New DP-32

Pitti, I read you post about missing things on DP-24 and looks like DP-32 is following the same path.

Couldn't read the german version of the manual but looks like a DP-24 with extra stereo tracks. For sure is missing digital I/O.

32 tracks with 8 INs make it a studio machine. I can't understand why extra stereo tracks without any s-pdif IN on today's digital reality, most keyboard, serious effects, mixers, drum machines and so has s-pdif out. A good deal would be 8 analog INs with a least 2 s-pdif INs to make sense. May be, also a digital send :) which is the only thing that is missing on Neo.

I love my 2488 Neo !!!
 

More images here:
Tascam DP32 at Tascam Japan

To be honest I'm not sure I get the point. There appear to be no differences between the DP32 and the DP24 other than the fact that 8 tracks have been added. There are less MONO tracks now: 8 mono and 12 stereo. They squeezed in an extra 2 faders. No digital IN/OUT or monitor interface. Kind of a strange "big brother" to the R24. 8 more tracks is always good...but you'd have thought that might "bump it up" with a few really impressive improvements. Maybe Zoom has a new 32 tracker about the hit the market and Tascam just wanted to get something out there in a hurry. Hmmmm.
 
Me: Outside Looking In...

Ok, it's an impressive machine, but here's what I don't get:
Why the linked stereo tracks?
Isn't that a fairly obvious limitation of these units?
Is there a way to seperately record the tracks?
Can you record a pair of mono tracks and shift them over to the paired fader?
Is there really that much utility for a stereo track?
Is it for stereo keyboard sounds and guitar effects?
Stereo room mics?

I mean, I'm not dense. I have my own ideas, but I've always regarded it as a limitation more than a feature.

Please enlighten me.

Thanks

PS: In the upper right corner you can click to translate the page into English.

:spank::eek:;)
 

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I agree with all above and add : How 32 tracks/48/24 will work with SD cards ? What about the cost of super fast SD cards per GBytes, at least for now.

Yes there is a English version....

On Euro Tascam 2488 Neo is listed as discontinued product while on Tascam.com is still there. It's a shame. I still qualify Neo the Pro version of these portastudios.
 
Regardless of the Tascam website,...

the 2488Neo is discontinued here, too. All the dealer's new stock is either gone or on a "use-til-gone" basis. There's still some new stock floating around there, but F/I musiciansfriend dot com has the Neo listed as "1-used available". Searching thru Amazon might turn up more new stock, but it's hit and miss at this point. Product life cycle of these units is frighteningly short!
:spank::eek:;)
 
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Actually, Amazon turned up nothing for 2488 Neo,...

but americanmusical com turns up the NEO @ $549 "In Stock" and
zzounds com turns up the NEO @ $549 "Only 1 Left!" and likewise
samedaymusic com turns up the NEO @ $549 "Only 1 Left!"
bhphotovideo com turns up the NEO as "No Longer Available"

There may be others to search & find, but I'll bet it's much the same thing everywhere you look.

Of course that doesn't exclude finding new 2488 Neo's on eBay from lesser gear suppliers. YMMV.

Bye bye 2488 Neo, & hello DP-24!!!

:spank::eek:;)
 
Newer doesn't always equal Better,...

but that's progress for you!

There have been good products that have come and gone in a flash. There have been product features that were phased out in successive generations. There have been some improvements and some corners cut, on balance I'm not sure what's more, one or the other.

F/I, there may have been people who were absolutely in love with the original 2488's SMF player capability, embedded drum patterns, etc. Gone!

There was a forward looking product called the PS5, Pocketstudio 5. Why "5"? It was a 4-traker hand held that had an embedded midi arranger/player. Next generation never came out, but was replaced by the DP-004, 4 tracker with data format improvements, but the Midi arranger/player feature of the PS5 went "poof"!

... and on & on it goes!

I'm still of the mind that the Tascam 246 and 388 were pinnacles of engineering, gone the way of the Do-Do-Bird ages ago! In technology terms that's ancient history!

:spank::eek:;)
 
Back OT,...

the DP-32 looks like a decent unit, FWIW.

I think the DP-24/32's color screen and strategic knobs are a marked improvement from the 2488 series, but then there were valuable things dropped from that series too. That's from me, a non-user, an outsider looking in.

