Yamaha AW2816 Owner's Manual - Page 42

The track structure of the AW2816 This section explains the track structure of the AW2816. The recorder section of the AW2816 handles three types of tracks: audio tracks, virtual tracks, and the stereo track. Audio tracks These are the physical tracks on which recording and playback is performed, and are also referred to simply as "tracks." When the AW2816 is in the default state, the outputs of buses 1-8 are patched to the inputs of tracks 1-8/9-16, and the outputs of tracks 1-16 are patched to monitor channels 1-16, allowing up to sixteen tracks to be recorded simultaneously. (However since there are only eight mixer input channels, only eight input signals can normally be recorded independently.) However, the number of tracks that can be played back simultaneously is affected by the number of tracks that are being recorded simultaneously. If you increase the number of tracks for simultaneous recording, tracks will automatically be muted accordingly. The following tables show the number of tracks that can be simultaneously recorded and simultaneously played back, and the number of tracks that will be muted in each case, for 16 bit and 24 bit songs. • 16 bit song Number of tracks recorded simultaneously Number of tracks played back simultaneously Number of tracks muted 0-8 16 0 9-16 0 16 • 24 bit song Number of tracks recorded simultaneously Number of tracks played back simultaneously 0 16 1-2 14 3-4 12 5-8 8 9-16 0 Number of tracks muted 0 2 4 8 16 For example with a 24 bit song, if you set four tracks to record-ready mode, four tracks will automatically be muted. (Unrecorded tracks will be muted first.) Note that for either a 16 bit or a 24 bit song, setting nine or more tracks to record-ready mode will cause all tracks to be muted, so that it will no longer be possible to monitor the track playback. Welcome to the world of the AW2816 Virtual tracks In either case, simply defeating record-ready mode will not defeat track muting. To defeat muting, you must access the METER screen (¡P.351) and turn off muting for each track, or use the [ALL SAFE] key. (If you use the [ALL SAFE] key, muting and record-ready mode will be defeated simultaneously for all tracks.) 2 Virtual tracks These are virtual tracks that can be selected. On the AW2816, one virtual track 1-8 can be selected for each audio track 1-16, and used for recording/playback. The following illustration is a conceptual diagram of virtual tracks. The horizontal rows correspond to audio tracks 1-16, and the vertical columns to virtual tracks 1-8. The shaded areas are virtual tracks that are currently selected for recording/playback. Audio tracks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 For example if you are recording a solo part on a track, you can switch virtual tracks while recording multiple takes, and select the best take later. The stereo track The "stereo track" is independent from the "audio tracks." It is used mainly as a master track for creating an audio CD. The AW2816 provides one stereo track for each song. The input of the stereo track is always connected internally to the output of the stereo output channel. You can record the stereo bus signal simply by putting the stereo track in record mode. While the stereo track is being recorded, audio tracks 1-16 can only be played back, and cannot be recorded. When the stereo track is played back, the stereo track output is automatically assigned to monitor channels 1/2. During this time, audio tracks 1-16 are forcibly muted, and cannot be unmuted. Operation section 33