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Roland DM-800 Multi Track Disc Recorder - Tutorial

TERMS

A TAKE is a recording and refers to the whole recording. The only time that you use disk space is when you record a Take in the Record Module.

A PHRASE is all or part of a Take. The only things that you see in the Playlist are Phrases. You can have many phrases that play part or all of a particular Take.

The PLAY LINE is the line in the center of the screen that shows where you are playing as the phrases move by underneath.

A PROJECT is a collection of Takes and Phrases as well as Automation, Trigger assignments and all of the information that makes one whole work for saving and cataloguing purposes.

BUTTONS

CURSORS
These are navigational tools. Use them to move around within different edit windows. They are also used to select which track you are working on.
NEXT/PREVIOUS
Think of these like the Track Skip buttons on a CD Player. They will locate to the beginning or end of each phrase on the selected track.
MARKERS
The markers are your grease-pen. Record a marker at any position in your project by pressing one of the marker buttons. Once a marker is used, it turns red. To instantly locate back to a marker, simply press it. Erase a marker by holding down the Delete button and pressing the marker you want to erase.
EXECUTE
This must be pushed to complete most edits, like an ENTER key.
FUNCTION
This button toggles between different sets of the Functions that are displayed above the F Keys, if there are more than one set for a particular Mode.
F1-F5 FUNCTION KEYS
These are known as "soft keys". Each button corresponds to a specific edit command displayed in the LCD directly above the button.
MENU
Selects 5 global functions, including LEVEL and SAVE.
EXIT
This is your "oops" button. It lets you bail out of an edit. (Think of this as the ESCAPE button).
TRACK STATUS
These mute, record enable, or play enable the tracks.
TRANSPORT CONTROL
These control playing and stopping and rewinding, etc.
VALUE/TIME DIAL
This moves the play position or changes values in editing windows. We will refer to this as the JOG WHEEL.
PREVIEW
The Preview buttons are used to precisely audition edit points.
MODE SELECT KEYS
These choose the modules that control the DM-800 such as Record, Playlist (where you do your editing), etc. These include:
RECORD
For recording audio into the DM-800 and for setting up recording parameters such as auto punch, the internal patch bay, etc.
PLAYLIST
This is where you do all your editing. You cannot record any audio with this mode selected.
MIXER
For controlling the DM-800's automation of all mixing parameters including level, pan, EQ and Aux Faders.
TEMPO
For creating and editing MIDI tempo maps.
TRIGGER
For setting up phrases to be triggered.
CATALOG
This is where you do all your housekeeping. Here you manage disk functions such as backing up, changing projects, and copying takes between drives or between projects.
SYSTEM
This is a "set and forget" mode. Set it up one time. All User-Definable preferences. For setting sync modes, internal/external clock mode, recording from Digital A, Preview Length, SMPTE offset, etc.

INITIALIZING THE DM-800 SETTINGS

To make sure that the settings on your DM-800 match those of the tutorial, please first Initialize the settings of you system. This will assure the DM-800 has all the default settings for various parameters.
  1. Press SYSTEM Mode
  2. Press the F3 key that is under the command InitPRM. If you don't see the InitPRM command, press F5 (PAGE) until you see the InitPRM command.
  3. Press the EXECUTE button twice to Initialize the DM-800.

RECORDING AUDIO

RECORDING A MONO VOICE OVER
  1. Press the RECORD Mode button.
  2. Plug a line level source into Input 1 on the back the DM-800.
  3. Press TRACK ENABLE button for track 1 until it is flashing red.
  4. The three possible positions for each TRACK ENABLE button are:
    FLASHING RED = Record Ready
    GREEN = Playback
    OFF = Mute
As soon as the track is in Record Ready (i.e. flashing red) you should check the input levels using the video display of the DM-800. If you do not have the DM-800 connected to a video monitor, you can look at input levels by pressing the LEVELS button. If necessary, you can adjust the input gain for analog input #1 using the knobs at the top left corner of the DM-800.

