anyone here use the Akai DPS12?

J

JeffT

New member
Hello,
I have been struggling for awhile with which digital multitracker to purchase.Up until now,the Rolands seemed like the best choice,but I wanted more than 8tracks,and didn't necesarily need 16.(costs around $1499 for their 8track and $2199 for their 16)Wasn't too interested in the Akai before because of the Jaz drive(I heard it was too noisy for one thing).But very soon,Akai is coming out with a repackaged version of the DPS12 with an internal 10 gig hard drive.I've seen it advertised in Musicians Friend for $1299.Sounds like a killer deal.And it gives you 12 tracks uncompressed 16bit 44.1khz,and a physical fader and pan knob for each of the 12 tracks(on the Roland vs1680 some of the faders are shared by two tracks).
So,if you have used the original DPS12,I am curious how you like it?Looking for any info i can get on the reliability and quality of these machines.Or lack of.I'm not finding much info in my web searching.My goal with a digital studio is to write songs with electric guitar and drum machine(and I like to overdub lots of guitar tracks ),and make high quality cd's when all done.I have been recording with a Tascam 4track...but i'm wanting to move into digital for more tracks,more flexibility,and less fighting with noise and loss of high frequencies like you get with cassette recording.Also would like to be able to sync the drum machine so i can put more effort into programming the drums after laying the guitar and bass tracks.
I don't think my 233mhz pentium pc has the ballz to do what I want consistently or i'd be looking into that option.
Welcome all suggestions or comments.
Thanks,
JT
 
decko,
Hi,thanks for the reply.I'm not finding very much info online about the akai recorders.I had been to the site you suggested,but I will go back and read it all a little more thoroughly.Are there any major(or minor) gripes you have about this machine?For example i've heard on the Rolands that the mic preamps aren't the greatest,the jogwheel can get glitchy after awhile,and it takes forever to make an image file to burn to cd,then if you want to make another copy of that cd,you can't just save the image file,you have to go through the whole process all over again.I imagine it is probably going to be the same with all the cd-capable recorders currently on the market,but if you have used your Akai to burn a cd,I am curious how well it works?
I am also interested in the new DAW that Yamaha is coming out with.
http://yamaha.com/cgi-win/webcgi.exe/DsplyModel/?gDAW00008AW4416
But i'm sure it will be ALOT more expensive than the akai's.
thanks,
JT
 
I don't really know how the Akai stacks up to other devices, since the only other one I've really used is the Yamaha MT4X. I don't really have any gripes about my recorder. I have heard some problems with the JAZZ drive models because the JAZZ drive makes a lot of noise as it's spinning and your mics will pic up the noise. But, from what I've read, Akai will replace the JAZZ drive with a 2.3 gig (not sure on the size) internal hard drive for free if you send it in. I'm not exactly sure about this though. I also can't help you with the CD-R question either, since I just mix my stuff down to MD using the digital out of the device. I know you can use various CD-R's with the AKAI unlike the Roland. Another nice feature is that you can download the MESA editor for free which allows you to use your computer with your DPS system. The newer DPS12i comes with a much larger hard drive (around 10gigs I think?), so this will probably jack up the price a bit. The effects on the DPS isn't as extensive as the Roland. It has no amp or mic modeling like the Roland. But, it's got your basics. Stereo and mono effects including chorus, various reverbs, delays, compression, parametric EQ, rotary speaker, tape echo, flange, phaser, pitch shift, expander, wah, and a few others. If you need another source, try www.onelist.com. They've got a discussion group about the AKAI DPS. Hope this helps. I'm still pretty new to the DPS myself and recording in general, but I like it. It's pretty straightforward.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top