Any audio interface can turn your computer into a recording tool, but can the right piece of gear actually turn you into a better engineer? We think so, and we think the TASCAM FW1082 FireWire DAW controller /audio interface is just that unit.
Think of it this way: would Jimi have written the same kind of music had he been a clarinetist? Of course not! The physical instrument in your hands changes the way your creative brain thinks, and shapes what your work ends up sounding like. Likewise, when you're using a computer keyboard and mouse to mix tracks, automate volume swells and pans, and navigate through a project, you're thinking like a programmer, not a recording engineer. But when you're pushing faders, twisting knobs, scrubbing through a project with the big jog wheel, and hitting an actual record button, you'll be inspired to start making real music again. Your left brain will be unshackled from right-brain tyranny.
Not only does the FW1082 put you back in touch with your music, it also provides you with ten simultaneous inputs, as well as plenty of analog, digital and MIDI connections to become the cornerstone of your home or project studio.
A Robust DAW Controller
To really put you in the engineer's mindset, your controller has to take over all the common tasks that you used to reach for your mouse to accomplish, but it also needs to feel like a solid piece of machinery. The TASCAM FW1082 delivers on both accounts. The full transport control section gives you tactile, satisfying command over the basics, plus assignable function keys to let you tailor the FW1082 to your workflow. You're gonna love the big jog wheel, too. Navigating through big projects gets old quickly when you're relegated to a mouse or trackball, but you'll speed through everything effortlessly with the sturdy, detented dial. The eight faders have a 60 mm travel for big, expressive volume swells that really turn this TASCAM controller into a studio instrument. The faders are also motorized, so the FW1082 physically reacts to the automation data you've already entered, and you always get a real-work representation of your levels at every point on a project. Every channel has dedicated Solo and Mute functions, with a separate section for making adjustments to the selected channel's other parameters, like EQ, panning and aux sends. With a 4x6 channel bank, the FW1082 gives you immediate control over twenty four channels, also assignable to busses. The layout on the FW1082 puts enough tactile control at your fingertips that you'll barely need to use your mouse or keyboard at all, yet it remains uncluttered and intuitive.
A High-Resolution Audio Interface
Tactile project control and navigation would be meaningless, however, without top-notch audio performance to match. By incorporating 24-bit, 96kHz digital audio resolution and generous ins and outs to choose from, the TASCAM FW1082 is a truly all-in-one package, turning any computer into a professional production studio. Four XLR inputs provide phantom power for hooking up high-end studio microphones. The first two of these inputs also feature a insert jacks, allowing proper routing of outboard gear like compressors, equalizers and other hardware processors. All eight analog inputs sport TRS balanced 1/4" jacks for connecting the most common mic preamps and line-level sound sources (such as keyboards and drum machines), and the eighth input is switchable to Hi-Z for direct injection of guitars and basses. Topping off this input bonanza is the FW1082's digital S/PDIF input, for a total of ten input channels. You also get two stereo pairs of outputs for routing to two paris of reference monitors. Every professional mix artist is going to have two different, complementary types of monitors, because your audience will be listening to your final product on a number of different sources. The TASCAM FW1082 makes it easy to have the same dual-stereo setup, so you can employ the same monitoring techniques that the world's top engineers use. Finally, two separate MIDI in/out loops are at your disposal, for connecting and syncing external, MIDI-compatible hardware such as grooveboxes, step sequencers and even synthesizer modules.
Multiple Modes Add Impressive Versatility
Adding to the TASCAM FW1082's already impressive feature set is the unit's mode-switching ability. Three modes are at your disposal, with the first one--Computer Control--being the most commonly used. Computer Control mode is what turns the FW1082 into a physical extension of your DAW, closely syncing with your computer's behavior. In MIDI Control mode, the FW1082 turns into a pure MIDI controller, allowing you to command MIDI gear of all makes; you can use the TASCAM controller as an extended set of encoders for a soft synth or beat box, or anything else your MIDI-mind can come up with. Finally, Monitor Mode allows the TASCAM FW1082 to be used as a standalone mixer. With adaptability like this, it's unlikely you'll ever grow out of this amazing unit.
The TASCAM FW1082 lets you manipulate sound the same way the mixing desks of yesteryear did; it was designed to accommodate the engineer's thought process, so it'll have you thinking less like a technician, and more like an artist. Isn't that what your music deserves?
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