Tascam Digital Portastudio 788 Owners Manual

							TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio 41
4 – Mixer
Mixer features
The 788 has seven physical channel faders, control-
ling six mono channels and a stereo pair of channels. 
These channels can be assigned to take their signals 
from the input connectors, or from the recorded 
tracks.
The basic signal flow of each channel of the mixer 
section of the 788 is:
Input-to-channel assignment (input or track)
Digital pad/gain
Three-band switchable EQ
Fader
Effect send (can be pre- or post-fader)
Aux send (can be pre- or post-fader)
Pan
Channels may be linked in stereo pairs, allowing 
them to share control settings.The internal effectors can be used in a variety of 
ways with these channels; as in-line dynamics pro-
cessors or as an in-line multi-effector.
In addition to these channels, there is a sub-mixer 
which can be used to accept signals from inputs 
A 
through 
D and the AUX INPUTs, and feed them 
through the stereo outputs through pan and volume 
controls. See “Assigning inputs to the sub-mixer” on 
page 37 for how to assign inputs to this sub-mixer, 
and “Sub-mixer” on page 48 for how to adjust the 
settings. 
The track cue mixer goes to the monitor outputs and 
headphones only and allows the recorded tracks to be 
monitored. The operation of this is described in 
“Monitoring the recorded sounds (TRACK CUE)” 
on page 39.
Linking channels
When you are using the 788 to mix and record a ste-
reo source (e.g. a stereo synthesizer or the outputs of 
a stereo effects unit), it is often useful to link two 
channels together, so that changes made to one chan-
nel automatically affect the other.
You can link the following pairs of channels: 
1 and 2, 
3
 and 4, and 5 and 6.
Note that channels 7 and 8 are always linked as a ste-
reo pair and you can never unlink them.The parameters that are linked when two channels 
are linked are:
Digital pad/gain
Solo status 
EQ control and switching
Effect and aux send levels
Effect settings
Faders (odd-numbered channel’s fader controls the 
pair) 
To link two channels
1Press and hold down the SELECT key of one 
channel in the pair to be linked. Its indicator 
flashes, along with the indicator of any 
assigned source.
2Press the other 
SELECT key of the link pair (as 
described above) and then release both keys. Both 
SELECT indicators of the channel pair 
light, along with the assigned sources.
NOTE
If another SELECT indicator flashes when you hold down 
the 
SELECT key of a channel, it means that this pair has 
already been linked. Pressing the 
SELECT key of the 
other channel will unlink the pair.
Unlinking a pair of channels
1Press and hold down the SELECT key of one of 
the channel pair. The indicator will flash, and 
so will the indicator of the other channel in the 
pair and any assigned source.2Press the SELECT key of the other channel in 
the pair and then release the keys.
When the 
SELECT keys are released, the indi-
cator of the first channel to have its key pressed 
will be lit. 
						

							4 – Mixer–Basic operations
42 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio
Notes on linked channels
When a linked pair is created, the pan settings for the 
two channels are set to hard left (odd-numbered 
channel) and hard right (even-numbered channel), 
regardless of their previous settings. However, pan 
settings made while the channels are linked as a pair 
are maintained when the pair is unlinked.If a stereo source (STEREO or AUX INPUT) is 
assigned to one channel of a potential stereo pair, the 
two channels will automatically be linked as a pair.
If a stereo pair of channels has had 
STEREO or AUX  
INPUT
 assigned to it, and the pair is then unlinked, 
the link is broken, but the stereo source remains 
assigned to both channels.
Basic operations
The SELECT keys of the channels have been previ-
ously introduced (“Assigning sources to mixer chan-
nels.” on page 36) as the way in which the input 
signals are routed to the mixer channels and as the 
way in which channels are linked and unlinked.
They are also used to select the channels when mak-
ing mixer settings, together with the 
EQ, SEND and 
FA D E R / PA N keys:1Press the 
EQ, SEND or FADER/PAN key.
The screen changes to show the current set-
tings for that parameter and the selected chan-
nel or channels.
2Press the 
SELECT key of the channel whose 
parameters are to be edited.
3Use the dial and cursor keys to change the 
values as explained in this section.
About the screens
The example below shows the pan setting for chan-
nels 1 and 2:
In these “channel” screens, the bottom right of the 
screen is used for a pair of bargraph meters, showing the current monitor output levels. The current time 
position is also shown on the top line of the screen.
If you have linked two channels as a stereo pair (see 
“To link two channels” on page 41), you can press 
either 
SELECT key of the pair to change to the 
appropriate parameter editing screen.
TIP
As an alternative way of working, you can also press the 
channel 
SELECT key first, and then press the parameter 
key (
EQ, SEND or FADER/PAN) to adjust the parame-
ters of one channel.
EQAllows equalization and digital pad/gain 
settings
SENDAllows pre/post/off, level and pan for channel 
sends, as well as the master send level for 
both the effect and aux sends
FADER/PANAllows a view of the fader levels (including the 
internal level) and setting of the pan settings 3 1
2 
						

