Tascam Portastudio MF-P01 Owners Manual

							 PORTASTUDIO  MF-P01   11 
Recording the first track 
1) Press the REC FUNCTION key for track 1 so that the REC indicator flashes.  
Y ou are now ready to record on track 1.   
2) Press down the RECORD button to start recording the first guitar track.  
The REC indicator for track 1 lights steadily.  
3) When you have finished, press the STOP button.  
The tape stops.  
4) Press the REW button.  
The tape is rewound to the 000 position (where you started recording).  
5) Press the PLAY button to check your recording.  
Adjust the LEVEL control of track 1 so that you can hear clearly what yo\
u have just
recorded.
Y ou can use the PAN control to set the stereo positioning if required.
If you are not satisfied with your recording, try again.  
6) When you’re happy with the recording, go to the second track recording described below.  
Recording the next track (overdubbing) 
The next step is to record your vocal to track 2 while listening to the playback sound of
your guitar on track 1.  
1) Press the REW button to rewind the tape to 000.
2) Press the REC FUNCTION switch for track 2 to set track 2 to record ready.  
The REC indicator for track 2 starts flashing, while the REC indicator\
 for track 1
turns off.  
3) Press the PLAY button to playback the tape, and sing into the microphone while monitoring the guitar sound.  
Y ou can monitor both the guitar on track 1 and your voice via the headphones. 
Recording tracks 
						

							 
12   
PORTASTUDIO  MF-P01 
4) Adjust the recording level for track 2, in the same way as shown above (see Setting the level).  
Use the LEVEL and PAN controls for track 1 to control the track 1 sound.
Use the MASTER control to adjust the overall monitor level.  
5) When you are ready, press the REW button to rewind the tape and press the RECORD button to start recording.
6) Press the STOP button to stop recording.
7) Press the REW button to rewind and press the PLAY button to start playback. Adjust the level and pan position of the two tracks with the LEVEL and PAN
controls for tracks 1 and 2.
8) If you are not satisfied with your recording, try again.  
The MF-P01 has 4 tracks. You can record two more musical tracks (another guitar
part, harmony vocals, bass, etc.) to tracks 3 and 4, in the same manner described
above, while monitoring the previously recorded tracks. 
Recording tracks 
After completing recording, the next (final) process is mixdown. We assume that all
the four tracks are recorded. 
Setting up 
1) Unplug the stereo headphones.  
NOTE  
When headphones are plugged in, the audio performance from the LINE OUT \
jacks
is slightly degraded.  
W ARNING  
Before making the connections below, make sure that all equipment is turned off.  
2) Connect the LINE OUT jacks of the MF-P01 to the AUX IN (or TUNER IN, CD IN, TAPE IN, etc) of your amplifier.
3) Connect the master recorder to the amplifier appropriately (see page 6).
4) Set the amplifier’s input source to the MF-P01 and the level volume appropri- ately.  
NOTE  
Y ou may directly connect the MF-P01 LINE OUT jacks to the recorder’s line input
jacks without using any amplifier. 
Mixing down tracks 
						

