R
RAMI
Guest
Never had a problem with the 2488. Great machine that worked perfectly for me for 7 years.
N
Noney
New member
So far, I'm loving it. At this point I'm using it as a straight multitrack recorder (meaning I'm using external hardware mic preamps, compressors and fx). The interface is very intuitive and well laid out, the unit is very solid and well built, and the color screen really makes a huge difference. I never realized how much eye strain I was experiencing with the old lcd screens until now. After I finish tracking I'll start mixing and pushing the unit a lot harder, but for now I'm really, really happy with it. The best word I can think of to describe it is "clean". Both the hardware and the software are clutter-free and no menu is more than a couple of button presses away. I have to keep reminding myself this thing only costs $500 because there really is a huge amount of recording and mixing horsepower under the hood for a comparatively modest amount of money. I'll be taking it on the road in the near future, so I'll see how the built-in preamps and compressors perform in a "live" situation.
So far, very happy and two thumbs-up.
Rolf Fiesel
New member
does a brand new one.. come with the new firm ware ? 1.02
Rolf Fiesel
New member
well maybe selling something that needs upgrade firmware...what is wrong with Tascam releasing such crap... and they probably knew it.. people, its self explanatory.... and after a flawless 2488neo ???
R
RustyAxe
New member
Crap? How can Tascam install the latest firmware once the unit has left the manufacturing facility? And if it's on the shelf at a wholesaler or retailer would you expect them to open every box and update the software? Really? Firmware upgrades are free and easy (even a bass player can do it) and are intended to be accomplished by the user. You must be living under rock ... every electronic device with firmware updates works this way if the firmware is updated after the unit is manufactured and packed.
Rolf Fiesel
New member
They,, knew there where bugs in it and pushed it out anyways..
under a rock ?? been in this business since 1985 ?? .... if it was bata tested the right way in the first place,,there would be no need for this conversation.... firmware updates for maybe improvement of some sort... but not when you first bought it... freezing of this machine...even after the updates.. customer where complaining that the had other issues with this unit.(eq not saved).. people sending them back I droves... this is a big stain in the portastudio industry..File:Tascam PortaStudio 424 MKII crop.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Rolf Fiesel
New member
Product: DP-24 | TASCAM
4 updates...including one as soon as you buy it...spells trouble...
4 updates...including one as soon as you buy it...spells trouble...
R
RustyAxe
New member
Rolf, if you don't actually OWN the DP-24, then take your ax and grind it somewhere else. The vast majority of DP-24 users are perfectly happy with it. Every issue I encountered was fixed by new firmware releases. Four updates in the short time this has been on the market shows that Tascam responds to user problems with fixes. You're way off base, Rolf ...
SteveAlton
Member
I have had my DP24 for almost 2 years now. (I have one of the first units)...best $599 I EVER SPENT....So easy to use....quality rocks the house...Gorgeous...updates fixed initial issues....It does what I want, when I want & how I want.....
Funny how people cry about great machines like this....I paid more $ for my AKAI 6 track cassette recorder, that yielded marginal results at best....I paid 5 times that amount for my ADAT, MACKIE MIXER & DAT Machine total recording set-up for 8 tracks that wasn't close to being as pristine as my DP24...
Love this machine.....heck on a STUPID DEAL OF THE DAY, you can get it for $399
Rolf Fiesel
New member
no Iam not way off base rustaxe,,, its the truth ...people have sent them back because of this .
.. Tascam has pulled this.. and right now... and who are you to judge ??.. on my yes insider news ....
and why should they tell the public ??? if it wasn't for this forum nobody would know... mark my words. Firmware glitches has killed the Tascam star .. if not close to it.. i had a Neo for 4 years with no glitches.. what know ???.
ax and grind.... LOL
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wavewarrior
New member
Great DAW, sounds nice, looks nice, easy to get around and fast.
Been using my DP24 for the past 6 months and it been working great so far.
My only gripes about it are it only has two effect sends and no ability to connect to a larger monitor screen.
If Tascam released a new unit with three sends and an external monitor connection, I'd buy it on the spot, no questions asked!
Been using my DP24 for the past 6 months and it been working great so far.
My only gripes about it are it only has two effect sends and no ability to connect to a larger monitor screen.
If Tascam released a new unit with three sends and an external monitor connection, I'd buy it on the spot, no questions asked!
