Tascam us800 testing

[Sedge68]

So, progress report; but first, here's how I figured to handle the US-800 power cycle issue; I took advantage of one of (in my opinion) the US-800's minor weaknesses; the power cord is a two-part affair - an AC power cord that connects to a AC/DC adapter box and cord, which is better than a wall wart, but the AC power cord is both short and loose-fitting. So, instead of plugging in to the power strip on the floor, I plugged it in to the power conditioner in my compressor rack, and made sure that the AC/DC adapter box was near at hand. I could then power cycle using the loose connection of AC cord, instead of trying to mess around with the back of the US-800 box, and risking damaging the internal solder connections to the US-800 chip board, or any other part of the power input on the US-800.

Now, that sounded like a great idea; however, I never really got the chance to test it, because I never needed to reset it! Great news! It seems the problems I was having were all particular to the US-800's control panel. I never even opened that control panel application last night, and was rewarded with flawless operation. I think I can recommend this for everyone; use your DAW to manage the US-800, and avoid interaction with its control panel as much as possible. (Note this may be particular to the Mac version of its driver.)

I also managed to run my mixer much quieter. I was used to running it at about +3db overall. Last night I was able to run it at about -6db. This resulted in very little activity from the clip indicators, and gave me very high hopes for a good recording.

But, high hopes were not reality. Alas, the entire recording was again staticky crap. Another 3 hours of wasted audio. So, it's not the gain or clipping. The waveforms were looking good enough that I didn't bother trying other input device configurations, and now I'm regretting that. I really need to isolate the different input devices and confirm I can get a clean recording from each of them, and if that is the case, then dig into Mac's aggregate audio device a little deeper and see if something in there is causing this. I'm still hoping it's not the US-800; however, if I won't be able to run the aggregate device, then I'll need to step up to the US-1800 anyway, because 6 channels just isn't enough to capture what I want to capture.

So, a very mixed progress report. Valuable lessons learned, though.

 

[hazxan]

Hi all! First post, with my comments on the US-800. Got mine nearly a year ago. I know there are a lot of people reporting problems with it, however the exact problem I have doesn't seem to have been mentioned by anyone else. The unit works fine in all respects, apart from MIDI in. As soon as I connect any MIDI device to the MIDI in, I get either a "a USB devive has failed message", requiring a restart of the US800. Or I get the BSOD, caused by us800.sys.

Initially I was using XP, recently move to Windows 7 (32 bit) and the problem remains the same. I use Reaper, but also have tried with standalone MIDI VST's and get exactly the same result, crash on MIDI in - and MIDI in only. I can only assume it's something motherboard related. The system is a self-build and has had a variety of hard drives, graphics cards etc in the past couple of years. The US800 is the only USB device connected, though.

What frustrates me is that the US800 is exactly what I need in so many ways! The first day I had it, I miked up my band rehearsal (4 piece) and recorded it with hardlly any attention and was amazed at how good the quality was. But having no MIDI in is a killer because I would use this all the time when creating songs. My song writing has been at a standstill, so I was just about to get rid of it and go to some other device (with fewer channels for the price), but I saw this thread and thought just maybe someone could offer up a clue to get it working!

jimmys69 was saying earlier that many problems are not faulty equipment, but something in the PC setup. I agree, but have little idea how to even start diagnosing the cause! The PC is generally very well behaved and reliable, as I said, the audio peformance of the US800 is fine, even the MIDI out works fine. I see no errors on the USB section of the Device Manager. I'm guessing that the problem is somehow USB related, prior to this, I used an M-Audio PCI soundcard and had no MIDI in problems at all in this PC.

Any clues greatly appreciated!

 

[dudernut]

Hi all! First post, with my comments on the US-800. Got mine nearly a year ago. I know there are a lot of people reporting problems with it, however the exact problem I have doesn't seem to have been mentioned by anyone else. The unit works fine in all respects, apart from MIDI in. As soon as I connect any MIDI device to the MIDI in, I get either a "a USB devive has failed message", requiring a restart of the US800. Or I get the BSOD, caused by us800.sys.

Initially I was using XP, recently move to Windows 7 (32 bit) and the problem remains the same. I use Reaper, but also have tried with standalone MIDI VST's and get exactly the same result, crash on MIDI in - and MIDI in only. I can only assume it's something motherboard related. The system is a self-build and has had a variety of hard drives, graphics cards etc in the past couple of years. The US800 is the only USB device connected, though.