							 PORTASTUDIO  MF-P01   13 
Mixdown 
1) Make sure that no REC indicator is lit.  
To  release the record-ready track (to make all tracks record-off), press a REC
FUNCTION switch whose REC indicator is not lit lightly.  
2) Set the INPUT LEVEL fader to minimum.  
This will stop any extra unwanted noise from the MIC/LINE input appearing in the
final mix.  
3) Make sure the master recorder is ready to record, and put it into record pause mode.
4) Press the PLAY button on the MF-P01 to play back recorded tracks.
5) Adjust the LEVEL and PAN controls for each track on the MF-P01 to get the proper level balance and positioning of the sounds. 
6) Adjust the recording level of the master recorder.  
Y ou can adjust it by:
• using the MASTER control of the MF-P01 to adjust the output level, or
• using the input level control of the master recorder.  
7) Press the REW button to rewind to the start of the recording (000) on the MF-P01.
8) Start recording on the master recorder, and start playback on the MF-P01.
9) When mixdown recording is completed, stop both units.  
NOTE:  
There are special methods to add more sound to the mixdown sound. See Record-
ing more than four tracks on page 14 for details  Mixing down tracks 
This section gives a few hints and tips which may be
useful to you when you make recordings using the
MF-P01. 
Recording techniques 
Learning how to record is an art, not a science. One of
the best teachers is experience. However, there are a
few things mentioned here which may be useful to
you, and there are several good books on the subject
which can explain the theory of recording and some
of the techniques. 
Recording electric guitars 
Much of the sound of an electric guitar (and also
bass) is due to the effects, amplifier and speakers, as
well as the guitar and style of playing. If you plug the guitar straight into the MF-P01, you will, of course,
be able to record it, but the sound will probably not be
what you are used to.
Plugging effects units between the guitar and the MF-
P01 will certainly help to produce a fuller sound. The
sound which will come closest to a live sound,
though, will be provided by the amplifier itself.
Y
ou can adopt one of two approaches:
either put a microphone in front of the guitar speaker
and record this, or connect the output of the pre-
amplifier to the MF-P01 and record this.  
W ARNING  
Do not connect the speaker output of the amplifier to
the MF-P01. This will almost certainly damage the  Hints and advanced tips 
						

							 
14   
PORTASTUDIO  MF-P01 
MF-P01, and may damage the amplifier. Only use
outputs which are marked LINE OUT, PRE OUT,
DIRECT OUT and so on. Avoid using any outputs
marked SPEAKER OUT, SP OUT, 4  
Ω  
, 8  
Ω  
, 16  
Ω  
  or
the like. 
Recording with effects 
Professional recordings often use effects like digital
reverberation on vocals, etc.
Y ou can add effects such as a reverberation by
plugging a source (instrument or microphone) into an
effects unit, and plugging the unit into the MF-P01.
Note that the effects unit must be able to accept
microphone-level signals when connecting a
microphone.
In addition, you will need to use the internal balance
control in the unit to decide how much of the dry
(unaffected) sound will be passed through to the
MF-P01 for recording.
If you do not have access to a reverberation unit, you
can try recording vocals in a very live room
(without many furnishings).  
When you’re not recording  
T ry to get into the habit of always leaving all the REC
FUNCTION switches in the off state unless you are
actually recording or rehearsing a take. 
This will stop you recording by accident (remember
that pressing RECORD with all the REC
FUNCTION switches to off is the same as pressing
PLAY). 
Recording more than four tracks 
Although the MF-P01 has only 4 tracks, it is possible
to produce a mix with more than four sounds. There
are two methods, as shown below.  
Method 1:  
• By playing along with the track sounds while
mixdown recording, you can also mix an additional
sound together with tracks 1 through 4. 
In this case, the live sound is fed via the MIC/
LINE input, so it is always positioned in the center. 1) Record on all four tracks of the MF-P01, and set
all REC FUNCTION switches to off.
2) Adjust settings of LEVEL and PAN for all tracks for mixdown.
3) Connect the source for the extra input to the MIC/ LINE jack.
4) Use the INPUT LEVEL fader to adjust the levels of the input signals against the tape tracks.
5) Adjust the recording level of the master recorder using the MASTER control of the MF-P01 or the
input level control of the master recorder.  
Method 2:  
F or this method, there must be an ordinary stereo
cassette recorder used as the master recorder.
1) Make mixdown recording to a TYPE II cassette tape with no noise reduction according to the pro-
cedures described in Mixing down tracks on
page 12.
2) Load this mixed tape in the MF-P01. The mixed-down signals are played back from
tracks 1 and 2, and you can now record additional
materials on tracks 3 and 4.  
There are a few points to remember:  
• Although you can repeat this process of mixing 4
tracks to 2 and then adding 2 more, as you repeat
the mix process, noise and hiss will build up to a
point where the quality becomes unacceptable.
• The master recorder must have its noise reduction
turned off when mixing the MF-P01 tracks to the
mastering machine, as the MF-P01 does not use
noise reduction. Of course, on the final stereo mix,
you can use noise reduction on the master recorder.
• Once you have mixed the four tracks to two, you
cannot adjust their levels or pan positions again on
the new tape. Think ahead to what tracks you will
record on the new tape, and mix accordingly. 
Hints and advanced tips 
						

