Do I want/need a Model 24?

M

metalmando

New member
Old school member here. Haven't posted in over a decade. Here's the deal. I do not use a DAW for anything and will not. Mainly because I don't have time and interest in getting past the learning curve. So, no Pro Tools or similar. I just work on what goes into the mic, editing as I perform. It can, in itself, be exhausting.
That said, I have owned a Boss BR1600 for many years now. It has lots of bells and whistles I would miss, and many I don't use. I record solo and only at home, tracking my own instruments and vocals. I play most all the acoustic instruments one would associate with Blue Grass and folk music.
Does a Model 24 seem like a good fit for what I do? I want those individual EQs and stuff without menu diving to get them. I have NO patience for learning curve. It appears to be a recording mixer, which could be right up my alley. If I do a serious project, I farm out the final track edits and mastering. Thanks for reading!
 
I have one and as I've mentioned several times in other threads, I absolutely love it and consider it the centerpiece of my music recording rig. I will mention that I use it primarily as an interface and mixer for Studio 1. But I have also recorded to the sound card, and it works flawlessly. All of that said, I think the greatest strength of the "Model" series is it is analog. Nothing digital (at least for me) has ever replaced the tactile feeling of analog faders and even more appealing, analog eq. Something just sonically connects for me with analog consoles and the Tascam is a great analog console. I don't want to make light of the Tascam's other feature though. It's a near-zero latency interface and integrates seamlessly with both Studio 1 and Pro Tools. It has great-sounding soft-knee compression. It has a fabulous reverb/effects section and after all that, it's portable.

Again, and for me, it's the centerpiece of my rig.
 
You probably ought to at least consider the Tascam DP-24/32SD Portastudio(s) before committing - to see which is the best fit for your needs. It's the best sketch-to-demo tool I've owned yet. Very simple to learn and use and plenty powerful in terms of mixing, multi-tracking, on-board effects (compression, reverb, delay, etc) and mastering effects as well.

As I understand it - and I think I do - the "Model" series are a more straight forward live mixer that will record AND act as an interface and control surface for a computer based DAW. Very capable units - just different in terms of application.

Probably worth a look at the DP before you decide.
 
I think the Model 24 would be fine as long as you are doing most of your recording in a linear fashion. The DP24SD does have the "menus" but that's because they add capability. There's no reason to fear them.

If you just want to plug in a mic, hit the record button and go, back up and add another track, etc, then the Model 24 might be perfect. It's like a tape deck without the hassle of threading the reels. That should work fine for acoustic/folk type music. It's not the type of music where you assemble bits and pieces as many do these days. You always have the option of sticking the files into a real DAW if you need to do extensive cut and paste editing.
 
TalismanRich said:
I think the Model 24 would be fine as long as you are doing most of your recording in a linear fashion. The DP24SD does have the "menus" but that's because they add capability. There's no reason to fear them.

If you just want to plug in a mic, hit the record button and go, back up and add another track, etc, then the Model 24 might be perfect. It's like a tape deck without the hassle of threading the reels. That should work fine for acoustic/folk type music. It's not the type of music where you assemble bits and pieces as many do these days. You always have the option of sticking the files into a real DAW if you need to do extensive cut and paste editing.
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That's EXACTLY what I want. Something that thinks it's a tape machine. Thanks.
 
I've never got a clear answer on the Model 24 if the input channels are hard assigned to their respective recording track number or is there flexibility to assign an input to any track like the Tascam 2488NEO can do as well as the DP24SD. The Model 24 manual isn't clear on this and the block diagram doesn't appear show if there is any way to route inputs to tracks. For example if you have a mic connected to input channel 1 and record a track on track 1, can the mic on channel 1 be then assigned to track 2 or do you need to physically change the mic to channel input 2 to record track 2?
 
arcaxis said:
I've never got a clear answer on the Model 24 if the input channels are hard assigned to their respective recording track number or is there flexibility to assign an input to any track like the Tascam 2488NEO can do as well as the DP24SD. The Model 24 manual isn't clear on this and the block diagram doesn't appear show if there is any way to route inputs to tracks. For example if you have a mic connected to input channel 1 and record a track on track 1, can the mic on channel 1 be then assigned to track 2 or do you need to physically change the mic to channel input 2 to record track 2?
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According to a video I watched last night, the tracks are hard-assigned.
 
PorterhouseMusic said:
You probably ought to at least consider the Tascam DP-24/32SD Portastudio(s) before committing - to see which is the best fit for your needs. It's the best sketch-to-demo tool I've owned yet. Very simple to learn and use and plenty powerful in terms of mixing, multi-tracking, on-board effects (compression, reverb, delay, etc) and mastering effects as well.

As I understand it - and I think I do - the "Model" series are a more straight forward live mixer that will record AND act as an interface and control surface for a computer based DAW. Very capable units - just different in terms of application.

Probably worth a look at the DP before you decide.
Click to expand...
I agree. There are a bunch of DAW-less devices that quite honestly are modern-day miracles. The DP-24 is one of them. The point I've always mentioned, however, and which seems to go relatively overlooked (particularly with the Model 24), is its strength, by a long shot, is it's an analog mixer. This may well be a generational thing (who knows) but the luxury of the Model series is analog faders and analog eq. For me, it's a luxurious component. I will take slight exception in labeling the Model 24 as primarily a live mixer. Where one could absolutely use it as a live mixer, it is at its heart a traditional Tascam, albeit perhaps old-school, recording console. It's the hands-to-the-ears sensation that nothing digital has ever provided to me.

Just my 2 cents :)
 
Joseph Hanna said:
I agree. There are a bunch of DAW-less devices that quite honestly are modern-day miracles. The DP-24 is one of them. The point I've always mentioned, however, and which seems to go relatively overlooked (particularly with the Model 24), is its strength, by a long shot, is it's an analog mixer. This may well be a generational thing (who knows) but the luxury of the Model series is analog faders and analog eq. For me, it's a luxurious component. I will take slight exception in labeling the Model 24 as primarily a live mixer. Where one could absolutely use it as a live mixer, it is at its heart a traditional Tascam, albeit perhaps old-school, recording console. It's the hands-to-the-ears sensation that nothing digital has ever provided to me.

Just my 2 cents :)
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I want the analog, man.
 
My Zoom R24 is hard wired, in that input 1 can only go to tracks 1, 9, or 17. However, there is a function where you can simply swap 2 tracks, so rather than moving a microphone plug from input 1 to input 3, you simply swap track 1 for track 3. It moves all track parameters and sequence data. Now you have a blank track on 1 to record. It's something you might look at as it saves a lot of plugging/unplugging. Before I found that, I would hook up my snake so that I didn't run the risk of possibly damaging an XLR plug.

By contrast, with my AW1600, you simply select the input channel, and then link it to the actual target track number. Very simple and clean.

It looks like with the Model 24 you need to do a 2 step bounce to move tracks. There are tutorials on Youtube. Bounce the track to the master, then import it to whatever track you want. It's a bit of a process but once you do it a few times, it will be second nature.
 
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I don't have experience with the Model 24 but I would also recommend you consider the Portastudio (DP24) first. If your use case is recording, it has a major superpower: the optional footswitch. This lets you do punching in and out on the fly while you are alone so smoothly and effectively it's like a second nature. The foot switch has three pedals so you can do start/stop, punch-in, and return to position all from one footswitch. Meanwhile you can have two hands on a keyboard, fiddle, guitar, drumsticks, or whatever.

Besides this, the extra features of the Model 24 (audio interface, live mixing) will probably make noise for you and busy up the menus and interface. If all you need it for is recording, Portastudio is exactly what is needed and no more.
 
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