Akai DPS-12 or Tascam 788 or... What?

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OrganMiscreant

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I'm fairly new to all of this, so can someone explain the advantages of the Akai DPS-12 versus the Tascam 788 or something else that'll work for me?

Here's what I need:
6 simultaneous input tracks.
Built-in effects
Internal hard drive (the bigger the better)
SCSI connectors so I can mix to a CD recorder, if I like.
Something that's simple to understand
Something I can get on eBay for $400 or less.

What I'd *like*:
Even more simultaneous input tracks (preferably 8)
The ability to use my Behringer ADA8000 to send more tracks in

What else should I be looking for?

Thanks, gang.
 
I have a Korg D16, http://www.korg.com/d16 which has 8 balanced analog ins, stereo digital ins and outs (optical), and can be found now for very cheap on E-Bay. I have a SCSI CDRW hooked up to it for importing/exporting, and burning cd's. Works great. Many D16 users have upgraded their HD's to 40 and 60 gig units as well. Your Behringer won't work to expand the inputs on a Korg, but could be used in place of the 8 D16 line/mic ins. By the way, the unit also has waveform editing, a touch view screen (which really makes it user friendly), and is only 14 inches wide, so it fits easily into a laptop bag for portability. Something to consider ...
 
Use the *search* function above, Organ. You'll find loads of past discussion of these machines and other similar models.

J.
 
futurestar said:
I have a Korg D16, http://www.korg.com/d16 which has 8 balanced analog ins, stereo digital ins and outs (optical), and can be found now for very cheap on E-Bay. I have a SCSI CDRW hooked up to it for importing/exporting, and burning cd's. Works great. Many D16 users have upgraded their HD's to 40 and 60 gig units as well. Your Behringer won't work to expand the inputs on a Korg, but could be used in place of the 8 D16 line/mic ins. By the way, the unit also has waveform editing, a touch view screen (which really makes it user friendly), and is only 14 inches wide, so it fits easily into a laptop bag for portability. Something to consider ...
Click to expand...

Thanks, FutureStar. I've started looking into the D16.

- Blair
 
I'd also take a look at the Yamaha AW16G and the Tascam 2488 if you have a little more to spend. Good luck!
 
futurestar said:
I'd also take a look at the Yamaha AW16G and the Tascam 2488 if you have a little more to spend. Good luck!
Click to expand...

The 2488 definitely seems to be beyond my budget. The AW16G probably is, too, unless I get very lucky. It does look pretty sweet, too, since it'd be fairly easy to export the tracks to CD, then edit them on the computer, if I wanted.

Thanks again,

Blair
 
Just thought I'd mention - someone from the Yahoo Korg D16 Users Group is selling one of his two D16's if your interested. (I think he wants about $400 U.S.)
 
Korg D16

futurestar said:
Just thought I'd mention - someone from the Yahoo Korg D16 Users Group is selling one of his two D16's if your interested. (I think he wants about $400 U.S.)
Click to expand...

Thanks, FutureStar, but I have one heading my way in the next week or so.

By the way, can you - or anyone! - tell me what kind of CD writer I should buy to hook up to this? Also, how easy is replacing the hard drive, should I want to upgrade at some point? And is there a specific brand I should look for? How large a hard drive can they take?
 
First of all, I'd suggest you join the Yahoo d16 users group, or at least scan through the posts:
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/KorgD16/
Also:
http://www.korgstudios.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=6

There is a list of CDRW's you can use on the Korg website:
http://www.korg.com/d16

As far as hard drives, 60 gig is the largest I know of so far. There's an installation pdf available somewhere on the korg boards - just do a search for Hard drive upgrade.

By the way, did you get a good deal?

Peace
 
futurestar said:
First of all, I'd suggest you join the Yahoo d16 users group, or at least scan through the posts:
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/KorgD16/
Also:
http://www.korgstudios.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=6

There is a list of CDRW's you can use on the Korg website:
http://www.korg.com/d16

As far as hard drives, 60 gig is the largest I know of so far. There's an installation pdf available somewhere on the korg boards - just do a search for Hard drive upgrade.
Click to expand...

Thanks, FutureStar!

futurestar said:
By the way, did you get a good deal?
Click to expand...

Pretty reasonable, I thought. I mean, small hard disk and no CD writer, but I got it in the low $300 range. And with free shipping.
 
