tascam 2488

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raven46

raven46

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i'm kinda pissed off with my vf16 at the moment and im looking into getn another multitrack for around the grand(euro) mark, the most appealing that ive come across is the tascam 2488 on the thomann site for just over 800(euro)

i will be taking this to record gigs and at other locations other than my own studio(laugh)...

is it easy to transfer tracks to the p.c. for mixing and mastering,

anyone ere got one, what are the good and bad points,

is there any other recorders that ye would recommend for around the g


cheers...
 
Hey, raven46 -

The single most common complaint I've heard from 2488 users is that they do not like being used in live recording situations. I think this is due to a sensitivity to vibration in general and not being jostled in particular. I've heard many stories about units locking up and losing the better part of a night's recording at live venues.

One the other hand the consensus is that they are perfectly fine for a more controlled environment - either in a home studio or practice room where they won't be exposed to bonks and lots of vibration through the floor, etc.

I've owned one for about a year and a half and it is used exclusively in my small home studio. I really enjoy working with it, and even though it can't replicate the flexibility of dedicated off-board pre's and effects processors, it does very well for the price point.

You can export tracks as mp3s for edit on a PC, no problem, although I do all my editing on the 2488 itself.

If you have any other specific questions, post up. :)
 
nice one zaphod b...

i did a little cheak up on the 2488 and was shocked to read some of the bad reviews, a lot of people seem to hate this unit and warn people away from it which is a shame on paper it looks amazing and i like the look and stlye of this unit also i dont know how old those reviews are or if tascam have sorted out those bugs...

its sensitivity would be a big concern also...

i've been looking at other units since and im drawn towards the YAMAHA AW1600 have you any info on this unit i will post a thead in the yamaha section of the forum later to find out more on the aw1600...
 
raven46 said:
i've been looking at other units since and im drawn towards the YAMAHA AW1600 have you any info on this unit i will post a thead in the yamaha section of the forum later to find out more on the aw1600...
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Sorry, I don't know anything about the Yamaha.

Good luck with the search! :)
 
raven46 said:
a lot of people seem to hate this unit and warn people away from it which is a shame on paper it looks amazing and i like the look and stlye of this unit also i dont know how old those reviews are or if tascam have sorted out those bugs...

its sensitivity would be a big concern also...
Click to expand...
The 2488 units with early firmware were a lot more finicky and bug-ridden. A firmware update ships with new units and is available as a free download for those with the older firmware. The update seems to have cured all of the quirkyness of the original. Users with current software seem to be happy.

I don't think they've solved the vibration issue, however, so if you wanted to to a lot of live recording in less-than-controllable circumstances, the 2488 is probably not your best choice.
 
ALternatives to the VF

I have to confess - although I'm well known on the Fostex VF forums, I bought an AW1600 last year. The EQ and dynamics are brilliant. Effects way better than VF. USB connection. DAW control. Down side: only does 8 tracks at once, and 8 tracks are fixed as four stereo pairs.

Orc
 
Zaphod B cheers man,

carelessorc still new to the rec game can you explain

Down side: 8 tracks are fixed as four stereo pairs.
 
raven46 said:
Zaphod B cheers man,

carelessorc still new to the rec game can you explain

Down side: 8 tracks are fixed as four stereo pairs.
Click to expand...


I believe he is referring to 4 of the channels have only rca jacks as opposed to XLR.

I'm thinking seriously on a digital recorder also. The top one on my list is the Roland 2400 CD. I like the ideal of being able to plug a flat panel/muse in it and be able to see what is going on. But it also sounds like this unit takes a lot of time to learn.
So the next one on the list is the Korg 3200 I'm thinking this one might be a little less learning curve but no VGA.
Next one the BOSS BR1600 even less learning curve.
Finally the Tascam 2488MKII hopefully less learning curve??? and less $$$$.

You guys that are using these which would you say is the easier one to use as in most intuitive??
 
Zaphod B said:
The 2488 units with early firmware were a lot more finicky and bug-ridden. A firmware update ships with new units and is available as a free download for those with the older firmware. The update seems to have cured all of the quirkyness of the original. Users with current software seem to be happy.

I don't think they've solved the vibration issue, however, so if you wanted to to a lot of live recording in less-than-controllable circumstances, the 2488 is probably not your best choice.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, I should upgrade the firmware, my 2488 is one of the first ones imported. I've yet to have a problem with it and it has done quite a few projects. Like the 788 I had before it, I'll run my mixes to my computer and do all 2 track work in Sound Forge.

