Fostex X-28 - Monitoring and Simultaneous Recording

^Monitoring-
Understanding the concept ol monitoring is essen¬
tia! to mastering the multitrack record process. To
monitor a recording means to listen to it. It also
means to check sound levels — aurally, over the
headphones or speaker system, or visually, by
means of the level meters.
One important thing you should understand about
monitoring is that you can be recording a signal at
one level and yet be hearing it through the monitor
at a different level. This is particularly crucial, for
example, if the MONITOR control is set nearO. You
may find yourself cranking up the input faders and
TRIM controls just to be able to hear the signal —
which could result in a horribly distorted recording,
and even possible damage to the recorder. For this
reason, always set the monitor controls to their
optimum positions first, then adjust the input levels.
Another thing to remember is that there are two
different types of signals that are monitored during
the recording process: those currently being re¬
corded (live or input signals) and those that have
already been recorded (tape signals). This differ¬
ence is important in overdubbing. You must adjust
the levels of the individual tape signals with the
faders to get the proper balance of the recorded
tracks when overdubbing a new part.
The X-28 always gives you a visual monitor of the
tape signals with the level meters in the display,
regardless of the monitor settings. However, with
direct recording (setting REC SELECT to track
numbers), the input bypasses the stereo buss, and
the level shown in the stereo buss meter is NOT a
true indication of the level that is to be recorded to
the track. Always be sure to press the REC button to
enable input monitoring with the REC TRACK level
meters.
For more information on monitoring, see the boxed
section, AUX (Auxiliary) Send and Return, page 20.
8. Now you’re ready to record. Press the PLAY and
the REC button simultaneously. (The REC TRACK
indicator for track 1 will be lit continuously, as will
the record and play TRANSPORT indicators.)
tape
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- FEC TRACK -
-TRANSPORT-
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Press these buttons
simultaneously.
These indicartors will
be lit continuously.
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Press to select Increase fader 5.
TRK 1,
9. After stopping the recording, you’ll want to listen to
it and check that everything has been recorded
satisfactorily. First, switch the leftmost REC SE¬
LECT switch back to the center position to disable
recording. Then, press the INPUT SELECT switch
of INPUT B channel 5 to select TRK 1 and bring up
fader 5 to a suitable level (around 7). Doing this
selects tape track 1 for playback. Set the PAN
control to the center position, for optimum monitor¬
ing. Alsomakesure that the MONITOR switch is set
to MONMIX + LINE, and INPUT Bis set to MONMIX.
Listen to your newly recorded track carefully. If
there is too much hiss or noise, the recording level
might have been too low. If there is too much
distortion, the recording level might have been too
high. Record the track again, readjusting thesettings
as necessary to get the sound you want.
FOUR-TRACK SIMULTANEOUS RECORDING:
The direct recording method, used to record the rhythm
machine in the above example, can also be used to
record four instruments at the same time to different
tracks. To do this: simply follow the above steps,
setting up tracks 2,3 and 4 for recording just as you did
for track 1. If, for example, you are recording a four-
piece band, record each of the musicians on a separate
track, and set the levels appropriately before record¬
ing. Once you have recorded the performance, follow
the instructions for mixdown in the section Mixdown
and Effects Processing — Adding Reverb, page 19.
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