DP24/32 FX - Definitive Summary of Effects

[Phil Tipping]

Just sharing my notes on the DP-24/32 FX limitations & usage; please shout if any mistakes.

Overview of availability

There are 3 effect processes in MultiTrack, Bounce & Mixdown modes: Send, Insert(Guitar) and Insert(Dynamics).

Send effect

• Only 1 effect available at any one time.
• Can be either Reverb, Chorus or Delay.
• Can be shared by any/all tracks and any/all inputs via their individual Send levels.

Insert(Guitar) effects block

• Only 1 block available at any one time.
• The block is a daisy-chain of up to 4 effect types:
  
  1.Noise Suppressor 2.Amp 3.Compressor 4.Effect
  (Effect can be either Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Tremolo, Auto-wah or Delay).​

• The block can be inserted into the record or playback path of one (only) track.
• Inserting the block reduces the max. no. of Insert(Dynamics) effects from 8 to 2, so it cannot be inserted if more than 2 Insert(Dynamics) effects are in use.

Insert(Dynamics) effects

• There are 8 effects available at any one time if the Insert(Guitar) block is not used anywhere, otherwise only 2 effects available.
• Any effect can be either Compressor, Noise Suppressor, De-Esser or Exciter.
• Any effect* can be inserted into the path of any/all of the 8 inputs, subject to above limits.
• Effects cannot be daisy-chained, i.e. only one effect per input.

* the official Tascam video (youtu.be/QR2yAtin3YI) is incorrect, and the manual is misleading "you cannot use multiple types of dynamic effects simultaneously". It may have meant you can't daisy-chain effects on the same input?​

EQ

• Each track has its own EQ.
• Each input has its own EQ.

Mastering

• The process has its own EQ.
• The process has its own compressor.

Details & usage

There are 3 effect processes in MultiTrack, Bounce & Mixdown modes: Send, Insert(Guitar) and Insert(Dynamics). They are 'wired' differently (send bus, input path, track path), so your choice of effect may be restricted - see block diagram... but some types appear in more than one process, e.g. a reverb only exists in the Send effect, but a compressor exists in both the Insert(Dynamics) effect and the Insert(Guitar) effect.​

Send effect

• There is only one of these available at any one time, but it can be either Reverb, Chorus or Delay.

• Can be shared by any/all tracks and any/all inputs via their individual Send levels & global Master-1 level.

• Each track can send a pre or post track-fader signal to it.

• Each input (if assigned to the stereo bus) can send a pre or post input-level signal to it; the level control is only available from the Mixer screen.

• To adjust the effect itself, press Effects button. If F1 button is labelled SEND, press F1 to show the Send effects. Press SELECT(F3) to choose the effect and adjust its settings.

• The ON/OFF(F4) setting and Return level apply to all types so are common to all sub-screens, but there is only one effect allowed at any one time so whatever is currently displayed is the Send effect.

• Send level values and Off/Pre/Post routing for each track/input are shown in the relevant Mixer screen.

• To adjust via Mixer screen, press Mixer button, press reqd. track or input button to display its individual mixer settings (confirm the selected track/input is shown at top-right of screen). Use cursor/wheel/knobs as reqd. The box marked INSERT EFFECT has nothing to do with this Send effect.

• To adjust via Home screen, press reqd. track/input select button and twiddle send level knobs (a partial mixer screen appears briefly).

Insert(Guitar) effects block

• There is only one block available at any one time, but it comprises a fixed chain of up to 4 effect types in the order: 1.Noise Suppressor 2.Amp 3.Compressor 4.Effect (where Effect can be either Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Tremolo, Auto-wah or Delay). The actual order 1 to 4 is believed correct but not confirmed.

• Each of the 4 types can be on or off so the block comprises a chain of zero to 4 effects.

• The block can be inserted into the record or playback path of one (only) mono or stereo track. The max no. of Insert(Dynamics) effects will be reduced from 8 to 2 (even if the block contains zero effects), so it cannot be inserted if more than 2 Insert(Dynamics) effects are in use.

• To adjust effects within the block, press Effects button. If F1 button is labelled GUITAR, press F1 to show the Insert(Guitar) effects.

• The track no. at top-right shows which track has the block inserted. It shows '--' if the block is not inserted anywhere (which also means all 8 Dynamics effects are available).

• To insert the block into a track, press the reqd. track select button and confirm it appears at top-right of screen. To remove the block, deselect the track by pressing the lit select button again.

• To add/remove effects within the block, press SELECT(F3) to cycle through available effects and press ON/OFF(F4) for each one as reqd. Adjust individual effect settings as reqd. Alternatively, press LIBRARY(F2) to load a pre-defined factory/user block.