G
gnelson1948
New member
nothing surprises me, but if I was you I would look at the computer software for recording, I bought the DP24 in 2012, and I wish I had did more research. I had the Tascam 16 track tape unit from 1984 I sold it in 2011 thinking I was moving to a smaller house, now I regret that greatly. If I could do it over again I would buy the recording software for my computer, its easier to use and you have a multitude of options to use or not use. With my DP24 there are just too many little crappy things that occur, like read errors out of the blue, sometimes you have to save the file twice because it had an error. these things didn't start until I had 100 or so hours on this unit. I used to love Tascam but I really do not care for this unit. if I could get my $800 back I would buy the computer recording software....
Gary..
Gary..
Rolf Fiesel
New member
now with all the firmware bugs fixed... I might just grab one up at Long & M and. ask them about the price drop...
B
BDaddy327
New member
But seriously, folks. If you've been tinkering with digital music production tools since the SynClavier era, and the Moog corporation, you have probably become as frustrated as everyone with trying to keep up with the software required to "optimize" a "near-zero latency" computer system beyond 3 tracks of vocals. I won't even talk about the "TRUE" hard drive specs that most "real" DAW software systems need to achieve reasonable fidelity within the 24-bit arena (anywhere from 44.4 to 192K in most applications).
After designing, building, and implementing systems for many FORTUNE 100 organizations over the past 20+ years, I DON'T WANT TO SPEND MORE TIME SYSTEM ENGINEERING THAN RECORDING IN MY HOME STUDIO!!!!
For all of us whom the Grammy Nomination Committee haven't contacted, good, clean digital files are the organic materials that any good DAW benefits from starting a project/song with. However, in a complete twist of irony, and theoretical contradictions, a DAW may not always be the "best" option for capturing that raw material for various reasons, beyond the control of the engineer, or the DAW creator.
I have followed many threads within this forum that argue about the limitations of the DP-32/24 with regard to digital outs (spdif, etc). You're totally missing the point. And, to some extent, I applaud Tascam for not being ashamed of appearing "inadequate" in the amateur/low-end professional recording locker room, and releasing a "relic" with no digital outs. Smart move.
It would have been a waste of money for Tascam to introduce any other method of externalizing their tracks with the capabilities of both USB-based file transfer options, and the AudioDepot concept of making fully DAW-compatible wave files at slightly better than CD-quality, transferable via SDHC cards. Brilliant move to advance the PortaStudio product line, and the perfect solution for the MUSICIAN/PERFORMER who actually "DO" what they sound like they do on a released recorded product. No offense to anyone intended.
I've played, listened, blew money at Guitar Center in several states, spent a lot of time reading, researching drivers for computers, sound cards, usb/firewire ports, firmware/eprom updates going back to Ensonic EPS series, through the Roland 808, Fostex 8/16 tracks, ADAT 8/16/24. I didn't make any money for these endeavors, so I don't consider the time spent "productive" in that sense But, in my sincere desire to conform to the masses, I had been seriously considering the immediate procurement of the most expensive MAC Pro I could purchase, in the new form-factor; sexy, round little cylinders.
Applause to Apple for excellent marketing. I had convinced myself that I'd be able to save starving children in 3rd world countries if I got a $10,000.00 MAC Pro with 100-core i7 processors, and a semi-full of 1Ghz SDRAM clocked at light-speed, with the "God-particle" upgrades.
What's the point? Is it to brag about how much of my disposable income I can afford to donate to the Apple campus in Silicon Valley, or do I just want something I can get clean, reliable, solid digital recordings and FILES without being afraid of having to reload all of my drivers when I find a bug in the software, or a new plugin that I absolutely need to use to get an affect.
It can be a life-changing experience when everything goes perfectly right ---- or a useless waste of time once you realize that you've invested 5 years of your life into a system that will require you to start from square #0 every time you load something new, or the DAW company upgrades it's software.
To end the turmoil, decide if you really want spend about $5k on a system that can record 24 tracks of digital audio, in wave compatible format, with near-zero latency? Do you want to buy, and install a new hard drive on your system every time you do a "serious" project, that you can't afford to lose to crashes, accidental deletes/overwrites? Simple questions, not so simple answers, when you consider ALL of the pro/cons, and you have the money to go either way. THE DP-32/24 IS NOT DESIGNED TO REPLACE THE DAW.
