Yamaha MT8X, Operation Manual

Page 1: ...YAMAHA AUTHORIZED PRODUCT MANUAL MULTITRACKCASSETTERECORDER ...

Page 2: ...YAMAHA MULTITRACK CASSETTE RECORDER OPERATION MANUAL ...

Page 3: ...entilation For example the appliance should not be situated on a bed sofa rug or similar surface that may block the ventilation openings or placed in a built in installation such as a bookcase or cabinet that may impede the flow of air through the ventilation openings 9 Heat The appliance should be situated away from heat sources such as Heat registers stoves or other appliances including amplifie...

Page 4: ...nce Utilize power outlets that are on different branch circuit breaker or fuse circuits or install AC line filter s In the case of radio or TV interference relocate reorient the antenna If the antenna lead in is 300 ohm ribbon lead change the lead in to coaxial type cable If these corrective measures do not produce satisfactory results please contact the local retailer authorized to distribute thi...

Page 5: ...e for recording bands or layering tracks at home And because it s a YAMAHA you know that the MT8X willgive you the very finest sound quality and overall performance available In order to make use of the MT8X s many features and obtain maximum performance we urge you to read this operation manual thoroughly and keep it in a safe place for future reference 4 PRECAUTIONS 5 FEATURES 6 STRUCTURE OF THE...

Page 6: ...CHROME CASSETTE TAPE This unit is designed to be used only with Chromeposition tape and will not work properly with Ferrichrome tape formulations tape 10 USE A CASSETTE TAPE PROPERLY position tape CRO2 tape HIGH position TYPEII should be used With some tapes it may be impossible to obtain normal sound quality or characteristics because of problems such as distortion of the frequency characteristic...

Page 7: ...ignal processors to each channel as required 2TR IN jacks are provided to make monitoring of the completed tape which has been mixed down in stereo easier RECORDER A dbx noise reduction system will provide substantial noise reduction and a wide dynamic range An automatic punch in out recording function and a rehearsal function make punch in out recording easier and more accurate A pitch control fu...

Page 8: ...N controls and ASSIGN switches There are 4 main bus lines group buses which receive the input signals from each respective channel of the mixer If signals from two or more mixer channels are input to a bus line these signals are all overlaid mixing RECORDER The cassette recorder records the signals from the bus lines In addition it also sends the playback signals to the TAPE OUT jacks on the rear ...

Page 9: ... is used for adjusting balance and position of signals which was adjusted by the channel fader when the signals are sent to the group buses or stereo buses Signals are distributed as follows ODD L Signals are sent to Groups 1 and or 3 Stereo L EVEN R Signals are sent to Groups 2 and or 4 Stereo R If the control is set to the center position signals will be equally distributed to both the ODD L and...

Page 10: ...f all switches are pressed all of the signals can be simultaneously monitored GROUP Each of these switches is used to monitor the bus signals for groups 1 and 3 or groups 2 and 4 in monaural If both the switches are pressed signals can be monitored in stereo groups 1 and 3 for channel L and groups 2 and 4 for channel R STEREO This switch is used to monitor the stereo bus signals 2TR IN This switch...

Page 11: ...n and Indicator This button is for carrying out a recording rehearsal If this button is pressed the indicator illuminates Afterthe track s to be recorded is selected with the REC SELECT switches if this button is pressed and then the PLAY button is pressed a pseudo recording can be performed In this condition this unit functions in the same way as actual recording though recording is not performed...

Page 12: ...These buttons are for locating the memory points stored using the MEMO 1 and MEMO 2 buttons If the LOC 1 button is pressed the tape rapidly forwards or rewinds to the memory point 1 and when LOC 2 is pressed the tape rapidly forwards or rewinds to the memory point 2 COUNTER RESET Button This button resets the tape counter to 00 00 The memory points on the tape which were set by using the MEMO 1and...

Page 13: ...LECT switch flashes to indicate that recording is possible to the track If the REC PAUSE button is pressed at this time the indicator changes from flashing to illuminating and this unit enters into the recording standby mode Level Meter The level meter displays the recording or playback level of each track or the signal level at the stereo buses within a range of 20 dB 9 dB Tape Counter The tape c...

