Tascam Digital Portastudio 788 Owners Manual

							2 – Getting started–A few notes about this manual
 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio 21
“Roadmap” to this manual
Each section of this manual deals with a different 
topic:
1 “Introductory concepts” (page 8) This 
section provides an introduction to some of the the-
ory behind the 788. 
Read this section to: familiarize yourself with the 
ideas behind multitrack recording and disk recording.
2 “Getting started” (page 19) This section 
provides you with basic information regarding the 
first use of the 788, and the basic principles regarding 
menu operations, etc. 
Read this section to: become familiar with the basic 
principles of operating the 788’s menu system, etc.
3 “Before recording” (page 34) This section 
helps you get started before actually recording using 
the 788.
Read this section to: understand how to assign inputs 
to mixer channels, and to listen to your work.
4 “Mixer” (page 41) The digital mixer which is 
part of the 788 allows you to control equalization, 
level, pan, etc. 
Read this section to: understand the mixer functions 
of the 788.
5 “Recorder operations” (page 49) The 
other major component of the 788 apart from the 
mixer is the disk recorder, which allows you to 
record, punch in and out, play back, perform repeat 
playback, etc.
Read this section to: understand the recorder func-
tions of the 788.
6 “Location operations” (page 60) The 788 
allows you to set and move to location marks 
throughout your song, for convenience.
Read this section to: find out how to use these loca-
tion functions effectively.
7 “Track editing” (page 65) The 788 provides 
you with a wide range of editing tools to help you in 
your work.
Read this section to: find out how to select, copy, 
move and paste sections of recorded material, as well 
as other editing features.
8 “Mastering and backup (CD-R)” (page 
72) 
You can use a CD-R or CD-RW drive connected 
to the 788 to create master stereo recordings on disc, 
as well as backing up and restoring song data for 
future use.
Read this section to: understand how to use record-
able CDs with your 788.
9 “Effects” (page 81) The effectors in the 788 
can be used for many different purposes: as multi-
effect processors, dynamics processors, and single 
stereo effect processors. You can make your own set-
tings for these effectors, and can store them on the 
788 disk.
Read this section to: make the most of the effectors 
built into the 788, and for reference to the parameters 
you can set.
10 “Routing and scene libraries” (page 
91) 
The 788 allows you to store mixer settings and 
routing settings into libraries.
Read this section to: learn how to store and recall 
commonly-used scenes, etc.
11 “Synchronization” (page 94) You can 
synchronize the 788 with other equipment, allowing 
you to play along with MIDI instruments, etc.
Read this section to: learn how to synchronize the 
788 with other equipment.
12 “MMC and MIDI functions” (page 101) 
Various parameters of the 788 can be controlled by 
MIDI messages. In addition, the 788 transport can be 
controlled by MIDI Machine Control commands.
Read this section to: learn how to control the 788 
using MIDI.
13 “Specifications, etc.” (page 119) As 
well as the specifications of the 788, this section also 
contains a lost of error messages.
Read this section to: understand what to do if an 
error message appears, or for hard facts and figures 
about the 788. 
						