IT IS COMPLIMENTARY TO THE TRAINED ENGINEER, IT IS A COMPLETE CONUNDRUM TO AMATEURS WHO HAVE BEEN LIMITED TO ONLY A FEW RECORDING PLATFORMS.
This is not to say that Tascam does not have any room for improvement, nor am I claiming that any system is infallible.
ALL HUMANLY CREATED DEVICES WILL EVENTUALLY FAIL, OR LOSE THEIR UTILITY. PLEASE PREPARE FOR THAT!!!!
I sympathize with all of the users that I've read about who have lost their work due to crashes. Any experienced IT engineer knows that most complete losses of data are due to inadequate planning, and disaster recovery methods. These principal elements are the key to using any computer-based system authoring any type of digital media. Don't blame that completely on the hardware manufacturer.
Perfection is the Lord's.
Profit is the corporation's.
Visualize whirled peas: I read that on a bumper-sticker in Minnesota.
After designing, building, and implementing systems for many FORTUNE 100 organizations over the past 20+ years, I DON'T WANT TO SPEND MORE TIME SYSTEM ENGINEERING THAN RECORDING IN MY HOME STUDIO!!!!
For all of us whom the Grammy Nomination Committee haven't contacted, good, clean digital files are the organic materials that any good DAW benefits from starting a project/song with. However, in a complete twist of irony, and theoretical contradictions, a DAW may not always be the "best" option for capturing that raw material for various reasons, beyond the control of the engineer, or the DAW creator.
I have followed many threads within this forum that argue about the limitations of the DP-32/24 with regard to digital outs (spdif, etc). You're totally missing the point. And, to some extent, I applaud Tascam for not being ashamed of appearing "inadequate" in the amateur/low-end professional recording locker room, and releasing a "relic" with no digital outs. Smart move.
It would have been a waste of money for Tascam to introduce any other method of externalizing their tracks with the capabilities of both USB-based file transfer options, and the AudioDepot concept of making fully DAW-compatible wave files at slightly better than CD-quality, transferable via SDHC cards. Brilliant move to advance the PortaStudio product line, and the perfect solution for the MUSICIAN/PERFORMER who actually "DO" what they sound like they do on a released recorded product. No offense to anyone intended.
I've played, listened, blew money at Guitar Center in several states, spent a lot of time reading, researching drivers for computers, sound cards, usb/firewire ports, firmware/eprom updates going back to Ensonic EPS series, through the Roland 808, Fostex 8/16 tracks, ADAT 8/16/24. I didn't make any money for these endeavors, so I don't consider the time spent "productive" in that sense But, in my sincere desire to conform to the masses, I had been seriously considering the immediate procurement of the most expensive MAC Pro I could purchase, in the new form-factor; sexy, round little cylinders.
Applause to Apple for excellent marketing. I had convinced myself that I'd be able to save starving children in 3rd world countries if I got a $10,000.00 MAC Pro with 100-core i7 processors, and a semi-full of 1Ghz SDRAM clocked at light-speed, with the "God-particle" upgrades.
What's the point? Is it to brag about how much of my disposable income I can afford to donate to the Apple campus in Silicon Valley, or do I just want something I can get clean, reliable, solid digital recordings and FILES without being afraid of having to reload all of my drivers when I find a bug in the software, or a new plugin that I absolutely need to use to get an affect.
It can be a life-changing experience when everything goes perfectly right ---- or a useless waste of time once you realize that you've invested 5 years of your life into a system that will require you to start from square #0 every time you load something new, or the DAW company upgrades it's software.
To end the turmoil, decide if you really want spend about $5k on a system that can record 24 tracks of digital audio, in wave compatible format, with near-zero latency? Do you want to buy, and install a new hard drive on your system every time you do a "serious" project, that you can't afford to lose to crashes, accidental deletes/overwrites? Simple questions, not so simple answers, when you consider ALL of the pro/cons, and you have the money to go either way. THE DP-32/24 IS NOT DESIGNED TO REPLACE THE DAW.
IT IS COMPLIMENTARY TO THE TRAINED ENGINEER, IT IS A COMPLETE CONUNDRUM TO AMATEURS WHO HAVE BEEN LIMITED TO ONLY A FEW RECORDING PLATFORMS.
