Tascam Digital Portastudio 788 Owners Manual

TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio 81
9 – Effects
The 788 includes two high-end digital internal effects 
units, which can be used in a variety of ways to 
enhance your recording project. Since all effect pro-
cessing is carried out in the digital domain, there is 
no loss of quality caused by conversion to and from 
the digital domain.
The two effects units (
EFFECT 1 and EFFECT 2) can 
be set up in a number of different ways, according to 
the current recording task:
EFFECT 1 This effects unit can be used...

9 – Effects–Setting up EFFECT 2
82 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio
Using EFFECT 1 as a single stereo effect processor in the effect loop
1Press and hold down the SEND key. If EFFECT 
1
 or EFFECT 2 has already been assigned to the 
send loop, the appropriate indicator(s) will 
flash.
2Press the 
EFFECT 1 key. The indicator flashes 
when the effects unit is assigned to the loop.
3Select the mode for the effects unit. See “Single 
stereo effect processor settings” on page 85.
NOTE
You can reverse this order...

9 – Effects–Send levels, etc.
 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio 83
Using EFFECT 2 as a single stereo effect processor in the AUX effect loop
This allows the effect processor to be used in the sec-
ond effects loop (
AUX). If it is used in this way, this 
allows the 
AUX INPUT connectors to be used for 
(say) the stereo signal from an analog sub-mixer at 
mixdown time.
1Press and hold down the 
EFFECT 2 key. The 
indicator flashes, along with the indicators of 
any current assignments.
2While holding down...

9 – Effects–Selecting the type of effect
84 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio
Pre- and post-fader sends explained
Pre-fader means that the level sent to the effects loop 
is independent of the fader setting, as the signal is 
taken before it reaches the fader.Po s t - f a d e r means that because the level to the send 
control is controlled by the fader, the total effect send 
is increased and reduced with the fader.
Changing between pre-fader and post-fader settings
This applies to the Effect and Aux loops...

9 – Effects–Selecting the type of effect
 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio 85
Multi-effect processor preset settings
The preset effect settings available for the multi-
effect processor (
EFFECT 1 only) are:
There are also some preset effects which you can use 
as starting points for your own experiments. The 
descriptions of these effects are provided separately.
Single stereo effect processor settings
When either EFFECT 1 or EFFECT 2 is selected as a 
single stereo effect processor, the preset options...

9 – Effects–Making settings
86 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio
Making settings
Whatever type of effect has been selected for use by 
the 
EFFECT 1 or EFFECT 2 processor, the principles 
of editing are the same (the exact parameters which 
can be edited are different, of course). The details of 
these parameters are described in “Parameter details” 
on page 87.
1If the 
EFFECT screen is not shown (the 
example here shows a multi-effect processor), 
press the appropriate 
EFFECT key to bring up this screen...

9 – Effects–Parameter details
 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio 87
Parameter details
The following describe the ways in which the effec-
tor parameters can be edited, and a brief description 
of their effects.
Multi-effect processor settings
There are a number of different separate effects 
within each multi-effect processor setting (see 
“Using EFFECT 1 as a multi-effect processor” on 
page 81 for details of the multi-effect processor set-tings) which have parameters that may be edited 
independently....

9 – Effects–Parameter details
88 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio
Exciter An exciter is an effect which (usually) sub-
tly emphasizes a range of frequencies, making them 
“sparkle” and stand out in the mix.The multi-effect exciter in the 788 has two parame-
ters that can be set:
Pitch shifter A pitch shifter allows the pitch of a 
signal to move up or down to harmonize with the original signal. The multi-effect pitch shifter in the 
788 has three parameters:
Chorus A chorus effect adds a slight doubling...

9 – Effects–Parameter details
 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio 89
De-esser A de-esser removes the sharp “ess” 
sounds from vocals and so on (hence its name). Some 
vocal styles and some vocalists seem to need this 
treatment, and others don’t seem to require it. A lot also depends on your microphones, and their place-
ment. You don’t have to use a de-esser with vocals 
only, but that’s usually where it does most good. 
There are two parameters in the 788 de-esser:
Single stereo effect settings
The single...

9 – Effects–Parameter details
90 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio
PITCH SHIFTER A pitch shifter, allowing har-
monization of the effected sound with the original 
(the pitch shifted sounds may sound a little strange in 
character—this is not a substitute for real harmony singing, but can be a very effective special effect). A 
delay setting provides additional ‘harmonies” shift-
ing the pitch by the specified amount on each repeat.
FLANGER A swirling sound, adding depth to the 
original sound. At high...