Yamaha MT8XII manual

MULTITRACK CASSETTE RECORDER Owner’s Manual 45678 3 2 1 0 ST-INPUT 10 ST-INPUT 01 0 ST-INPUT 01 0 9-10 11-12 13-14 1 2 3 4 2 1 2 3 4 3 4 01 0 01 0 GROUP MASTER GROUP 1 GROUP 2 01 0 GROUP 3 01 0 GROUP 4 TAPE IN MIX LEVEL 01 0 MONITOR LEVEL MIN MAX TAPE IN GROUP TO MONITOR TO STEREO STEREO CUE MONITOR SELECT 1 3 2 4 ON OFF CUE MIX TO STEREO 0 10 9 [...]

FCC INFORMATION (U.S.A.) 1. IMPORTANT NOTICE: DO NOT MODIFY THIS UNIT! This product, when installed as indicated in the instructions contained in this manual, meets FCC requirements. Modifications not expressly approved by Yamaha may void your authority, granted by the FCC, to use the product. 2. IMPORTANT: When connecting this product to accessori[...]

• Explanation of Graphical Symbols The exclamation point within an equilateral tri- angle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the product. The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user t[...]

iii MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Important Read the Following Before Operating MT8XII W arnings • Do not locate MT8XII in a place subject to ex cessive heat or in dir ect sunlight. This c ould be a fire hazar d. • Do not place MT8XII in a place subject to ex cessive humidity or dust. This could be a fire and electrical shock hazard. • Connect [...]

iv MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Inter ference MT8XII uses high-frequency digital circuits that may cause int erference on radios and televi- sions placed close to it. If interference does oc cur , relocate the affect ed equipment. Copyright © 1996 Y amaha Corporation. All r ights reser ved. N o part of the MT8XII software or this Ow ner’ s Manual m[...]

v MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Table of Contents 1. Welcome to the MT8XII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 MT8XII Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Buying Cassette Tapes for the MT8XII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 MT8XII Recording Format . . . . . . [...]

vi MT8XII—Owner’s Manual 6. Using Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Applying Effects at Mixdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Applying Effects when Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Applying Effects with Ping-Pong . . . . . . . . . .[...]

Welcome to the MT8XII 1 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual 1 W elcome to the MT8XII Thank you for choosing the Y amaha MT8XII M ultitrack Cassette Rec order . The MT8XII is a high-qualit y , easy-to-use multitrack cassette r ecor der that will allow you t o capture y our music at a very high le vel of qualit y . T o take best advantage of your MT8XII, read [...]

2 Welcome to the MT8XII MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Buying Cassette T apes for the MT8XII It ’ s impor tant that you bu y the correct type of cassette tape for use w ith your MT8XII. Y ou should buy high-quality T ype II (High Bias, 70 µ s EQ) chrome cassett es of 90 minutes or less, such as TDK SA or Max ell UD-II or UD-XLIIS. Do not use metal ta[...]

Touring the MT8XII 3 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual 2 T ouring the MT8XII This chapter tak es y ou on a tour of the MT8XII, identifying the various par ts to help you bec ome familiar with your new recor der . T opside V iew The individual sections of the MT8XII are explained on the follo wing pages. 45678 3 2 1 0 ST-INPUT 10 ST-INPUT 01 0 ST-INPUT 01 0[...]

4 Touring the MT8XII MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Input Channels 1 GAIN control (input channels 1–4) This rotary control adjusts the sensitivity of the MIC/LINE input so that both microphone and line-level signals can be handled with ease. 2 EQ controls These rotary controls are used t o boost and cut the high, middle, and low fre- quency bands inde[...]

Stereo Inputs 5 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual 6 P AN control This rotary control has two functions: Fo r recor ding it’ s used in c onjunction with the GROUP ASSIGN switches to assign the input channel signal to even and odd number ed groups. F or mix- down it’ s used to pan (i.e., position) the sig nal in the stereo mix. 7 GROUP ASSIGN switches Th[...]

6 Touring the MT8XII MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Master Section 1 GROUP MASTER level controls These rotary controls adjust the levels of the g roup signals that are fed to the tracks. 2 CUE MIX TO STEREO switch This switch is used to feed the CUE bus signals through to the Ste- reo bus. It’ s used for multi-sourc e mixing at mixdown. 3 STEREO fader[...]

Display 7 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Display 1 T ape counter The tape counter indicat es the tape position. 2 T rack level meters These meters sho w the track sig nal levels during recor ding and playback fr om –20 dB to +9 dB in eight steps. T o turn on and off the Peak H old function, hold down the [ST OP] button and press the [RESET] button. W [...]