							4 – Mixer–Adjusting EQ
 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio 43
Adjusting EQ
On the 788 channels, you can adjust the gain (the 
amount that the signal is cut and boosted), and the 
frequency (high or low) affected by the equalization 
in three bands. In addition, you can adjust the “Q” 
(the width of the effect) in the mid band.
1Press the 
EQ key. The display screen shows the 
input channel equalization screen.
2Select the mixer channel to be equalized by 
pressing the appropriate 
SELECT key.3Use the cursor keys to move the cursor to the 
value you want to change, and use the dial to 
change the values.
4As well as changing values in the three bands 
of the EQ section, you can also turn the whole 
of the EQ section on or off, so that you can eas-
ily do a comparison between the equalized and 
unequalized sound.NOTE
Remember that unless the on-screen switch is set to ON, 
you will not hear the effects of the EQ settings. 
TIP
It is also possible to use some effect settings which give 
further control over a channel’s equalization (“Multi-effect 
processor settings” on page 87).
EQ and linked channels
If two channels have been linked (and always in the 
case of channels 7 and 8), there is one set of on-
screen EQ controls which affects both channels. It is 
not possible to make different EQ settings for a pair 
of linked channels.If two unlinked channels have different EQ settings 
and are then linked, the pair will take the odd-num-
bered channel’s EQ settings.
If a linked pair of channels is unlinked, both channels 
will have the same EQ settings.
3 1
2
L (low)a
a.These bands are shelving type filters.
M (mid)b
b.the mid band is peaking type
H (high)a
GAIN 
(cut or boost)±12 dB ±12 dB ±12 dB
FREQ 
(center 
frequency)32 Hz–1.6Hz 32Hz–18 kHz 1.7 kHz–18 kHz
Q 
(width)
c 
c.“Q” (mid band only) is defined as the center frequency of the 
equalization band divided by the bandwidth. A high Q value pro-
vides narrow filtering.
—0.25/0.5/1/2/4/
8/16— 
						

							4 – Mixer–Send levels
44 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio
Channel digital pad and gain
You may need to reduce the overall volume of the 
signal, or to boost its volume a little. This is done 
before the signal reaches the equalization section of 
the mixer. 
The level of the signal can be reduced (attenuated) by 
up to 42 dB (cut settings are shown as negative 
values). 
You can also use this feature to boost the signal by up 
to 6 dB (boost settings are shown as positive values).
The steps between the pad/gain settings are at 6 dB 
intervals.1With the EQ screen displayed, move the cur-
sor to the 
PAD/GAIN field at the top of the 
screen, and use the dial to change the value.
TIP
If you boost overlapping frequency bands by large 
amounts, the overall level of the signal is increased and 
may cause distortion. You should therefore use this feature 
to reduce the level of the signal before it is equalized so 
that distortion does not occur.
NOTE
Note that the EQ switch does not turn the pad/gain on or 
off.
Send levels
The 788 incorporates an effects (EFF) loop and an 
auxiliary loop (
AUX). Both of these are stereo 
sends. See the section on “Effects” on page 81 for 
details of where these sends are actually routed, and 
their return paths.The levels from each channel to these sends, and the 
pan between the two inputs of these stereo sends, can 
be set, as well as the master send level.
In addition, these two sends can be individually 
selected as off, or as pre- or post-fader on a per-chan-
nel basis (see “Pre- and post-fader sends explained” 
on page 84).
Stereo linked channels and channels 7 and 8 cannot 
have levels set independently for each channel. One 
control affects the send levels for both channels. In 
addition, the send pan controls change to stereo pan 
controls for these channels.
Full details of how these changes are made are given 
in the effector section (see “Send levels, etc.” on 
page 83).
3, 4 2
1 
						

