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Multitrack recorders still a thing?

#81
rudy4444 said:
There are quite a few, but I'm not going to air a long laundry list of complaints here. I knew of the oddities with the Livetrak mixer/recorders prior to purchase and still consider them a nice piece of gear. Here's a few, off the top of my head.

1. There's no "track bounce" feature like is present on the R series recorders. "Track Bounce" means you can record a track and use a couple buttons to assign it to a different track. That means you don't have to keep moving your cable to a different input to record a new track.

2. Tracks 7 and 8 are actually "stereo" tracks, but if you use them as inputs from an audio source you only have a single mono Tip/shield input. These are line level inputs, so you have to use them with a preamp, but there's no reason why they couldn't have provided a TRS 1/4" stereo input on those tracks. What were they thinking?

3. Unlike any other recorder, if you're working in a project and you hit the "record ready" button the L8 automatically dumps you to a new project if you don't make ABSOLUTELY sure you have the "overdub" function already selected. There are lots of confused users who don't get this. Neither do I, since it doesn't make any sense. It's a bit maddening.

4. Since us multi-trackers" are using headphones, the Livetrak has no way of muting the outputs to your powered monitors so you can track with a mic without feeding your previous work back into the mic through your room monitors. The main output controls both the powered monitor levels AND the headphone volume. I resolved that with a Behringer Monitor 1 control that lets me mute the monitors and still have headphones. What's up with that? A simple main out mute switch would have saved me the extra $75 for the monitor control and patch cables.

5. The "power cable" is a MINI usb cable that plugs in under the machine. It's not all that secure and is
t's just an oddball way of doing it.. They should have used a standard sized USB cable and a couple of strain reliefs on the REAR of the machine. Powering with the USB is fine, it's just the tiny little connection that's relatively easy to pull out.
Many users DO have a problem with this since you can't supply power and connect it to your computer at the same time. Not a problem for me, but I do understand the users who do have a problem with that.

That's a few... :)
Click to expand...

Now that I think of it: the Tascam Model 12 has not a single of this quirks. They had your point 4, but changed this with a new firmware - now you can set the input of the headphone amps to pre-master.
The main advantage of the Zoom series is the number of headphone amps for individual mixes.
 
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#83
DirkP said:
Now that I think of it: the Tascam Model 12 has not a single of this quirks. They had your point 4, but changed this with a new firmware - now you can set the input of the headphone amps to pre-master.

The main advantage of the Zoom series is the number of headphone amps for individual mixes.
Click to expand...
The main advantage of the Zoom Livetrak (as well as the R series recorders) is thay are almost as easy to operate as a cassette deck. There are a lot of Tascam users who spend countless hours scratching their heads over how to use their digital multi-track mixer/recorders. I love Tascam stuff, but not the fiddly nature of the basic machines.
 
#84
rudy4444 said:
The main advantage of the Zoom Livetrak (as well as the R series recorders) is thay are almost as easy to operate as a cassette deck. There are a lot of Tascam users who spend countless hours scratching their heads over how to use their digital multi-track mixer/recorders. I love Tascam stuff, but not the fiddly nature of the basic machines.
Click to expand...
Don't know other Tascam recorders, but disagree concerining the Model12 . If you halfway know how a mixer works the Model series is as easy as it gets. And you have dedicated controls in every single channel strip for eq, comp, aux1, aux2 etc.
What exactly do you find uneasy to operate on the Model series compared to the Zoom Livetraks?
 
#85
Just got a Tascam Dp008ex digital notepad for Christmas.
Smaller & more portable than my old Tascam 8 track.
Haven't used it yet, but hoping it will be suitable for what I want ( a quick way of recording ideas and maybe mixing rough drafts of songs ).
It will only allow 2 tracks simultaneously I believe.
IMG_20211227_132735__01.jpg
 
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#86
darren1970 said:
Just got a Tascam Dp008ex digital notepad for Christmas.
Smaller & more portable than my old Tascam 8 track.
Haven't used it yet, but hoping it will be suitable for what I want ( a quick way of recording ideas and maybe mixing rough drafts of songs ).
It will only allow 2 tracks simultaneously I believe.
View attachment 4520872
Click to expand...
Would love to hear your experiences with this once you get it going.
 
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#92
My first digital recorder was a Tascam DP-01 PortaStudio and the one thing I see with the newer versions is that they still have the same issue this early model had. A tiny multi-function LCD window, it's just too small for me to work with on a regular basis. I've seen pedals that are easier to work with. I get that the manufacturer is trying to pack a lot of features into a small portable package. For me there is no comparison to having a full size DAW to work with, so there are trade off's.

As an FYI: For recording practices I use a Tascam DR05 connected to the tape out from the mixer. I realize that it won't help for anything not running through the mixer. As a remedy we've converted to "quiet" practices in the practice shed. I've found that we have become much more productive in quiet mode (headphones sharing the same mix) and it really keeps the volume levels in check.

With the recordings from the tape out you don't individual tracks but is a step up in quality from the DR05 set up on a table in the band room (the old cassette boom box in the back of the room).
 
#94
tothemax said:
My first digital recorder was a Tascam DP-01 PortaStudio and the one thing I see with the newer versions is that they still have the same issue this early model had. A tiny multi-function LCD window, it's just too small for me to work with on a regular basis. I've seen pedals that are easier to work with. I get that the manufacturer is trying to pack a lot of features into a small portable package. For me there is no comparison to having a full size DAW to work with, so there are trade off's.

As an FYI: For recording practices I use a Tascam DR05 connected to the tape out from the mixer. I realize that it won't help for anything not running through the mixer. As a remedy we've converted to "quiet" practices in the practice shed. I've found that we have become much more productive in quiet mode (headphones sharing the same mix) and it really keeps the volume levels in check.

With the recordings from the tape out you don't individual tracks but is a step up in quality from the DR05 set up on a table in the band room (the old cassette boom box in the back of the room).
Click to expand...

I kind of disagree. The earlier multitracks were packed with features and sub-menues. The new Tascam models have very few and transparent options, no menue diving as on the old units. On the other hand some newer units like I guess the new Zoom Livetrak have a touch-screen that isn't small.
I like it a lot that the Model 12 is fully functional on its own including multitrack recording or small gigs. But if you use it as a multitrack interface with your DAW, you have the additional advantage of the Model 12 becoming your DAW controller and expanding your computer.
A win-win situation for me. It was a right decision to leave the really complex things to the DAW and supporting it, while keeping the recorder/mixer simply straightforward and easy to operate.

Just like you I never was satisfied with older units and their tiny lcd-screens and 20.000 submenues - or press this button while holding down these 4 other buttons and making a headstand, if you want to turn the phantom power off...
 
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