8 Touring the MT8XII MT8XII—Owner’s Manual T ransport Section 1 CLEAR button This button is used to canc el the M emo 1 and M emo 2 locate points. W hen the A uto P unch In/Out function is on, however , it cancels the specified punch in and punc h out points. In this case, the M emo 1 and M emo 2 points are not canc elled. 2 SYNC button This b[...]

Transport Section 9 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual 6 REC SELECT buttons These buttons are used t o select tracks for recor ding. W hen a track is selected for rec ording, a flashing circle appears ar ound the corresponding track select indicator on the displa y . U p to four tracks can be recor ded simultaneously . Y ou cannot reco rd tracks that share[...]

10 Touring the MT8XII MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Rear Panel Connectors 1 STEREO INPUT (UNBAL) 9–14 These 1/4-inch phone jacks are used t o connect electr onic musical instruments and other line-level sound sourc es that hav e ster eo outputs. They can also be used to return the proc essed stereo signals from e xternal effects proc essors. The proc[...]

Rear Panel Connectors 11 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual 7 LINE INPUT (UNBAL) 5–8 These 1/4-inch phone jacks are used t o connect electronic m usical instruments and other line-level sound sourc es to the MT8XII. 8 MIC/LINE INPUT s 3 & 4 These 1/4-inch phone jacks are used t o connect micr ophones, electronic musical instruments, and other line-lev[...]

12 Touring the MT8XII MT8XII—Owner’s Manual are output. Up to four group signals can be output simultaneously . A track must be selected for reco rding using the [REC SELECT] buttons for the group signal to be output. Group signals 1 through 4 can be output to GR OUP OUT s 1 through 4 or GROUP OUT s 5 through 8. This is determined by the indi v[...]

The First Session 13 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual 3 The First Session This chapter e xplains how to r ecor d and mix your first MT8XII session. If this is your first time with a multitr ack reco rder , we r ecommend that y ou start w ith this chapter and follo w all the proc edures closely . When y ou ’ve c ompleted this chapt er , hav e a look at[...]

14 The First Session MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Quick-Start System The following illustration shows the basic equipment necessary to start recording with the MT8XII. The microphones, synthesizer , guitar , and drum bo x are examples of the kind of sound sources that can be connect ed to the MT8XII. F or monitoring, y ou can use either headphones or [...]

Recording the First Track 15 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Recording the First T rack 1. Connect a sound source to MIC/LINE INPUT 1. 2. Set the [FLIP] switch on Input Channel 1 to the up position. 3. Adjust the GAIN control so that the SIGNAL indicator lights up most of the time, and the PEAK indicator lights up momentarily on the loudest sounds. It ?[...]

16 The First Session MT8XII—Owner’s Manual the +9 dB indicator . W hen the dbx noise reduction system is not used, adjust the level control so that the loudest signals light the +3 dB indicator . It ’ s important to set the GROUP MASTER level c ontrol c orrectly . T oo low a setting ma y result in a noisy reco rding. T oo hig h a setting, on [...]

Overdubbing 17 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual 7. Press a [GROUP ASSIGN] switch on the channel being used. 8. Use the P AN control to assign the signal to odd or even numbered group. 9. Set the GROUP MASTER level control midway . 10. Press the [REC SELECT] button of the track that you want to record. A circle flashes ar ound the number of the selected t[...]

18 The First Session MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Mixdown Mixdown is the final technique in m ultitrack recording. H ere y ou mix the sounds from all eight tracks, with EQ and effects, into a balanced st ereo mix and r ecord it t o a stereo mast er rec order , such as a D A T , MiniDisc, or cassett e tape machine. 1. Make sure that all [GROUP ASSIGN][...]

Multi-Source Mixing 19 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Multi-Sour ce Mixing In addition to the eight tape tracks, you can also c onnect external sound sour ces to the MIC/LINE inputs and mix up to eight more sound sourc es with the tape tr acks. Theses extra sound sources ar e mix ed using the CUE LEVEL and P AN controls. The [CUE MIX TO STE- REO] button[...]

20 The First Session MT8XII—Owner’s Manual An Overview of Multitrack Recording This section describes the fundamental principles of multitrack reco rding. Basic Multitracking Monitoring —This is the process of listening to a sound as it ’ s being recor ded or listening to reco rded sounds as new sounds ar e recor ded to other tracks. See A [...]

