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Korg D888 8-Track Hard Disk Recorder

A new and unique model has joined Korg's D-series of digital recorders -- acclaimed for their high audio quality and easy operation. The user-friendly presentation of the D888 is familiar, yet lurking inside this 8 input/8 output mixer is a complete 8-track digital recorder.The new D888 Digital Recording Studio goes where no digital recorder has gone before, and its intuitive, real-time design assures immediate results. When you get back after recording the gig or capturing live audio anywhere, just hook this baby up to your computer via the USB 2.0 port, and access the .wav files! Learn More...

    • New $699.00
  • Installment Plan:4 payments of $174.75
    • free ground shipping
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Overall User Ratings

Overall:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10

Individual User Ratings

Overall:
* * . . . . . . . . 2 out of 10
Features:
* * * . . . . . . . 3 out of 10
Quality:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Value:
* * . . . . . . . . 2 out of 10
I Want It:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Sound:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Support:
* * * * . . . . . . 4 out of 10

Feature:
nice concept of using it as a mixer too. i really appreciated all inputs being on the surface of the d888. Undo-function causes long (!) saving-time. Had to wait about half a minute for just a few minutes of recorded material - imagine if you record one hour... - inacceptable when working with clients.

Quality:
obviously there was no factory quality control, regarding the catastrophic preamp-section.

Value:
if you don't need the pre amps, it's at least useful as a mixer. in fact, you can get a cheaper one here.

Desirability:
no I send it back.

Sound:
using condenser-mics, the gain-section produces an artificial pumpin (caused by the harddrive) that is hearable on your recording!!! So the Pre-Amps are really a waste ("Made in China") - i have no use for it. effect quality is poor, dynamics are missing completely.

Ease of Use:
pretty intuitive, you can figure out all functions without consulting the manual, but i missed a jog-dial. so it's quite circular to move for- and backwards within a song.

Support:
i told them about the problem with the preamps. they immediatley answered via mail and already knew about it but regretted not being able to give a solution. they said, they already reported it to the korg main office - but it seems as they don't care.

Overall:
I wish all the reviewers of the magazines out there would have tested the d888 more preciseley and had written about the pumpin preamps. There was no word about it - everywhere except in the korg-forums. I cant understand that it still available on the market in that condition (after Korg knew about this insuffiancy for at least over one year)

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Overall:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10

Feature:
Excellent concept. Really like the analog track controls that have the classic / retro mixer intuitive ease of use. Some controls and even the sliders clearly are not directly linked in analog, but control digital signal levels beneath - a REALLY good thing! Transport controls and file management is efficient enough. Rated 9 'cause the display is teeny and does not display enough info at all times. Preamps are marginal. Input gain is horrific! The last hair-thin turn of the gain knob represents the last 90% of gain. If the knob was 8" in diameter, I'm still not sure you would have adequate fine control. Resorted to a PreSonus Blue Tube preamp and have been completely happy since.

Quality:
Great looking machine. Markings are inadequate. Can't see them in low light. Ended up making label tapes for key controls.

Value:
Very much in the running with other digital recorders and completely unique in design.

Desirability:
I saw, I wanted, I bought, I covet!

Sound:
Digital sound in 44.1 kHz - CD quality - flawless. Only trouble is making it there with the the input gain problem futher described below.

Ease of Use:
Have not figured out every control, and the manual is not completely helpful. There is no 'system clock' so the .wav files are not date and time stamped - bummer.

Support:
Practical support is by email. When I wrote about the preamp and gain issue, I received a very defensive response about the excellent quality of the amp design - same as other mixers - and the outstanding quality of the gain pots. No apparent plans to address the problem.

Overall:
Love you long time!

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Overall:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10

Feature:
No accessories came with it, there really should be at least a short USB cable. Jumping to mark points is instant and easy. On the down side, the silk screened lettering is unfortunately much too small for my old eyes. There's no real reason for it, they had plenty of room and chose to use a small font and a dull white. Some attention to ease of use would have paid off here.

Quality:
Solid enough but again, the pre's are junk. Live recording can be a problem due to long pauses after recording tracks, to rebuild files. The longer the track, the longer it goes offline when you shut down. I think if I ever tried to use it live I might just leave it on for all 4 sets. You could convievably use this thing for your only mixer, live, recording while you perform. I would NOT want to try it.

Value:
I'm still pretty happy with it, despite its flaws. It should be about $200 cheaper due to the bad pre's, which add to the real cost of setting up a decent system centered around this thing. For those without a DAW or external effects, the onboard affects are decent.

Desirability:
Nothing with a display as small as this is going to get much of a rating for 'sex appeal' It just looks like a pretty ordinary mixer with a few cute red green and yellow lites and an LCD display.

Sound:
I like this device better than another reviewer but he's right about the trim pots; they are horrible, definitely the weakest part of this device. I've had it for a few months and been using the pre's on my old Mackie 1202. Now I'm looking for a tube pre to warm things up a bit. Other than that it's mostly a good product; the USB interface is wide open, allowing you to see the whole drive in Win XP or Linux. The user interface is pretty good. Team this up with Ardour on your Linux box and you've got a hell of a DAW. The fact you can only go 44khz is a flaw but personally I find it adequate for my needs.

Ease of Use:
The manual is great, downloadable online and for the most part, if you understand an analog mixer you can get results from this box. But here again, the pre's are the problem. Wether plugging in an SM57 or a Rhodes NT or a AKG C1000, they are just pure clunky junk that responds not at all until they come live at the end of their travel and peg the VU. You'll need to find a ballpark setting and do the real work with an external pre on each track you use. On the other hand, how many DAW's in this price range can handle 8 simultaneous inputs?

Support:
Haven't needed to call.

Overall:
I really wish I'd known how bad the pre's are in these boxes, and if I'd known I might probably have continued looking. Korgs refusal to fix this issue is mystifying. Not that it makes them unusable or anything, but if I hadn't already owned some gear with decent pre's in it to beef up the signal path I'd probably have sent it back. Things are changing fast in this arena and while the D888 is a good niche product for those of us who will put with 44khZ and want more than 2 channels of recording at a time, that alone isn't going to keep this product selling. I predict within two years someone will say to me, 'You've got a Korg -what- for sale?' because nobody will remember this thing.

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Overall:
* * * . . . . . . . 3 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Quality:
* * * . . . . . . . 3 out of 10
Value:
* * * . . . . . . . 3 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * . . . . . . . 3 out of 10
Sound:
* * * . . . . . . . 3 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Support:
* * * . . . . . . . 3 out of 10

Quality:
Trim controls are ridiculous !!

Desirability:
Great concept -- poor execution

Sound:
Big problem with the trim controls. Hard to control mic levels.

Support:
They know about the problem but aren't doing anything about it!!

Overall:
Disappointed !! If they would fix the trim controls, this could be a nice unit.

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