tascam DR-05 vs DR-05x vs DR-40x

[pcake]

i wanted to do some recordings of me narrating youtube art supply reviews, singing harmony with me, quickly record inspirations and ideas, and also some whole songs played by ariex and i. in the past, i haven't done enough recording to want to learn a DAW and other stuff, so i want to keep it simple. i find zoom's menus on any and everything of theirs i've owned impenetrable, way over-complicated, so i'd rather pass on zoom. that mostly leads to tascam on my measly budget, although i'm open to suggestions.

my past history with tascam has been iffy, and it dates back to around 1992. i've had to have warranty fixes, get very mixed customer support, and sometimes the manuals weren't always written in a way that got me from point A to point B. of course, today we have searchable PDFs, which is better, but mostly i find third-party tutorials to be the most help, and there are a lot of them out there for most stuff, some very good.

so i'm willing to have a fresh start with recording and tascam. i was looking at listings, reviews and tutorials for the DR-05x and listings and reviews for the DR-40x, when my husband reminded me i gave him the original DR-05 as a gift years ago. he found it, i put in new batteries. it has different organization than the DR-05x tutorials showed me, but i am finding how things work with the help of the manual, checking every menu option one at a time, and lots of youtube tutorials.

so i'm wondering... does the DR-05x have features or sound quality improvements over the DR-05 worth considering? does the DR-40x have features/sound quality or options that might be helpful for my needs? is there something else in the $200 range that can give me better A) ease of settings and use, B) better sound quality, and C) features that might come in very handy?

i plan to use a compact rode mic and a tripod or boom, if that makes a difference. nothing i record in our non-studio home is likely to best utilize the stereo mics, except maybe recording jams, and i know that going in.

 

[brianrost]

For simple YT video soundtracks there’s nothing I can think of that makes the DR05 inferior to the DR05X (which I own). You mentioned recording singing harmonies, if you mean overdubbing, only the DR40x can do that.

If you do need overdubbing and want something simple to use, instead of a handheld recorder consider something like the low-end Tascam Portastudios which work more like the tape recorders of old. The DP-006 is small and only $169, probably even less on Black Friday. It can record 2 tracks at a time, but can record up to 4 tracks, two of which can be stereo.

What kind of computers do you own? If you own a Mac, Garageband is really simple to use and it’s already installed. There’s not much to learn if you don’t plan on any fancy production. Not being a Windows fan, I have no idea if something as simple as GB is available for that OS.

Since you need an audio interface for a computer anyway, most come bundled with Ableton Live Lite which is actually really easy to use. I used it for over five years and for me it's far easier to get up to speed than my DR05X is! Again, if you don't need fancy production, there’s not much to learn.

 

[pcake]

For simple YT video soundtracks there’s nothing I can think of that makes the DR05 inferior to the DR05X (which I own). You mentioned recording singing harmonies, if you mean overdubbing, only the DR40x can do that.

If you do need overdubbing and want something simple to use, instead of a handheld recorder consider something like the low-end Tascam Portastudios which work more like the tape recorders of old. The DP-006 is small and only $169, probably even less on Black Friday. It can record 2 tracks at a time, but can record up to 4 tracks, two of which can be stereo.

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What kind of computers do you own? If you own a Mac, Garageband is really simple to use and it’s already installed. There’s not much to learn if you don’t plan on any fancy production. Not being a Windows fan, I have no idea if something as simple as GB is available for that OS.

Since you need an audio interface for a computer anyway, most come bundled with Ableton Live Lite which is actually really easy to use. I used it for over five years and for me it's far easier to get up to speed than my DR05X is! Again, if you don't need fancy production, there’s not much to learn.

my history with portastudios - i've owned several - is that i'm basically unable to use them well. i am usually a champion direction follower, but zoom and tascam manuals and menus seem to defy my worldview. i once bounced a track that no one, including much more experienced users, could find until it mysteriously turned up LOL

that being said, it does seem more like what i'd want. maybe i can find some tutorials that make it make sense to me. i'm gonna check it out - thanks for the suggestion. btw, i believe even the lowest end DR-05 allows overdubbing, although i could be wrong. but multiple tracks would be perfect.

i'm on a windows 11 PC. all i plan to do is convert things to MP3 after recording or use a video program to edit and add them to videos. my experience with reaper and ableton was that they take more time and focus to learn than i have available.