Page 14: ...ixdown connect these jacks to the stereo tape deck AUX RETURN 1 and 2 Jacks Input Impedance 20 k Rated Input Level 10 dB AUX RTN LEVELcontrol nominal These jacks input signals from external signal processors Thesejacks are stereojacks sothata stereo signal processor with one input and two outputs can be connected If using a signal processor with monaural output only connect to the L MONO side of t...

Page 15: ...is the sound you want and to listen for distortion and other problems With this function signals input to channels 1 to 8 of the mixer and to AUX RETURN jacks can be monitored in stereo Because signals which have not been assigned to a group bus can also be monitored this is convenient when recording while listening to other sound signals which are not being recorded For example you could listen t...

Page 16: ...e recorded 5 Press the REC PAUSE button The REC PAUSE indicator illuminates and the REC select indicator display illuminates on the 6 Adjust the recording level using the corresponding GROUP MASTER control while playing a phrase with high volume See SETTING THE RECORDING LEVELS on page 28 7 Adjust the CUE LEVEL as well as the MONITOR PHONES control 8 Press the COUNTER RESET button and reset the ta...

Page 17: ...OUP MASTER control 8 Press the COUNTER RESET button Rehearsal 9 Press the PLAY button to start rehearsal a pseudo recording The PLAY indicator illuminates 10 Play an instrument while listening to sounds of the track being played back and adjust the CUE LEVEL controls for the recording track and the track being played back If the pitch between the playback sound and the sound you are actually playi...

Page 18: ...ible with the overdubbing method Ping pong recording is a technique often used to overcome such a problem For instance if the recorded signals on tracks 1 4 are mixed and re recorded onto other 2 tracks tracks 5 and 6 for example tracks 1 4 can be used for new recording PROCEDURE Getting ready to record 1 Set the input selector switches to the TAPE position for the channels which correspond to the...

Page 19: ...r the recorded track 17 Press the PLAY button to play back the tape and check the contents of the recording 18 If the recording needs to be redone repeat steps 4 17 For stereo ping pong recording 18 15 Release the GROUP switch under MONITOR SELECT and press STEREO 16 Set the input selector switches to the TAPE position for the channels which correspond to the recorded tracks and set the channel fa...

Page 20: ...e careful not to monitor the playback signals on tracks and the signals made by mixing ping ponging them at the same time otherwise monitoring cannot be done properly The overuse of ping pong recording may deteriorate audio sound quality Ping pong recording a recorded sound should not be carried out repeatedly Ping pong recording onto adjacent tracks within the same block of the record playback he...

Page 21: ...PLAY button at the punch out location The REC PAUSE indicator goes out and recording stops punch out 2 Punch in out using the REC SELECT switches 1 Check to be sure that no track has been selected for recording 2 Press the REC PAUSE button The REC PAUSE indicator flashes rapidly 3 Press the PLAY button to play back the tape and start playing an instrument 4 At the punch in location press the REC S...

Page 22: ...ing press CLEAR and start again from step 2 To correct a pre roll point press the AUTO PUNCH I O switch to cancel the automatic punch in out function and start again from step 1 3 Rehearsal When the punch in out points have been specified you can proceed with a rehearsal or practice the changes to be made The rehearsal is to perform a pseudo recording which means that the same movements will occur...

Page 23: ...punch in and punch out points as well as the pre roll and post roll points If you will carry out punch in out recording on another part you must begin from selecting the track or setting the punch in out points etc If the result is not good Press the REHE button and re operate from step 3 Rehearsal again If the point setting is not correct press the AUTO PUNCH I O switch to cancel this function an...

Page 24: ...d for recording without being converted to signals called FSK Frequency Shift Keying A MIDI converter such as the YAMAHA YMC 10 can be used for this type of signal conversion Some MIDI instruments can output the FSK signals in which case an external MIDI converter is not necessary Please read the instruction manual provided with your MIDI instrument to see if it outputs the FSK signals MIDI conver...

