I'd be grateful if someone could explain how to connect a mixing desk with 8 group outputs to a Fostex D2424LV using analogue connections. With the 8 outputs connected to the Fostex 1-8 inputs I cannot get the Fostex to show a signal on any track numbered above track 8. If I use Track Assign to prime Track 9 (or 17) shouldn't the signal from group output 1 show up? (1-9-17, etc). I thought it wasn't necessary to have analogue leads going into all 24 inputs. And since the desk only has 8 group outputs does this mean I have to find a cable that is a single jack one end and three jacks at the other to physically connect inputs 1-9-17 on the Fostex to group output 1?

I realise that if tracks 1-8 are used I could copy those to tracks 9-16 and then record over 1-8 - but is that how this is supposed to be done or is it only a work-around?

This must be blindingly obvious ... but I can't figure it out. Help appreciated.

I know that some Fostex analogue multitracks would be wired so that plugging into inputs 1-8 would also send to tracks 9-16 but I'm not sure whether this applies to your recorder - what does the manual say?

Some 8 bus desks also have two outputs for each bus to allow them to be used with 16 track machines.

Otherwise you'll either need to make special cables or use a patchbay. A patchbay is probably the solution I'd go for as it would also allow you to use direct outs from the channels thus bypassing the mixer's busses.

James.

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JRP Music - Audio Mastering and Restoration.
http://www.jrpmusic.net

The Fostex D series recorders where the input shows up on more then 1 track (e.g. input 1 to tracks 1 and 9) are those with only 8 inputs but more than 8 tracks. With the 24 input models there is no remapping that I am aware of. The solution is simple - use a patch bay.

CC

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Put the fun back into dysfunctional.
Mr Punch's Studio

Thanks for your initial replies.

CC - just to confirm that this Fostex machine has 24 analogue inputs to 24 tracks (it's more advanced than the earlier D models (I also have a D108).

After I'd posted, a subsidiary question presented itself, which is that I'm used to having a monitor mix of 8 channels. The desk I have is a Studiomaster Classic 8 24-channel. It has specific controls (volume, paning etc) for 16 monitor channels. If I had 23 tracks of audio coming into the desk to monitor as I added audio to track 24, how would I control the volume etc of tracks 17-23 in the monitor mix?

Thanks in advance.

I have a very similar desk to yours - although only 16 input channels. In your position I would devote inputs 17-24 to being tape (or hard disk) returns all the time with channels 1-16 being dual purpose (inputs while recording and returns while mixing).

Remember that, if you have things wired sensibly, the input channel number bears absolutely no relation to the track number on the recorder.

James.

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JRP Music - Audio Mastering and Restoration.
http://www.jrpmusic.net

Quote Richard James:

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CC - just to confirm that this Fostex machine has 24 analogue inputs to 24 tracks (it's more advanced than the earlier D models (I also have a D108).

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I used to have a D108, lovely machine, appalling manuals but otherwise a splendid piece of kit.

You need to make sure you've got the right sort of D2424. The earlier ones had just 8 inputs (I also had one of these for a while) but as you can see in this photo here the rear of the D2424 LV is one mass of input and output jacks.



CC

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Put the fun back into dysfunctional.
Mr Punch's Studio

Hello CC - yes that's the one I have.

Thanks for your first suggestion James.

'Remember that, if you have things wired sensibly, the input channel number bears absolutely no relation to the track number on the recorder.'

I'm afraid this completely baffles me. I've always proceeded on the opposite assumption - all numbers must correlate. You wouldn't care to shed light on this? (And bear in mind I do not have a patch bay).

There is a very good SoS article here that explains much of the esoterica about patchbays, but for the purposes of this exercise a patchbay is simply a way of getting the outputs and the inputs to somewhere you can get to them. So a typical patchbay has a load of jack sockets on the back which are connected to corresponding jack sockets on the front.

You connect all the inputs on your D2424 to sockets on the back of the patchbay. You connect all the outputs on your desk to more sockets on the back of the patchbay. To connect an output from your desk to any one input on your Fostex you just plug a short cable (called, surprisingly, a patch cable) with one end into the front jack socket corresponding to the desk output and the other end into the jack socket corresponding to Fostex input and - job done. You have very simple but enormous flexibility in routing your inputs and outputs and no need, as James says, to make desk outputs correspond numerically to D2424 inputs.

Once you've got in the way of using a patchbay you'll wonder how you ever managed without one.

CC

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Put the fun back into dysfunctional.
Mr Punch's Studio

Your desk has 8 busses and each bus has 2 outputs which can be wired to channels 1-8 and 9-16 on your recorder. On your input channel, you assign the output of that channel to a pair of busses and use the pan control to choose which of the pair you are using - left for the odd number and right for the even number.

If you have a vocal mic coming in on channel 3 you could send that to track 9 by selecting the bus 1-2 button and then panning it left. If you want to record another take on track 10 you pan it right. To record a third take on track 11 you would then need to select bus 3-4 and pan left again. This also allows you to record more than one thing to each track so for example, if you had 2 mics on a guitar cab, you could combine them onto one track.

Using tracks 17-24 is a little more tricky. If you don't want to set up a patchbay then my favoured approach would be to have the mixer end of the 8 input cables to the recorder dangling somewhere close at hand and then plug whichever recorder input you want to use into the direct out of your mixer channel. The Studiomaster lends itself quite well to this approach as all the connectors are on the top of the mixer and, indeed, I managed quite happily to use mine without a patchbay for many years by having insert cables to various compressors and effects just dangling above the desk waiting to be used.

I hope this makes sense.

James.

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JRP Music - Audio Mastering and Restoration.
http://www.jrpmusic.net

Thanks CC and James for the advice. I've made some progress with this. The SOS article link was helpful too.