							4 – Mixer–Fader and pan
 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio 45
Fader and pan
Adjust the pan position of a mixer channel (that is, its 
left-right position in the stereo image) using this 
method:
When a channel is recording on a track, this pan con-
trol has no effect. It is only useful when the channel 
is feeding the stereo outputs. 
1Press the 
FADER/PAN key. The display screen 
shows the input channel fader/pan screen.
2Select the mixer channel to be edited by press-
ing the appropriate 
SELECT key.3Use the cursor keys to move the cursor to the 
pan value you want to change, and use the dial 
to change the value. 
4Fader values are changed with the channel fad-
ers, and cannot be changed using this screen.
TIP
When one channel’s pan is being edited (here, the pan 
value of channel 6 is being edited), pressing the other visi-
ble channel’s 
SELECT key moves the cursor to the corre-
sponding pan control.
NOTE
The maximum fader level is 127 and the minimum value 
is 
0. When a channel is panned fully to the left, the display 
shows 
L63, and when it is panned hard right, the display 
shows 
R63. The center position is shown by C.
In the case of stereo linked channels, or channels 7 and 8, 
one fader is shown on-screen here, since the channels are 
linked. The word 
LINK is shown at the bottom right of 
the screen to show this is a linked pair of channels.:
Internal and physical faders
The FADER/PAN screen (“Fader and pan” on 
page 45) also contains a representation of the chan-
nels’ faders, as shown below in the enlarged view.
For each fader, there are two values, the “internal” 
(
INT) value, and the physical fader (LVL) value.
This is because you can store and recall scene set-
tings, including fader levels. The 788 can also receive MIDI messages which allow the channel level to be 
set. 
When the fader levels are set in these ways, there are 
three options available which allow you to change the 
way in which the physical and internal fader levels 
are related.
1Press the 
MENU key.
2Use the dial to scroll down so that 
OPTION 
is highlighted. Press 
ENTER/YES.
3Use the dial to highlight 
MIXER. Press 
ENTER/YES.
4The 
FADER -> MATCHING parame-
ter can take one of three values, as explained 
below:

REAL — if the internal fader level is changed 
using a scene change or a MIDI Control Change, 
this is ignored. The actual physical fader is the only 
way in which the fader level is set.
3 2
1
4
Internal value and 
marker
Physical fader value and 
marker 
						

							4 – Mixer–Soloing
46 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio
JUMP — the internal fader level jumps to the 
level set by the physical fader as soon as the physi-
cal fader is moved. Since this can result in sudden 
changes in volume, resulting in possible damage to 
hearing and monitoring equipment, this option 
should be used with caution.

CATCH — the fader level remains the same ini-
tially. However, if you then move the physical fader 
so that the physical level becomes the internal level (the faders “catch” the internal level), the physical 
level changes at that point. This ensures that there 
are no sudden leaps in volume due to a difference 
between the physical fader and the internal setting.
NOTE
Note that the setting made for this option will apply to the 
current song, and any songs loaded afterwards, until the 
setting is changed.
Soloing
To solo a mixer channel or channels (i.e. mute all 
other channels so that only the selected channels can 
be heard):
1Press and hold down the 
SOLO key.
2Press the 
SELECT keys of any mixer channels 
that you want soloed.
The 
SOLO indicator lights (orange) and the 
SELECT indicators of any soloed channels 
flash, to show that they have been soloed.
3Release the 
SOLO key. The indicators stay lit 
(
SOLO) or flashing (channel SELECT) as long 
as any channels are being soloed.When channels are soloed, this is a after-fader solo. 
That is, you can hear the effect of all fader, EQ and 
in-line effect settings.
In addition, if you have assigned an effect to the 
effects loop or the aux loop (“Effects” on page 81), 
the soloed selection only will be sent to the effects 
send (all other channels will be muted in the send). 
The resulting effect return will be added to the solo 
mix, so that you hear the soloed selection, together 
with all applied effects.
NOTE
If a pair of channels has been stereo linked, pressing the 
SELECT key of one channel of the pair will solo both 
channels.
Remember that when you solo a channel, the output from 
all other channels will be muted, not just to the monitoring 
section, but also to the stereo bus. Soloing while mixing 
down will destroy the mix!
Turning off soloing
1While in solo mode (the SOLO indicator is lit), 
press and hold the 
SOLO key. 
2Press the 
SELECT keys of any channels which 
are flashing to un-solo them.When all the soloed channels have been un-
soloed, the 
SOLO indicator goes out.
1
2 
						