							2 – Getting started–Connecting other equipment to your 788
22 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio
Connecting other equipment to your 788
For a typical recording session, you will need:
the 788 itself
some sound sources (instruments and/or micro-
phones)
a stereo mastering recorder (cassette, DAT, MD). 
Alternatively, you can use a CD-R or CD-RW drive 
which will allow you to master the song, and also 
to back up and restore your working material.
an external effects unit (optional)
a monitoring system (this is a grand name for a 
good amplifier and a pair of good speakers which 
you will use to listen to your recorded material—
this can be your stereo system)
if you are using microphones in the same room as 
the 788, you should use headphones (headphones 
are also sometimes useful for general monitoring 
purposes as well)
cables to connect everything together, with the 
appropriate connectors
if you are using MIDI instruments, you will almost 
certainly be using a sequencer (either as a stand-
alone unit, as a computer program, or built into a 
workstation instrument)
1Find a stable level surface on which to put your 
788 and place the 788 on it.
2Make sure that all equipment is switched off.
3Connect the 
MONITOR OUTPUTs of the 788 to 
a pair of inputs of the monitoring system.
4Connect the 
STEREO OUTPUTs of the 788 to 
the inputs of the mastering recorder (if it is an 
analog-connected recorder). Connect the out-puts of the mastering recorder to another pair 
of inputs on the monitoring system (if they are 
available).
Alternatively, if you are using a DAT, CD 
recorder or MD recorder with a digital (coax-
ial) audio input, connect the 788’s 
DIGITAL 
OUTPUT
 to the COAXIAL IN of the recording 
device. Set the input selector of the recording 
device appropriately.
As yet another alternative, you can make a 
SCSI connection (see “SCSI issues” on 
page 17) to a suitable CD-R or CD-RW drive. 
Even though no audio connection is made, the 
drive will be able to accept audio data through 
the SCSI cable, and to transfer it back to the 
788 for replay.
5If you are using an external effects unit, con-
nect the 
AUX O UT P UTs of the 788 to the inputs 
of the effects unit, and the outputs of the effects 
unit to the 
AUX INPUTs of the 788.
6Connect the MIDI OUT of the sequencer to the 
MIDI IN of the 788 and the MIDI IN of the 
sequencer to the 
MIDI OUT of the 788.
7Connect the audio outputs of your instruments 
to the inputs of the 788.
8Connect the PS-P788 AC adaptor supplied 
with your 788 to the 788.
9Turn on the power, starting with the instru-
ments, and finishing with the monitoring 
system.
Additional connection notes
Make sure that you have enough space to plug and 
unplug cables, etc. and that you can reach the con-
trols, read the display, etc. comfortably.
If you are using a home stereo amplifier, do not 
connect the 788 to any PHONO inputs on the 
amplifier. These are the wrong kind of inputs for 
this kind of equipment. Use inputs labeled AU X, 
CD, VIDEO, etc.
Always use the TASCAM PS-P788 AC adaptor 
designed for use with the 788, making sure that the 
input voltage marked on the adaptor matches the 
power supply in your area. Never use any other 
adaptor with the 788. If you are unsure, consult an electrician. If you move to an area with a different 
voltage, contact your TASCAM distributor regard-
ing the supply of a new adaptor.
When switching on equipment, a general rule is to 
work from the signal source through to the final 
end result. In this case, assuming a synthesizer is 
plugged into the 788, the switch-on order would 
be:
Synthesizer → 788 → Mastering recorder → Mon-
itor amplifier
Switch off in the reverse order (end result through 
to signal source). 
						

							2 – Getting started–Connecting other equipment to your 788
 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio 23
If your external effects unit can only accept a mono 
input, connect the 
L AUX OUTPUT of the 788 to 
the input.
The MIDI connections described here do not have 
to be direct connections—your sequencer will need 
to accept data from the instrument chain and to 
pass data to them. However, you should make sure 
that MTC (MIDI Timecode) can be sent from the 
788 to the sequencer, and MIDI Machine Control commands can be received by the 788 from the 
sequencer, even if this means routing the MIDI sig-
nals through some MIDI THRU ports.
If you are connecting an electric guitar (or bass 
guitar) directly into the 788, use 
INPUT D and set 
the switch to 
GUITAR—this allows the matching of 
the input impedance to the high impedance of an 
electric guitar.
 