Not sure I'll pop for a DP- any time soon, or at all, but I'd not dismiss it out of hand.

:spank::eek:;)
 
While Neo is disappearing we can see like 16 used DP-24 on MFriends gently used. Isn't a lot of returns for such recent launched and great machine ?

"Product life cycle of these units is frighteningly short!"

It frighteningly short on production but the features tell me how long it really survives, with good care I'll give a long life for My Neo because for me there is nothing like it or better for the price range, already get spare Hard Disk :)

I don't believe on trow away what you have and buy the new one. I believe that while it works for me I'll keep it.

Do you know BOSS SE-70 a do everything multi effect, including vocoder and guitar synth ? It last for a few months. (1993, 20 years ago product) Boss stop the production and then launch a few modules that together never did the same SE-70 did and does. SE-70 was TOO GOOD for the price, "let's stop it" :) Still a great box ! $150 - $200 on Ebay. I will never stop using it.

I'm sure I will have to upgrade my computer, software a few times but still have my Neo running .....
 
but that's progress for you!

There have been good products that have come and gone in a flash. There have been product features that were phased out in successive generations. There have been some improvements and some corners cut, on balance I'm not sure what's more, one or the other.

F/I, there may have been people who were absolutely in love with the original 2488's SMF player capability, embedded drum patterns, etc. Gone!

There was a forward looking product called the PS5, Pocketstudio 5. Why "5"? It was a 4-traker hand held that had an embedded midi arranger/player. Next generation never came out, but was replaced by the DP-004, 4 tracker with data format improvements, but the Midi arranger/player feature of the PS5 went "poof"!

... and on & on it goes!

I'm still of the mind that the Tascam 246 and 388 were pinnacles of engineering, gone the way of the Do-Do-Bird ages ago! In technology terms that's ancient history!

:spank::eek:;)

The ability to create backing tracks in the Pocketstudio 5, and MIDI drum tracks in the original 2488 Mk I were great tools for songwriting...I was a Pocketstudio 5 user, and upgraded to the original 2488 Mk I when it first came out...and still use it today, including those handy drum tracks! Yes, we do ultimately add real drums when we track the final version of the song, but when you're writing and developing something new, those patterns are handy.

Although the DP-32 looks interesting at first, I think the choice to drop 4 mono tracks and add more stereo tracks is a poor one. Yes, you can take two mono tracks and move them onto a linked pair, but now they're on a single fader...if you want to raise or lower one of those tracks during your mixdown, it's taking the linked track along for the ride (at least on 2488). I use the linked tracks on my 2488 for drums, keys, and effect returns (i.e., vocal reverbs), where I want them to be adjusted together, and use my 12 mono tracks for vocals, rhythm, lead, bass...which are all adjusted individually. I'd rather keep and maintain my 2488 than to migrate to DP-32 and lose 4 of my mono tracks.
 
The DP-32 has the option to switch every stereo-track to mono (Manual S.42). Total then there are 20 mono-tracks usable. Of course this is really the only difference to the DP-24.
 
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Wow! Thank you! That at least is...

a forward looking and handy feature!...

albeit at the expense of knocking your total track count down.

:spank::eek:;)
 
The DP-32 has the option to switch every stereo-track to mono (Manual S.42). Total then there are 20 mono-tracks usable. Of course this is really the only difference to the DP-24.

Assigning a input to both channels of a stereo track can make 18 mono (loose 6 tracks) tracks on Neo , 12 real mono. I think is the same on DP-24. Against 20 mono, loose 12, 8 real mono on Dp-32. The difference on DP-32 will be to have only one PAN for that "mono stereo" track ?

On Neo its possible with just one step assign mono tracks to any side of any stereo track once all tracks are really "free to put anywhere" virtual tracks and can easily be assigned wherever you want, and named.

If DP-32 has the same DP-24 concept for virtual tracks, with only 8 mono inputs, to free mono tracks, will be more copy or move to stereo tracks once the 8 virtual tracks belongs to that track and cannot be assign to another. I'm I right ?
 
Assigning a input to both channels of a stereo track can make 18 mono (loose 6 tracks) tracks on Neo , 12 real mono. I think is the same on DP-24. Against 20 mono, loose 12, 8 real mono on Dp-32. The difference on DP-32 will be to have only one PAN for that "mono stereo" track ?