							4 – Mixer–Stereo output
 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio 47
Stereo output
The stereo output is a special “channel”: 
Press the 
STEREO key briefly to view the current 
settings of the stereo output buss:The current physical fader value and internal fader 
value are displayed (as with “Internal and physical 
faders” on page 45). These follow the same rules as 
channel faders, as set in the 
OPTIONS menu.
The stereo dynamics processor setting is displayed, 
if this has been assigned as described in the Effec-
tor section (“Using EFFECT 2 as a stereo dynam-
ics processor” on page 82).
The cursor is in the 
OUTPUT field, and cannot 
be moved.
Stereo output selection
This is the only user-selectable parameter on this 
screen. It allows you to perform a direct audition on 
track pairs.
1Use the dial to select between 
STEREO, and 
the four track pairs (
Trk1/2, Trk3/4, 
Trk5/6, Trk7/8).
When a track pair is selected, the signal output 
from the 
STEREO OUTPUT connectors (analog 
and coaxial digital) will be the signals from the 
appropriate tracks.
NOTE
When track pairs are selected as the source for the stereo 
outputs, the channel faders and controls have no effect on the volume, and neither do the stereo faders. Any channel 
EQ and effects are bypassed, as is any stereo dynamic 
processor assignment and setting (“Setting up EFFECT 2” 
on page 82).
If 
STEREO is selected as the monitoring source (see 
“Monitoring” on page 38), the tracks selected here can be 
heard through the 
MONITOR OUTPUTS and PHONES 
as well as through the 
STEREO outputs. The MONITOR 
control can be used to adjust the monitoring level, but this 
does not affect the level from the stereo outputs.
If a track pair is selected for stereo output here, the sends 
to the effect and aux loops are not affected, and remain as 
they were before the selection.
1 
						

							4 – Mixer–Sub-mixer
48 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio
Sub-mixer
The sub-mixer is typically used in mixdown mode to 
provide additional inputs while the disk tracks are 
being played back. An example of this would be if 
MIDI instruments are being played back, synchro-
nized to the audio tracks recorded on the disk.
The sub-mixer allows the four inputs (
A through D) 
as well as the 
AUX INPUTS to be mixed together and 
fed to the stereo output. On-screen level and pan con-
trols are available.
1Assign inputs to the 
SUB MIX (see “Assigning 
inputs to the sub-mixer” on page 37).
2Assign the sub-mixer outputs to stereo 
(“Assigning the sub-mixer to stereo” on 
page 37).
3When the 
SUB MIX key is pressed, the display 
shows the 
SUB MIX screen:The screen above shows that inputs 
A, B, D and 
the 
AUX inputs have been assigned to the sub-
mixer. Input 
C is not assigned (OFF). 
If you need to change these assignments, you 
must use the 
INPUT and SUB MIX keys to make 
the assignments, and press the 
SUB MIX key 
again to show this screen if the display 
changes.
NOTE
Remember that an input cannot be assigned to both a 
mixer channel and the sub-mixer at the same time. 
4Use the cursor keys to move the cursor around 
the fields (five pan settings and five level set-
tings) and the dial to change the values.
The maximum level for the levels is 
127 and the 
minimum value is 
0.
Pan settings can be made from 
L63 (hard left) 
through 
C (center) to R63 (hard right).
If the 
AUX INPUTS are assigned to the sub-mixer, 
they are treated as a stereo pair. The two inputs can-
not be adjusted independently, and the pan control 
affects both channels together.
NOTE
There is no master level control for the sub-mixer; this set-
ting must be done by adjusting the individual input levels.
The inputs assigned to the sub-mixer and the output from 
the sub-mixer cannot be used with either the internal effec-
tors or the effect or aux loop. All effect processing on sig-
nals used to and from the sub-mixer must be done outside 
the 788.
4
3 
						

							TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio 49
5 – Recorder operations
This section deals with the recorder section of the 
788; including the playback and recording operations 
you can carry out.
If you have not already read these sections:
2, “Getting started”3, “Before recording”
4, “Mixer”
we strongly recommend that you do so now. Without 
a knowledge of the information contained in these 
sections, it may be difficult for you to understand 
some of the concepts presented in this section.
Basic transport controls
These controls have some similarity to the controls 
that you might find on a tape recorder. 
However, there are one or two important differences 
of which you should be aware, due to the nature of 
the 788.There are some functions that you cannot access by 
a single key-press, but which need a combination 
of keys to be pressed in order to make them work.
The “fast forward” and “rewind” keys do not work 
in quite the same way that a tape recorder’s wind 
keys. Since location can be almost instant, there is 
no wind time required. The way in which these 
keys work is explained later in this section (“Fast 
forward and rewind” on page 51).
There is no “pause” key. Since the start and stop 
are virtually instant, there is no need for such a 
control.
In the jog mode, which is accessed through the 
STOP and PLAY keys, the wind keys have a special 
function (see “Jog positioning” on page 50).
Playback
To play back recorded material from the current play-
back position:
1Press the 
PLAY key.
The green 
PLAY indicator lights while play-
back is taking place.
2Stop playback with the 
STOP key.
NOTE
It is not possible to start playback in some of the menu 
screens. Exit the menu system before starting playback.
If the PLAY indicator does not light steadily, but flashes, the 
788 is waiting for external synchronization, or is otherwise 
prevented from entering playback. Check all the synchroni-
zation settings, etc. (see the section on “Synchronization” 
on page 94) for details of how to view and change these 
settings).
If you do not hear anything when the tracks are being 
played back, it may be because: 
nothing has been recorded on the tracks. The 
HOME screen (“The “home” display” on page 26) 
provides eight channel meters. If a channel’s 
REC 
READY
 is off, the meter shows the level of the 
track’s recorded contents (if 
REC READY is on, the 
level of the input signal is shown).
the tracks are not routed to the monitoring system. 
Either use the track cue to route the track replay to 
the cue system (“Monitoring the recorded sounds 
(TRACK CUE)” on page 39), making sure that the 
MONITOR CUE indicator is lit (“Monitoring” on 
page 38), or assign tracks to channels (“Track-to-
channel assignments” on page 37) and adjusting 
the faders, with the 
STEREO MONITOR indicator 
lit. 
						

							5 – Recorder operations–Setting the playback position
50 TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio
Setting the playback position
The 788 provides you with a number of ways to set 
the position from which playback starts when you 
press the 
PLAY key. Some of these are described in 
the section (“Location operations” on page 60).The ways of setting the playback point which involve 
the transport keys are described here.
Return to zero (RTZ)
This allows you to return instantly to the “zero 
point”, (expressed as the absolute time).
To return to zero (from stop, play or record):1Press and hold down STOP.
2Press 
REW. Playback/recording stops and the 
playback position returns to the zero point.
Last Recording Position (LRP)
This is an extremely useful feature that allows you to 
return instantly to the point where recording last 
started. You can use this in any of the following situ-
ations (these are examples, you may think of others 
for yourself):
after you interrupt a bad take halfway through the 
recording and want to return instantly to the same 
position to retake
after a successful take, and you want to return to 
the point where recording started to check the takewhen you are recording a number of different 
tracks in turn, all to start from the same point 
after a take, you may want to set the point where 
the take started as a reference location mark
To return to the position where recording last started 
(from stop, play or record):
1Press and hold down the 
STOP key
2Press 
F FWD. Playback/recording stops, and 
the playback position returns to the point 
where recording last started.
Jog positioning
To position the playback point precisely, you can 
“jog” the playback position, using the dial. As you 
move backwards and forwards through the recording, 
you can hear the recorded sound at slow speed, either 
backward or forward, depending on the direction you 
are turning the dial.
1Position the playback point to the rough posi-
tion where you want the final point to be.
2Press and hold the 
STOP key and press the 
PLAY key. The display shows a view of the 
waveform of the currently selected track at the 
current playback position.
3Press the 
SELECT key of the track that you 
want to view (pressing the 
7/8 key changes 
between viewing track 7 and track 8). The dis-
play changes to the waveform of that track.4Use the Ó and Á keys to zoom out and in 
respectively horizontally. This is, pressing the 
Á key will increase the amount of space on the 
screen taken by a certain amount of time, and 
pressing the Ó key will make the same amount 
of time take less space on the screen. The three 
zoom levels available are: 
x 1, x 2 (allow-
ing approximately single-frame accuracy in 
adjustment), and 
x 32 (allowing approxi-
mately an accuracy of about 10 sub-frames). 
The resolution is shown below the time display. 
5Use the § and ¶ keys to adjust the vertical 
scale (the way that the volume of the sound is 
shown). The zoom levels here are 
x 1, x 2, 
x 4, x 8, x 16 and x 32. Pressing the 
§ key increases the vertical scaling of the dis-
play, and pressing the ¶ key decreases the 
scale.
TIP
If you can’t see any waveforms when you first enter this 
display, press the 
§ key to zoom the volume so that you 
can see the quiet passages.