Tascam 388 Studio 8 - The Recorder

THE RECORDER
A recorder's job is pretty easy to understand.
It records. Of course, it also plays. Your Studio
8's recorder uses quarter-inch tape on seven
¡nch reels to record, or piay up to eight tracks
of sound. Your Studio 8 has much in common
with other reel-to-reel muititrack recorders.
But it also differs in severa! important ways:
sophisticated features combine the advantages
of cassette and open reel recorders, and inter-
face connections for SMPTE (Society of Motion
Picture and Televisión Engineers)and EBU
(European Broadcast Unión) time code syn-
chronizers and editing systems are provided.
The Studio 8 combines the flexibiüty of an
open reel recorder with the convenience of a
cassette recorder. Its "LOAD" feature insures
that the tape, once it has been threaded, will
never accidently run off the reels, no matter
what transport function is in use. Thus, the
convenience and speed of the cassette is
achieved while the flexibiüty and fidelity
of the open reel is retained.
"PI10 /\ccessory interface connectoron the back
panel of the Studio 8 is the gateway to the
worid of synchronization and computar trans
port control. SMPTE/EBU time codes are used
to synchronize múltiple video/film and audio
machines during the editing process. These codes
are also being used by the manufactures of elec-
tronic musical instruments in conjunction with
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)
to synchronize the operations of sequencers,
computers, drum machines, signal processors,
and synthesizers during muititrack recording.
SMPTE/EBU controllers can be used to con
trol the transport functions of your Studio 8.
The optional TASCAM AQ-65 is a multifunc-
tion Auto Locater/Tape Transport Controller
that also utilizes the Accessory jack.
The Studio 8 dbx system virtually eliminates
unwanted tape noise. The dbx system can be
turned off if you are working with, or audi-
tioning, tapes using Dolby* or similar noise
reduction systems. A sepárate dbx defeat switch
is provided for track eight so that SMPTE/
EBU and FSK (Frequency Shift Key) synchro-
nizing codes can be recorded there. These
codes and some oider model drum machines can
create tracking errors in the dbx system.
Your Studio 8 can be remotely controlled. If
you are sitting in front of your instrument and
not the Studio 8, the tape transport controls,
Play, Stop, Fast Forward, Rewind, and Record
can be located up to sixteen feet away from the
recorder using the optional RC-71. Punch-in
and Punch-out can be engaged using the optional
RC-30P footpedal, which gives you an "extra
hand" in the recording process.
The Pitch Control allows you to adjust the
speed, and thereby the pitch, of the Studio 8
by as much as 15% plus or rninus. This has a
variety of uses from coping with a singer who
thinks the worId is a semi-tone sharp, to cutting
a few seconds from your program. As an ex-
ample, suppose your thirty second commercial
runs 31.5 seconds. A pitch adjustment can be
made to make the material fit the time con-
straints.
The Studio 8 Memory functions are not oniy
convenient, they handie your tape very gently
The MEMORY and RTZ (Return To Zero)
functions work with the recorder's tape trans
port to minimize the strain placed on your tape
by fast forward, rewinds, and searches. You can
also use the REPEAT, CUE, and RTZ functions
to create a playback loop that will repeat until
you turn it off.
"'Dolby" and the double-D symbol are trade-
marks of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corpo-
ration.
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