There are many parameters and other settings on a recorder that you can change to adjust how audio is recorded. These are selections like:

• recording in mono or stereo
• recording your audio in various audio file formats such as wav or MP3
• setting the audio sampling rate at 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz
• adjusting sound levels automatically or manually
• separating the audio into different tracks automatically at specified intervals, etc.

Consult the manual for your recorder on how to select and change these settings.

On the Marantz PMD660 recorder, you use three presets to do this. Each preset has some combination of the selections above for different recording situations, such as using an external microphone, using the recorder's internal microphone or getting a line feed from an audio mixer.

Here are the presets we use:

Preset 1 - for recording an interview or ambient sound with an external microphone

We set the parameters on this preset to MIC (for external microphone), PCM-48K for wav format and a 48 kHz sampling rate, mono recording, manual sound level adjustment so you can adjust the volume, and with new tracks set automatically at 5-minute intervals. The remaining parameters in the Preset follow the factory defaults (see the recorder manual for details)

Preset 2 - for recording an interview with the recorder's built-in microphone

We set this Preset to INT MIC (for the built-in microphone), PCM-48K for wav format and a 48 kHz sampling rate, mono recording, manual sound level adjustment so you can adjust the volume, and with new tracks set automatically at 5-minute intervals. The remaining parameters in the Preset follow the factory defaults (see the recorder manual for details)

Preset 3 - for line feeds from an audio mixer

We set this Preset to LINE (for a line feed from an audio mixer or console), PCM-48K for wav format and a 48 kHz sampling rate, mono recording, manual sound level adjustment so you can adjust the volume, and with new tracks set automatically at 5-minute intervals. The remaining parameters in the Preset follow the factory defaults (see the recorder manual for details)

If you're sharing the recorder with other people, you should not change any of the settings for any of the three Presets, so these settings are easily accessible to anyone using the recorder.

Selecting a Preset

To select one of the Presets, on the top of the recorder press the MENU/STORE EDIT button.

Press the double arrow buttons just below to scroll through the three Presets and select either Preset 1 (external microphone) Preset 2 (built-in microphone) or Preset 3 (line).

Once you've selected a Preset, press the MENU/STORE EDIT button again to save that Preset and its settings for use in your recording.

If you're sharing the recorder with other people, you should not change any of the settings for any of the three Presets so they're always easily accessible to anyone using the recorder.

Other Settings for the Three Presets

For each of the three Presets described above, we also selected a number of other settings, almost all of which are the factory defaults for the recorder. The complete list of settings we used for each of the three Presets is:

Customizing a Preset

If you must customize one of the Presets because you face a different audio recording situation, such as needing to record music in stereo, we recommend choosing and changing Preset 3.(the LINE setting, which is probably the one you'll use the least). But if you share the recorder, please remember to return Preset 3 to the original settings described above after your recording session.

To customize the settings for a Preset, on the top of the recorder press the MENU/STORE EDIT button.

Press the double arrow buttons just below to scroll through the three Presets and select one (such as Preset 3).

To customize the settings within the selected Preset, press the Enter button to the right.

Now press the double arrow buttons to scroll through the different kinds of parameters you can change. When you've found a parameter you want to change, press the Enter button again.

Then use the double arrow buttons to scroll through the alternatives for that parameter until you find the one you want. Press the Enter button again to select that setting.

You'll be returned to the parameters menu for this Preset.

Now you can again use the double arrow buttons to locate another parameter to change. Press the Enter button to select that parameter, the double arrow buttons to locate the setting you want for that parameter, and the Enter button again to select that setting.

Repeat this process for other parameters and their various settings.

When you're finished selecting all the settings you want for this Preset, press the MENU/STORE EDIT button again to save the settings.

And if you share the recorder, please remember to return Preset 3 to the original settings described above after you're done with your recording session.

Note: if you accidentally press the wrong button and find yourself in some menu other than the ones described above, simply press the STOP/CANCEL button. That will return you to the recorder's standard stop mode, without changing any of the recorder settings.