D00649020A POCKETSTUDIO 5 4-Track Recorder/MIDI Arranger/MP3 Encoder GETTING STARTED Ü ÿ Ÿ CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE COVER (OR BACK). NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.
Table of Contents 1 – Welcome About this manual.......................................3 What’s in the box? ......................................3 Powering up the Pocketstudio 5 ................4 The AC adaptor............................................... 4 Using batteries ............................................... 4 2 – About multitrack recording Cards and memory ......................................... 5 Multi-track recording ..................................5 Tone generator rhythm ............
1 – Welcome Welcome to the TASCAM Pocketstudio 5. This exciting device allows you to record yourself and friends, and to build up a multitrack recording and mix down to a stereo mix, adding effects such as reverb and delay, just like a professional recording studio. All of the recording and mixing is done digitally, in memory, so the Pocketstudio 5 has no tapes or discs to wear out or replace. It uses easily-obtainable, reusable CompactFlash™ cards, which hold a large amount of data.
1 – Welcome Powering up the Pocketstudio 5 The Pocketstudio 5 has two methods of receiving power: from six dry-cell batteries, or from the supplied AC adaptor. display lights and a welcome message appears briefly before the home screen is shown. The on/off switch is located on the “rear panel”, together with the AC adaptor input, the USB jack and the MIDI IN jack.
2 – About multitrack recording Even if you already know something about multitrack recording, you may find it useful to read this section in order to refresh your memory regarding the basic concepts involved in producing a recording. This explanation has been written specially with the Pocketstudio 5 in mind, and some of the ways in which you work with a Pocketstudio 5 are slightly different to the way in which you would work with a tape recorder, for example.
2 – About multitrack recording In a recording studio, the usual mixdown device is an analog or digital stereo tape recorder (or sometimes a CD recorder). On the Pocketstudio 5, the mix is made to an MP3 file inside the Pocketstudio 5 itself. No cables or external equipment are needed, and you can share the resulting mix with friends immediately, as the sound is digitized, ready for storing and transmitting using a personal computer.
3 – Parts of the Pocketstudio 5 Rear panel 1 2 3 1 MIDI IN jack Use this to connect a MIDI instrument to control the Pocketstudio 5’s internal tone generator. 4 4 Power switch Turn the Pocketstudio 5 on (left) and off (right) with this switch. NOTE 2 USB port Use a standard USB cable to con- Remember to disconnect any headphones, instruments, etc. or to turn the volume down, when turning the Pocketstudio 5 on and off. nect this port to a suitably-equipped computer.
3 – Parts of the Pocketstudio 5 B PHONES jack Connect a pair of stereo headphones (such as the ones integrated with the supplied headset) to this jack. An adaptor (not supplied) may be required in the case of some headphones. C LINE OUT This is a stereo 3.5 mm jack that is used to connect to other audio equipment such as a tape recorder, MD recorder, etc. It provides output at standard –10 dBV levels. Right panel D E F D GUITAR/LINE selector Slide this switch player, etc.
3 – Parts of the Pocketstudio 5 Top panel G H I Q R J K L S M N O P G Display The display shows you the current status of the song, etc. as well as the menu choices to set up and use your Pocketstudio 5. H MP3 key Use this key when mixing down to a stereo MP3 file (lights red) or playing back an MP3 file (lights green). When unlit, the Pocketstudio 5 is recording tracks or bouncing. I EFFECTS key Use this key to set up and use the Pocketstudio 5’s built-in effects units.
3 – Parts of the Pocketstudio 5 N Transport keys These keys act in much the input level with the Pocketstudio 5’s own controls (6 and 8). same way as an ordinary tape recorder’s keys. There is no pause key (none is necessary with a device like the Pocketstudio 5). There is, however, an extra key which you will not find on a tape recorder, the MARK key, which allows you to set and return to preset points throughout your song. See “Marks” on page 14.
3 – Parts of the Pocketstudio 5 NOTE Since the EQ and effects can add a significant amount of volume to the signals, you should not rely on these meters for the final level being sent to the track. The levels of the four audio tracks being played back are shown on the four track meters before they have been through the EQ and the faders, as well as for the tone generator (TG). Finally, the L and R master output levels are shown at the right of the screen.
3 – Parts of the Pocketstudio 5 The cursor pad The cursor pad is used to navigate around the screens—left and right and up and down. cursor keys to scroll through to these “invisible” options. Sometimes a screen will show an up (l) or a down (;) mark or both (') at the bottom right of the display which indicates that more options are available before the current screen, or after the current screen, or both before and after the current screen.
4 – Basic use of the Pocketstudio 5 Playback When you press the PLAY key, playback Fast forward and rewind The fast forward starts from the point shown in the top right of the home screen. The PLAY key lights when playback is taking place.
4 – Basic use of the Pocketstudio 5 Routing an input to a track When you want to route one of the two inputs to a track, press and hold either the GUITAR IN key or the MIC IN key. Any track REC READY keys which are assigned to this input flash rapidly while you are holding down the input key (slow flashing means that the track is armed ready for recording).