Page 25: ...t from a MIDI instrument set the mixer channels for recording to any track and set the GROUP MASTER fader to 7 8 See Initial recording on page 15 Rehearsal 12 Press the REHE button to turn this unit into the rehearsal mode and start the performance on the MIDI instrument 13 Adjust the recording level using the GROUP MASTER control while watching the level meter Adjust the recording level of FSK si...

Page 26: ...the MIDI instrument to MIDI clock mode to receive MIDI signals form the MIDI converter 3 Set the MIDI instrument to FSK sync mode to receive FSK signals 4 Prepare the song data etc to start recording immediately Setting for channels of the mixer 5 Set the controls and switches for channels that input the audio signals from the MIDI instrument See Initial recording on page 15 Settings on the MASTER...

Page 27: ...button SYNC recording is carried out automatically 16 When the recording is finished press the RTZ button to rewind the tape Checking the finished SYNC recording 17 Press the PLAY button to play back the tape Monitoring the recorded tape make sure it has been recorded properly 18 Press the CUE switch under MONITOR SELECT and slide up the CUE LEVEL faders for the tracks originally recorded 19 If th...

Page 28: ... selector switches to the TAPE position for the channels which correspond to the numbers of the already recorded tracks 2 Press the STEREO button under MONITOR SELECT 3 Play back the tape and adjust the playback level for each channel Also adjust the PAN controls equalizer controls and AUX controls Adjust the recording level of the stereo tape deck at the same time Recording 4 Start recording on t...

Page 29: ...and CUE switches Use the level meters in conjunction with the various monitoring functions to set the recording level See Monitor on page14 About the level meters If a level meter display goes over the normal limit for a very short instant this is not a sign of a problem The reason is because human ears can hardly detect distortion which lasts for only a short period of time However if the level m...

Page 30: ...is recommended that you put together a plan that takes into account factors such as the organization of the instruments the overall structure of the program the parts that you wish to emphasize the final stereo orientation and so on If you go ahead with multi track recording without making such a plan you may encounter problems such as running out of tracks limits in orienting of the sound image e...

Page 31: ...eful when actually creating a recording plan or while recording is in progress CH Mixer channels 1 8 INPUT T TAPE M L MIC LINE L LINE SOURCE Enter the sources the instruments to be recorded REC TRACK Indicate recording tracks 1 8 ASSIGN Indicate the setting of ASSIGN switches combination of bus lines for signal output PAN Indicate the positions of the PAN controls AUX Indicate the AUX 1 and 2 cont...

Page 32: ...the beginning of the program Next play the bass guitar while listening to the recorded drum part or at the same time as recording the drum part and record this bass part onto track 3 If you think it will be difficult to play the bass without listening to vocals you may record temporary vocals onto another track such as track 8 and play the bass while listening to the recorded vocals and drum part ...

Page 33: ...s 1 Recordingthe Rhythm Parts 2 Recording the Chord Backing 3 Recording the Vocal 4 Recording the Guitar Solo Reverberation is applied to monitoring signals however recording will be done without reverberation 5 Mixdown 32 ...

Page 34: ... contents of the PLANNING SHEET set them for channels 3 5 and 6 as follows Be sure to set the channel faders for other channels to 0 Set faders 1 2 and 3 for the CUE LEVEL controls at 7 8 Connections Operations GAINcontrol Equalizer control AUX control ASSIGN switch PAN control Input selector switch Channel fader H I G H M I D L O W A U X 1 A U X 2 1 2 3 4 Channel 3 LINE 0 0 0 0 0 off ON L ODD MIC...

Page 35: ...eeded proceed to the next step If the recording or the performance has not succeeded make re recording or punch in out recording as required 4 Recording the Chord Backing Record the guitar backing on track 5 repeating the procedure of step 3 Recording the Rhythm Parts Set the mixer as shown in step 2 of the Recording plan on page 32 Set the fader for channel 2 to 7 8 and reset the fader for channe...

