Backing up tracks on computer

[Jonathanalen]

Hi all, I'm new to this forum and would really appreciate some help. I have recorded a bunch of songs on the DP-32SD. Each song has about 4 tracks. I would like to back up the tracks individually on my PC. I've followed the manual, which says that tracks must be exported from the Audio Depot file. However, none of the tracks appears in the Audio Depot file on the Tascam. Can I back up the tracks directly from the song or music files, or must I first figure out how to move them into the Audio Depot file to be transferred to the PC? The manual does not explain how to move tracks into the Audio Depot file. Thanks for any responses!

 

[Phil Tipping]

Hi Jonathan. You have to explicitly 'export' each track, and it then appears in the AudioDepot folder as a wave file. Don't copy other files - they are also wave files, but they're internal work files used by the machine and won't necessarily line up time-wise, or correspond one-to-one with tracks. The correct way is to go to Export via the Menu screen and select which tracks to export (page 66 in manual).

 

[Jonathanalen]

Phil, thank for the response. My problem is more fundamental: I do not know how to get the tracks that comprise my songs into the Audio Depot file in the first place! Until they land in the Audio Depot, they can't be transferred to a PC. I want to keep these tracks -- they are transfers from old cassettes (Tascam 4-tracks) that are irreplaceable. The manual, at p. 64, says you can back up an "entire song" from the MUSIC folder, but that "tracks" have to be exported through Audio Depot as .wav files. To test this, I made a copy of an unimportant song in my MUSIC folder, transferred the original version via usb to my PC, then deleted the original version from the Tascam. I was able to restore the original version of the song from the PC to the MUSIC folder in the Tascam with a basic click and drag. All the tracks went to where they belonged and everything seemed fine on the Tascam. Is this an unreliable way to back up songs/tracks? If so, how do I get my tracks into the Audio Depot so they can be properly transferred to the PC for backup? Thanks.

 

[Phil Tipping]

Thought I answered that so obviously some confusion here You have to explicitly export the tracks to make them appear in the AudioDepot folder, i.e. load your song if it isn't currently loaded, then press Menu and select the AudioDepot function, then press the Export button (all on page 66). You should see your 4 tracks with tick boxes next to them. Tick them all and press F4 to do the export. The machine will then collate and convert the various work files from the Song folder and create new wave files, one per track, in the AudioDepot folder. If you then connect a PC or move the card to a PC, you'll see these files in that folder.
If you just want to backup the song without processing it on the PC, then you can just copy the whole song folder as you did... but you should treat this folder and its contents as a self-contained sealed unit which is only suitable for use on the machine. You shouldn't use the contents for processing/playback on a PC for reasons mentioned in previous post. The only exception is the mixdown/mastering file which is also stored in the Song folder.
Update: I think the confusion is with the term 'export'. Tascam have unfortunately used it to describe a conversion process which converts files from an internal structure into a format suitable for transferring to a PC for further processing. In my view, to 'export' a file is the process of transferring it from one device to another so I would have chosen a different name, but that's just my opinion! The naming of effects is another confusing one, e.g. the Insert(Dynamics) and Insert(Guitar) effects would be better described as 'source/input insert' and 'track insert' respectively... but can't really knock an otherwise impressive bit of kit!

 

[Jonathanalen]

That is an extremely helpful clarification, and aligns with what I suspected. I can back up the SONG file to a PC, but can only then restore that file to the DP-32SD. I would not be able to use those tracks with software on my PC, for instance. That may be sufficient for my purposes, but I think the safer route to do as you suggest -- load the song, then "export" to the Audio Depot file, then transfer to my PC. Thanks for the very useful explanation. They ought to pay you to rewrite the manual! I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Jonathanalen]

Success! I think the problem was that I didn't realize each song had to be loaded one at a time to do the export function. Your step-by-step instructions were extremely helpful. Only about 60 more songs to go! What a relief, though. These were cassettes I recorded on a Tascam 4-track years ago with various bands. Some of the material is pretty decent and I want to work with it, possibly adding a few new tracks to some songs. The point is, it took me months to transfer these tapes (separate line out for each track) to the DP-32, and I never want to have to do that again. Getting the noise reduction just right, setting the levels, etc. -- a real painstaking process. Now that I have them on the DP-32, I need to back them up. Thanks again for "talking" me through this! -- Jonathan

 

[Phil Tipping]

Ok Jonathan, glad you got it sorted. Should be luxury once they're all in the digital domain - no more tape hiss, wow & flutter, oxide shedding etc. Good luck with the project.