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Tascam FW-1884 Owner's Manual

Manual is about: Professional Control Surface / FireWire Audio-MIDI Interface

Summary of FW-1884

  • Page 1

    Professional control surface / firewire audio-midi interface owner’s manual caution: to reduce the risk of electric shock, do not remove cover (or back). No user-serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to qualified service personnel. The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended...

  • Page 2: Important Safety Precautions

    2 tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual to the user this equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a class a digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the fcc rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in...

  • Page 3

    Tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 3 important safety instructions 1 read these instructions. 2 keep these instructions. 3 head all warnings. 4 follow all instructions. 5 do not use this apparatus near water. 6 clean only with dry cloth. 7 do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with...

  • Page 4: Table of Contents

    Table of contents 4 tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 1 – introduction 1.1 overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 1.2 features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

  • Page 5: 1 – Introduction

    Tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 5 1 – introduction 1.1 overview thank you for choosing the tascam fw-1884. We designed the fw-1884 to be an all-in-one solution for your computer-based digital audio workstation system. Its integrated design incorporates a high-resolution professional multi-channel audi...

  • Page 6: 1 – Introduction

    1 – introduction 6 tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual note despite the fact that you can connect and disconnect the fw-1884 to and from the computer with power turned on, we strongly recommend that all connections and disconnections are made without the daw soft- ware using the fw-1884 running. If the da...

  • Page 7: 1 – Introduction

    1 – introduction tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 7 1.5 nomenclature used in the manual within this manual, the following typographic conven- tions are used: • the name of a control or connector on the unit is written in the following way: line/mic. • the name of a control or connector on another unit ...

  • Page 8

    8 tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 2 – controls and indicators 2.1 front panel illustration. ! # $ % & ' ! " # $ % & ' ! " # $ % & ' ! ! ! !! !" ".

  • Page 9

    2 – controls and indicators tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 9 2.2 rear panel illustration ! " # $ % & '.

  • Page 10

    2 – controls and indicators 10 tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 2.3 front panel control descriptions 1. Trim pots 1-8 – these are analog level controls for the input level of the mic (xlr) and line inputs 1 – 8. Their function is the same regardless of the control surface mode selected. It’s important ...

  • Page 11

    2 – controls and indicators tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 11 9. Channel faders – in computer control mode, the channel faders send continuous controller information to banks of eight channels in the host application’s software mixer. The current bank is selected by the bank keys. In mon mix mode, th...

  • Page 12

    2 – controls and indicators 12 tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual marker/f5 – in computer control mode, this key is normally mapped to the host application’s place marker function. Refer to the application notes for your software for details. In mon mix mode, this key has no function. In midi ctl mode, t...

  • Page 13

    2 – controls and indicators tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 13 14. Rec key – in computer control mode, this is a modifier key. When pressed and held, it modifies the behavior of other selected keys. Its behavior is entirely dependent on the host application support. Typically, holding the rec key and ...

  • Page 14

    2 – controls and indicators 14 tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual computer control mode key – selects the computer control mode. In this mode, the fw-1884’s control surface modifies the control parameters of the host audio software. For more information, refer to sec- tion 4.1, “computer control mode – (...

  • Page 15

    2 – controls and indicators tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 15 ware. Typically, they are used to navigate through the gui (graphic user interface) of the application screen. Refer to your software’s application notes for further details. 29. Shtl key - the shtl (shuttle) key always sends messages to t...

  • Page 16

    2 – controls and indicators 16 tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 34. Master fader – the master fader is a global control, functioning in the same manner regardless of which control mode is selected. Any movement of the master fader is always communicated simultaneously to the host computer, the midi con...

  • Page 17

    2 – controls and indicators tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 17 9. Firewire (ieee-1394) connections – these connect the fw-1884 to the host computer, providing audio, midi and control surface communi- cation. Two connections are provided, making it possi- ble to connect additional firewire -compatible ...

  • Page 18: 3 – Functional Overview

    18 tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 3 – functional overview 3.1 control surface modes the fw-1884 control surface is extremely versatile, and can be used to control a computer application, to control an audio input monitor mix, and to send midi messages to external devices via its midi outputs. The fw-...

  • Page 19: 3 – Functional Overview

    3 – functional overview tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 19 3.3 dedicated computer controls some surface controls are computer-dedicated; that is, they always send a midi data signal to the host com- puter (assuming it is connected), regardless of which control surface mode is currently selected. These...

  • Page 20: 3 – Functional Overview

    3 – functional overview 20 tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 4 repeat this procedure for any other midi inputs whose routings you want to change. While in midi routing mode, selecting any input key will display its selected midi outputs. Additionally, all midi indicator leds will glow steadily to displa...

  • Page 21: 3 – Functional Overview

    3 – functional overview tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 21 3.7 monitoring and metering modes the fw-1884’s twelve-segment stereo led meters monitor the stereo buss output, before the monitor level control. The signal source for the meters is select- able in mon mix mode with the f7-f9 keys, as fol- lo...

  • Page 22

    22 tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 4 – control surface modes and operation as mentioned previously in this manual, the fw- 1884’s control surface actually functions in three differ- ent control modes: computer control mode, midi control mode or monitor mix mode. While all three modes share certain glo...

  • Page 23

    4 – control surface modes and operation tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 23 to set the fw-1884 to native protocol: 1 open the fw-1884 control panel 2 select the settings tab 3 in the drop-down control protocol menu, select fw-1884 native. For more detailed information on specific implementa- tion withi...

