How to multitrack record a Yamaha TF

Last checked 2026-11-07

Short answer. Plug the TF's USB TO HOST socket into a computer set to 48 kHz. You get 34 tracks: channels 1-32, plus one stereo pair such as the main mix. A Mac needs no driver; Windows needs Yamaha's. iPhone and iPad: not tested yet. This covers the TF1, TF3, TF5 and TF-Rack. The TF-Rack works the same way, with no driver on a Mac (our reading).

Quick start

1. Connect USB TO HOST to the computer. A Mac needs nothing else. On Windows, install the Yamaha Steinberg USB Driver first. (Ways to record)
2. Set your recording app to 48 kHz. (Recording settings)
3. Arm tracks 1-32 in your app. Track 1 is channel 1, track 2 is channel 2, and so on. (USB routing)
4. Check each channel sends to USB. Touch the channel name to open CH VIEW. Turn Direct out on and set its point to Pre DG, which records before any EQ or effects (our advice, from Yamaha's guide). (Tap points)
5. Record a 30 s test and play it back before the show.
6. A track is silent? That channel's Direct Out is probably off. (Only some channels recording?)

Every other mixer is in the mixer recording guides. Words like tap point and class compliant are explained in the glossary. Facts come from Yamaha's TF Series Reference Manual (V4.5, the newest on Yamaha's site) and Yamaha's TF Live Recording guide, unless a line says otherwise. The sources are at the end.

Ways to record a TF

To a computer over USB

This is the way to get every channel on its own track.

• What you need: a USB cable with a square USB-B plug for the TF's USB TO HOST socket.
• Tracks: 34 to the computer. The computer can also send 34 back, for playback.
• Sample rate: 48 kHz, 24-bit.
• Mac: no driver. Yamaha's guide: a Mac "will use a class compliant driver, so do not need any additional installation". Class compliant means the Mac sees the TF as a standard sound device.
• Windows: install the Yamaha Steinberg USB Driver from Yamaha's TF downloads page (V2.1.9 for Windows 11 and 10, at the time of writing).
• Which app: any recording app that lists "Yamaha TF" as an input should work (our reading). Yamaha's guide uses Steinberg Nuendo Live.
• Disk space: about 500 MB per track for each hour (Yamaha's guide). A 2 hour show on 24 tracks needs about 24 GB.

With no computer: 2 tracks only

The TF can record by itself, but only in stereo (2 tracks). It can't make a multitrack recording on its own.

• The drive: a USB hard disk or SSD in the iPad socket on the top panel. USB thumb drives can play back but not record.
• Format the drive as FAT32. Drives bigger than 2 TB won't work.
• The file: a 48 kHz, 24-bit stereo WAV.
• What it records: the source you pick on the RECORDER screen, such as the main mix.
• One at a time: the TF can't record and play back at once.

To an iPhone, iPad or Mac with an app

A Mac works like any computer above, with no driver. Yamaha doesn't say whether an iPhone or iPad works on the USB TO HOST socket: not tested yet. See Mac, iPad and iPhone below.

TF recording settings

• Sample rate: 48 kHz. Set your recording app and computer to 48 kHz. If they don't match, the TF shows USB Sample Rate Mismatch.
• Bit depth: 24-bit. There's nothing to set.
• Number of tracks: 34. Yamaha's manual has no setting for fewer. Arm only the tracks you need in your app.
• The stereo pair on USB 33-34: set on the RECORDER screen.
  1. Touch the cassette tape icon on the toolbar to open the RECORDER screen.
  2. Open the INPUT/OUTPUT tab.
  3. In the RECORD source menu, pick ST (the main mix), a pair of AUX mixes (the monitor mixes), or a MATRIX pair (extra output mixes).

Only some channels recording? Check each Direct Out

A Direct Out is a channel's own feed to USB, one per channel. Each of channels 1-32 has one. If a channel's Direct Out is off, its track is silent.

1. Touch the channel's name on the screen. The CH VIEW screen opens.
2. Turn the Direct out button on.
3. Check the Direct out point (see Tap points).
4. Do the same for every channel you record.

Other reasons for a missing track:

• Channels 33-40 and the stereo inputs (ST IN) have no Direct Out, so they can't be recorded. Plug the sources you want to record into channels 1-32 (our advice).
• Tracks 1 and 2 have the main mix, not channels 1 and 2? Firmware V4.5 added a setting that puts a mix there. Go to SETUP > PREFERENCE > USB 1/2 Output and pick Ch 1/2 Direct.
• Nothing at all? Check the computer is set to 48 kHz, and on Windows that the Yamaha driver is installed.

TF USB routing

Recording channels 1-32? There is nothing to patch. Yamaha's guide: "By default, TF-series channels 1-32 each have a Direct Output enabled via the USB TO HOST port."