 

[brianrost]

zoom and tascam manuals and menus seem to defy my worldview.

That’s because digital recorders have so many more settings, options and features than the tape recorders that preceded them. Think about it, with something like a Tascam 424 cassette 4-track you had some knobs, buttons and switches and that was it…NO MENUS. Pop in a tape, set the levels, hit record and off you go. On digital recorders, you have to deal with formatting cards, setting up USB connections, naming songs, blah, blah. It’s just as bad with digital synthesizers, digital cameras, “smart” TVs, etc. The user manuals assume you actually know stuff like what a .wav file is, what different sample rates and bit depths mean. It’s easier to just use your cell phone as your audio recorder and camera.

I own a Yamaha Pocketrak that I bought 15 years ago for $450 and I bought a Tascam DR-05x for $90 2 or 3 years ago…prices have come way down, eh? but I never use it!

The Yamaha needed very little setup, whether I wanted to record as mp3s or WAVs, what mp3 resolution to use and turn off features meant for voice recording rather than music. Once set up, just turn it on, press the Record button, tweak the record levels using the FF and REW buttons, press Record again and it’s recording. When done, hit the stop button and turn off the power. 2GB memory on board, no card needed, enough for a little over 2 hours of WAV but about 20 times that for mp3. It’s built like a thumb drive with a USB plug…no cables needed to connect to a computer. After ejecting from the desktop keep it plugged in and press the FF button to start recharging the battery! It’s smaller than my iPhone, it fits in a pocket or an already stuffed gig bag.

The Tascam requires many more steps before recording starts and requires a USB cable and poking around in a menu to mount it on the computer. I bought the DR05X expecting to never use the Pocketrak again. All the extra features of the Tascam that I thought I would want to make use of turned out to be not worth the trouble. After doing maybe a half dozen recordings with it, I put it in the closet and went back to the Yamaha for recording my rehearsals and gigs.

 

[brianrost]

i believe even the lowest end DR-05 allows overdubbing, although i could be wrong. but multiple tracks would be perfect.

It’s what was called “sound on sound” on open reel tape recorders. While playing back a recording, you can record more audio on top of it and save it as a new file. it’s really just a bounce of the current file while adding new audio on top. Whatever levels you set are baked in forever, there’s no ability to remix like on a multitrack recorder, no EQ or other tweaking. Screw it up and you have to redo the dubbing pass. If you’re brave enough you can dub as many parts as you like because unlike tape there’s no audio deterioration (hiss buildup, etc.). Good luck if you end up doing more than one dub pass and then realize that you need to bring one of the previous dubbed parts up or down. So it works, but it’s primitive to say the least.

 

[Roland GR 88]

The DP-006 mentioned above is very easy to use. If you’ve used a mixer you’ll have no trouble getting tracks done.
There’s no need to go very deep if you just want to fill an SD card with hours of content. The DP series caters to people that don’t need a PC or its capabilities to record well. The SD card can be downloaded into a DAW for editing and other tasks as well.

 

[MuseChaser]

.,.

i'm on a windows 11 PC. all i plan to do is convert things to MP3 after recording or use a video program to edit and add them to videos. my experience with reaper and ableton was that they take more time and focus to learn than i have available.

Maybe give Audacity a try. Freeware, so it can't hurt. I use it for simple stuff (making stupid ring tones, grabbing quick audio clips from YouTube videos, etc.) and it's not feature-rich enough to be a replacement for a good DAW, but it's really easy to learn, sounds fine, and will do everything you need it to do.

In my experience, learning to use some of the standalone mini-production boxes like the Tascams you mentioned is actually harder because of all the menu stuff and button pressing. At least with Audacity, it's all laid out in a big screen right in front of you.

My studio DAW runs Amplitude, which is pretty involved. I just checked out Reaper, and it seems fairly intuitive to me, but I can understand how the interface may initially be overwhelming to a person who hasn't been involved with DAW-based recording.

 

[pcake]

That’s because digital recorders have so many more settings, options and features than the tape recorders that preceded them. Think about it, with something like a Tascam 424 cassette 4-track you had some knobs, buttons and switches and that was it…NO MENUS. Pop in a tape, set the levels, hit record and off you go. On digital recorders, you have to deal with formatting cards, setting up USB connections, naming songs, blah, blah. It’s just as bad with digital synthesizers, digital cameras, “smart” TVs, etc. The user manuals assume you actually know stuff like what a .wav file is, what different sample rates and bit depths mean. It’s easier to just use your cell phone as your audio recorder and camera.

