Fostex R8 - Recording and Playback Procedures; Recording Workflow and Tape Identification; Recording Basic Tracks

section з RECORDING AND PLAYBACK
The Recording Process
Tho first thing to do is to identify your tape with labels and
voice identifications, then record reference tonas for future
alignment,
Afer these preliminaries. you can get down to your actual
recording work II you are using a sequencer or drum
machine, he sync track wil be the firs! one to record since
itis the оле that Keeps your sequencercrum machine and
MIDI instruments synchronized.
Next come the "basic racks" — usually the drums bass and
«ther rhythm parts, They are called "basic" because they are
the onea you will bo usirg co reference for the "overdubs" —
the recordings of all remaining tracks.
I you are no: satisied with a basic track or en overdub you
can. of course, record the whole thing over again, hus eras-
ing the previous take. Sometimes, though, only a small sec-
ton of a track will need re-doing. in such a case, the "punch
in’ feature alovs you to selectively correct such parts. After
"punch out’, the RB goes on 10 reprocuce а! tacks so you
сап check whether your correction fs in smoothly
Since the RB is an eight-ack recorder, you can normally
record a maximum of eight paris i you use one track for
cach рап. Howover itis possible to make use of the so-called
“ping-pong” technique to make more tracts available for
recording additional parts. 70 do so, you mix Пе reproduced
sounds from two or more recorded tracks with a mixer and
record the combination (виб-ті) on a separate (open) track.
‘The orginal tracks containing the sounds used for the ping
gong mik can now be recorded over for additional overdubs.
‘he last вер in he recording process is mixcown, When you
re satslled with all racks, you can finaly combine them al
to creste а stereo master ape.
Remember hat many of tho advancod foaturoo introducod
in the preceding section aro very helpful for recording, со be
sure to rake use of them. When repeatedly working on a
Certain section of the tape, whether for rehearsal or record-
ing, use auto retum. The tape wil then automatically rewind
1o the desired location, such as the beginning of a ‘ake.
Tape Identification and Reference Tones
Belore actually recording your music, you should
a) label your tage
b) creste а tape track sheet
€) record a voice identification
d) record геіегепсе tones.
These simple cperatons make t much easier to idently а
"ape later ог and reproduce it propery.
a) Wile а label and stick it on the ree this wil identity the
tage and distinguish t from blank tape, hoping to avoid ac
дво! erasure.
5) Blank tape track shoats are available on the market, but
you сап easily make your own. Write the tile, artst, recording.
date, use of noise recuctor, contents (nsrument, voce, etc)
of each track and all other important information on this sheet
to keep t in the tape box. Such sheets are very useful for
later reference as well as during mixdiown, overdubbing and
ediino.
9 1 6 also often helpful to record the above information
directly onto the beginning of the tape with your own voice
for each track, You then have a permanent aural identification
of the tape that cannot get lost (ike tne track sheet сап).
To record the voice icentitication and the test tones, proceed
as described below under "Recording Base Tracks”
4) Finally, record standard level reference tones on all tracks.
This procedure will enable precise alignment o your P8
tapes on any other 14" G-tacx to obtan the same frequency
response and tracktb.track lavas.
Use a tes tone oscilator such as the FOSTEX TT-18 You can.
Toute i through ore d! the mber' при for easy assignment
tb each track. Record about 20 seconds of each of the
following tones at а level of 0 dB:
1 kHz enses. 0 Check the reproduce amp level
10 kHz or 15 kHz. to check the high frequency EQ
100 Hz or 50 Hz to check the low frequency EQ
Recording the Sync Track
NOTE: MID} signals are not able to be recorded directly on
magnetic tape. For this reason, you need a device which
ransleles MIDI dela into audio signals which can be "read"
by the tape recorder. [ts called FSK which stands for Fre-
quency Shit Keying, Mary sequencers and drum machines
have FSK outputs builtin: there are also stand-alone units
tke the FOSTEX Model 15-15.
Ме assume that you have already chosen an edge track
INPUT jack (1 or 8) for sync connection. To rocord tho syre
track, proceed as exolained below under "Recording Basic
“Tacks, but be sure го set a lower при level than indicated
for the music tracks—usualy around ~7 to - 3 on the peak
meter. Under по circumstances should the red peak meter
LEDs light.
Once you have the syne track on tape, playing baok the R8
wil automatcaly start те drum mactinelsequencer а! the
same point each tme. Note that iis not necessary to record
the dum machine at all In fad, NOT recording the drum
part on tape gives you the most ilexitiliy, because you can
change the drum track without having to re-record it, In addi-
tion, you are net using up any RB tape track(s for the drums,
leaving room cn the tape for more overdubs.
You only have to finaly cet your drum sounds on tape during
midon, recording them directly сп ће stereo master tape
for "first generation” quail
Recording Basic Tracks
After you neve out your sync track on tape, itis ime to record
the basic tracks) those tracks that wil form your reference
for the overdubs. Accormparirment parts of the music such
as bass or thyhm guitar are good examples for such basic
каско, since they aro gocd img references.
Once you have decided on the instruments о use, determine
the tracks to record them on and write this information down
оп your track sheet.
1. To select the track(s) for recording, first press the
SAFEIRDY button 49.
A "t" for "track" vil appear on the MEMORY display (9.
2. Мек, press the numerc key 46 that corresponds to the
Tack you want to record,
The number of the selected tack (! thru 8) will appear on
the (Second column of the MEMORY display.