(DP-004) What Am I Doing Wrong?

JarkkoSisu

JarkkoSisu

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Joined
Oct 4, 2016
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Gear owned
DP-004, US-2000, 16x08
Just picked this up and I want it to record entire band practices. Here's what I'm doing:

  • Menu
  • Song
  • Create
  • (use default name/#)
  • [execute]
  • check inputs
  • home
  • arm Tracks 1 & 2
  • play + rec
I see the time moving and the record levels bouncing too. When we're finished, I hit stop. Twice I haven't had anything saved when I went to find the file. I've just got song titles with 2mb next to it. I feel like I must be missing a step.

Little help?
 
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It seems I was causing problems by saving the song when I finished.

I'm recording entire practices; do I need to master the song to get it off the recorder and on to my computer?
 
I don't have a DP-004, but the manual (page 91) says you can transfer the whole song and/or individual tracks, so you don't need to master it first. Maybe the reason you're not finding the files is because a computer cannot 'see' the MTR section (partition) on the sd-card. This is where the song data is stored when it is recorded. You need to get the audio files into the visible FAT partition by following the steps on pages 94 (songs), or 99 (tracks). Once they are there, the computer is able to 'see' them so you can copy them across.
 
I still have to turn it to a WAV file before I can take it off the device, which takes a LONG time for an entire practice, but if I can skip the unnecessary master step, I would save however long practice goes. I'll look up the pages you mentioned. Thanks!
 
This is similar to the dp24 & 32 models so sounds like they've carried forwards the 'export' concept. They may have speeded up the process, but it still takes several minutes for long tracks. I would recommend creating new songs for each session if it's feasible, although it may not be in your case as it sounds like you just leave it running in record. But if you can do it, the tracks will be shorter so quicker to export, and you can be selective about which ones you process. The other advantage if you eventually decide to mix & master on the machine is that you can master each song separately. If it's the same as the dp24/32, there's only one master file allowed for each song so although you can select the start & stop times for mastering, you cannot process more than one slice unless you transfer or rename the file before mastering the next slice.
 
I would recommend creating new songs for each session if it's feasible, although it may not be in your case as it sounds like you just leave it running in record. But if you can do it, the tracks will be shorter so quicker to export, and you can be selective about which ones you process.

Yeah, I was used to just letting my old Tascam (may have been a DR-05, can't recall) for the whole practice - set it and forget it. I will try stopping it more often. Even if I cut the practice in half, that would help, and as I build the habit, I'll have smaller and smaller chunks to convert to .wav files.

I doubt I'll use the DP-004 for mastering. I'm pretty comfy with Reaper.
 
Argh, I can't seem to export the wave unless I master first. I guess that's because I'm using both internal mics assigned to Track 1 & Track 2, respectively. I looked at pg 99 of the manual and didn't notice any way to skip this step. Any way around it?
 
This doesn't sound right at all. Mastering should not come into the equation. Am not sure which step you think you need to skip as page 99 in my manual is all about exporting tracks... which can be track 1, 2, 3 or 4.
dp-004-manual-page-99.jpg
You tick which ones you want, then export them. Are we using the same manual? Is there a firmware update for the DP-004? I'm working blind as I've never owned a dp-004, so may be mis-understanding this myself! Is there anyone else out there who can help?
Update: Just a thought - maybe the FAT partition on the sd-card doesn't have enough room to hold the exported tracks. There should be an error message if this is the case, but maybe you missed it. Page 80 shows how to display how much space the FAT partition has - this is needed for the export process. Page 81 onwards shows how to format or clear out individual partitions. Don't forget, the FAT partition is the only part of the sd-card which is visible by a computer, so you need to export tracks into this space in order to transfer them.
 
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I've been following this video's instructions:

when I tried to skip the mastering step, I couldn't find my file as a choice when I went to "Export as .WAV File"

although now I'm feeling like maybe I didn't successfully keep my practice on the recorder again. last practice, it went well until the batteries died. however, there was a big recording that was 334MB, which I mastered and exported as .wav, then easily took right out of the folder. this time, at the end of practice, there was a file that was 666MB, which I assumed to be the correct file, so I mastered all 70 minutes of it, then exported that file, and when I opened the folder, it was the previous practice.

honestly, I want to blame the device, but it's my own fault for getting something not suited for my needs.
 
so what's up - do I have to master the instant I hit stop or lose it for good?
 
No, the mastering step is definitely not necessary. You don't need to set in & out points either as this is for defining which slice of the recording to master.
He does say at 5:13 that you could just export tracks instead of selecting 'export master', so that's confirmed it should work like this. Did you check how big the FAT partition is? According to the manual page 82, the size depends on the size of the sd-card and how much is allocated for the MTR partition(s), so maybe you are exceeding the size and it's not letting you export tracks? Do you see a list of tracks for exporting as shown on page 99 (I attached an image of that page on the previous post)?
There are other points on page 47 & 48 about changing the active partition, which might explain why you can't see your song on the machine itself, so not sure if you've altered these. This might be a red herring as they are all MTR partitions. none of which are visible by a computer.
I would recommend starting again by formatting the card to make sure there are no other redundant files clogging it up, then make a small recording to test the workflow.
Update: Just had a thought. The FAT size shown on page 82 may just be the total size, as opposed to the space available. In which case, maybe your FAT partition is full - previous exports & master file etc. All your original recordings are safe inside the MTR partition(s) so you could just try reformatting the FAT partition (page 84), then seeing if you can export tracks.
 
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Yeah, I was reluctant to reformat my SD card, as there are warnings in the manual about how I'll lose stuff for good, but now I'm ready to just start it fresh.
 
I was able to export the two tracks (one from each internal mic) as .WAV without mastering them. and I figured out a really dumb thing I had been doing before. I won't say what it is because it's so embarrassing.
 
Thanks for the help and, most of all, encouragement.
 
I am a little late to the game here but I would suggest naming each song in your practice to eliminate any memory problems when creating wav files also you can back up the song files using the song back up menu (page 94-96) and keep them on your computer.
 
Hi JarkkoSisu,

You said above that "I was able to export the two tracks (one from each internal mic) as .WAV without mastering them. and I figured out a really dumb thing I had been doing before." I seem to be in the exact same situation, and the likelihood that I am missing something obvious to others seems high. Would you be willing to share what you learned.

I have no problems recording on the internal mics and can back up the song, which is then visible in the BACKUP folder as SONG0001.001 (on Windows 7). It does not seem to be a wav file, though, and cannot be played on iTunes (whether as the original name or changing the extension to wav).

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Andy
 
I figured out what I was missing, and can now create wav files from what I record.

Thanks,

Andy
 
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