  • Page 24

    4 – control surface modes and operation 24 tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 4.1.3 hui emulation protocol the fw-1884 can be used to emulate the control mes- sages sent by the mackie hui (human user inter- face). When in hui emulation mode, the audio and midi functionality of the fw-1884 are unchanged, ...

  • Page 25

    4 – control surface modes and operation tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 25 it is important to note that some controls are dedicated computer controls, meaning that they always transmit a signal to the host computer, even in midi ctl mode. These controls are: • transport keys (stop, play, rew, f fwd, r...

  • Page 26

    4 – control surface modes and operation 26 tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 4.2.2 programming keys if you press one of the keys used in midi ctrl sur- face mode, it will light up and the fw-1884’s control panel will display something like this: to change the midi output(s): checking or un- checking the...

  • Page 27

    4 – control surface modes and operation tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 27 4.2.3 programming encoders the eight channel encoders, as well as the three eq encoders, can all be reprogrammed. To display the pro- grammed message for an encoder, just turn it slightly. You will see a display something like ...

  • Page 28

    4 – control surface modes and operation 28 tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 4.2.5 banking you can use the h bank y keys to shift through the four banks of controls. As mentioned earlier, only the channel strip controls – faders, channel mute, solo and sel keys, and channel encoders – are bankable. All ...

  • Page 29

    4 – control surface modes and operation tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 29 4.3.2 monitoring setups when the fw-1884 is in mon mix mode, the f7, f8 and f9 keys determine what source you are hearing on analog outputs 1/l and 2/r. This is useful for iso- lating the audio coming from your daw or from exte...

  • Page 30

    4 – control surface modes and operation 30 tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual in solo-in-place, the mute status of any soloed input can be toggled. Pressing the mute key of an unso- loed input has no effect. If you change banks, the flashing clr solo key is a reminder that a solo is still active. If you ...

  • Page 31

    Tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 31 5 – host computer interfacing 5.1 control panel the fw-1884’s control panel is where you can display and adjust settings which determine how the fw-1884 communicates with your computer and other external devices. To open the control panel, press the con- trol panel s...

  • Page 32

    5 – host computer interfacing 32 tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual sample rate this is where you select the expected incoming sample rate to the fw-1884’s digital input. It duplicates the function of the clock and clock rate (read/44.1, wrt/48, tch/88.2 and latch/96) keys. Changes made on the fw-1884’s ...

  • Page 33

    5 – host computer interfacing tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 33 5.1.2 routing tab optical output source this menu selects the source of the audio output appearing at the fw-1884’s adat optical outputs. The selections are: adat 1-8 – the audio output is determined within your daw application software....

  • Page 34

    5 – host computer interfacing 34 tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 5.1.3 midi programming tab this tab is used to program the fw-1884’s control sur- face in midi ctl mode. For detailed information on using this function, please refer to section 4.2, “midi control mode – (general notes)”. Here’s a quick ...

  • Page 35

    Tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 35 6 – troubleshooting and support the fw-1884 is a complex device with a number of inter-related components. If you experience problems with your fw-1884, here are a few suggestions to check first: 6.1 audio issues 6.2 control surface issues i hear no sound, but the ou...

  • Page 36

    6 – troubleshooting and support 36 tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 6.3 contacting us in the event you experience problems with your fw- 1884, please contact your dealer or your local teac/ tascam distributor. Contact information may be found at the back of this manual, or on the tascam website at www....

  • Page 37: 7 – Appendices

    Tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 37 7 – appendices 7.1 specifications analog i/o digital i/o mic input 1-8 (balanced) connector: 3-pin xlr jack x 8 (1: gnd, 2: hot, 3: cold) input imped- ance : 2.2k ohm adjustable input range : –56dbu (trim max) to –2 dbu (trim min) maximum gain : +54 db line input 1-8...

  • Page 38: 7 – Appendices

    7 – appendices 38 tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual misc. I/o overall system specifications adat/optical input (light-pipe) adat optical format digital multi audio or 2ch serial audio signal input terminal. In the case of 2ch serial audio signal, digital in (coaxial) is selectable. Connector: light-pipe...

  • Page 39: 7 – Appendices

    7 – appendices tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 39 analog i/o dac resolution : 24 bit dynamic range: 100 db fs=44.1khz, a-weight, -60db output group delay : 19.1 samples signal delay fs = 48.0khz, line in to stereo output fs = 96.0khz, line to stereo output thd (level: +4dbu) 20 hz - 20 khz, line in to...

  • Page 40: 7 – Appendices

    7 – appendices 40 tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 7.2 dimensional drawing 7.3 fw-1884 “hidden” functions listed below are the fw-1884’s “hidden” functions (that is, those functions not silk-screened onto the fw- 1884’s control surface. In all control surface modes: shift+ctrl+p.Reset (latch) reset met...

  • Page 41: 7 – Appendices

    7 – appendices tascam fw-1884 owner’s manual 41 in mon mix mode: select display channel’s pan position on select/rec led’s shift+select set channel fader to unity shift+clr solo clear mutes shift+gain encoder adjust touch fader sensitivity shift+ctrl+f7 write all mixer parameters to flash memory (no...

  • Page 42: Fw-1884

    Teac corporation phone: +81-422-52-5082 www.Tascam.Com 3-7-3, nakacho, musashino-shi, tokyo 180-8550, japan teac america, inc. Phone: +1-323-726-0303 www.Tascam.Com 7733 telegraph road, montebello, california 90640 teac canada ltd. Phone: +1905-890-8008 facsimile: +1905-890-9888 www.Tascam.Com 5939 ...