Fostex X-28 - Helpful Hints for Ping-Pong Recording.27

USING THE AUX BUSS IN PING-PONG RECORD¬
ING:
The AUX buss can be used with the INPUT B channels
to record both the input signal and the tape track signal
at the same time. This lets you bounce up to 11 sources
a single track atone time. Here is an example in which
tape tracks t, 2 and 3 are to be bounced to track 4, with
eight live sources.
1. Set up all eight input charnels for simultaneous
recording. Bring upthefadersandTRlMcontrolsor
INPUT A channels 1 — 4. and set the INPUT
SELECT switches on the INPUT B channels to
INPUT, bringing those faders up to suitable levels
as well.
2. Turn the PAN controls of all channels to R (corre¬
sponding to track 4).
3. Set the MONITOR select switch to AUX + LINE, so
that both the AUX buss and stereo buss can be
heard in the monitor. Also set the INPUT B switch
to REMIX.
4. Now set the AUX SEND controls for the tape track
channels, so that they will be sent to the AUX buss.
In this example, turn the AUX SEND controls on
INPUT B channels 5,6 and 7 all the way clockwise
to their TRK settings, and make sure the master
AUX SEND control @ issettoa suitable level. Make
sure that the AUX SEND control on channel 8 is set
to 0 (center position).
5. Connect the AUX SEND and AUX RTN jacks with
a short RCA pin-to-RCA pin cable. This routes the
signal from the AUX buss back in to the stereo buss.
In this example, since we are recording to track 4,
connect it to the AUX RTN R jack.
6. Finally, set up the X-28 for ping-pong recording by
pressing PLAY to play back, and pressing REC to
monitor the levels in the meters, then recording as
usual (seesteps#7 and#8 in Ping-pong Recording,
page 26).
Helpful Hints for Ping-pong Recording
— Be careful when attempting to ping-pong to
adjacent tracks —
For example, if you are bouncing track 3 to track 4,
oscillation or feedback could occur if the level of the
source track (track 3) is too high or the AUX SEND
control on the track is set too high. If this happens, try
lowering the send level and/or turning down the high
frequency tone control. Better yet, start over with a
different recording sequence.
— Use the EQ controls to compensate for sound
deterioration —
A characteristic of all analog cassette tape recorders is
that, in the ping-pong recording procedure (actually,
any repeat recording}, the highs are attenuated and the
lows are accentuated. Judicious use of the EQ con¬
trols, such as boosting the highs during mixdown, will
help alleviate the problem.
— Plan your recordings carefully —
Once the ping-pong recording is made, and the original
tracks have been mixed together, the relative balance
cannot be changed. In our example, the signal on track
4 (A + B + C) and track 3 (D + E) is each a single
composite entity. Hence the importance of rehearsal
and planning.
— Always save the most Important parts for the
final overdubs —
Normally, these would include lead vocals and lead
instrumental parts. Record these last, so that you have
individual control over them during mixdown (F and G
in the above example).
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