MIDI
INPUTs A thru C AUDIO 
OUTs
STEREO
OUTPUTMONITOR 
OUTPUT
AUX OUTPUT
INPUT DREC IN
PLAY 
OUT
TAPE IN
AUX INPUTS 
						

							2 – Getting started–About the menus
24 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio
About the menus
The 788 uses a menu interface to display and select 
operations that you cannot carry out using the front 
panel keys.
The 
JOG/DATA dial is often used to scroll through a 
list. When the dial can be used, the screen will usu-
ally show a small icon representing the dial (as 
shown at on the left of the screen).Generally, the transport must be stopped (not playing 
back or recording) when using the menus.
When scrolling through a list, when the option you 
want is highlighted, you should select the option by 
pressing the 
ENTER/YES key.
The 
EXIT/NO key allows you to move up a level 
without selecting an option.
Selecting multiple entries
Sometimes multiple entries can be selected from a 
list (for instance, when copying songs). In this case, 
the selected entries in the list are shown by a check 
mark (✔) beside the list entry.To set a check mark by a list entry, press the INSERT/
MOVE
 key.
To clear a check mark from a list entry, press the 
DELETE/SILENCE key.
The MENU key
The MENU key allows you to make settings with the 
“system” menus. 
These menus provide access to system-level settings 
that you will probably not use very often (for 
instance, you will only create a song once in the life-
time of a song).SONG menus
(see “The SONG menu” on 
page 28CREATE
SAVE
REVERT
LOAD
ERASE
COPY
DELETE UNUSED
PROTECT
DISK
 menus
(see “DISK menu” on page 31)SELECT
EJECT
FORMAT
CHECK
CD-R 
menus
(see the section “Mastering 
and backup (CD-R)” on 
page 72)PRE MASTERING
CHECK MASTER
CD WRITER
CD FINALIZE
CD PLAYER
DATA BACKUP
DATA RESTORE
SYNC/MIDI
 menus 
(see the section “Synchroniza-
tion” on page 94)SYNC
SYNC TRACK
TEMPO MAP
METRONOME
CONTROL
OPTION 
menus (see 
“The OPTION menu” on 
page 33)GLOBAL
MIXER
RECORDER
USER WORD 
						

							2 – Getting started–About the menus
 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio 25
Other control screens
There are a number of dedicated menus and screens 
available, which are accessed with the following 
keys. These are all described in the appropriate sec-
tions of this manual:
Selecting parameters
If there are many parameters on a screen, use the cur-
sor keys to highlight the parameter you want to 
change before setting the value with the dial.
Here, the two 
PAN values can be highlighted, and 
changed with the dial. In the example above, the pan 
value of channel 1 is highlighted for editing.Sometimes there are “tabs” at the top of the screen. 
Use the Ó and Á cursor keys to select the tab where 
you will be making the change.
Here, the left and right keys are used to select the tab 
from 
1 through 8 at the top of the screen (tab 1 is 
selected in this screen).
The virtual tracks are then selected with the dial.
Setting values
When a value is to be changed, use the JOG/DATA 
dial to change the value.
The 
ENTER key is often used as a “yes” key to 
answer questions like 
Are you sure? 
which may sometimes be shown on screen (for 
example, the screen below).If you change your mind about carrying out an opera-
tion, use the 
EXIT key.
The 
EXIT key can also be used as a “no” key to 
answer on-screen questions.
EQChannel equalization
SENDChannel Aux and Effect send
FADER/PANChannel fader and pan settings
TRACK CUEOff-disk level and pan positioning for cue mix
QUICK 
SETUPPreset routing options, scene read and write, 
routing assignment read and write
EFFECT 1Effect selection and parameters
EFFECT 2Effect selection and parameters
LOCATELocation recall, naming and time viewing
TRACK EDIT“Copy and paste”, etc. of recorded material
UNDO/REDOMenu to undo or redo editing operations
STEREOStereo section settings
SUB MIXSub-mixer settings
TRACKVirtual track assignment 
						

							2 – Getting started–The “home” display
26 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio
The “home” display
There is one special display which is always avail-
able with the touch of one key—the 
HOME/ESC key. 
This “home” display provides the following 
information:A large display of the time counter (see below)
Track/monitor meters and the recording source
The title of the currently active location mark
A space for messages
The record ready status of the tracks (in this exam-
ple tracks 3 and 4 are ready for recording)
The time display
When the home display is shown, moving the cursor 
to the left field on the top line of the display allows 
you to use the dial to change the time mode shown in 
the top line of the home (and other screens) between 
the following options:
Absolute timeMIDI Timecode
Bars and beats and the current tempo (when work-
ing with a tempo map)
Entering and editing titles 
The 788 allows you to use titles up to 12 characters in 
length that you choose to identify songs, virtual 
tracks, location marks, library settings, etc. (the titles 
of location marks can be up to 10 characters long).
It is probably much easier for you to remember a vir-
tual track title such as 
Good solo than 
V.TRACK 97, or a real song title rather than 
SONG 12 (of course, if you prefer to use titles like 
V. TRACK 97, or Mark 006 to 
Bass hook, you’re always free to leave things 
that way!).
You can set and edit a title for the following items in 
almost every screen where you select or store them:
Location marks (except the IN, OUT and TO 
points, which are a special case)
Songs
Virtual tracks
Mixer scenes
Mixer routing tables
Effect settings
The way in which you enter titles, and edit existing 
titles is as follows:
21
4
5
3 
						

