally, so the list will contain two songs with the same 
title. If you want two copies of the same song on one 
partition, you should rename one of the copies immedi-
ately after the copy operation has been carried out.
When you make the selection for copying, only those 
songs in the currently-selected partition are listed. If 
you need to back up from many different partitions, 
you must select each partition in turn and then select 
the songs on the selected partition. 
						

							4 – Recorder
38 TASCAM 2488 User’s Guide
Deleting unused space from a song
As we explained earlier, a song does not consist of 
just the recorded audio, but also of the “playlist” and 
the recorded but unused parts of the song. 
By “unused”, we mean parts of a song which have 
been completely overwritten by other parts. If the 
start or end or both of a new part extends beyond the 
start or end of a new part, it will not be deleted in this 
operation.
A virtual track which is not currently assigned as an 
active track does not count as “unused” here.To free up this disk space, once you’ve made all your 
edit decisions (there’s no undo on this):
1Press the MENU key and use the cursor keys to 
highlight the 
SONG item. Press ENTER.
2At the SONG menu, use the cursor keys to high-
light the 
DELETE UNUSED option. Press ENTER.
3The 2488 asks you if you are sure. If you want 
to delete all the unused portions of the song, 
press 
YES. If you have second thoughts, press 
NO.
NOTE
Although there is no undo operation here, and you lose 
all the unused parts of the song permanently, you can 
back up the song to CD-R, before performing this 
“cleanup” operation. If you change your mind later on, 
you can restore this backed up version.
Remember that you cannot undo this operation.
Protecting a song
When a song is protected, recording is not possible 
(the track 
REC keys are disabled), it cannot be edited 
using the track editing functions, and it cannot be 
erased, etc. using the 
SONG menu.
It is also impossible to set or edit location marks 
except the IN and OUT points for repeat operations, 
or to permanently reassign virtual tracks. Virtual 
tracks can be assigned for audition purposes, but not 
permanently saved.
In operations which show a list of available songs 
(for instance, loading a song), any protected songs 
have a small padlock icon beside the song title.Only the currently-loaded song can be protected or 
unprotected at any one time (though, of course, songs 
stored on the disk can be stored as protected or 
unprotected).
1Press the MENU key and use the cursor keys to 
highlight the 
SONG item. Press ENTER.
2At the SONG menu, use the cursor keys to high-
light the 
PROTECT option. Press ENTER.
3Use the wheel to set the protection ON or OFF, 
and press 
ENTER to confirm the setting.
New guitar solo over the old
Old guitar solo (will be deleted)
New guitar solo over the old
Old guitar solo (will not be deleted)
New guitar solo over the old
Old guitar solo (will not be deleted)