5 – Your first song using the Pocketstudio 5 This does not pretend to explain every possible function of the Pocketstudio 5, but it will guide you through the first steps in making a recording. We’ll assume that you are going to use the built-in tone generator to give your song a backing track of at least drums and bass and that you will be playing rhythm and lead guitar and singing. Before you start recording Find yourself a quiet area where you won’t be disturbed while you’re recording. the smaller (3.
5 – Your first song using the Pocketstudio 5 Setting up the rhythm The first thing to do is to set the tone generator to the “pattern” setting. 1 From the “home” screen, press MENU and then enter the SYSTEM menu. Selecting the pattern From the home screen, press the MENU key, and enter the PATTERN menu. Ctgry / Rock1 Style:60sHrock Record:Tracking Tempo: d =100 TgMode / Pattern 2 Tempo :------- Time :ABS Arnge:Preset ; Use the cursor to move to TgMode, and the wheel to select PATTERN.
5 – Your first song using the Pocketstudio 5 Adjust the guitar input level 6 so that when you play the guitar in the way you will be playing when you are recording, the meter (INPUT A) is in the top part of the bottom line of the display. NOTE Bringing up track 1 fader here does not affect the level of the signal being recorded—it sets the relative level of the sound from track 1 that you hear through the headphones (or LINE OUT). Tuning the guitar 1 screen shows an E string which is slightly sharp.
5 – Your first song using the Pocketstudio 5 you to choose which bank you will select the effect from. 6 Set the input and output levels (In Lev and Out Lev) for the effect (from 0 to 127). In 8 Lev:100 OutLev:100 Write The last setting allows you to store your parameter settings to a user area which you can then name for easy recall. See the reference manual for details. NOTE Switch:on 7 hear any effect). Also note that you will hear no effect :.
5 – Your first song using the Pocketstudio 5 3 Press ENTER once again to save the data before you start recording. NOTE Audio data is saved every time you stop recording. This is shown by the RECORD key flashing after recording has stopped, and the display showing a flashing asterisk. However, when the audio data is written to the card, any changes you have made to the tone generator, EQ or effect settings, etc. are not stored to the card along with the audio data.
5 – Your first song using the Pocketstudio 5 6 Rewind to the start and record your vocals. It’s unlikely that you’ll get them completely right first time, so you will probably want to use the Pocketstudio 5’s auto punch facility to make them perfect! See “Punch recording” on page 14 for details of how to correct your mistakes. Adding the lead guitar When you’ve done recorded the vocals, you can add the lead guitar line. 3 Add EQ as necessary (see “Adding EQ” on page 18).
5 – Your first song using the Pocketstudio 5 5 Add the master reverb (reverberation) effect. From the EQ screen, press Ó to get to the reverb (REV) screen: Func / REV SendTr1: 100 SendTr2: 100 SendTr3: 100 sound with the treble frequencies filtered out. With this setting, the lower the value, the more “live” the reverb space will sound. Values from 1 to 100. , . Density: how “complicated” the sound is.
5 – Your first song using the Pocketstudio 5 Transfer to computer Of course, you want to be able to share your work with others, and the best way to do that is using a computer. Read the section on “Managing songs and data on your Pocketstudio 5” on page 23 for details of how to connect the Pocketstudio 5 to a computer and transfer files.
6 – Managing songs and data on your Pocketstudio 5 When you connect the Pocketstudio 5 to a computer, you can transfer data such as the following between the Pocketstudio 5 and your computer. • Song data (audio, effect settings, MIDI backing settings, etc.) • Stereo MP3 files: the files that you have mixed yourself on the Pocketstudio 5 as well as other MP3 stereo files from other sources. • Standard MIDI files which you can use as backing data for “karaoke” playing and singing.
6 – Managing songs and data on your Pocketstudio 5 Using CF cards The 32 MB card which is supplied with your Pocketstudio 5 allows you to record up to 10 minutes of 4track material (as well as allowing you to produce the stereo mix for these tracks). sometimes want to expand the capabilities of your Pocketstudio 5 by purchasing another CF card with more capacity. You can use CF cards up to 128 MB in size.
6 – Managing songs and data on your Pocketstudio 5 Optimizing a card When you record or edit a song, the data may not live in a continuous block on the card. No damage will occur to your data or to the Pocketstudio 5 if you do not perform the optimization technique described here, but you may find that some operations are a little slow if you do not do this.
6 – Managing songs and data on your Pocketstudio 5 Pocketstudio files The Pocketstudio 5 keeps its files in special locations, which must not be changed. See the Reference Manual for details of these locations and settings. How to share your Pocketstudio 5 files Thanks to the Pocketstudio 5 and the Internet, you can now share your files round the world.
POCKETSTUDIO 5 TEAC CORPORATION Phone: (0422) 52-5082 3-7-3, Nakacho, Musashino-shi, Tokyo 180-8550, Japan TEAC AMERICA, INC. Phone: (323) 726-0303 7733 Telegraph Road, Montebello, California 90640 TEAC CANADA LTD. Phone: 905-890-8008 Facsimile: 905-890-9888 5939 Wallace Street, Mississauga, Ontario L4Z 1Z8, Canada TEAC MEXICO, S.A. De C.V Phone: 5-851-5500 Campesinos No.