NOTE: THE TUTORIAL WILL USE VOICE OVER MATERIAL CONSISTING OF COUNTING FROM 1 TO 10 AS ITS MODEL WHEN WE ARE DISCUSSING EDITING. TO FOLLOW ALONG MORE EASILY, RECORD A VOICE COUNTING FROM 1 TO 10.

  1. Press the red REC button. It will begin flashing red. This is RECORD READY. To begin actual recording, press the PLAY button. (Note the flashing red changes to solid red.)
  2. Press STOP to stop recording. Wait for the DM-800 to finish "thinking". A screen will come up on the display asking you to "KEEP or DELETE?" Pressing F1 (for KEEP) will save the recording.
RECORDING A STEREO MUSIC BED
  1. Press RECORD Mode
  2. Plug 2 line level inputs from your stereo source into inputs 3 and 4 on the back the DM-800.
  3. Press TRACK ENABLE buttons for tracks 3 and 4 until they begin flashing red to record enable tracks 3 and 4.
  4. Press track 1 button until it turns green.
You can check the input levels on the video display or by pressing the LEVEL Button.
You can also adjust the input level using the Analog Input Gain Knobs for inputs 3 and 4.
  1. Press the red REC button and then PLAY to record.
  2. Press STOP to stop recording and F1 (KEEP) to keep the take.

NEXT AND PREVIOUS Two of the many ways to instantly go to a location in the DM-800 are the NEXT and PREVIOUS Buttons. These buttons locate to the beginning or end of any phrase. Use these buttons now to get familiar with them. Notice that they work on the track that is selected using the cursor keys.

EDITING AUDIO

Note: All editing on the DM800 is NON DESTRUCTIVE, even the DELETE Phrase command. Please feel free to try any and all of the Editing Commands: You can't damage the DM-800's software in any way!

PLAYLIST MODE. All editing is done in the PLAYLIST Mode. Make sure the PLAYLIST button is selected. (It will turn red.)

The FUNCTION BUTTON
In Playlist Mode you use the FUNCTION Button to find all of the editing commands. By pressing the FUNCTION Button, you will see the various choices for editing cycle by over the F Keys. You choose the Editing Command that you want by pressing the F Key that is below the Command that you want to choose.

USING THE SPLIT AND DELETE COMMANDS
The SPLIT command is just like cutting a piece of tape with a razor blade. A SPLIT simply creates takes one phrase and splits it into two phrases that can then be edited, moved or deleted separately. DELETE removes the phrase from the Playlist. However, it is NON DESTRUCTIVE: It does not remove the original recording (Take) from the Hard Drives, so that you can get that audio back any time that you want to.

Let's first SPLIT the voice over phrase into two parts, the first including the word "1".

  1. Locate the beginning of your counting phrase using the PREVIOUS Button.
  2. PLAY your recording and STOP after you hear the word "1".
  3. Press the FUNCTION Button until you see the command SPLIT over F3.
  4. Make sure that the track and phrase are selected using the CURSOR Buttons.
  5. Press SPLIT and then EXECUTE. This splits the original phrase into two parts.
Now let's DELETE the first phrase including the word "1".
  1. Select the first of the two phrases that you have just created by pressing the PREVIOUS Button. If you have a video monitor connected, notice the selected phrase turns yellow.
  2. Press the DELETE Function using the F5 button.
  3. Press EXECUTE to finish the command.
MOVING PHRASES
Phrases can be Moved by the JOG Wheel or to a MARKER or by the NEXT or PREVIOUS buttons or to an exact SMPTE time using MOVE along with the Jump Command. Let's move the word "4" away from the word "3".
  1. PLAY the phrase until you hear the word 3 and then press STOP.
  2. Press the SPLIT command and then EXECUTE to divide the counting into two phrases.
  3. Locate to the beginning of the second phrase (starting with the word 4) using the PREVIOUS or NEXT command.
  4. Find the MOVE Command by pressing the FUNCTION Button until you see MOVE over F1.
  5. Select MOVE by pressing F1.
  6. Use the JOG Wheel to Move the second phrase away from the first phrase and the press EXECUTE.
  7. Locate to the beginning of the whole selection using the PREVIOUS Button and then press PLAY to hear the changes you just made.
USING MOVE WITH NEXT AND PREVIOUS
Let's use the Move command to put the phrases back next to each other.
  1. Using PREVIOUS or NEXT, locate to the beginning of the second phrase.
  2. Press the MOVE command to enter the Move Function.
  3. Press PREVIOUS to locate to the end of the prior phrase.
  4. Press EXECUTE to finish the Move Command.
USING MARKERS
The DM-800 has Markers to help in locating sections and to use with various Editing Commands.

