Tascam 788 - Manual (Page 54)

5 – Recorder operations–Assigning virtual tracks
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TASCAM 788 Digital PortaStudio
Rehearsing recording
Sometimes, even with the undo facilities and the vir-
tual tracks of the 788, it may be useful for you to
rehearse a take without actually committing anything
to disk. This is probably most useful in auto punch
operations (see “Auto punch operations” on page 55)
but can be useful in other situations as well.
In a rehearsal, the monitoring and other operations
and recording functions are the same as when record-
ing, but the input signal, although passed through to
the disk track, does not actually go to the disk.
To use the rehearsal mode, simply press the RHSL
key so that the indicator is lit.
When actually “recording” in rehearsal mode, the
RECORD indicator flashes, rather than lighting
steadily, to show that the rehearsal is taking place.
Assigning virtual tracks
As explained earlier in “Real and virtual tracks on the
788” on page 11, the 788 allows you to record up to
250 virtual tracks, from which you can pick any eight
to become the “active” disk tracks which will form
your final mix.
When a virtual track is assigned to be an “active”
disk track, it cannot be assigned to any other track.
To assign a virtual track to a disk track:
1 Press and release the TRACK key briefly .
2 Use the channel SELECT keys or the (Ó and
Á keys) to select the disk track to which the
virtual track will be assigned, as shown by the
tabs at the top of the screen.
Pressing the 7/8 key repeatedly cycles between
selecting tracks 7 and 8.
3 Use the dial to choose which virtual track will
be assigned to the disk track and become
active.
4 Press ENTER (or PLAY ) to make the assign-
ment, or EXIT to exit the track assignment
screen without actually making the
assignment.
In this screen, you can press the SHIFT + MENU
( TITLE ) key to name the highlighted virtual
track for future reference (as described in
“Entering and editing titles” on page 26).
If you have not worked with a system using virtual
tracks before, you may find it a little confusing.
Some ideas to bear in mind:
• A virtual track can only be assigned once (a virtual
track cannot be used on two active tracks at the
same time). When you start a song, virtual tracks 1
through 8 are assigned to active tracks 1 through 8.
• If you’re recording a difficult part, you don’t have
to re-record over the top of “almost, but not quite
perfect” takes. You can keep these for later, just in
case you never get a better take. Simply assign a
different virtual track when you record the next
take.
• You do not have to select all the final eight “active”
tracks at the same time. For example, if you have
recorded the drum part of a song, and you have
recorded three different takes of the bass line on
three different virtual tracks, you can assign these
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