Haven't had a problem with it in mobile work either.......which is much more than I can say about some video projects that went with it.

The only irritating thing is the small screen.
 
philboyd studge said:
Hmmm, I should upgrade the firmware, my 2488 is one of the first ones imported. I've yet to have a problem with it and it has done quite a few projects. Like the 788 I had before it, I'll run my mixes to my computer and do all 2 track work in Sound Forge.

Haven't had a problem with it in mobile work either.......which is much more than I can say about some video projects that went with it.

The only irritating thing is the small screen.
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philboyd, check your firmware version against what's available on the Tascam web site. It's supposed to be an easy flash upgrade.
 
RandyW said:
I believe he is referring to 4 of the channels have only rca jacks as opposed to XLR.

No I wasn't you are completely wrong.

If you look at the Yamaha AW1600 you will see that it has 8 XLR inputs (all with phantom pwr).

To answer Raven's question: the AW is a 16 track (with 8 virtual tracks per 'real' track, and a separate stereo mixdown track), but tracks 9 to 16 are configured as stereo pairs (9&10, 11&12, 13&14, 15&16). Since I tend to record keyboards, drums and electric guitars in stereo, this isn't a problem for me - but might be for others.

The biggest difference between the VF and the AW is the sheer quality of the AW's facilities: 4 band parametric EQ, and compression on every channel, and very good quality effects, with their own EQ. Plus if you need extra inputs as mixdown (sound modules, outboard reverb, etc) the 8 inputs are available in addition to the 16 recorded tracks (on the VF you are limited to 16 channels in total). Plus you can use it remote control MIDI gear or a DAW on a PC.

Orc
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Orc, so all you really have is 12 tracks since 9 to 16 are paired and 1 to 8 are mono(not talking about virtual tracks) sorry for being such a dumb ass im just finding hard to get my head around it, why not just make em all stero?

but if thats the only real prob with the unit then thats not so bad since i record keyboars, drums and eletric guitar also so it semms ideal,
the other bad point you mentioned earlier orc isint much of a worry either since im used to doing only 8 tracks at once with the vf but can you use something like the behringer ada8000 to get the 16 tracks at once?

i could have bought a tascam2488 last night on ebay for $500 about 380euro i would'nt have had to pay any postage cost ot customs either as the guy was coming to ireland in march and would have brought it over, i know i was skeptical too but he seemed genuine, who knows,

anyway the more i think about it the yamaha seems to be the unit to go for, thomann even have a flight case specially for the yamaha1600 which is great coz i will be on the go with it alot...
 
raven46 said:
why not just make em all stero?
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Because you're not always going to record in stereo. A guitar track, bass, vocals are usually recorded in mono, thus into one track. If they were all paired, you'd be recording 2 mono tracks all the time, because you'd be forced to assign your input to 2 tracks at a time.
 
ok i get ya, nice one

i made a mistake in my last post i meant to say that there is really only 8 tracks(not 12), but that can be discarded, im starting to get a better understanding of the paired tracks

can you change the paired tracks to mono internally in the aw1600 menu,

im guessing you cant coz im sure orc would have said that if you can...
 
Zaphod B said:
philboyd, check your firmware version against what's available on the Tascam web site. It's supposed to be an easy flash upgrade.
Click to expand...

It's version 1.0 ....can't get any earlier than that. I figured if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but I'll upgrade anyway.......thanks.
 
Raven46; actually you were correct it is kinda like 12 tracks, but I found with the VF I was pairing a lot of tracks anyway. Like you say, if you're recording stuff in stereo, then it's no loss. The stereo pairs are also handy for submixing drums, backing vocals, etc. The only people who are gonna lose out are those who need 16 separate mono tracks. You can record separate signals to the two sides of a stereo pair (at different times) on the AW, but they'd have the same EQ/effects etc.
BTW, the AW cannot be expanded to record 16 tracks at once. But it can record 8 tracks at 24bit/96kHz

Orc
 
philboyd studge said:
It's version 1.0 ....can't get any earlier than that. I figured if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but I'll upgrade anyway.......thanks.
Click to expand...
Right. I think I've got 2.01, which is the last release to the best of my knowledge.

.
 
Hey Raven--I've had the 2488 for a couple of years.I upgraded from the 788.I would have to say that the one thing I dislike most about the machine are the effects and the limitations of their use.Also it is not a flexible machine for hooking up outboard units.Also it only records at 44k---this was a problem for me when doing collaborations.Other than that it is a fine machine--also I believe they have come out with a new upgrade of the machine.
 
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