ENTERING MARKERS
Markers can be entered during Play or Stop. Look at the Marker/Auto Locator number pad.

  1. Choose a Marker that is not RED
  2. Press the Marker. Notice that it is now red.
  3. Press Play and then press a different, unlit marker.
  4. While the DM-800 is still playing press the same marker again. This will locate the DM-800 to that marker and it will continue to play.
DELETING MARKERS
  1. Press and continue to hold down the DELETE Button at the bottom of the Marker area.
  2. Press each marker that is now red and it will turn blank or off.
ENTERING MARKERS ON THE FLY
Let's put in markers before the numbers "5" thru "8".
  1. Play the voice over from the beginning.
  2. After the number "3" press Marker #4.
  3. After the number "4" press Marker #5 and so on thru Marker #8.
While the DM-800 is stopped, locate to a marker and then listen to your location by pressing Play.

WAVEFORM EDITING
The DM-800 has a waveform display that is great for finding edit points. Let's explore that feature now.

  1. Select the track that has the voice over using the Cursor Keys.
  2. Press Marker #5 to locate in front of the number "5".
  3. Press the PLAYLIST Mode Button. This will bring up the Waveform Window.
  4. Use the numbers 1-6 on the 10 Key Pad to Zoom to different levels of Waveform Viewing.
PREVIEW FROM AND TO
The PREVIEW Function is a great way to audition your location while finding edit points and is used during MOVE and CUT and other functions of the DM-800.

PREVIEW FROM plays the audio from the PLAY line just as if you had pressed Play, but without losing your play point. You can adjust the length of this and all PREVIEW types in the System Mode.

  1. Leaving the Waveform Window open, press the PREVIEW FROM button and listen to your exact location.
  2. Using the JOG Wheel, move the Play Line about 1 full rotation clockwise and then press PREVIEW FROM again to hear the audio at your new location.
  3. Now try using PREVIEW TO to listen to the part of the word that is before the Play Line. This is currently set to play only a short time. You can change this length if you want in the System Mode.
Explore these functions with the words you have recorded until the PREVIEW Function feels comfortable to use.

SCRUB PREVIEW TO
Let's try another method for finding our edits: SCRUB PREVIEW TO.

  1. Locate near the beginning of the number 6.
  2. Press and hold down the SCRUB button at the bottom of the Markers section.
  3. Press the SCRUB/PREVIEW TO button to listen to the Scrub Feature.
  4. Slowly move the JOG Wheel clockwise to listen to various parts of the word "6".
  5. Press Stop to end the Scrub Function.
CUTTING AND ERASING AUDIO
The DM-800 has two functions that you will use often while you are editing: CUT and ERASE.

CUT removes the material that you have selected and moves all of the later material to meet the start of your Cut. This very much like spooling tape into the floor and then splicing the end of the section back to where you started. You can do this on ONE track only or on ALL 8 tracks.

ERASE removes the material that you have selected during the ERASE Function and leaves the space that this material formerly occupied. The material after your edit is not changed in time at all. This is like using a Spot Eraser on a tape recorder: the material you have erased is gone, but nothing else is changed in time at all. You can also do this on ONE track only or on ALL 8 tracks.

