Tascam 788 Digital Portastudio

[jim ervin]

Does anyone have any experience with the Tascam 788 digital portastudio?
If so, what are some good reasons to buy it?
What do you like about it?
What do you dislike about it?

Thanks,
Jim

[drstawl]

I almost bought that last week. When I downloaded the manual and pretended I just bought one and was trying to figure out how to work it, I was less than impressed with the interface. The specs make it seem like a pretty useful 8-track tracking solution, but I'm scared that it's not ready for prime time. When TASCAM does get this product together I think it's gonna rock. Probably will have a whole lot more capability for the same price. When they arrive at the same ease of use and logical arrangement of the controls as they have in the CDRW-5000 I'll be more interested.
Have I bought another multitracker? No, I'm still looking.

[jim ervin]

I saw the 788 in Musician's Friend (for $899.99) and I downloaded a cut sheet of it. It sounded pretty impressive. I currently own/use a Korg D8 digital 8-track which I like a lot. The big thing (to me) that the Tascam has and the Korg doesn't have is the use of virtual tracks for any retakes or alternate takes. The big downside I found with the Tascam, however is you're very limited to what CD recorders you can use to backup your work.

[JeffT]

At Tascam's website,you can download the manual,and quickstart guides for the 788 plus they have a forum dedicated to the 788.I think the address is tascam.com.
There are some users on their forum that may be able to answer questions.I would prefer to have more than 8 tracks,but i'm considering this machine because of Tascam's support and it looks pretty simple to use.