That's a great deal! Does it have the 2.1 gig drive or the 4.3? Either way, you can swap it for a 30-60 gig for cheap, and likely get a burner for about $75 or less on E-Bay.
 
I had the Korg d8...but I upgraded to the Akai dps16 the Akai is so much more and it came with a 30g hard drive.
 
The Akai units are really good - a step up from the d16 - but you won't find one for sale in the $300-400 price range. (Not that I'm aware of anyway). I think budget considering, the D16 is a great unit. I had the d8 at one time also (before upgrading to the d16), and the d16 is far superior to the d8. (16 and 24 bit recording/waveform editing/virtual tracks/import/export/lots of effects, etc). Having said that, the Akai units are closer to pro level for sure. These days my Korg serves me as an idea/pre production machine - I have a PC rig for more serious tracking.
 
The Akai units are really good - a step up from the d16 - but you won't find one for sale in the $300-400 price range. (Not that I'm aware of anyway). I think budget considering, the D16 is a great unit. I had the d8 at one time also (before upgrading to the d16), and the d16 is far superior to the d8. (16 and 24 bit recording/waveform editing/virtual tracks/import/export/lots of effects, etc). Having said that, the Akai units are closer to pro level for sure. These days my Korg serves me as an idea/pre production machine - I have a PC rig now for more serious tracking.
 
futurestar said:
That's a great deal! Does it have the 2.1 gig drive or the 4.3? Either way, you can swap it for a 30-60 gig for cheap, and likely get a burner for about $75 or less on E-Bay.
Click to expand...

It's the 2.1. I'll probably upgrade to a 30-60 GB hard drive.

I looked at the list of compatible CD burners. Any brand you'd recommend?
 
futurestar said:
The Akai units are really good - a step up from the d16 - but you won't find one for sale in the $300-400 price range. (Not that I'm aware of anyway). I think budget considering, the D16 is a great unit. I had the d8 at one time also (before upgrading to the d16), and the d16 is far superior to the d8. (16 and 24 bit recording/waveform editing/virtual tracks/import/export/lots of effects, etc). Having said that, the Akai units are closer to pro level for sure.
Click to expand...

Every once in awhile, someone gets lucky and spots someone who's just put one up w/a Buy-It-Now that's *way* under market value. Of course, who knows what kind of shape it's really in? (Which can be said for most things on eBay.)

The DPS16 (and 12) were on my list of things to look for, but I just didn't get lucky and get one in my price range.
 
OrganMiscreant said:
It's the 2.1. I'll probably upgrade to a 30-60 GB hard drive.

I looked at the list of compatible CD burners. Any brand you'd recommend?
Click to expand...

I have a Yamaha CRW4416SX that I bought on E-Bay about 2 years ago for $70. Works great. The are quite a few options, and they're all cheap because no one users SCSI burners anymore. Here's a list off the Korg site:

CDRW drives:

Glyph GLTC1N-16 (Yamaha 2100 internal mechanism built into an external case)

Glyph T61D07 (Yamaha 8424 internal mechanism built into an external case)

Glyph T61D08 (Plextor 12432 internal mechanism built into an external case)

Plextor PX-W12432Te/SW

Plextor PX-W124Tse

Plextor PX-W8220Te

Yamaha CRW2100SX

Yamaha CRW8824SX

Yamaha CRW8424SX

Yamaha CRW6416SX

Yamaha CRW4416SX

Mitsubishi chemical media MKRWT4BP

Caravelle data system RW-8424S

IO Data CDRWD-RX1210J

IO Data CDRW-SX1610B


[Each manufacturer lists the most recent model first.]
 
The Toshiba MK6021GAS is a popular upgrade HD with the D16 - there are quite a few others by Toshiba, and also a couple of others brands that I can't remember off hand. Korg doesn't endorse upgrading the internal drive, but tons of people have done it without any problems.
 
OrganMiscreant said:
What I'd *like*:
Even more simultaneous input tracks (preferably 8)
The ability to use my Behringer ADA8000 to send more tracks in

What else should I be looking for?
Click to expand...

This effectively narrows it down to only two choices, Fostex VF16 or the newer version VF160.
 
PeteHalo said:
This effectively narrows it down to only two choices, Fostex VF16 or the newer version VF160.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was hoping someone would name an option besides those, since the normal going rate on eBay for a VF16 was over my budget.
 
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