Fostex XR-5 - Important Terminology

CHAPTER
How to use the XR-5
If you make a few mistakes, these can be easily corrected using the punch in/out function.
Alternatively, you can create your own “music minus-one” tapes!
In this way, the XR-5's multi-track recording capabilities provide a wide variety of
possibilities.
Some important terms used in this manual
This section explains some of the important terms used in this manual, which you need to
understand in order to take advantage of the XR-5.
Sound source
Instruments or microphones connected to the XR-5 are collectively called “sound sources.”
Signal
The XR-5 is able to record not only sound from sound sources, but also synchronization
signals used by the tape sync function. Thus, sounds and signals are collectively explained
as “input signals” or “output signals.”
Overdubbing
The process of playing back a previously recorded signal on one track while recording a
different signal on another track is called “overdubbing.”
On cassette radio players or stereo cassette decks, it is not possible to listen to the sound
recorded on the left track while recording a new sound on the right track. However the
XR-5's overdubbing capabilities allow you to successively record new sounds on empty
tracks.
Monitoring
As explained above, “overdubbing” includes the act of listening to a previously recorded
sound. This “listening to a previously recorded sound” is often referred to as “monitoring.”
The word “monitor” means to check or verify, and in this manual’s explanation of the
recording process, listening to a previously recorded track or checking the input signal to be
newly recorded is referred to as “monitoring.”
The difference between Tracks and Channels
The two concepts of Tracks and Channels are often confused, but in this manual they mean
different things.
Channels refer mainly to the input/output system of the mixer section. For example, this
manual tell you that “the bass connected to channel 1” should be “output from the Left
channel.”
Tracks, on the other hand, refer mainly to the input/output system of the recorder section (the
tape). For example, this manua! may tell you to “mixdown tracks 1, 2, 3 and 4.” In other
words, the XR-5 contains a four-channel mixer section and a four-track recorder section.