Teac PocketStudio 5 Getting Started - Manual (Page 5)

TASCAM Pocketstudio 5 Getting Started
5
2 – About multitrack recording
Even if you already know something about multi-
track recording, you may find it useful to read this
section in order to refresh your memory regarding the
basic concepts involved in producing a recording. This explanation has been written specially with the
Pocketstudio 5 in mind, and some of the ways in
which you work with a Pocketstudio 5 are slightly
different to the way in which you would work with a
tape recorder, for example.
Cards and memory
The Pocketstudio 5 stores all information on standard
CompactFlash™ (CF) cards. Using a USB connec-
tion to a computer, the Pocketstudio 5 containing the
CF card can be used as a hard disk and files trans-
ferred to and from a personal computer. A 32 MB card is supplied with the unit. Any other
cards must be formatted before use and some files
copied onto it before it can be used by the Pocketstu-
dio 5. See “Managing songs and data on your Pocket-
studio 5” on page 23 for further details.
Multi-track recording
You are already familiar with stereo, the standard for
the overwhelming majority of music produced today,
which produces a realistic 3D audio image from two
speakers. Each sound source in the stereo image is
precisely placed (panned) and at the correct volume
relative to the rest.
In order to produce this effect of a sound which is
similar to the one you would hear in real life, there
are two different ways of working: live recording and
multitracking. In live recording, microphones are set
up around the artistes and the performance is
recorded directly to a stereo recorder, as it actually
takes place.
In multitrack recording, the sound is built up a layer
at a time (tracking), usually starting with the rhyth-
mic instruments, and adding others one or two at a
later time (overdubbing).
Working with multitrack has the advantage that if the
lead vocalist, for example, makes a mistake in the
final chorus, the whole band doesn’t have to be-
record the whole song. Only the lead vocals have to
be re-recorded (and probably not even for the whole
song).
The Pocketstudio 5 has four tracks you can use for
recording, labelled
1 through 4 .
Tone generator rhythm In the Pocketstudio 5,
the rhythm instruments (drums, bass, chords) can be
replaced by the built-in tone generator playing
rhythm patterns. Later, if you want to replace these
instruments with real ones, or add a real sound to the
synthesized sound, you can do this.
Tone generator MIDI files Another way of
achieving the same effect with the Pocketstudio 5 is
to take a standard MIDI data file containing the notes
of the backing for a song and play this as a backing
track to your singing or solo instrumental work (like
karaoke).
Punching If part of a recording is not perfect, it is
possible to play back the recording up to the point
where the mistake occurs, re-record over the mistake
and then stop recording. This is called punching. The
Pocketstudio 5 allows you to punch in and punch out
to correct the little mistakes that creep into all record-
ings (nobody’s perfect).
Mixdown Once all the layers are recorded, they
are mixed to stereo (mixdown) and the levels and pan
positions are adjusted so that they sound the way you
want them.