Let's explore these functions now.

CUTTING OUT A WORD
Let's cut out the number "6". You can choose the area that you are cutting by using the JOG Wheel, the Jump command, NEXT/PREVIOUS. PLAY or REW/FF, or with MARKERS. Let's use Play and the Markers in this example.

  1. Press Marker #6 to get to the beginning of the word "6". If you need to, you can use the Waveform Window and/or the Preview Functions to fine tune your location.
  2. Press the FUNCTION Button until you see the command CUT/ERS over the F2 Button.
  3. Press the F2 button to enter this Function.
  4. Press F4 Button to enter the CUT Function. The DM-800 will remember your last Cut or Erase selection.
  5. Press PLAY and listen to the word "6" and then press STOP. You can also just press Marker #7 to get to the end of the word as well. If you want to, Press the PLAYLIST Button to bring up the Waveform Window or use the PREVIEW Functions to fine tune your ending point for the edit.
  6. Press EXECUTE to finish the Cut.
  7. Press and hold the REW Button to back up a few seconds and then press Play. Notice that the number "6" has been cut out and that "7" is right after "5".
ERASING A WORD
Now let's ERASE the word "8".
  1. Press Play and listen until you hear the word "7" and then press STOP.
  2. Press the CUT/ERASE Function by pressing F2.
  3. Press F5 to select the ERASE option.
  4. Press Play until you hear the word "8" and then Stop.
  5. Press EXECUTE to finish the Erase.
Notice that the space that used to be the word "8" is still there and that the word itself has been erased.

MOVING A PHRASE BACK TO THE PREVIOUS PHRASE
To close the gap that we created with the Erase Function we could use the CUT Function. To do this, we would start at the beginning of the space, choose CUT and the press NEXT and EXECUTE. We can also MOVE the phrase after the space back in time to meet the prior phrase.

  1. Locate to the beginning of the phrase that includes the word "9" after the space left by the last Erase example.
  2. Press FUNCTION until you see the command MOVE command over F1.
  3. Press F1 to access MOVE.
  4. Press PREVIOUS to move the Play Line to the previous phrase.
  5. Press EXECUTE.
MAKING A NEW PHRASE OUT OF AUDIO THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY RECORDED USING THE NEW PHRASE COMMAND.
As you know, all of the editing that you have done is NON DESTRUCTIVE. That means that the original recording or TAKE is still intact, on the hard drive. Let's bring back the original recording to do some more editing.
  1. Locate to the end of the last counting phrase that you have been working with using the NEXT Button.
  2. Press the FUNCTION Button until you see the function NewPhra over the F4 button.
  3. Press NEW PHRASE (F4). Notice that you can see a list of all of your recordings here in this window. This may be only one recording: the counting. If you have more, you can use the LISTEN Button to check which recording you are selecting.
  4. Select the counting Take using the JOG Wheel.
  5. Press EXECUTE.
Notice that there is now a new phrase available for editing.

MAKING A PHRASE OF THE TWO WORDS 2 AND 3
Let's take our new phrase and reduce it to the words "2" and "3".

  1. Locate to the beginning of the phrase you just created with New Phrase.
  2. Choose the CUT Function.
  3. Press Play and Stop when you hear the first part of the word "2".
  4. Press PLAYLIST to bring up the Waveform Window and find the very beginning of the word "2". Use the PREVIEW Functions to verify your position.
  5. Press EXECUTE to cut out all of the beginning of the phrase including the word "1".
  6. Play until you hear the end of the word "3" and then press Stop.
  7. Press the CUT Function again.
  8. Press NEXT to get to the end of the phrase.
  9. Press EXECUTE.
We could have accomplished the same thing by using the SPLIT command after the word "3" and then using the DELETE command on the phrase we created when we split the original phrase after the word "3".

COPYING A PHRASE
Let's say that we want to use this phrase again. One of the ways that we can do this is by using the COPY Command.