Page 36: ...1 Determine the organization of instruments and the position of each instrument as figured below 2 Determine the final designation of each track Track 1 Track 2 Track 3 Track4 Track 5 Track 6 Track 7 Track 8 Guitar Solo Vocal Backing L Backing R Rhythm L Rhythm R Guitar2 Riff Synthesizer2 Strings Drums Bass Guitar Guitar 1 Cutting Synthesizer 1 Piano BackingVocal1 Backing Vocal 2 35 ...

Page 37: ...rhythm parts on tracks 5 and 6 play the guitar and record the sound signals to track 1 as the Guitar 2 part which is to be the riff part 5 Ping ponging the backing parts Mix the recorded Guitar 2 part with the Synthesizer 2 part the sound of the strings and then ping pong the mix of them in stereo 1 Synchronize the music sequencer with the SYNC FSK signal which has been recorded onto track 8 and t...

Page 38: ...track 1 as the guitar solo part 10 Mixdown Mixdown of signals recorded on all tracks The sound orientation of the guitar solo part and the backing vocal parts should be done in this step Making Planning Sheets 1 Recording the rhythm parts 2 Recording the Guitar 1 Cutting 3 Ping pong the rhythm parts 4 Recording the Guitar 2 Backing 37 ...

Page 39: ...5 Ping ponging the backing part 6 Recording the Lead Vocal part 7 Recording the Backing vocal part 1 8 Recording the Backing vocal part 2 9 Recording the Guitar Solo part 10Mixdown 38 ...

Page 40: ...nection Microphone Operations Refer to the operations of RECORDING EXAMPLE 1 A basic recording overdubbing For setting controls and switches on this unit follow the contents of the Planning sheets For the operating method of ping pong recording see pages 17 For the operating method of SYNC recording see pages 23 39 ...

Page 41: ...CONNECTION EXAMPLE 40 ...

Page 42: ...rectly The record playback head is dirty The recording level is set unproperly The tape is set incorrectly The output level of the connected instrument is too low The power cord is not plugged incorrectly The SYNC switch is not pressed to be turned on The level of the already recorded FSK signals is too low The level of the signals to be recorded on track 7 is too high Remedy Set the REC SELECT sw...

Page 43: ... capstan and pinch rollers Demagnetizing the Heads When the recorder is used over a long period of time metallic sections and head sections which come in contact with the tape become magnetized and this can cause deterioration of the characteristics The head should be demagnetized using a head eraser a demagnetizing unit after every 20 to 30 hours of use To do this please refer to the instruction ...

Page 44: ...STEREO OUT L R MONITOR OUT L R TAPE OUT 1 8 PHONES Input Impedance 10k Min Input Level 56 dB gain control ch fader max Max Input Level 10 dB gain control min headroom margin Rated Input Level 10 dB to 50 dB ch fader nominal Input Impedance 10k Min Input Level 16 dB ch fader max Rated Input Level 10 dB Rated Input Level 10 dB ch fader nominal Input Impedance 10k Min Input Level 16 dB ch fader max I...

Page 45: ... Rated Input and Output 20 Hz 20 kHz MIC IN STEREO OUT LINE IN STEREO OUT LINE IN PHONES OUT Noise level 12 7 kHz 6 dB oct L P F Signal process noise STEREO OUT 115dB Rs 150 80 dB CH optimum position of the Master Fader S N Ratio At Rated Input and Output Levels 68 dB IHF A MIC IN STEREO OUT GAIN TRIM MAX 70 dB IHF A LINE IN STEREO OUT GAIN TRIM MIN Distortion 1 kHz At Rated Input and Output Equal...

Page 46: ......

Page 47: ...TRACK SHEET TITLE ARTIST ENGINEER DATE COMPOSER ARRANGER ...

Page 48: ...YAMAHA R0 1 93 08 2500 YAMAHA CORPORATION RO Box1 Hamamatsu Japan VQ02780 ...

Page 49: ...MT8X OM 10 20 98 98056 YAMAHA Recyclable MT8X OM Yamaha Corporation of America 6600 Orangethorpe Avenue P O Box 6600 Buena Park CA 90622 6600 Recycled ...