Cool Trick for Syncing More than 8 tracks (without the midi port)

[Neon Horn]

With the new DP-24SD you don't have the midi sync option. I got around this by recording a trigger track that will be used to clock my Electribe 2 (on the sync input).
What I did was place an 808 rim shot on every 8th note and record this on input H (track 8). After recording the first 8 tracks (including the sync track) I can add an additional 8 tracks in sync with the original 8 by turning on Track 8 EFF2 to maximum and Master 2 to maximum, I then hook up a 1/4" TS to 1/8" TS from send 2 to to the sync input on my electribe 2. In the global settings on the electribe 2 I set the clock to external... this means it will look for an external midi clock first, if it doesn't receive one it'll look for a sync clock. I hit play on the electribe and it will remain dormant until it receives a clock pulse. Once I hit play & Record on the DP-24SD and it gets to where the music starts, the E2 will keep clocked perfectly to the Tascam.

Just a note, when you record the sync track, the 808 RS should be recorded as loud as possible without clipping. This will ensure a good clock pulse.

Enjoy
Mike

 

[Sam Trenholme]

Yep. Trigger tape sync is one way of keeping things in sync but, as you noticed, you have to have a really hot level to have the trigger sync work (I remember recording a 1/16 note trigger signal from my Boss DR-220 drum machine to my Fostex X-15II, and then, by making that trigger signal really loud, using it to sync the DR-220 so I could use it to send trigger signals to my ARP AXXE to sequence bass lines).

Another trick is to use a medium to high end 1980s drum machine or sequencer (e.g. R8, TR-626, but not the TR-707, which is buggy sending MIDI sync when it’s a tape sync slave) which can record a tape sync track; then using send 2 on the DP24/DP32 to send the sync signal back to the drum machine (pre-fader sends are useful for a lot of things), which can then slave any other devices which accept MIDI clock. This way, sequenced overdubs can be in sync with previously recorded tracks. This, in fact, is how I record sequenced music on my DP32SD. It’s a very 1980s approach to song production.

 

[Lasvideo]

Im at a loss how to implement this solution with my new DP-24SD and Beat Buddy. Detailed info on what device I need to generate the sync tone and a step by step description of this whole process would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bio-Rhythm]

Just a few years later

The sync tone the previous comments are referring to is MTC (Midi Time Code).
MIDI Time Code uses absolute time in its messages (the actual time on the clock from the beginning of a song in hours, minutes, seconds, frames, and subframes).
Midi sequencers and most drum machines produce a midi time code tone whenever they are in play mode. You can either program an entire song on a drum track or sequencer or just create a metronome track for however long you want your song to be. Then take a line from the MTC output from the drum machine/sequencer, playback the song and record the tone to a track on your portable studio. Now you can set your drum machine or sequencer to slave to that recorded "sync" track. Older cassette multitrack recorders like the portastudios series had a designated output for sending MTC so that it wasn't corrupted by Dolby tape noise reduction coding. Since MTC is coded in an audio tone you can route it through any audio output port back to your drum machine or sequencer's MTC input for slaving. You can also slave your DAW on your computers to this "striped" track on your portable recorder. The DAW on your computer can be set to follow your computers midi clock, the MTC from other devices or even SMPTE timecode which is used in film and television productions.

 

[Mark Richards]

@Bio-Rhythm, interesting. How does that compare/differ from Phil Tipping's Video Tutorial #13 in the "Tutorial and Informational Videos For DP-32/24/32SD/24SD" sticky thread? Would you say one method is more preferable/easier to implement than the other?