• The Rec/Play setting applies to the whole block so is common to all sub-screens; it controls whether the block is inserted into the recording or playback path for the selected track.

• The ON/OFF(F4) buttons define which effects are active within the block; they do not control the track allocation, so turning them all off does not remove the block from its track (which means the Dynamics effects will still be limited to 2).

• To remove the block, deselect its track in the Effects screen, i.e. press the lit track select button to toggle it off, or press Mixer button, then press reqd. track select button (confirm it appears at top-right), then toggle the INSERT EFFECT box off. This removes the block from its track, leaving the individual effect on/off states within the block unchanged.

• There is only one block so turning it on within the Mixer screen will remove it from its previous track. Similarly within the Effects screen, pressing a track select button will move the block to the selected track.

• You can save/recall block configurations via the LIBRARY(F2) button.
  The Noise Suppressor settings appear to be ignored in the library.

Insert(Dynamics) effects

• There are 8 effects available at any one time if the Insert(Guitar) block is not used anywhere, otherwise there are only 2 available.

• Any effect can be either Compressor, Noise Suppressor, De-Esser or Exciter.

• To adjust, press Dynamics button. The input no. at top-right of screen shows the input which will have the displayed effect inserted when it is turned on.

• To insert the effect into a different input path, press the reqd. input select button and confirm it appears at top-right of the Dynamics screen.

• To change the effect for the selected input path, press SELECT(F3) to cycle through available effects.

• Turn effect on/off or adjust settings as reqd. The ON/OFF(F4) button is used to insert/remove the effect from the selected input path (unlike the Insert(Guitar) effects where on/off only controls the block contents).

• Any effect can be inserted into any of the 8 input paths subject to above limits, e.g. if the Insert(Guitar) block is unused, you can use individual compressors on each of the 8 inputs, or a mixture such as 4 compressors on inputs A-D, a Noise Suppressor on E, a De-Esser on F, and 2 Exciters on G & H.

• Each input path can only have a single insert effect, i.e. no daisy-chaining.

• The on/off setting in the Dynamics screen is replicated by the INSERT EFFECT box in the relevant Mixer screen so you could toggle it on/off from here, but 2 caveats:-
  1. turning it on always inserts the top effect from the Dynamics screen, regardless of the input's original effect.
  2. remember to press the reqd. input select button and confirm it appears at top-right of Mixer screen.

EQ

• Each track has its own EQ.

• Each input has its own EQ.

• To adjust via Home screen, press reqd. track/input select button and twiddle EQ knobs & on/off button (a partial mixer screen appears briefly).

• To adjust via Mixer screen, press Mixer button, press reqd. track/input select button to display its individual mixer settings (selected track/input is shown at top-right of screen).

Mastering

• The process has its own EQ.

• The process has its own compressor.

• To adjust via Mastering screen, press Mixdown/Mastering button to enter Mixdown mode (do a mixdown if not done previously), then press button again to enter Mastering mode, press EQ or COMP button as reqd.

 

[JImM]

Hi Phil

Excellent summary. Some comments...well you asked! (I haven't gone through every item in detail...these points just stuck out on first reading...I may come across more).

1. On the multiple dynamics effects...I agree. It appears that you can indeed use a different effect of the four available on each of the eight inputs. Just tried it quickly...will have to test it more thoroughly. It seems to good to be true....

2. Under Details & Usage you say "e.g. if you want a reverb, it can be a Send effect or an Insert(Dynamics) effect". There is no reverb available from the dynamics effects.

3. Under Send Effect you say "Each input can send a pre or post input-level signal to it (the level control is only available from the Mixer screen).". Maybe clarify that the input has to first be assigned to the stereo bus in order for it to use the send effect?

4. Still under Send Effect, you say "If F1 button is labelled SEND, press F1 to toggle modes." May make more sense to say if the F1 button is labelled GUITAR, press F1 to toggle modes.?

5. Similarly, under Insert(Guitar) Effects Block, it may make more sense to toggle if the F1 button is labelled SEND.

Just some ideas. Thanks..
Jim

 

[Phil Tipping]

That's been a great help Jim, many thanks for taking the time to check it.

1. This is encouraging - thought I was missing something!! Will await confirmation and then remove my comments.

2. Don't know where I got reverb in dynamics but you're dead right - I'll remove it. I've since noticed there's a reverb setting within the guitar AMP effect, so will replace it with that.

3. Good point, done.

4 & 5. Got me doubting now but I think it's right as-is, isn't it?? The F1 label says which mode it will enter if you press it; it's not the current mode. So if it says SEND, you must be in Guitar mode. I would have implemented this differently but that seems to be how they've done it. I'm happy to change the wording to make it less confusing.

Post is now updated; please feel free to add/correct anything else - it's no use if it's incorrect, and as you've already seen, I'm not 100%
Phil.

