2488 - anybody tried it?

K

kesterdevine

New member
So, I had just about made the decision to buy the Yamaha AW16G and then Tascam released the 2488. They both fall in my price range and have the 8 simultaneous recording tracks that I need. Owners of the Yamaha certainly rave about it, but now I'm swaying towards the 2488 because it records at 24 bit and offers more tracks. My real hesitation is that it is a brand new product. So, I'm looking for folks who have had some hands on experience. Anybody have one or used one yet? Please share. Thanks.
 
see my post above SWEET MACHINE. i intended that as a reply to you, but i hit new thread by mistake
 
Ordered mine over the weekend (backordered) and am looking foreward to using it. They've addressed nearly all the shortcomings of my 788 at a price that's hard to beat. Made in China.

If you want to find out more go here:

http://www.tascamforums.com/

Plus there's links to the manual etc. there also.
 
So far I like mine, I also have a 788. I've only had it a week and only cut one song on it so I can't tell you alot , however If I were buying any digital recorder I would NOT settle for 16 bit.
24 bit recorders are that much better and reasonably priced now.
Good luck.
 
24-bit resolution

If you are upgrading, 24-bit resolution is the only way to go.

The new soundcards introduced at NAMM this year operate at up to a 192kHz sample rate at 24 bit resolution, and can take advantage of the XP operating system. 48kHz/24-bits is the high-fidelity low end now.
 
95% (or more) of the people on this board do not need 192kHz. I can't see how it will make much of a difference when most people are using monitors under 500 dollars anyways.
 
thanks

I appreciate the feedback. It will probably be another month or so before I'm able to take the plunge. So, I'm certainly interested in continuing to hear from those of you who try out the 2488. Especially, if anyone records acoustic drums with it, since that's my primary goal.

My thinking is that 24 bit will become increasingly important in order to be able to work with files in conjunction with other
musicians and studios. It seems it has certainly become industry standard.

The debate as to whether the average home recordist can hear the difference in bit rate and processing rate will continue for a long time I'm sure.

What I'm looking for most is ease of use and compatibility with other formats etc...and of course sound quality!

Do I understand correctly that with the 2488 the EQ-ing is not done with actually knobs, but has to be done "virtually"?? I'm not sure I will like that. Anybody know about that for sure.

Also, is there separate compression on all the mono channels?

Thanks everybody!
 
There aren't any "per channel" EQ knobs if that's what you're looking for. You can download a couple ver nice hi-res pictures on the Tascam site. The user's manual is also available for download. I found them very helpful.
 
Re: thanks

kesterdevine said:
I appreciate the feedback. It will probably be another month or so before I'm able to take the plunge. So, I'm certainly interested in continuing to hear from those of you who try out the 2488. Especially, if anyone records acoustic drums with it, since that's my primary goal.

My thinking is that 24 bit will become increasingly important in order to be able to work with files in conjunction with other
musicians and studios. It seems it has certainly become industry standard.

The debate as to whether the average home recordist can hear the difference in bit rate and processing rate will continue for a long time I'm sure.

What I'm looking for most is ease of use and compatibility with other formats etc...and of course sound quality!

Do I understand correctly that with the 2488 the EQ-ing is not done with actually knobs, but has to be done "virtually"?? I'm not sure I will like that. Anybody know about that for sure.

Also, is there separate compression on all the mono channels?

Thanks everybody!
Click to expand...

On the initial multitrack recording I really can't tell a difference between 16 bit and 24 bit, but I sure can after prossessing the waveform and taking down to 16 for a cd. A very big difference.
 
I bought my 2488 with acoustic drums in mind. I have only done one recording using just 4 mics, snare, center of rack toms, kick, and a right overhead. [ I plan to add 2 more ]. My initial reation is that if you have a nice sounding kit, and decent mics [ I'm using
sm57's and AKG C3000B,] you will get a good sound however you MUST remember that recording acoustic drums is an art and also a matter of personal taste. The 2488 does have some limitations but is rather flexible at the same time. You have 8 channels of independent compression which can be assigned to any of the 24 tracks. Compression settings can be critical with acoustic drums.
[ you can use 8 mics on your drums and record them simultaneously ] If you plan on using more than 8 mics things will get more complicated with outboard submixers. You can transfer
all 24 track with wav files.[ either on cd or via the 2488 usb port.
All tracks have what you call virtual eqing. I know it sounds scary
when you're used to knobs but I got used to it very quickly and now actually prefer it. Again I would never settle for anything
less than 24bit sampling at at least 44.1k. I know machines are sampling at up to 192k and there is some merit to the higher sampling rate controversy but for the average home recording
enthusiast 24 bit at 44.1 or above is going to be fine. Some people get all hung up on the higher sampling rate and do not pay enough attention to their analog input signals. great mics, pre's. compressors ect at 24bit 44.1K are going to give you a whole lot better overall sound than cheap mics, pre's ect.
At 24bit 96k and above. It's kind of like taking a sharper picture
of an ugly scene. hope this helps, Good luck
 
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