About Monitoring 21 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual About Monitoring The MT8XII features a flexible monit oring system, allowing you to monit or signals at various points. Y ou can monitor sounds thr ough a pair of stereo headphones connect ed to the PHONES jack, or through a monitor amplifier and speak ers connected t o the MONIT OR OUT jacks. The MON[...]

22 Punch In/Out Recording MT8XII—Owner’s Manual 4 Punch In/Out Recording This chapter e xplains the MT8XII punch in/out rec ording tec hniques. Punch In/Out Punch in/out t echniques allows y ou to r erec ord specific sections of a tr ack. This can be used to correct mistak es or rec ord something new int o silent sections of a track. The MT8XI[...]

Manual Punch In/Out 23 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Manual Punch In/Out Manual punc h in/out can be performed in three different wa ys: 1) using the [REC/P A USE] but- ton. 2) using the indiv idual [REC SELECT] buttons. 3) using an optional footsw itch. The Re hearsal function can be used w ith all three methods. Using the REC/P AUSE Button 1. Locate [...]

24 Punch In/Out Recording MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Using the REC SELECT buttons 1. Locate to a position before the point at which you want to punch in. 2. Make sure that all track indicators are off (i.e., no tracks selected). 3. Press the [REC/P AUSE] button. The REC/P A USE indicator flashes quickly , indicating R ecord P ause mode is engaged. [...]

Using a Footswitch 25 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Using a Footswitch 1. Connect an optional footswitch to the PUNCH I/O jack. 2. Locate to a position before the point at which you want to punch in. 3. Press the [REC SELECT] button of the track that you want to record. A circle flashes ar ound the corresponding track indicator . 4. Press the [REC/P A[...]

26 Punch In/Out Recording MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Auto Punch In/Out The A uto P unch In/Out function auto mates the punch in/out pr ocedure, allowing you to c on- centrate on y our playing or singing. Y ou can rehearse the punch in/out r epeatedly until y ou are ready t o perform the punch in/out for real. An optional footswitch can be co nnected[...]

Rehearsing Auto Punch 27 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Rehearsing Auto Punch Once the punch-in and punc h-out points hav e been set, you can r ehearse the punch in/out. 1. Press the [REC SELECT] button of the track that you want to record. A circle flashes ar ound the corresponding track indicator . If you ’r e monitoring the track v ia CUE (i.e., [[...]

28 Punch In/Out Recording MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Per forming Auto Punch for Real This section continues on fr om the R ehearsing A uto Punch section. 1. Press the [REC/P AUSE] button. The REC/P A USE indicator flashes. This is A uto P unch R ecor d Standby mode. 2. Press the [PLA Y] button (or footswitch) to start the Auto Punch In/Out sequence[...]

Ping-Pong Recording 29 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual 5 Ping-Pong Recording The ping-pong reco rding technique (also kno wn as bounce down) is used to free up tracks for further recording. This is accomplished by bouncing do wn (i.e., mixing and r ecording) one or two existing tracks to an unused track. Those tracks are then used for further recor ding.[...]

30 Ping-Pong Recording MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Preparing for Ping-Pong 1. Press the [RTZ] button to rewind to the beginning of the song. 2. Set the [FLIP] switches on the source track channels to the down position. This sets the tape signal as the source for the channels. 3. Set the faders on the source channels to the 7 – 8 mark. 4. Use the AS[...]

Checking the Ping-Pong Operation 31 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Checking the Ping-Pong Operation 15. Press the [RTZ] button to rewind to the beginning of the song. 16. Press the MONITOR SELECT [GROUP] switch that you pressed previously to monitor the destination track. 17. Press the MONITOR SELECT [CUE] switch. 18. On the input channel that correspon[...]

32 Ping-Pong Recording MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Ping-Pong with Overdub The ping-pong technique can be c ombined with overdub r ecor ding. This allo ws you t o bounce down tracks and record a new sound sour ce simultaneously . In the follo wing illustr ation, for example, T racks 1, 2, and 3 are bounc ed to T rack 4 along w ith a new signal coming [...]

Using Effects 33 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual 6 Using Effects The A UX SENDs allow you t o connect ext ernal effects processors and apply effects t o MT8XII signals. Effects can be applied when r ecording tracks, using ping-pong , or during mixdo wn. T y pically , r everb and delay type effects, which ar e often applied to sev eral sounds in a mix, ar[...]