  1. Locate the beginning of the phrase "2,3" using the PREVIOUS Button.
  2. Use the FUNCTION Button to find the COPY Function over the F3 Button.
  3. Press F3 for COPY.
  4. Press F4 two times to make 3 copies.
  5. Press NEXT to set the location of the first Copy.
  6. Press EXECUTE.
You now have 3 copies, back to back of the same material. This can be used for stutter effects, looping music, the reuse of a breath or word, and other editing techniques.

MOVING PHRASES TO ANOTHER TRACK

  1. Select the last "2,3" phrase that you just Copied.
  2. Press the MOVE Function.
  3. Using the Down Cursor, MOVE the phrase to track 2.
  4. Press EXECUTE.

MOVING PHRASES BY SOME EVENT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PHRASE: BACK TIME EDITING.
Often you need to Move some audio element not based on the beginning of the phrase, but on some event in the middle of the phrase such as a musical chorus or ending flourish or some other event. Let's simulate that now with our Numbers.

  1. Select the end of the "2,3" phrase on track 2.
  2. Press the NEW PHRASE Command and press EXECUTE. (The Take that is used for the current phrase is automatically the one selected, so that you are automatically on the right phrase for this exercise. Notice that the phrase is created on Track 1, as this is where it was originally recorded.
  3. Delete all of your Markers by holding the DELETE Button and pressing any Red Markers there might be.
  4. Play the phrase and stop right after the number "3".
  5. Place Marker #1 here.
  6. Cursor to Track 2 and press PREVIOUS twice to get to the beginning of the phrase "2,3" that we moved to Track 2.
  7. Press Play and stop after you hear the beginning of the word "3".
  8. Use the WaveForm Window or Preview to find the very beginning of the word "3".
We now want to move this word "3" to the Marker #1 that we have placed after the word "3" in the longer phrase.
  1. Press MOVE to enter the Move Function. Please notice that we have chosen the "EVENT" that we want to move to a particular location by first locating this Event and then pressing the MOVE Command.
  2. Press Marker #1. We are now "showing" the Move Function where we want the Event to go.
  3. Press EXECUTE.
Play the selection and see that we moved the event (the word "3") to our marker and the DM-800 has figured out where the rest of the phrase should be.

MOVE AND PREVIEW THRU
The DM-800 allows you to listen to your edits while you are doing them. In some instances, this allows you to save a great deal of time.

  1. Locate to Marker #1 in the previous example, the end of the word "3" of the phrase on Track 1 as well as the beginning of the word "3" on Track 2.
  2. Select the shorter phrase on Track 2.
  3. Press the MOVE Function.
  4. Use the TIME/VALUE Dial to move the phrase to a new location.
  5. Press the PREVIEW THRU Button to listen to this new location.
  6. Continue trying new locations while using the PREVIEW THRU Function to listen to each new location without having to leave the MOVE Function.

SOME BASIC HOUSEKEEPING FUNCTIONS

SAVING YOUR WORK
The DM-800 records all of your raw recordings or TAKES directly to disk. These will be there until you permanently Delete them or Initialize the whole Project. The editing you do, however, is done in RAM memory and you do need to save this before you turn the DM-800 off.

To Save your work:

  1. Press the MENU Button
  2. Press F5 for SAVE
  3. Press EXECUTE.
That's it. Your current Project and its edits are now saved to disk.

CHANGING PROJECTS
All of the editing that you have been doing, along with the raw recordings or TAKES, is contained in one PROJECT. This Project is what you have been saving to when you Execute the SAVE Command.

There will be times when you want to keep the material in one Project and begin work in another. Here's how you do that.

