Tascam DP008EX...

[ZenG]

Do you have one? This YouTube demo video seems to fill the bill for me as to what it can do.
How do you like yours?
I'm looking for one with a footswitch "punch in ". This one has it.
All I want do on it is play bass to an already recorded stereo track.

Nothing too fancy with a bunch of bells and whistles I'm never going to use and don't be have to be Einstein to run it. Looks good to me.

My old Zoom 16 track is becoming obsolete..only burns cd's, no comp interface, no s.d card etc...


Edit:- after looking and listening to a number of reviews on YouTube I went ahead and ordered one plus the a/c adaptor from a Cyber Monday deal..

 

[ZenG]

 

[cattrax]

The Tascam looks really great! Have you tried it yet?

 

[ZenG]

The Tascam looks really great! Have you tried it yet?

Actually ...yes.

It arrived a couple of days ago. Power adaptor has yet to get here so I put batteries in. BUT...it eats batteries pretty quick..so the ac adaptor is a must.

Within an hour of unboxing I had a three track song recorded following the "Quick Start" instructions.

The manual is easy to grasp and pretty straightforward. You don't have to be Einstein to use this product.

The sound is decent. It records in 16 bit/44k. only. I thought this was going to be an issue until I noticed I had my Zoom H2n on the same setting...and recordings sound perfectly o.k. on that.

The Tascam has some good editing/mixdown functions. Plus you can use a footswitch for "on the fly" punch-ins and also 'stop/start' recording.

I tried the built-in mics (just for vocals so far ) and they sound pretty good.

Menu functions are easy to get at and understand.

This unit is way easier to operate than my aging Zoom 16 track. It is also way smaller, which is a plus for me due to my ever-increasing-clutter recording space.

All tracks can be stereo-paired if you need to.

So for the money I'm impressed.

I'll be posting a soundclip in the near future when my power adaptor gets here.

The 'soundfloor' is pretty good on this so far. I haven't encountered any unwanted hiss, noise, or electrical interference ( my old Zoom 16 had issues in that department).

I'm not saying it's the be-all and end-all of small recorders. But it's easy to get a little project done and the sound is pretty good.

Follow the instructions to a "T" and you can't go wrong. It will upload to a computer after the song is changed to a FAT file and prepped for exporting.

There are instructions how to do this in the manual.



( Tascam has discontinued making these, I read. But there's lots around.)
Anyway this was my first introduction to Tascam recording equipment and I think I will be sticking with their brand in the future if this product is any indication..)

 

[ZenG]

Regarding the batteries:-

I got an hour and a half out of the cheapo Maxell alkalines that came with the unit.

I have Coppertops in there right now....be interesting to see what I get out of those.

In the manual it says :-

Approx. 5 1/2 to 6 hours on Alkalines.

6 1/2 to 7 hours on Nickel-Metal Hydrides.


Update:- I didn't get 5 1/2 hours out of my second set of batteries....more like the first set..about an hour and a half.

 

[ZenG]

The Tascam looks really great! Have you tried it yet?

This track is recorded on the DP-008EX. Then straight upload into computer and then to SoundCloud.

No bass on this one....just wanted to post it so you get an idea of what it sounds like.

Made the song up myself on a Motif.

It's called " Cat Explaining The Need For Food To Disinterested Neanderthal "......

 

[cattrax]

Sounds great! Sure beats the old cassette porta-studio device. Too bad it eats batteries. I currently use Auria and an ipad, but this seems to be a great tool for getting ideas down really quick. And I love the song title! I have two that are always trying to explain their "need"

 

[Jaycat]

Hi all. Reviving this thread due to the current issue I'm having. Hope someone can help:

I am recording a tune using a DP-008. I have guitar on track 1, electric bass on track 2, vocals on 3 and 4 and lap steel on track 5.

When doing Master Record I turn up track 2 (bass) to about 4. Sounds good. Playback on Master Play, again sounds good. Then I transfer to the file to my computer and create an MP3 of the master in Audacity...

The bass has disappeared!! I go back and repeat the process a couple of times, finally turning track 2 up to about 8... now I can finally sort of hear it, but it's distorting a bit. Aarggh....

Any thoughts? Guitar and vocals were recorded with internal mic, bass and lap steel with DI. Thanks!

PS - be careful if you're using batteries with the DP-008. I forgot I had them in there and after a few years they corroded and pretty much cooked the recorder.