customer reviews
43 People rated this product :
7 out of 10
7 People wrote reviews
9 out of 10
"BUY THIS BOX! (before you buy yet another software program that you won't use!!)"
Feature:
It truly is an "all in one" answer to the job of recording from the bedroom to the stage. I am a "sound guy" in the "real world" and I try to record most jobs. I have used the TASCAM 'lots over the years. (today, I record everything on a usb thumb drive out of a peavy 24fx . . .that works great and many times I will reload that into the tascam for other "stuff" if I'm on the road and am just waiting for the next bus to the gig LOL)
Quality:
Others talk about crashing, I have never had a crash and have owned one since they first came out and cost $1000 net. I would suggest that quality of power is many times the issue, but, machines do crash, so, just give it a try!
Value:
This is the best deal in america. When not working, I am either in a music store, on the web, or reading catalogs . . . this is the very best value out there in my opinion.
Desirability:
It is simple, yet not confusing. It may look like it does not do much, but, in a pinch, I have even run sound with this machine & it is great for a "one man band" type of show, especially techno/ trance. You can set up an entire show that seem like loops and then play 8 live tracks @ the same time . . .it just takes being comfortable with the box.
Sound:
Having started recording on a 3m/walensak reel to reel recorder when I was 14 (1969!), I truly believe that this is the best "stand alone"
multi-function recorder on the market considering the cost/feature value. I now use an ALESIS 24HD (for my personal mp3 projects), but, I always take my TASCAM on the road in my special portable suit case. This is my second machine and may buy one more because it looks like the recorder will be discontinued soon! 8 comps and effects on every pass is a great help in a motel room at 3am after a gig!! ( I have even sold cd's of the previous nights shows in the past made with the cd burner ) IT is the best high grade "sketch pad" and better than many of the last generation HD recorders (like the early roland's . .FOR THE MONEY, YOU CAN NOT BEAT THIS SYSTEM.
Ease of Use:
Once you know how to use this box, it is a joy, but others have suggested getting the DVD to start off with, DO THAT, it is much easier than reading the manual . . these things do WAY MORE than even the company knows many times, so don't be afraid to push the thing as far as it will go.
Support:
I have tried, but, it is hard to get in contact with tech people for low end products when the company also supports large commercial products in the same area . . .and most sales people are LOCKED in on every kind of software in the world . . .since I hate software based ANYTHING, I have a fond spot for this machine.
Overall:
I will use this machine until it goes away. (since I have 2, I hope to always have one that works . .I will eventually leave it @ home or loan it to my church . . .the folks @ church have ALL of the most current gear, but, in a crunch, they could do A LOT with this and I would encourage any "start up group" or small church to consider buying one instead of some (expensive) digital mixer that no one will be able to use . . .BUT YOU KINOW THEY WON'T DO THAT!!
Submitted: 7/9/2008
Style of Music: commercial sound
8 out of 10
"Escape from the visual DAW"
Feature:
One button mastering is nice. Getting away from a visual approach of protools style recording tracks can be liberating. It's closer to making mix tapes for your friends. I love that. The live writer is a great selling point in theory, in practice I've never used it. There are so many features for the live musician or session recording person. I have yet to use them for my style of music. 80 gb means you dont have to worry about time left in your jam session. When your all done you can export your live session to disk or usb for software mastering or out of house post production.
Quality:
I still dont get why you have the 24 bitrate work environment, and then the head room is only 44.1 or sixteen bit quality recording in frequency. Possibly the reason is to keep this box under $1000 us dollars. it made of plastic to keep it portable, other wise its appearnce looks sub par consumer grade electronics. It's (not) A Sony!
Value:
its made for musicians not audio engineers and protools snobs who sneer at this box.for sombody who just wants to get an idea down fast in this box is great for that. Recording a jam or 4x4 dj battle with mcs in your basement, it's great for that. what your not going to get is a 100,000 grand studio. But most of those big guys are dinosaurs. this unit is digital and is great for the beginner and the seasoned pro who know what they want from a production standpoint. It's very organic and hands on the mixer type of flow, departing away from the mouse and digital catapillars on the screen. Record all at once or separately. the idea is there in all of its glory.
Desirability:
the original was dorky with the greenscreen and general midi loops on board. The blue is nice, the spdif is great to have when connecting to hardware EQs and mastering boxes. this portastudio is a great way to get from just noodling to finished songs. hearing what you made sucks or is worth buying. Is great feedback and for why i purchased this box. It has more for the musican who has more gear or is going to be getting more gear. although i dont really use all of its features as sombody would for recording vocals or guitars.
Sound:
Transparent. No latency problems when compared to. It sound is broadcast quality, or a company that makes great recording equipment for the project studio or live situation. Using the spdif is great for capturing my mixes of my roland mc909. As the digital adage goes garbage in, garbage out. there are tons of guitar effects built into this box. you can also side chain external and internal effects to all tracks. The compressor and eq are average, if you need them. similar to a swiss army knife approach in recording, they are there if you have to use them, but the results are at best woody in sound.It might be better to get nice outboard gear as you go. Such as a nice tube mic pre amps,expanders, compressors,etc.
Ease of Use:
If you have never done session style recording or recording your work, get the dvd asocated with this box. The dvd will get you there faster than the manual, which is helpful but not as good as watching sombody use your box to produce songs. After the breaking in period of a few weeks. For your work flow this box is a snap to sketch out ideas. Then mix them down with other tracks in to one completed song in a hour or less. the wav editor on board is tricky, and this machine is never going to match the ease of a software program dedicated to that purpose. this porta sudio is to get away from the mouse and just press record, yet still get the same or better results. combined with a software suite the portastudio is a nice way to blend the two realms. the only catch is the hard drive and firmware are slow in moving song or tracks to the usb. since the box uses FAT for writing to disk in stead of NTFS which is faster, but is not so friendly to macs. so bring verf your band mates; go to the fridge, get six pack open and bake a redbaron pizza whilst the process of writing or transfer occurs. Your workflow on this portastudio is first to record, premaster record, mix down, then transfer to cd or usb for mp3 export. doing that in real time is tedious, so ifind its better to separate in chunks days to do all of your songs for differnt functions on this box.
Support:
I called them out in montebello, it took about an half an hour to get the answer I got, but I guess there might be one tech or two for this box for such a big audio company's call center. job burnout i guess -but the problem was solved nonetheless.
Overall:
You have plenty of room to grow with this box. It frees you from always working in software. This approach of hearing songs instead of looking at your songs approach is refreshing. In this day and age of entry level software setups such as garageband, sonar, and protools le. Why get all of that out board gear just to get the same result of this portastudio? Just press record, and listen and repeat.
Submitted: 5/7/2008
Style of Music: edm styles, electronic
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