Clone track issue

[Jima]

Hi,
On the DP-24.
Is it possible to clone one of the first 12 tracks to one of tracks 13-24?

You could easily do it on my old 2488.
It is hard to believe that it can't be done.

That would be something like the 3rd limitation the 2488 didn't have that I've run across in a month of owning the thing.
Please tell me something good.

Jim

 

[Phil Tipping]

Hi Jim, haven't got one to confirm but think you're stuck with mono-to-mono or stereo-to-stereo cloning according to defn of target track in manual (p61). Could bounce the track as a last resort, but no good if you're in a hurry! They must have had a rethink with the dp32 as you can switch the higher tracks to mono.

 

[Jima]

Hi Phil,
Thanks for your reply.
Just to clarify.
Can you confirm that you can clone pretty much any track to any other track?

I must say that this is pretty much a deal breaker of a limitation for me. It just seems like such a pointless limitation. I keep thinking that surely I'm just doing it wrong.

 

[RustyAxe]

I'm pretty sure I don't understand your question or the limitation. You can clone any track to any other track (except itself, of course). Define your source, define your target, press the button.

 

[Jima]

Hi Rusty,
I select a source track. I choose track 3. I look at my options for a target track. I am only presented with tracks 1-12. I am unable to select track 13...or any track above 12.

 

[Phil Tipping]

That's the problem - the target track is restricted depending on the source. Manuals for both dp24 & dp24sd say the same thing about the target track in the Track Editing section... if you select a mono track to be the source, you can only select another mono track to be a destination, ditto for the stereo tracks. Since tracks 1-12 are fixed as mono, and 13/14-23/24 are fixed as stereo, it would seem you cannot clone a mono to a stereo.
On a dp32sd, you can configure the stereo tracks 9/10-31/32 to be mono or stereo so there is no restriction.

 

[Jima]

Phil,
Thank you for your reply.
Ok, when I get back to the studio tonight I will search around for an option to turn all those tracks to mono.

Jim

 

[RustyAxe]

I guess I didn't pay attention, sorry. Jim, that won't work on the DP24. The stereo channels are fixed. I've contacted Tascam to see if a firmware update could make the DP24 act the same as the DP32. I'm not holding out much hope.

 

[joeereid]

Subscribed for the firmware revision/reply. Maybe I should have bought the 32. Whats the deal with all these Stereo channels on mixers these days anyway? 18 faders= 18 channels. There oughta be a law.....

 

[Phil Tipping]

You're right it does seem misleading not to emphasise the no. of recordable tracks, but seems it's common practice. My first portable was a Zoom PS-04, 4 tracks... but can only record 2 at any one time. Think you just have to do your homework when looking for new gear. The mono/stereo issue also seems common on digital recorders. Even the 2488 (from what I can gather from the manual) won't clone linked tracks (presume this means stereo) with mono ones. Can't see why it can't be done though. To clone anything, it has to copy the data to create a new wave file, so converting it from mono to stereo on the way, or vice versa can't be much more of an overhead can it? Fingers crossed for the f/w update.

 

[joeereid]

I just love those "12 Channel" compact mixers that only have 3 faders......I surely can work around the stereo tracks I'm stuck with. I'll be bouncing the kick/snare/bass/etc. tracks to the stereo tracks and then load them into Reaper as 2 mono tracks each which makes processing A/B comparison much easier.

 

[Arjan P]

To be fair, under the product overview of the DP-24SD the first line to me is quite clear: "The DP-24SD Digital Portastudio is a 24-track workstation, allowing eight tracks of simltaneous recording." No Chinese there whatsoever.

 

[Jima]

I was a pretty intense user of the 2488. You can totally clone track 4 to any single one of the paired tracks on that old device.

 

[Jima]

Ok I'm back to this thread again. I exchanged the DSP24 in and upgraded to the 32 version just to get the ability to change stereo tracks into single mono tracks. All that so I can clone one of the first 8 tracks into one of the 12 - 32 tracks.
And apparently when I tell it to roll from stereo to mono it prevents me from using both tracks in the pair!
Totally defeating the entire purpose of 32 individual tracks.
Does anyone know how to copy/clone one of the first 8 tracks to one of the paired tracks without eating up the other paired track?
IMHO it isn't 32 tracks if I can't put 32 different tracks on it.
I'm very frustrated because I upgraded in the hopes of addressing this seemingly simple functionality issue that the old device simply didn't have.
I can't help but think I missing some fundamental concept.
What good are all these paired tracks anyway?

 

[Phil Tipping]

Re. cloning on the 2488, I stand corrected. Seems it's only pairs-to-singles you can't do, which makes sense , not vice-versa... was only going by what the manual says under Clone Track: "Dst. Trk This sets the destination track or tracks to which the source track is cloned. ... If you have selected a single track, you can select tracks 1 through 24 here. If you have selected a pair of tracks (for instance, 1/2), you can only select track pairs here."

Re. DP-32, the term 'track' does seem a bit mis-leading. Stereo uses 2 audio signals, so the track-count depends on whether you regard stereo as 1 or 2 'tracks'. I think Tascam are a bit lax here - the manual doesn't spell it out in the spec section; it's only their website which says in the Features at-a-glance section: "8 mono tracks + 12 mono/stereo selectable tracks", so you can have up to 20 mono tracks.

I suppose the 20 faders should have flagged warning signs if you really wanted 32 independant tracks, but it's water under the bridge now The dp-24 has 18 track faders but these are fixed for the "12 mono tracks + 6 stereo tracks", so at least you've got another 8 monos, or double the no. of stereos, which to me is worth having.

Much prefer dedicated stereo tracks (for stereo sources) as there's only one set of controls. Simulating it on 2 monos (as you have to on a lot of h/w mixers which never seem to have enough stereo inputs) is a pain when adjusting gain, EQ, aux sends etc.

 

[Glenn Brown]

I have bounce 2 of the mono tracks to a paired fader track. Set the levels right because once bounce, you can only adjust the paired level.