							 PORTASTUDIO  MF-P01   15 
T racing faults in a recording setup is often a mixture
of logical deduction and patience. Very often, the
problem is caused by something simple; a cable
which hasn’t been plugged in properly, or a faulty
cable. If you discover a faulty cable, replace it with a
new one - it’s not worth hanging onto bad cables! 
The MF-P01’s POWER light does not come on. 
Is the PS-P2 adaptor plugged into the power supply?
Is the PS-P2 adaptor plugged into the MF-P01?
Is the POWER switch on the MF-P01 set to ON? 
The tape does not move when the PLAY button is
pressed. 
Is the tape properly inserted in the MF-P01?
Is the tape at the end of the tape? 
Some tracks have been recorded on the tape, but
nothing can be heard when playing back. 
If you’ve just put in a tape you recorded in another
session, make sure that it’s the right way round.
Make sure the LEVEL and MASTER controls are set
appropriately (not to 0). 
If you can hear something through the headphones
b ut cannot from the speakers, check the LINE OUT
connections and make sure the amplifier is set to the
correct input source. 
Nothing appears on the meter indicators when a
source is played. 
Is the source (microphone, guitar, etc.) switched on
and volume control turned up? If it uses batteries,
does it need new batteries?
Is the INPUT LEVEL control of the channel set
appropriately (not to 0)? 
Cannot press the RECORD key. 
Is the tape properly inserted in the MF-P01?
Is the tape record-protected? 
The RECORD key is pressed, the tape moves, but
nothing is recorded, or the level is very low. 
Is one of the REC FUNCTION switches depressed?
Check the LEVEL control for the track.
Is the INPUT LEVEL control set correctly?
Is the recording level is too low or too high? 
T ape sounds are muffled on playback. 
The heads are dirty. Clean them (see Cleaning the
heads). 
The mixdown signal is noisy or distorted. 
Is the recording level is too low?
Is the PHONES plug is connected during mixdown? 
T rack format:  
4 tracks, 4 channels  
Head configuration:  
1 x 4-track record/replay head (Permalloy)
1 x 4-track erase head (ferrite)  
Motor type:  
1 x DC motor (capstan and reel motor)  
T ape speed:  
1 7/8 in./sec (4.76 cm/sec)  
Wo w and flutter:  
0.25%  
F ast wind time:  
Approx 120 seconds (C-60 tape)  
Po wer requirements:  
USA/CANADA: 120 V AC, 60 Hz
U.K./EUROPE: 230 V AC, 50 Hz
A USTRALIA: 240 V AC, 50 Hz  
Po wer consumption:  
7 W, via the supplied PS-P2 AC adaptor  
Physical dimensions (w x h x d):  
 295 x 70 x 205 (mm), 12.0 x 2.8 x 8.1 (in.),  
maximum height (including controls)  
  81 (mm), 3.2(in)   
W eight (main unit):  
1.1 kg (2.4 lb)  
MIC/LINE input (1/4 phone jack) Input level:  
–50 dBV or higher  
Input impedance:  
50 k  
Ω  
LINE OUT (2 x RCA jacks) Output level:   
–10 dBV  
Output impedance:   
10 k  
Ω 
Specifications
Tr
oubleshooting 
						

							 
Headphone output (1/4 stereo phone jack) Output level:  
4 mW + 4 mW  
Output impedance:  
30   
Ω  
Frequency response:  
50 Hz to 12.5 kHz  +/-3 dB  
Signal-to-noise ratio:  
43 dB  
Total Harmonic Distortion:  
Better than 3.0%   
Channel separation:  
Better than 40 dB   
Erasure:  
65 dB (at 1 kHz)  
   
• 0 dBV is referenced to 1 volt.
• Changes in features or specifications may be made without notice \
or obligation. 
All measurements given in millimeters.
11
205.4197.7201.8
4.529565
 
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Specifications