							2 – Getting started–Entering and editing titles
 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio 27
1From any of the screens listed above, press the 
SHIFT + MENU (TITLE) key:
The screen above shows the titling of a virtual 
track.
2Use the 
LEFT and RIGHT cursor keys to move 
the cursor (the reversed character).
3Use the dial to change the cursor character.
4Press 
ENTER when you have finished editing a 
title (
EXIT to leave the title unchanged).
Use the 
DELETE key to delete the character at the 
cursor—(i) below, and the 
INSERT key to insert a 
space at the cursor—(ii) below.Use the 
§ and ¶ keys to change between the follow-
ing character modes as shown at the bottom right of 
the title area:
CAPITAL (uppercase) letters (A through Z). This 
mode is shown on the screen by 
CAPS
small (lowercase) letters (a through z). This mode 
is shown on the screen by 
small
Numbers (0 through 9). This mode is shown on 
the screen by 
NUM
Preset words and phrases.  This mode is 
shown on the screen by 
WORD
NOTE
In the first three of these modes, common punctuation 
characters are also available.
In the preset word mode, words such as 
COUNT IN, 
VERSE, INTRO, CHORUS are available. Con-
sult the section below for a full list of these words, and 
details of how to edit them to suit the way in which you 
work.
Setting and editing preset words
The 788 provides a number of useful preset words, 
but you may want to add your own (up to a total of 
100) preset words and phrases of up to 12 characters 
in length to include your own names and titles.
1Press the 
MENU key.
2Use the dial to scroll down to 
OPTION, and 
press 
ENTER.
3Use the dial to scroll down to 
USER WORD, 
and press 
ENTER.
4Use the dial to scroll down to the place where 
you want to enter your own word (this can be 
an existing word) and press 
SHIFT+MENU 
(
TITLE).5Enter your word or phrase in the way 
described above (“Entering and editing titles” 
on page 26).
6Press 
ENTER when you’re finished, and you 
can then select another word to enter.
TIP
Use this to enter musical section names (some are pro-
vided, but if you’re recording classical pieces, phrases like 
Allegro might be useful).
You can also add the names of special instruments that 
you record a lot (for some people, the user word 
Bagpipes might be more useful than Bass).
You might even want to add the names of the musicians 
you record a lot so you can use these names to make titles 
like 
Joe solo.
(i) (ii) 
						

							2 – Getting started–The SONG menu
28 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio
The SONG menu
The SONG menu, as the name suggests, is con-
cerned with the management of songs on the 788. You can load, save, copy and protect songs, as well as 
deleting the data which is currently on disk but 
unused in the song.
Creating a new song
Before you start recording, you must create a song on 
the disk. This means that any audio data you record 
on the 788 will be associated with that song until you 
select a new song. Any currently-loaded song will be 
saved when the new song is created.
1Press the 
MENU key.
2Use the dial to scroll down until 
SONG is 
highlighted, and press 
ENTER:
3Move the cursor to 
CREATE and press 
ENTER:4Press the 
SHIFT + TITLE (MENU) key to enter a 
title for the new song (as described in “Enter-
ing and editing titles” on page 26).
5Use the dial 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).
6Press 
ENTER/YES to close the current song, 
and create the new song.
If you entered the song creation process by 
accident, or you change your mind about creat-
ing a new song, press the 
EXIT/NO key.
TIP
If you need to name or rename a song later on, you can 
reload the song, and press the 
SHIFT + MENU (TITLE) 
key to enter a title for the song when the 788 is displaying 
the title.
Saving a song
Typically, there is no need to perform a special oper-
ation to save songs on the 788, as the 788 automati-
cally saves the song. The function described here is 
provided as a manual method of saving the song, to 
which you can return (“Reverting to the previous 
saved version of a song” on page 28):
1Press the 
MENU key.2If 
SONG is not highlighted, turn the dial until 
it is, and press 
ENTER.
3Turn the dial until 
SAVE is highlighted and 
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 previous saved version of a song
If you have saved a song, or the song has been auto-
matically saved by the 788 (e.g. when it was last shut 
down), and you want to return to the version of the 
song at the time it was last saved:
1Press the 
MENU key.
2If 
SONG is not highlighted, turn the dial until 
it is, and press 
ENTER.
3Turn the dial until 
REVERT is highlighted 
and press 
ENTER.4The 788 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 (“Undoing 
and redoing actions” on page 70). 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. 
						