34 Using Effects MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Applying Effects at Mixdown 1. T o send a signal to an effects processor , set the input channel fader to the 7 – 8 mark and turn up an AUX control. The input channel signal is sent to the effects proc essor and the Stereo bus. 2. Set the effects processor as required. 3. T o mix the processed signal bac[...]

Patching In Signal Processors 35 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Patching In Signal Processors Input channels 1 and 2 featur e INSER T I/O jacks. These mak e is easy to patch e xternal signal proc essors directly into these tw o channels. T y pically , compr essors, limiters, and noise g ates are connect ed to this ty pe of connection. Reverb , delay , a[...]

36 Tape Speed & Mixing Tips MT8XII—Owner’s Manual 7 T ape Speed & Mixing T ips Using the T ape Speed Function The T ape Speed func tion allows y ou to speed up or slo w down the speed of the tape. This has the effect of raising or lowering the pitch of the record ed sounds. 1. T o adjust the tape speed, fi rst stop playback. It ’ s b[...]

Mixing Tips 37 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Mixing T ips This section pro vides tips and techniques for achieving the perfect MT8XII mix. • Inputs —for mixdown, the [FLIP] switches are set to the do wn position and the eight input channels feed the tape signals to the Ster eo bus for mixing. Co mbined with the ST INPUT s, which can be used to c on[...]

38 Quick Locate & Repeat Playback MT8XII—Owner’s Manual 8 Quick Locate & Repeat Playback This chapter e xplains the MT8XII quick locate and repeat pla yback functions. RTZ (Return T o Zero) The Return T o Zer o function allows y ou to rewind or fast forward the tape to the 00:00 position with accuracy . Simply pr ess the [R TZ] button t[...]

Repeat Playback 39 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Repeat Playback The Re peat Playback function allo ws you to pla y the section between the Memo 1 and M emo 2 points repeatedly , as sho wn below . 1. Enter the memo points as explained on page 38, Entering the Memo Points . 2. Press the [REPEA T] button. The MT8XII locates the M emo 1 point and starts r[...]

40 The MT8XII & MIDI MT8XII—Owner’s Manual 9 The MT8XII & MIDI MIDI sequencers and MIDI c ontrolled musical instruments hav e become essential t ools for modern recor ding. I t’ s c ommon these days not t o recor d MIDI instruments to tape until the final mixdown. This has the benefit of freeing up tracks for acoustic sounds and red[...]

Connecting the MT8XII to a MIDI System 41 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Connecting the MT8XII to a MIDI System FSK/MIDI System In this system, an FSK/MIDI con verter , such as the Y amaha YMC10, is used to generate the FSK signal that is recor ded onto T rack 8 of the MT8XII. During playback, the FSK signal is con verted to a MIDI Clock signal. W hen t[...]

42 The MT8XII & MIDI MT8XII—Owner’s Manual SMPTE/MIDI System In this system, a SMPTE/MIDI con verter is used to generate the SMPTE timec ode that is reco rded onto T rack 8 of the MT8XII. It has a MIDI merge function that merges the MIDI Clock information derived from the SMPTE timec ode with the MIDI perfor mance data from the syn- thesize[...]

Striping the Tape 43 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Striping the T ape 1. Connect the MT8XII to the SMPTE timecode generator or FSK/MIDI con- verter as shown in the previous section. 2. If you are using FSK, press the [SYNC] button once. If you are using SMPTE timecode, press the [SYNC] button twice. The SYNC indicator lights up for FSK operation or fl[...]

44 MT8XII Applications MT8XII—Owner’s Manual 10 MT8XII Applications This chapter sho ws how the MT8XII can be used for various applications. One-T ake Recording The One-T ake recor ding technique is ideal for li ve r ecording or r ecor ding bands that like t o reco rd with all members playing together . In the following system example, vocals, [...]

MIDI Home Studio 45 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual MIDI Home Studio In the follo wing MIDI home studio system example, all instruments are recor ded to the MT8XII. R ecording the MIDI instruments could be left until the final mixdo wn, sinc e the MIDI sequencer pr ovides repeatable pla yback and is synchronized t o the MT8XII using SMPTE time- code. Ha[...]

46 MT8XII Applications MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Multi-Sour ce Mixing This example shows ho w multiple sound sour ces can be mix ed on the MT8XII. T o start, an SMPTE SYNC signal is recor ded on T rack 8. This is used t o synchroniz e the MIDI sequencer that in turn controls the MIDI instruments, which are permanently c onnected to the MT8XII and a[...]