On Neo its possible with just one step assign mono tracks to any side of any stereo track once all tracks are really "free to put anywhere" virtual tracks and can easily be assigned wherever you want, and named.

If DP-32 has the same DP-24 concept for virtual tracks, with only 8 mono inputs, to free mono tracks, will be more copy or move to stereo tracks once the 8 virtual tracks belongs to that track and cannot be assign to another. I'm I right ?

Exactly. Most I wonder that the DP-24 doesn't bring some of the missing Neo Features back. I wrote Tascam and suggest to improve the DP-24 firmware by adding a shortcut for mono-monitoring, possibility to clone mastertracks, mixerreset for new projects, named tracks and marks and some others.
How I said, the DP24/32 color screen is pretty lovely and the handling of the SD-card is also very very useful, but on the other hand it lacks many useful things. E.g. I found that the possibility to name any tracks and marks on the Neo is for me extreme important. I use it on every project.
I'm happy to own the Neo :)

Regards from Berlin
Pitti
 
I don't believe on throw away what you have and buy the new one. I believe that while it works for me I'll keep it.

Do you know BOSS SE-70 a do everything multi effect, including vocoder and guitar synth ? It last for a few months. (1993, 20 years ago product) Boss stop the production and then launch a few modules that together never did the same SE-70 did and does. SE-70 was TOO GOOD for the price, "let's stop it" :) Still a great box ! $150 - $200 on Ebay. I will never stop using it.

I'm sure I will have to upgrade my computer, software a few times but still have my Neo running .....

I agree with adr, there is a lot of older gear that still does a great job and can be had for bargain prices that make me a frugal happy man.
 
...

When is the DP-32 supposed to be officially released in the US?

I see the DP-24 selling for $599 now, but the the DP-32 advance sales @ $899.

Do you think the price bump is worth the upgrade?

I'm not one for just popping for the latest thing, but I do like the look of the DP-32.

Maybe "32" is the magic number for me?

I've seen no actual release date yet. Only a few sites are listing advanced sales.

I also see it's MSRP is $1299, which for me in any case is a no-go.

Any ideas about this since last time?

:spank::eek:;)
 
Sweetwater says they have it in stock:

TASCAM DP-32 | Sweetwater.com

$899 out the door.

I am still bewildered by the product itself. I guess if you need an excessive number of stereo tracks (multiple stereo synths, etc) it might be worth it. I think I'd prefer the track arrangement of the DP24 (12 mono and 6 stereo). The DP32 has 8 mono and 12 stereo (with no other apparent improvements over the DP24). Weird. Cheers.
 
Yeah,...

Sweetwater says they have it in stock:

TASCAM DP-32 | Sweetwater.com

$899 out the door.

I am still bewildered by the product itself. I guess if you need an excessive number of stereo tracks (multiple stereo synths, etc) it might be worth it. I think I'd prefer the track arrangement of the DP24 (12 mono and 6 stereo). The DP32 has 8 mono and 12 stereo (with no other apparent improvements over the DP24). Weird. Cheers.
I agree with you on that, but based on what was posted above, the 12 "stereo" tracks & faders can be reassigned as mono, with an accompanying track count drop that it would bring. I've never seen the real utility of "stereo" tracks. Seems like a real compromise to do that. More dedicated mono tracks would have been my design choice, too. Most of the All-in-One'rs seem to dish up a lot of compromises that larger discrete systems do not. F/I, with an analog MSR-24 you may record 24-simul mono tracks, but I know that's reaching pretty far back to show that contrast.

It's too hard to tell, but I wonder if the DP-32 will end up as a little sold odball product, such as the SX-1 seemed to be, vs the 2488 and now the DP-24 seeming to sell like hotcakes. With that being said, I like the DP-24 and DP-32, but I'm not sure I can see myself literally owning one at this point, vs sticking with stuff I already have in the closet or sitting around the house. Things could change if I found myself suddenly flush with cash. If that were the case, I'm not sure if I'd pop for the reasonably priced 24 vs. the big bump to get into the 32. Only time will tell.

:spank::eek:;)
 
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