This is not to say that Tascam does not have any room for improvement, nor am I claiming that any system is infallible.
ALL HUMANLY CREATED DEVICES WILL EVENTUALLY FAIL, OR LOSE THEIR UTILITY. PLEASE PREPARE FOR THAT!!!!
I sympathize with all of the users that I've read about who have lost their work due to crashes. Any experienced IT engineer knows that most complete losses of data are due to inadequate planning, and disaster recovery methods. These principal elements are the key to using any computer-based system authoring any type of digital media. Don't blame that completely on the hardware manufacturer.
Perfection is the Lord's.
Profit is the corporation's.
Visualize whirled peas: I read that on a bumper-sticker in Minnesota.
P
phil fridge
New member
Oh dear , someone else dares to criticise the 24DP and your upset. Clearly it works for you which is fine and its good you have a meduim you are happy with recording with , and as its not a DAW so i'm with you on that. However, you have to admit that Tascam have not improved on the 2488neo judging by the general comments i read and my own experience was, as i tried to explain in previous posts, not good. I agree totally with Rolf , that Tascam should never have sold a product that needs upgrade firmware , particuliarly as one of these upgrades were to deal with with the freezing problem which made the machines imho pretty useless . To be honest i'd rather be making music than frigging around with upgrades, -i've many years experience of multi tracking and i find it rather sad its become the norm-if thats what your saying - to accept that Tascam couldn't sell something that worked straight out of the box.
Mickster
Well-known member
I have a DP-24 and I love it. Yes....you spend a minute or 2 now and then updating the firmware. Yes.......it's not a perfect unit. Most of my tracks are recorded on the DP-24. Lots of times I take those tracks and dump them into Reaper for further tweaking or whatever. There's no system without any flaws or limitations. The best system is the one you get the most out of.
Rolf Fiesel
New member
Thank you my thoughts exactly.. hard to get a point across here..i guess if we worked for Tascam ..maybe this wouldn't of never happened .. on the Q.C part LOL... but an easy fix non the less
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wavewarrior
New member
Thanks for the tip, checked out their website, but it looks like they're limited to the 2488 units right now.
It would be cool if they did something for the DP24/32's too.
As a song writer, the DP24's are great production tools.
In another life I was a studio engineer working in rooms with Trident, SSL & Neve consoles, cutting tracks on Studer, MCi and Otari 24/48 2" tape rigs.
These days the pro rooms are all running Protools & stuff; its all great for cutting super quality stuff, but some of the higher end stuff just seem to slow down the creative musical writing process. People sometimes forget that the most important part of recording a song is the song itself. All the whiz bang computer stuff in the world doesn't help create a groove.
There's an old saying...... "you can paint a turd, but you can't polish it"
The beauty of the DP24 is its a very affordable unit, good sounding, fast to work with and is an excellent song writing tool. Keep writing!!!
P
phil fridge
New member
What is not "digital" about how the the DP24 records?
"Integrated DAW
See also: Hard disk recorder
An integrated DAW consists of a mixing console, control surface, audio converter, and data storage in one device. Integrated DAWs were more popular before personal computers became powerful enough to run DAW software. As computer power increased and price decreased, the popularity of the costly integrated systems with console automation dropped. Systems such as the Orban Audicy once flourished at radio stations and television stations. Today, some systems still offer computer-less arranging and recording features with a full graphical user interface (GUI)."
Digital audio workstation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Should of said 'computer based '.........to me they are basically studios in a box......i repeat though, you should be able to buy something that works the moment you buy it. Tascam customer service ignored three e mails i sent them enquiring as to whether they intended to rectify the various gliches users reported , put that together with the known problem of freezing screens, why would i want to buy one? I also though, repeat FINE if it works for you , but i really cant understand why so many cant accept that not everyone is impressed with them. Perhaps you are TASCAM employees, that would explain a lot!
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Postecutioner
New member
I picked up my DP-24 at Sam Ash for $488 out the door, which is about $465.00. They sure have dropped in price since they first came out. I think they were almost $800.00 online the first several months. Regardless of any firmware updates, missing features from the 2488, for less than $500.00, and the addition of the great color display, it's a keeper for demos, and slap that card into Reaper, and the results I've heard are stunning for a studio under $2000.00 total!
make music!!!
make music!!!