  1. Press CATALOG MODE. This is the Mode where most of the Disk Housekeeping is done.
  2. Notice the ARROW that is pointing to the Project that you are working on currently.
    The Prompt at the top of the screen asks you if you want to Select a different Project.
  3. Use the CURSORS or the JOG Wheel to select a different Project.
    Notice that the Arrow is still pointing to the Project that you were working on, indicating that this is still the Current Project.
  4. Press EXECUTE.
  5. The DM-800 asks if you want to SAVE your current work or all of the editing that you have done since the last time you saved. Press EXECUTE again to Save your old project.
  6. Notice that the DM-800 has now moved the Arrow to the new project that you have selected.
INITIALIZING A PROJECT
After the Tutorial is finished, unless you want to save it for sentimental reasons, you may want to INITIALIZE the Project to remove it from your drives and get the disk space back.

USE THIS FUNCTION CAREFULLY BECAUSE IT DOES REMOVE EVERYTHING, INCLUDING YOUR RECORDINGS IN THIS PROJECT, FOREVER.

  1. Press the CATALOG Mode to enter the Disk housekeeping area.
  2. MAKE SURE THAT THE ARROW IS POINTING TO THE PROJECT THAT YOU WANT TO INITIALIZE. If it isn't, select the proper project using the techniques that we just discussed above.
  3. Press F3: InitPrj to engage the INITIALIZE PROJECT Function.
  4. Press EXECUTE twice to remove the project and all of its recordings from your hard drives.

THE IN/OUT PAGE: A DIGITAL PATCHBAY

In the RECORD Mode, the IN/OUT (F3) Function brings up the DM-800 Digital PatchBay. This is the area where you can set the routing assignments for all of the Analog and Digital inputs. This is used not only for getting audio into and out of the DM-800 and assigning this audio to or from specific tracks, but also for such functions as Stereo FX Sends, Internal Track Bouncing and more. Please check the manual for the details on these functions.

We do want to cover one example of the use of the IN/OUT Page, in case you want to do more Analog Audio Recording at this time.

ASSIGNING THE ANALOG INPUTS TO TRACKS
The DM-800 has 4 Analog Balanced Inputs. These Inputs are the Tip/Ring/Sleeve type, but they will accept the common unbalanced, Tip/Sleeve connectors as well.

The INPUT GAIN TRIM Pots allow you to control the levels at these Analog Inputs.

  1. Press the RECORD Mode button.
  2. Press the IN/OUT Function button (F3).
    This Function allows you to assign any of the Analog (or Digital) Inputs to any or all of the tracks. Notice that Analog Input #1 has been assigned to Track 1, Input #2 to Track 2, Input #3 to Track 3 and so on. These are the defaults that were set when you Initialized the DM-800 earlier in the Tutorial.
  3. Cursor to the selection area right next to Track #1 in the upper Left corner of the screen.
  4. Turn the JOG Wheel to go through the Input choices for Track #1.
    These choices are also available for all of the other Tracks.
Let's say, for example, you are recording a voice-over and your Mic Preamp is plugged into Analog Input #1. You want to record this voice over on several different tracks for editing reasons. To make this very easy to do, you can assign the Mic Preamp, Analog Input #1, to all of the tracks of the DM-800.
You do this by simply selecting Input #1 as the Input assignment for all of the tracks in the IN/OUT Window. This makes routing very easy and eliminates much of the cable patching that you would need to do without this Digital PatchBay. Now, whichever Track is in Record Enable will be receiving the Mic input from Analog Input #1.

OTHER GREAT FUNCTIONS AND FEATURES OF THE ROLAND DM-800

Be sure to check the manual for these functions. Remember, you can feel free to try any editing features, mixing features or any of the features of the DM-800 that you want to: You cannot damage the software of the DM-800 in any way, so go ahead and experiment. There are many ways to do most edits, and you will want to find the way that works best for you. Also, call us at (323) 890-3700 ext. 2337 for our TUTORIAL VIDEO. This video starts from Basic Recording and then goes on to cover many advanced features, most of the features of all of the MODES, as well as VIDEO and MIDI Applications. It is designed to make you a real Power User of the DM-800.