I own a Yamaha Pocketrak that I bought 15 years ago for $450 and I bought a Tascam DR-05x for $90 2 or 3 years ago…prices have come way down, eh? but I never use it!

The Yamaha needed very little setup, whether I wanted to record as mp3s or WAVs, what mp3 resolution to use and turn off features meant for voice recording rather than music. Once set up, just turn it on, press the Record button, tweak the record levels using the FF and REW buttons, press Record again and it’s recording. When done, hit the stop button and turn off the power. 2GB memory on board, no card needed, enough for a little over 2 hours of WAV but about 20 times that for mp3. It’s built like a thumb drive with a USB plug…no cables needed to connect to a computer. After ejecting from the desktop keep it plugged in and press the FF button to start recharging the battery! It’s smaller than my iPhone, it fits in a pocket or an already stuffed gig bag.

The Tascam requires many more steps before recording starts and requires a USB cable and poking around in a menu to mount it on the computer. I bought the DR05X expecting to never use the Pocketrak again. All the extra features of the Tascam that I thought I would want to make use of turned out to be not worth the trouble. After doing maybe a half dozen recordings with it, I put it in the closet and went back to the Yamaha for recording my rehearsals and gigs.

my old tascams were tape. i had issues with anything but the simplest, most obvious things, and they were great for that.

i use sony cameras. some say their menus are impenetrable, but i find their system works well for me, although you need to search through their menus carefully the first time. same with my phone. i suspect my lack of overall understanding of recording is more the issue, including lack of knowledge of some terminology.

for me, youtube tutorials by users can be more help than manufacturer videos - they understand it all too well to grasp what people like me don't understand. i found that to be the case with some video editors, as well. except for quick start guides, which don't include things when needed.

Maybe give Audacity a try. Freeware, so it can't hurt. I use it for simple stuff (making stupid ring tones, grabbing quick audio clips from YouTube videos, etc.) and it's not feature-rich enough to be a replacement for a good DAW, but it's really easy to learn, sounds fine, and will do everything you need it to do.

In my experience, learning to use some of the standalone mini-production boxes like the Tascams you mentioned is actually harder because of all the menu stuff and button pressing. At least with Audacity, it's all laid out in a big screen right in front of you.

My studio DAW runs Amplitude, which is pretty involved. I just checked out Reaper, and it seems fairly intuitive to me, but I can understand how the interface may initially be overwhelming to a person who hasn't been involved with DAW-based recording.

i have used audacity. i could give it another try.

the problem is, i am looking for simple. easy is good, too, but linear is excellent. the manuals for most recorders is far from linear.

 

[brianrost]

pcake,

Audacity is indeed simple and the price is right, but it is not really a DAW like Cubase, Live, Reason, Reaper, Logic, etc. It’s just an audio editor that happens to support multiple tracks. There’s no MIDI capabilities, there’s no real time mixing board interface, there’s limited level metering and it lacks functions like punchins.

It’s perfect for set and forget mono or stereo recordings like rehearsals. Using the mikes in your laptop create an audio track, check the levels, hit record and come back at the end of the rehearsal to stop it. Then you can go in and edit out the dead air and break it up into individual files for each song performed and send the files to your bandmates. You don’t need even need an audio interface until you want to use external mikes and multiple tracks.

For actual multitracking, IMHO it’s actually harder to use in some aspects, like applying EQ, compression, etc. For very simple multitracking like you might do on a portable recorder like the Tascams and Zooms where you won’t be recording more than 4 tracks and you won’t need much manipulation mixing down and exporting the audio, then it does the job.

When I was a radio DJ, I used to prepare my entire show in Audacity. I’d use one track for all the music and canned announcements, then record my DJ spiels on another track. I'd cut and paste together the show, get rid of dead air between songs, even out volumes from song to song, etc. Then I’d export it as a stereo audio file which would then be played from a computer at the station at airtime. It’s really perfect for that sort of stuff.

There are hundreds (thousands?) of tutorial videos all over teh interwebz about how to use it for multitrack recording, podcasting and plain old audio editing.