Maybe we can be the first to get on the "back to analog tape" bandwagon. (You can say you heard it here first.)

So you don't want to deal with all this hard-disk recording mumbo-jumbo. That's fine by us. TASCAM's workhorse Portastudios have never sounded better, and we know that there's a lot of you out there who did their first multi-track recording on one of the predecessors of this modest but powerful little box called the 414MKII.

Who can best use this rig? Maybe you're the daughter or son of a musician who had a version of one of these recorders when they were young, and you're looking to start your own musical career. You could be a hobbyist, just looking for something basic, not complicated, to lay down tracks with. Perhaps you're a traveling gigster, and you need a "scratchpad" to write and work out parts. What about a DJ who wants to assemble some mixes? All of these folks are prime candidates for the 414.

An 8 input mixer feeds 4 independent tracks. There are 4 mic/line inputs and 2 XLR mic inputs, plus a dedicated HiZ guitar input. A 2-band EQ on each channel lets you dial in the tone you like, and 2 effect sends lets the 414mkII communicate with whatever outboard gear you might have in your studio or personal rack. DBX noise reduction helps to keep your recording clean.

Now don't go crazy and think that you're going to be able to bounce tracks like crazy, and do overtly ambitious multi-track recording with this modest instrument. It's designed for basic recording,… read more and it does that very well, but as you would expect from any item one step up from entry-level, this recorder has limits. Having said that, we must also say that we've heard amazingly warm and fine recordings made from TASCAM Portastudios, and if you follow a common sense recording approach, there's no reason why you can't make great demos with this rig. read less