 

[JImM]

4&5...my bad...you are absolutely correct. I will keep referring back to the post as I play around to see if anything else needs correcting or clarification.

Perhaps the subject of a separate post could describe how to actually print a send effect. I think it is a subtle point that while you can send any tracks or inputs to the send effects, nothing gets printed until mixdown, unless you bounce along the way. I believe someone mentioned in another thread that the machine lends itself to "printing effects along the way". I haven't played with it much but I imagine that the virtual track feature might come in handy in this respect. "Lets see...on final mixdown how does that track 3 guitar sound best: dry on V1, plate reverb on V2, hall reverb on V3, or short delay on V4...?" If you get the idea.

 

[Sam Trenholme]

Excellent summary. It looks like we can use the “bounce” feature to compress (or apply other guitar effects to) a track and put the result on another track (we can only listen to that one track while doing the actual bounce, but we can listen to the track in the mix before doing the bounce.)

As I’ve talk about before with JimM, it’s also possible to use the bounce feature to add reverb to a track and put it on a new track. Another feature which is possible to do is to add the DP32’s internal reverb to a separate track to have a track with just reverb, by using a pre-fader send and listening to just the reverb while bouncing. Then again, while the DP32’s reverbs have nice early reflections, I find their tails thin; it’s no ValhallaDSP reverb.

 

[Saxomohawh]

Great summary! This gets more and more complicated the more you go into detail....
So we have two different choruses, two delays (send and insert guitar), two compressors, and two noise suppressor (insert guitar and insert dynamic).

 

[Saxomohawh]

Some thoughts: If one uses Insert dynamic effects, it is only possible to use either noise suppressor or compressor. Not both. However, with insert guitar effects it is possible to use both at the same time. How different are the effects really? I mean could you use the guitar effects for a mic recording? Has anyone compared the two compressors, and the two noise suppressors? Are the guitar effects really designed specifically for a guitar signal?

 

[TS-1]

Great summary, thank you !

 

[Phil Tipping]

Thanks Saxomohawh and TS-1. Sorry missed your question Saxomohawh - can only answer the first part... yes for any one input, you can only insert one dynamic effect, whereas for any track, you can only insert the one guitar effect block... but the 4 sub-effects within the block are daisy-chained so you can use up to 4 of them simultaneously. I'm guessing the guitar effect is so named because the sub-effects are typical ones you'd use with guitar FX pedals. The amp/cabinet sub-effect is the only one which, to me, seems specifically for a guitar; the other 3 in the block all seem general purpose... which is why I think they made it confusing for (non-guitarist) users by calling the whole block a 'guitar effect'. I've not compared the effects, but it's not hard to compare them yourself - let your ears be the judge

 

[Henry Doe]

Very informative. I watched six of your videos last night, Phil. I just finished reading the manual. I played professionally for ten years. Gave it up in `83 to raise a family. Retirement has me moving back in that direction. I can see that the technology is way different in some respects. Not at all in others. Thanks so much.

Henry

 

[Andrew Oz]

I really hope you come from the "there's no such thing as a stupid question" school. This is very useful, and I *think* I understand, but could you clarify a few things for me?

First -

"There are 8 dynamic effects available..."

1. Compressor,
2. Noise Suppressor,
3. De-Esser
4. Exciter
5. ????
6. ????
7. ????
8. ????

Also -

"The block can be inserted into the record or playback path of one (only) mono or stereo track."​

Does that mean if I record Track 1 with an effect, when I record Track 2 I can't have any effects? (surely unlikely)... And if I set the effect to REC, record with the effect, then switch it to PLAY for mixdown, will I get the effect effected?

I'm also not sure what the difference is between pressing the EFFECT button and turning one on compared with selecting INSERT EFFECT on the Mixer panel.

And finally -

If I use a Send effect, what's the interaction between the individual and Master levels? Or rather, if I have the track's level at 100% and Master at 0%, is that the same as Track 0% vs Master 100% (or indeed if both are on full, twice as much reverb etc)?

Thanks!

 

[Felonious Punk]

Hi Andrew. Welcome.

The brains here are the most patient you will find anywhere. I am not one of those brains but I will take a crack at your question.

The "block" of effects is the Guitar effects. The "Dynamic" effects are all in the "Input" section only. There are 4.

There are also reverb, chorus, delay known as the "send" effects. You can toggle between "guitar" and "send" effects after pressing the "Effect" button. You can only use one send effect at a time but every track can use the effect. In other words you have to choose between reverb, chorus or delay. This is where the track and master sends come in.

REC/PlAY: If you record with this set to REC then those effects are permanently on the track. If it is set to PLAY when you record the track will be dry. PLAY is just for monitoring while you record.

