Yamaha MD4S Owner's Manual - Page 39

Ping-pong recording 39 Ping-pong recording The process of mixing two or more previously-recorded tracks and re-recording them onto one or two tracks is called "ping-pong recording." By ping-ponging, you can free up other tracks to record additional parts, so this is a useful technique when you wish to record a larger number of parts than you have actual tracks. Since the MD4S records signals digitally, it is able to playback a track while recording onto the same track. Thus, while a conventional cassettetape type MTR needs one or two vacant tracks in order to ping-pong, the MD4S allows you to ping-pong even if there are no unused tracks. Track 1 Track 2 Track 3 Track 4 Drums Guitar Bass Vocal MD4S Stereo mix Drums+Guitar+ Bass+Vocal Track 1 Track 2 Track 3 Track 4 The following diagram shows the process of mixing four recorded tracks into a stereo pair, and continuing to overdub while ping-pong recording additional tracks. Track 1 Track 2 Track 3 Track 4 Ping-pong recording Overdubbing (parts E and F) Ping-pong recording Overdubbing (parts G and H) A A (vacant) E E (vacant) G B B (vacant) F F
(vacant) H L L C A+B+C+D A+B+C+D A+B+C+D A+B+C+D D (STEREO) R (STEREO) +E+F R (STEREO) +E+F (STEREO) Mixdown (parts A~H) Note: Since the MD4S records data in digital form, repeated ping-pong recording as shown above will not impair the audio quality. However, please be aware that since the MD4S's mixer section is analog, repeated ping-pong recording will result in a very small decrease in audio quality (although compared to the result of ping-pong recording on a tape MTR, this loss will be virtually undetectable). Tip: If you ping-pong record tracks 1-4 to tracks 3 and 4 as shown above, the content that had been recorded on tracks 3 and 4 will be erased. Before you ping-pong record, we recommend that you copy the song to backup the original. (See "Copying/converting a song (Song Copy)" on page 76 for more information.) -Owner's Manual