2488

[guitarnate69]

I wanted to know if anyone here has a Tascam 2488 digital recording workstation and if they would recomend it?

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Guitar-Man of mystic numerical equation:]

Just wait a while and more evaluations will be forthcoming as the unit is still pretty new.

One thing I don't like about the unit as I viewed it is the "small" viewing screen.

My 2816 has a nice sized screen and the Korg units appear to have a much bigger screen.

Other remards I've read about the unit are favorable but I've not yet had a unit in real view. For the $$ it seems to be competition for the Korgs and Yams.

Green Hornet

[guitarnate69]

Does anyone know other recorders that can record about 6-8 tracks simultaneously, and that is decently priced?

Also with a hard disk so i can plug it into my computer, but I don't need a built in cd burner.

[philboyd studge]

I'm still on the fence with the 2488 since I upgraded my 788 with v2.2 and a 60gig hard drive. Still, I'm really tired of the time taken with track bouncing and the extra tracks on a 2488 would make things go a lot faster.

Though it's a small screen, it's bigger than the 788. Wish it had a monitor out.

I don't know of another unit in that price range that can record as many tracks simultaneously.

[drummerwalt]

I ordered mine a couple of days ago. I'm supposed to get it by the end of the month. I'm looking forward to it and will let everyone know how it works for me.

[philboyd studge]

Originally posted by drummerwalt
I ordered mine a couple of days ago. I'm supposed to get it by the end of the month. I'm looking forward to it and will let everyone know how it works for me.

Excellent. Let us know all about it.


Seems like a long wait.

[drummerwalt]

Yeah, that's what I thought. MusiciansBuy.com called me after I placed the order online and told me that they sold out of their first batch of 2488's. They are due to receive the next batch of units in mid-March which puts it in my hands at the end of the month I guess.

[jaeden]

i just ordered mine too. musiciansbuy.com called and said it would arrive in there store on the 12th. cant wait. for the same price as musicians friend, it comes with free phones, a condensor mic and cable. there not the best brands, but hey, they're free! i looked at close up pics at the machine and im pretty sure i saw monitor outs. will let you know what i think. i also saw music123.com says they are in stock at their store!!

[xguitar]

I just received my 2488 a few days ago from musiciansbuy and and got the free extras with it too. I was also worried about the screen being too small but it's not really as bad as I thought it might be.

I haven't had much time to mess with it yet but I found out that it was much easier to use than the manual makes it seem. I was studying the manual first and it was confusing.

And Jaeden, there are (balanced) monitor outs.

Anyway, I'm pretty much of an idiot and it will probably take me a few weeks to decide what I like and don't like about it. But, for right now I'm impressed with it.

[jaeden]

awesome. xguitar, when did you actually order it? im getting antsy!! i thought there was monitor jacks, but a post before us said there wasnt.

[xguitar]

Jaeden, I ordered it on 2/15. They told me it would take about 2 to 3 weeks just for them to get it and then they had to ship it to me. But to my surprise I got it on 3/1.

Besides the 1/4" monitor outs it also has stereo RCA's out.

[philboyd studge]

xguitar,
I'm curious, if you plug in a condenser mic direct using the 48v phantom power, how much gain do you have?

[The Green Hornet]

Yo X-Guitar:}

I once had the privilege of listening to Andre Segovia play in Chicago -- WONDERFUL, UNLIKE LES PAUL BUT both very talented.


Phantom power is what gives the condensor mic a way to get volume.

The local mic pre on any unit can increase this volume -- sometimes good, sometimes tinny.

That's why a good mic pre will give you "ALL the best" of the mic.

As well, a good compressor will give you joy -- like the RNC.

No, I don't sell them; I wish I did because then I'd be rich and able to enlarge my studio to outlandish proportions.

Green Hornet

[philboyd studge]

Aye, wearin' O' the Green,

The reason I'm asking is I've used the 788 a bunch of times on remotes and with all the pres and compression and wires, it's a mess. I'd be happy to sacrifice quality for simplicity when it comes to a wanna be lounge act doing covers.

So, if I can plug my condensers straight in with decent gain I'd be happy.

[Cratinus]

phillyboyd and (the soon to appear in a major motion picture) Green Hornet,
i've been demo-ing the 2488 recently. it appears to be almost identical (in philosophy AND build) to the 788. both recorders are capable of 24-bit 44.1 khz recordings. HOWEVER,........the 2488 sounded "cleaner" to me. i was experimenting with the on-board effects and (although the effects are VERY similar to the 788) the 2488 MIXER seemed to have more "headroom" (i could "clip" the 788 with hard effects sends,...i did not notice this problem on the 2488). THEREBY,....it is MY ASSUMPTION that the quality of the "on-board" dynamics of the 2488 will be of a similar "upgraded" quality. perhaps it is the new "Sharc" processor. i don't know. i'd wager that mics plugged straight into the XLR's on the unit would provide FAR better results than the "XLR/Phono" adapters needed on the 788. will the sound be "better" than outboard compressors and pres?? i don't know (actually i DO know....a small squadron of RNC's and RNMP's will kick the crap out of ANY standalone DAW's onboard pre's).....BUT,...i think that the 2488 could probably stand pretty well "on it's own" with a "gaggle" of decent mics at hand. cheers and and "good on yah" and all that. sorry to run but my Italian pasta and Chilean vino (yeah,..i'm a bargain shopper,..but i like it) are waiting. happy overdubbing!!!!

[philboyd studge]

Hmmm, looks like I'm going lighten my personal wealth by 1200 clams.

[guitarnate69]

I was just looking through the musicians friend catalog and saw the Yamaha Aw16G recorder, it looks like it has what I want, but I wanted to know if anyone else owns it or has used it before, and if its any good?

[guitarnate69]

And thanks everyone for your help. I don't have enough money saved up to buy it yet, but i hope to hear how the 2488 works out for whoever is getting it.

[Capt Dunsel]

Originally posted by philboyd studge
.....Though it's a small screen, it's bigger than the 788. Wish it had a monitor out.....

That's why you should wait until the first revision of the 2488. The 788 has an S-video output to connect to a monitor TV. Perhaps TASCAM will put one on the 2488 in the next upgrade?

[philboyd studge]

Originally posted by Capt Dunsel
That's why you should wait until the first revision of the 2488. The 788 has an S-video output to connect to a monitor TV. Perhaps TASCAM will put one on the 2488 in the next upgrade?

No video out on my 788.

[trigger]

There's no video-out on any 788!

[Capt Dunsel]

You both are absolutely correct. I don't know what made me think that it had one!! Too many late night sessions, I guess.

My apologies.