OTHER FEATURES TO TRY:

RECORD MODE
Auto Punch and Loop Recording
Pre Naming of Takes
DISK or SOURCE listening while recording.
Using Auto Loop to listen to material while you try EQ's or practice punches, etc.
EDIT MODE
MOVE:
Trimming Audio Edits In or Out Automatically trimming the silence from the start or end of a phrase.
EDIT:
Naming Phrases, Changing levels of phrases, Fading Phrases in or out. Relocking stereo or more tracks together after they have been split apart.
NEWPHRASE:
"From Phrase": Making New Phrases from previously edited phrases. Automatically trimming the silence from the beginning of phrases as you create them.
TAKE CHANGE:
Changing one sound effect for another by substituting the original Take with another Take.
INSERT:
Inserting Time into all or one track to move material around or to change the SMPTE locations of all of the phrases that you are working with. Using INSERT to find out how long any phrase or section of phrases lasts.
SPLIT:
Splitting 2, 3 or 4 "phase-locked" recordings into separate pieces to edit separately.
OVERLAP:
There are 100 layers per track. Use this command and the LIST and LISTEN commands with it to navigate these layers.
GROUP:
Use this to MOVE, DELETE or COPY many phrases at once. Move a phrase or phrases from tracks 1-4 to tracks 5-8. Use this command to create a whole new copy of all of your work at a new time on the Time Line to try a different version.
STRETCH:
Time Compression, Pitch Correction, Varispeed playback.
XFADE:
The fastest way to meld together two music tracks, some voice edits, etc.

MIXER MODE
AUTOMATE all of your levels, pans, EQ.
SNAPSHOT Automation.
GROUP Faders.

TEMPO MODE
Create a TEMPO MAP for fast musical edits using Bars, Beats and 960 Ticks.
Use the TEMPO MAP as Song Position Pointer sync for your sequencers.
Create a TEMPO MAP to control a sequencer to quantize keyboard or drum parts to existing "wild" tracks.

TRIGGER MODE
Use TRIGGER MODE like 8 cart machines to fire voice overs, music and effects.
Use ADVANCED TRIGGER to fire a sequence of voice overs or effects in conjunction with other playlist tracks.

CATALOG MODE
Use Catalog Mode to transfer takes or phrases from one project to another.
Use HEADER ONLY BACKUP to Save different versions of your project very quickly.
Use BACKUP to store your whole project including the Automation, Trigger settings, etc. to a back up DAT either AUDIO or DATA DAT.
NORMALIZE a Take here.

SYSTEM MODE
Use System Mode for
SYNCHRONIZATION settings
DIGITAL TRANSFER settings
OVERVIEW WINDOW settings for the VIDEO OUT.
PREVIEW LENGTH settings
FF and REW LENGTH settings to nudge phrases by Frames or Beats.

RECORDING FROM A DIGITAL SOURCE
If you want to bring a digital signal into the DM-800 please do the following:

  1. Plug the Digital out of your digital device into the DIGITAL Input of the DM-800.
  2. The PROJECT SAMPLING RATE must match the sampling rate of the DAT tape that you are recording from. If it doesn't, you must initialize the DM-800 project to the sampling rate of the DAT tape. This is done in the Catalog Mode. Be careful because this does erase all of the information in the project. You use the InitPrj Command F3 to do this. Please check the manual for more details.
  3. Go to the SYSTEM Mode. Set the Sampling Clock Source to DIGITAL IN. If the DM-800 doesn't accept this setting, it means that either the Sampling Rate of your project doesn't match that of your DAT tape, or the DAT isn't putting out a clock due to its settings or a bad cable. Try playing the DAT tape and then setting the DM-800 Sampling Clock Source. Some DATs don't output their clock when a tape is first put into the deck.
  4. Press RECORD MODE.
  5. Press F3 IN/OUT.
  6. Cursor to the input selections for Tracks 3 and 4 and select Digital L and R using the JOG Wheel.
Now continue as you did for the other recordings above.
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