							2 – Getting started–The SONG menu
 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio 29
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.
2If 
SONG is not highlighted, turn the dial until 
it is, and press 
ENTER.
3Turn the dial until 
LOAD is highlighted and 
press 
ENTER.4Select the song to be loaded (from the currently 
selected disk).
The current song is saved, and the selected 
song is loaded from disk.
NOTE
This menu reads the songs stored on the currently-
selected disk or partition. If you are loading a song from 
another disk or partition, you must select it first (“Selecting 
a disk” on page 32).
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.
2If 
SONG is not highlighted, turn the dial until 
it is, and press 
ENTER.
3Turn the dial until 
ERASE is highlighted and 
press 
ENTER.
4Select the song or songs to be erased using the 
dial to highlight the songs and the 
INSERT/
MOVE key to place a check mark (✔)beside 
them.
If you select a song for erasure by acident, use 
the 
DELETE/SILENCE key to deselect it.5Press 
YES to erase the selected song(s).
6The 788 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 per-
manent operation. Always think carefully before you erase 
a song or songs.
This menu can erase only the songs stored on the cur-
rently-selected disk or partition. If you want to erase a song 
or songs from another disk or partition, you must select it 
first (“Selecting a disk” on page 32).
If you have selected all the songs on a disk or partition for 
erasure, a new song will automatically be created (at 16-bit 
resolution) 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 removable media 
(you can also back up to CD-R, but this is a separate 
process and is described in “Mastering and backup 
(CD-R)” on page 72).
1Press the 
MENU key.
2Use the dial to scroll down until 
SONG is 
highlighted, and press 
ENTER.
3Turn the dial until 
COPY is highlighted, and 
press 
ENTER.
4Select the song or songs to be copied using the 
dial to highlight the songs and the 
INSERT/
MOVE key to place a check mark (✔) beside 
them.
If you select a song for copying by accident, use 
the 
DELETE/SILENCE key to deselect it.5When all the songs to be copied have been 
marked, press the 
ENTER key. A list of all the 
currently-available drives and partitions is 
shown.
6Use the dial to select the drive or partition to 
which the selection will be copied and press 
ENTER.
7The 788 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 
788 in the middle of a copy operation.
If you copy a song to the disk or partition where it was orig-
inally stored, it will be copied with the same title as origi-
nally, so the list will contain two songs with the same title. If 
you want two copies of the same song on one disk or parti- 
						

							2 – Getting started–The SONG menu
30 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio
tion, you should rename one of the copies immediately 
after the copy operation has been carried out.
When you make the selection for copying, only those songs 
in the currently-selected disk or partition are listed. If you need to back up from many different disks or partitions, you 
must select each partition in turn (“Selecting a disk” on 
page 32) and then select the songs on the selected disk or 
partition.
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.
2Use the dial to scroll down until 
SONG is 
highlighted, and press 
ENTER.
3Turn the dial until 
DELETE UNUSED is 
highlighted, and press 
ENTER.
4The 788 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.
TIP
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 removable SCSI media, or to CD-R , before 
performing this “cleanup” operation. If you change your 
mind later on, you can restore this backed up version.
NOTE
Remember that you cannot undo this operation.
Protecting a song
When a song is protected, recording is not possible 
(the 
REC READY keys are disabled), it cannot be 
edited using the track editing functions (“Track edit-
ing” on page 65), and it cannot be erased, etc. using 
the SONG menu.
It is also impossible to set or edit location marks 
(“Location operations” on page 60) except the IN 
and OUT points for repeat operations, or to perma-
nently reassign virtual tracks as in “Assigning virtual 
tracks” on page 54. 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.
2Use the dial to scroll down until 
SONG is 
highlighted, and press 
ENTER.
3Turn the dial until 
PROTECT is highlighted, 
and press 
ENTER.
4Use the dial to set the protection 
ON or OFF, 
and press 
ENTER to confirm the setting.
NOTE
You can retitle the song at this stage, before it is protected, 
by pressing the 
SHIFT + MENU (TITLE) key.
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)