You can only use one instance of the Guitar Effects at a time. You can't have it open on two tracks at the same time.

INSERT EFFECT refers to the Input effects (Dynamic Effects).

I think you are correct with your assumptions on the master and track sends.

Hope this helps. Someone will be along to fill in some gaps and maybe make some corrections

FP

 

[Phil Tipping]

Welcome to the forum Andrew.
I'll just add my 2 cents to FP's answer.

Effect numbering can be confusing as it's not clear if it's the number of effects in total, or the number of choices for an individual effect.

Dynamic effects
With dynamic effects, there is an effect available for each of the 8 inputs.
The 4 you listed are the 'types', so each of the input effects can be one of those 4 at any one time.
So you could have, e.g. 8 independent compressors (one per input), or 8 independent de-essers (one per input) etc. or a mixture such as independent compressors on 3 inputs, independent de-essers on 2 inputs, etc.

Guitar insert effects
There is only one guitar insert block. It can be inserted into the record path of a track, or in the playback path of a track.
If you insert it into the record path, it will be recorded (by definition). If you then insert it into the playback path, it will affect the track signal playing back, so yes you can get an effected effect.
The effect added during playback will be heard through the monitors, but it will only be recorded if you are in bounce or mixdown mode (or if you do some trickery by connecting outputs to inputs).

So if you record track 1 with a guitar insert effect (you just say 'an effect' but you have to be more specific), you can still record track 2 with a guitar effect, but not at the same time. You can record different effects on both tracks simultaneously if you use the dynamic insert effects, but obviously these are a different set of types.

The INSERT EFFECT box in the mixer screen is just an alternative way of inserting or removing insert effects.
When an input is selected (i.e. its source button is lit, or the mixer screen shows INPUT X at the top-right), the insert effect box refers to the dynamic effect.
When a track is selected (i.e. its select button is lit, or the mixer screen shows TRACK N at the top-right), the insert effect box refers to the guitar insert effect.
I don't recommend using the mixer screen option to toggle dynamic effects on/off as it is not guaranteed which effect you will get when you turn it on. Full details of this 'gotcha' are in the tutorial videos.

Send effects
The individual send levels control the proportion of signal from each track or input which is sent to the send bus. The master level controls how much of this combined signal is sent to the internal send effect (or to the sockets at the back). The master overrides all the individual settings (hence its name) so if it is zero, there will be no signal. Turning an individual send level down only affects that specific track or input.
The level controls are attenuators so you won't get 'twice as much' if both are fully up.

 

[JSchmo_Bass]

Question: on the DP 24/32, do any of the EQ’s include or function as a HPF/ low cut filter or LPF/ hi cut shelving EQ type of function? That is, can you clean any unwanted lows or highs completely out of a track?

 

[David Porter]

They can function as a type of HPF. I do it all the time. Particularly for bass guitar and kick drum. Whether it's the input or track EQ - I often set the low frequency band to anywhere from 32-80Hz and lower it to taste (sometimes drop it all the way - I can't remember how many dB that is).

Someone can correct me on this.... but I don't think this is what is considered a "hard shelf" - but more of a soft curve. Assuming that the visual representation is accurate - you can see the curve.

 

[JSchmo_Bass]

Thank you David. So Based on this actually just pulled the trigger on a lightly used DP24SD at a good price ...I want to compare this workflow to the DAW experience. This will be fun!

 

[Phil Tipping]

There are also 2 independent EQ stages so you could apply them in series during a bounce operation.

 

[JP Illes]

Has anyone tried using a Boss BR-800 as an effects processor, i.e., setting the BR-800 to line-in, and using those presets. There are a whole list of effects including a very interesting looking LOW Mid/HIGH Mid Parametric EQ, and LOW/HIGH Cut filters... I have an old BR-800 that I am going to use for the Guitar, Bass and Vocal Effects, but was thinking I would try using a SEND Effect to insert some of the preset BR-800 line-in effects. Just wondering if anyone had tried this...

 

[David Porter]

I haven't tried it - but it's a near certainty that this is do-able as long as you can make the connections.

 

[-mjk-]

Has anyone tried using a Boss BR-800 as an effects processor, i.e., setting the BR-800 to line-in, and using those presets. There are a whole list of effects including a very interesting looking LOW Mid/HIGH Mid Parametric EQ, and LOW/HIGH Cut filters... I have an old BR-800 that I am going to use for the Guitar, Bass and Vocal Effects, but was thinking I would try using a SEND Effect to insert some of the preset BR-800 line-in effects. Just wondering if anyone had tried this...

Are you asking if anyone has tried it because you're not sure if it can be done? Virtually any outboard audio processor can be used with the DP machines. See this post: https://www.tascamforums.com/posts/29576/