customer reviews
84 People rated this product :
7 out of 10
17 People wrote reviews
9 out of 10
"Wanna plug in and play? Then consider this little beauty"
Feature:
I nearly bought the version without reverb. I'm so pleased I didn't, because the machine's reverb has proved itself to be invaluable, especially for making my less than great voice sound reasonable, and giving an almost 'Pink Floyd' quality to keyboards.
Quality:
It acts 100% perfectly, although I feel the need to treat it like a fragile flower, cocooning it in bubblewrap after use. I cannot envisage anybody being foolish enough to take it on the road, it just doesn't seem robust enough for that.
Value:
An absolute bargain.
Desirability:
Love the real knobs. It's all I ever wanted, although a 16 or even 32 track version of the same would interest me.
Sound:
Compared to horrible TAPE, this machine is quite simply the nuts.
Ease of Use:
At first, it would take me an hour or so to get it to work, sometimes to the stage where I was pressing buttons at random or thinking I'd broken it. Then, however, I realised the manual has ONE GLARING OMISSION in its set up procedure- it doesn't tell you to press the ENTER button after some of its otherwise clearly explained info. I still struggle a bit and always have the manual open.
Overall:
Real time controls are so much more useful to the type of musician who just wants to plug in and play, and this kit satisfies- no computing skills required. As I said earlier, I wuld like a 16 or even 32 track that is PRECISELY THE SAME as this 8-track (just wider, presumeably!) and would be prepared to pay the extra every day of the week.
Submitted: 2/20/2008
Style of Music: Rock/Pop
9 out of 10
"A Great 8-Track"
Feature:
The biggest selling point of this unit for me initially was the dedicated physical controls for panning and EQ. It looked more like a mixing board than the other DAW's. After working with it for a couple of years now, I appreciate a lot more. It really is an incredible amount of technology packed into a small unit, especially if you're old enough to remember when cassette multi-tracks were the only option in this price range. It can operate as a MIDI master recorder, it has built in reverb and instrument effects that are adequate for project/demo recordings, it has non-destructive track editing, a built in master recorder independant from the 8 tracks, phantom powered XLR inputs, and USB connectivity so your recordings never have to leave the digital domain. Like others have already mentioned, a larger, backlit screen would have been an improvement.
Quality:
Like so much gear these days, DAW's are basically computers running proprietary software. So, as with all computers, if you have critical work you don't want to lose, SAVE SAVE SAVE! This unit has crashed a few times on me. The worst incident cost me hours of work because I hadn't taken 10 seconds to do a manual save. I eventually realized that each crash was caused by hitting transport control buttons in too quick a sequence. Since slowing my fingers down, I've had no crashes. Otherwise, the unit has functioned perfectly for two years now. I don't lug it around, so I can't speak to how rugged it might be.
Value:
Fantastic value. The amount of technology you get for the money is astounding.
Desirability:
I bought it for it's features. I don't care what it looks like, but fortunately it's not neon green or anything.
Sound:
The only thing I can compare it to is the ADAT I used before it. The high frequency reproduction is a **little** harsher, but managable. It produces quiet, uncoloured tracks if you keep recording levels high and transfer digitally.
Ease of Use:
The manual is well written, and once you spend some time with the unit, it's easy to operate. Making a cheat sheet of some of the more common functions and keeping it close by always helps with this kind of gear until you get familiar with it.
Support:
I phoned tech support after the bad crash mentioned above. It was not toll free from Canada, I was on hold for a while, and the guy I eventually got was unable to help me. Basically "Sorry it crashed. We have no idea what might have happened. Yes, it sounds like you've lost all your work." It was a waste of time and money. I suspect they don't know any more than what's written in the manual.
Overall:
It's great for what I do: record song demos. Yes, I wish it had more than 8 tracks so I wouldn't have to bounce. But then I remind myself that the Beatles recorded their Sgt. Pepper album on a 4 track. This unit is small & portable, inexpensive, well thought out, feature packed, and sounds great. A little gem.
Submitted: 11/10/2007
Style of Music: Pop/Jazz
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