How to Use a Multitrack Recorder with a CD Burner

Before you start

Check whether your recorder has a built-in CD burner or uses a connected external burner. The process runs locally on the recorder: you record tracks to its storage or media, mix them, and then write the stereo mix to a blank CD. You do not need an online service.

Have a compatible blank CD ready. Some recorders use CD-R audio discs, while others accept CD-RW discs for repeated practice burns. Check the recorder's manual for supported disc types and recording speed.

Connect microphones, instruments, or line sources to the inputs you plan to use. Set each input level so the loudest part does not stay in the overload area. If the recorder supports phantom power and you are using a condenser microphone, enable it only for that input.

Step-by-step instructions

1) Create a new song or project. The exact name depends on the model, but most recorders use terms such as Song, Project, or New Session.

2) Assign each connected input to a separate track. On a TASCAM multitrack recorder with a CD burner, this may be called input assignment or source selection for the track.

3) Record the first pass. Start with a guide track such as a click, drum part, or rough vocal. Arm only the tracks you are recording, not tracks that already contain audio.

4) Overdub the remaining parts. Disarm tracks that should keep their audio and arm a new track for each additional instrument or voice. Listen through headphones to avoid the monitor sound being picked up by microphones.

5) Set level, pan, and basic EQ for each track. Keep the overall mix below the clipping point. If the recorder has a compressor or limiter on the stereo bus, use it only if you understand how it changes the sound.

6) Choose the burn or CD write function. On some recorders the mix is burned directly to CD; on others you first create or finalize a stereo mix and then write that mix to disc.

7) Select the song or mix to burn and confirm the disc speed. Use a lower speed if the recorder offers it and you have experienced burn errors.

8) Start the burn and wait for the recorder to finish. Do not move the unit or press other transport controls while writing.

Check the output

Let the recorder finalize or eject the disc. Finalization is required for the CD to play in ordinary CD players. If the recorder asks whether to finalize, choose yes when you want a standard audio CD.

Play the burned CD in the recorder and then in another CD player or computer if possible. Check that the tracks appear in order, the balance is correct, and the loudest sections do not distort.

Audio CDs made this way contain a stereo mixdown, not the separate multitrack files. If you need the individual tracks later, keep the original project on the recorder or back it up first.

Common problems and next steps

If a TASCAM multitrack recorder with a CD burner rejects a disc, try a different blank CD from another package, clean the disc, or use the supported disc type. A write error can also occur at the highest speed, so repeat the burn at a slower speed.

If the CD plays in the recorder but not elsewhere, the disc may not have been finalized. Check the recorder's CD menu for finalize, close session, or make compatible.

If the mix is too quiet or too loud, adjust the track levels and stereo bus level, then burn a new disc from the revised mix. If one instrument disappears in the mix, check its pan, fader, and mute state.