• USB 1-32: channels 1-32, in order. Each one is that channel's Direct Out.
• USB 33-34: one stereo pair. It's the source picked on the RECORDER screen: the main mix (ST), a pair of AUX mixes 1-8 (the monitor mixes), or a MATRIX pair (extra output mixes: MTRX 1/2 or 3/4, from firmware V3.5).
• Not on USB: channels 33-40 (TF3 and TF5) and the stereo inputs (ST IN) have no Direct Out, so they can't be recorded one by one. They can still be heard in a mix on USB 33-34 (our reading).
• You can't reorder the tracks on the TF. Move or rename them in your app.
• USB 1-2 from firmware V4.5: these can carry a mix instead of channels 1 and 2 (see above).
• Recording the main mix too: pick ST as the RECORD source. You get it on USB 33-34 alongside the 32 channels.
• TF1 and TF-Rack: 16 mic inputs, but still 32 channels.
• TF3: 24 mic inputs, but still 32 channels.
• Channels above the mic inputs (17-32 on the TF1 and TF-Rack, 25-32 on the TF3) carry sound only from a Tio1608-D (Yamaha's digital stage box, connected by network cable), a Dante card (a network audio card in the TF's expansion slot) or USB (our reading).

TF playback for virtual soundcheck

Virtual soundcheck means playing last night's tracks back through the mixer, so you can set the mix with no band on stage.

1. In your app, play each track back to the same USB channel it came in on: track 1 to USB 1, and so on (our advice).
2. On the TF, open the INPUT screen.
3. Press the Menu key and pick All USB. The channels on the current layer now take their sound from USB instead of the mic inputs.
4. All USB works one layer at a time, so do it on every layer:
   • TF5: channels 1-32, then 33-40.
   • TF3: channels 1-24, then 25-32, then 33-40.
   • TF1 and TF-Rack: channels 1-16, then 17-32.
5. When you're done, switch the channels back to their mic inputs before the show (our advice).

To switch a single channel, pick USB as its input source on the INPUT screen.

While a channel plays from USB, its gain control becomes a digital gain, and the +48V (phantom power) button is hidden.

TF tap points

What to pick: Pre DG (our advice, and the point Yamaha's guide suggests). Set it on each channel's CH VIEW screen, with the Direct out point button.

A tap point is the place in a channel where the recording is taken. Why it matters is in Pre or post fader. On the TF, you set it for each channel.

The four choices, earliest first:

• Pre DG: before the digital gain. You get the input as it comes from the mic preamp. No EQ, compressor or effects. Best for a clean recording and for virtual soundcheck. Yamaha's guide: "the recording will be without any EQ, dynamics or effects settings".
• Pre HPF: after the digital gain, before the high-pass filter (the low-cut). Use it if you want the digital gain in the recording (our reading).
• Pre Fader: after the high-pass filter, EQ and dynamics, but before the fader. The track has your channel processing, but moving the fader doesn't change it.
• Post ON: after the fader and the channel's ON key. The track follows the fader, and a channel that is switched off records silence (our reading). On channels 1-8 it comes right after the AUTOMIXER (the TF's automatic mic mixer on channels 1-8). Yamaha's 2016 guide calls this "Post Fader" (our reading).

Good to know:

• The analog gain is always in the recording. It comes before every tap point. Set it well before the show.
• Which point a new TF starts on: Yamaha doesn't say. Check every channel before the show.
• A Tio1608-D shared with another console: Yamaha doesn't say how a shared gain setting affects the recording.

TF on Mac, iPad and iPhone

• Mac: no driver. Yamaha's guide says a Mac uses a class compliant driver: open the Mac's Sound settings and check that "Yamaha TF" is listed. That guide is from 2016 and lists OS X 10.9 or newer. Yamaha hasn't said anything about newer macOS. The reference manual doesn't mention the Mac.
• iPhone and iPad: Yamaha doesn't say whether either works on the USB TO HOST socket, and neither is tested yet with a TF.
• The iPad socket on top: it plays music in from an iPhone or iPad, and records 2 tracks to a USB hard disk. It isn't a multitrack connection.
• Cable: the USB TO HOST socket is USB-B. From a USB-C iPhone or iPad, we'd try a USB-C to USB-B cable (our advice, not Yamaha's).
• Power: Yamaha doesn't say whether the TF charges a phone or tablet. For a long show, use a powered USB-C hub or a camera adapter that passes power through (our advice).
• Windows: install the Yamaha Steinberg USB Driver.

ShowRecorder (the app this site makes) records every USB Channel from any class-compliant mixer. We haven't tested it with a TF yet. The TF records without Mixer Link: Mixer Link, which reads channel names and colors from the mixer, works only on the XR18/MR18 and X32/M32. If you record a TF with it, we'd like to hear how it goes.

Runs on a USB-C iPhone (iPhone 15 or later) on iOS 26, or a USB-C iPad on iPadOS 26. Mac: join the TestFlight beta.

Your mixer not listed, or not tested? Ask us

Sources

Yamaha manuals and guides:

• TF Series Reference Manual V4.5: the RECORDER screen and its record source, the CH VIEW direct out on/off and point, All USB on the INPUT screen, USB 1/2 Output (V4.5), the USB Sample Rate Mismatch message, the 2-track recorder and its drives.
• TF series Live Recording with Steinberg Nuendo Live (Yamaha, 2016): the Mac with no driver, the Windows driver, direct outs on by default, Pre DG, which channels can't be recorded, disk space.
• TF V3.5 block diagram: where each tap point sits.

Yamaha product pages:

• TF specifications: 34 x 34 USB, 48 kHz, 2-track recording.
• TF-Rack specifications.
• TF downloads: the Yamaha Steinberg USB Driver for Windows, the current firmware.