Tascam DP-004 Portastudio

[birddog]

I'm at the point I think I need to get something to do some recording, if for nothing else to be able to listen to myself, so I can see where I need improvement.
Mostly acoustic guitar, something small, fairly inexpensive, decent quality & simple. I have always had a weakness for knobs and hate menus.
Been reading the reviews and most are favorable.
Anybody try one yet ?

http://www.tascam.com/products/dp-004.html

Wally

[CashWiley]

I have a Fostex MR8HD that I love, but it's bulkier than that unit. Given the changes in tech since I bought it, recording to SD would be so much nicer, assuming it can do the SDHC (high capacity). You can get 32GB cards that are almost as big as the HDD on my unit!

The only downside I see is the limitation of 2 1/4" ins. The Fostex is bigger, but it's got 4 dual inputs, either 1/4" or XLR with phantom, and I mostly use the XLR ins.

[texas blues]

I've got a DP-01fX/cd. Pretty user friendly with a mix of some menu and lots of knobs in a usual board/mixer layout. Has 2 lo and 2 hi impedance inputs and from 8 to 12 channels not counting bouncing. Built in wham whams and zuzu's galore. It's very plug in and go. I think I paid around $300 and change on sale last year at GC. Burns right to CD with built in mp3 converter. Easy peasy.

Cheers, TB.

[birddog]

Thanks for the replies.
I've been thinking about getting something like this for a while, sometimes it makes my head hurt. The more I think about it, I think small and portable for my first one for what I want it for.
I've sure makes decisions easier when you know someone that has what you are looking for.
Read another review I found yesterday and really wish I had speakers at work. And at home we are still stuck with dial up so I can't listen on the computer.

Any chance I can get someone on hear to listen to some of the samples on this review and let me know what they think ?
http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2008/05 ... eview.html

Something like this would be better for me to start & it has an SD, I could take it anywhere
especially if I can get my confidence together and go to Fur Peace next summer

Wally

[Bournio]

It sounds a bit midrange-y but overall pretty good really!
The MJH song, the guitar comes across really nicely. And I'm not sure if it's the singing, but the vocals seem to have a lot of bottom mids, but i'm guessing thats his voice!

[birddog]

Hey, thanks man !

[Bournio]

No worries... i was tempted to be a geek and run it through different headphones and my monitors and my pc speakers. but i couldn't be arsed for that!

[stumblin]

Birddog, did you get that DP-004 yet? If so, what's it like?
I've been looking at these, about £150 + a tenner for the mains power supply seems like excellent value.
I'm thinking that Tascam is a brand-name I'd associate with reasonable quality music recording gear, having used their old cassette tape portastudio back in the day.
And, man, that price tag! A hundred and fifty quid. I can actually afford that right now!
Please someone tell me to do it before Mrs. Stumblin' finds out

[Bournio]

Go for it, it's a tascam. what more needs to be said! I have a tape portastudio still. I love it, it's ace.

[stumblin]

Well, I've ordered it. It should arrive tomorrow.
One little catch in the deal is the mains power supply, which is sold separately. That won't arrive until probably mid-week next week. Still, I can play with it on battery power until then.
I'll let you know how I get on, and might even post some recordings.

[stumblin]

The device arrived today. It's a neat little package, about a quarter the size of the old cassette tape version.
Now I've got to read the manual!
Hopefully, I'll be able to produce some recordings over the next few days. I'll let you know how I get on with it.

[stumblin]

Getting used to it, it's pretty simple to use.
The one major drawback is that the screen is small, with tiny text and is unlit
Apart from that, it's absolutely fine as long as I've got my specs and maglite to hand. I still haven't produced any recordings of publishable quality yet, but I guess it's early days.
If you're looking for a cheapish, decent quality portastudio, the Tascam DP-004 is pretty good in my book.