Using the TAPE OUT/GROUP OUTs 47 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Using the T APE OUT/GROUP OUT s The T APE OUT/GROUP OUT co nnectors can be used to send the tape pla yback signals or group signals to other equipment. The MT8XII has four groups buses. So up to four group sig- nals can be output simultaneously . During playback, the eig ht tape signals are[...]

48 Troubleshooting MT8XII—Owner’s Manual T roubleshooting If you ’r e having difficulty operating MT8XII or it doesn ’t seem t o work as expect ed, look up the symptoms in the following table and follow the advice pr ovided. Symptom Advice MT8XII cannot be turned on! Make sure the power cord is connected to a suitable AC wall outlet and pl[...]

Appendix 49 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Appendix Maintaining the MT8XII The MT8XII requires r egular maintenance t o remain in t op working co ndition. Y ou should per- form the following two maintenance pr ocedur es before each new r ecor ding session or when you notice an y of the following symptoms: • Increased tape hiss • Dull sounding record[...]

50 Appendix MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Demagnetizing the Record – Play Head As the tape passes ov er the rec ord–pla y head, it imparts a tiny amount of mag netism to the head. During normal use, this magnetism can build up to the point where audio performanc e is affected. Therefor e, you should demagnetize the r ecor d–play head at r egular [...]

Specifications 51 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Speci fi cations Mixer T ape T ransport Recorder Frequency Response LINE IN (GAIN max.) – STEREO OUT 20 Hz–20 kHz +1, –4 dB LINE IN (GAIN min.) – STEREO OUT LINE IN (GAIN min.) – PHONES Noise Level (12.7 kHz: – 6 dB/oct. L.P .F .) Equivalent Input Noise –115 dB (Rs=150 Ω ) STEREO OUT –8[...]

52 Appendix MT8XII—Owner’s Manual General Input Connections Output Connections 0 dB is refer enced to 0.775 V r .m.s. Specifications are subject to c hange without notice. Power Requirements Local AC Current Power Consumption 46 W Dimensions (W x H x D) 530 x 132.6 x 416.4 mm (20.8" x 5.2" x 16.4") W eight 7.6 kg (16.7 lbs) Supp[...]

Block Diagram 53 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Block Diagram (PB) TAPE LINE TAPE TAPE MIC/ LINE PHANTOM POWER SIGNAL PEAK SIGNAL PEAK PEAK SIGNAL GROUP ST AUX CUE TAPE OUT/ 1,2 INPUT MIC/LINE (BAL) 1,2 INPUT MIC/LINE 3,4 INPUT MIC/LINE 5-8 (UNBAL) INPUT LINE TAPE IN (UNBAL) INPUT STEREO 9,11,13 10,12,14 CUE MIX TO STEREO 8 4 7 3 6 2 5 1 STEREO CUE AUX [...]

54 Appendix MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Dimensions W:530 D:416.4 H:132.6[...]

55 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Glossar y Bouncing — See Ping-P ong. Bus —A common c onductor used t o collect and distribute audio signals. MT8XII has four Group buses that feed the tracks, a Ster eo bus consisting of left and r ight channels, two A UX buses for the A UX SENDs, and a st ereo CUE bus for the cue monitor . Capstan —The cylindrica[...]

56 Glossary MT8XII—Owner’s Manual MIDI —An acron y m for M usical Instr ument Digital Interface. An int ernationally agreed stan- dard that allo ws electronic musical instruments and audio equipment to co mmunicate. Mixdown —The proc ess of mixing the individual tr ack signals into a well-balanced ster eo mix. Mixdown is the final stage of[...]

57 MT8XII—Owner’s Manual Stripping the T ape —The pr ocess of recording a SYNC signal onto one track of a tape for synchroniz ed playback with a MIDI sequencer . Y ou can rec ord a FSK or SMPTE timec ode SYNC signal onto MT8XII T rack 8. This should be done befor e rec ording an ything else. T racking —The proc ess of recor ding sounds to t[...]

4567 8 3 2 1 0 ST-INPUT 10 ST-INPUT 01 0 ST-INPUT 01 0 9-10 11-12 13-14 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 01 0 01 0 GROUP MASTER GROUP 1 GROUP 2 01 0 GROUP 3 01 0 GROUP 4 TAPE IN MIX LEVEL 01 0 MONITOR LEVEL MIN MAX TAPE IN GROUP TO MONITOR TO STEREO STEREO CUE MONITOR SELECT 1 3 2 4 ON OFF CUE MIX TO STEREO 0 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 STER[...]