What frustrates me is that the US800 is exactly what I need in so many ways! The first day I had it, I miked up my band rehearsal (4 piece) and recorded it with hardlly any attention and was amazed at how good the quality was. But having no MIDI in is a killer because I would use this all the time when creating songs. My song writing has been at a standstill, so I was just about to get rid of it and go to some other device (with fewer channels for the price), but I saw this thread and thought just maybe someone could offer up a clue to get it working!

jimmys69 was saying earlier that many problems are not faulty equipment, but something in the PC setup. I agree, but have little idea how to even start diagnosing the cause! The PC is generally very well behaved and reliable, as I said, the audio peformance of the US800 is fine, even the MIDI out works fine. I see no errors on the USB section of the Device Manager. I'm guessing that the problem is somehow USB related, prior to this, I used an M-Audio PCI soundcard and had no MIDI in problems at all in this PC.

Any clues greatly appreciated!

Yes, I also have the US-800 and have not had any luck with the MIDI in feature. I have also experienced a bit of the bluescreen issues that others have reported, but I have found ways to work through that....unless I am using the MIDI port. It's a shame, because I too would make regular use of this feature.

 

[JimmyS1969]

It is looking like we are finding out why Tascam discontinued the unit. Probably more issues than it was worth dealing with. It would have been nice if they had disclosed the issues tho. Still, for the price of the unit, I wouldn't bitch so much myself. I wish they would have updated the unit, but at the same time, one can purchase a US1800 $239 ($20 less than the original list price of the 800). When it was going for $99, it seemed a great entry level interface. Now that it is gone from retail, it may be time to move on.

We all need to realize that we get what we pay for. The discontinued US800, was a great buy. For some operating systems, it didn't work so well. In any case, it was $99 when discontinued. I wouldn't expect to ever find another interface with the power this one provided at triple the price.

 

[hazxan]

Since posting, I think I've finally got the MIDI in working on the US-800! Hopefully it could help others, too. Basically, a MIDI signal must not hit the Windows OS without some VST or DAW already running to handle it. So the key is to switch everything on in a precise order: start with the US800 and *ALL* MIDI devices off. Switch PC on. Switch the US800 on. Start up DAW or standalone synth. Set MIDI In in the software to be the US800 (if not set from previous running). Then switch on MIDI keyboard. So far I have had 100% success doing it this way.

There is an update to the manual on the TASCAM site for v1.08 describing this as a known problem: "If the US 800 sends a MIDI command before startup of DAW app with MIDI in and out functions completes, the computer will restart." That's the problem, make sure all MIDI in and outs are enabled in your apps, too, *before* switching on MIDI hardware devices.

BTW The often-reported memory leak is also listed as a known issue in that v1.08 leaks memory if you have YouTube, Skype or any video app running for several hours.

Maybe we users should organise a campaign to beg TASCAM for one final patch to fix these issues? Seem unlikely, but maybe it is a hardware/firmware limitation? Strange that the US800 is more or less discontinued. Unless perhaps they are working on something that is better at the same price point? The US800 is *nearly* great, but as the shortcoming is in its reliability, not its functionality, it makes it difficult to recommend. I'll be hanging on to mine for the time being, as it does seem that I've finally got the MIDI in functioning.

 

[mjbphotos]

Rather than buy a small mixer dedicated to live work (which I may do at some point - just don't want to lug my big Mackie board around), I'm considering using my US800 for this.
I need to plug 2 guitars in (figured inputs 1 & 2 on front, they are shown as mic/instrument) and the stereo outs from keyboard to back inputs 3 & 4, then the stereo monitor output to my amp's input.
Is this practical?

 

[Sedge68]

You can pick up little Behringer mixers for so cheap (XENYX 802 is $50) that I would go that way instead of using the US-800, which has almost no mixing ability - the knobs are just preamp boost, which you probably wouldn't need with the keyboard. Also, fair warning, I found that using 1/4 jacks into those combo inputs isn't a really good idea if you intend on plugging/unplugging often, which you would do live. I think one of the inputs only lasted 2 or 3 attempts before it would no longer properly accept a 1/4 jack.

 

[mjbphotos]

My concern is that every mixer I have seen only seem to have one instrument-level preamp channel in them. I really don't need any 'mixing' done, just want to be able to connect everything (instrument level can be controlled at the instrument itself).
I need to have 2 guitars plugging in at once, should I be looking at a DI box, too? The alternative (plugging in and out of the amp) all the time sucks! I used a 1/4" (stereo) headphone splitter the other night, but found that if I turn the volume control down on either guitar, the other one is muted too .

I'm guessing I will need something like this DI box? http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SDirectPlus/ Using the XLR output, I could use the Tascam without having to worry aobut 'using up' the 1/4" front panel jacks, right? And if I brig my big Mackie, it would also be good - I could get 3 guitars plugged in all at one time.

 

[Sedge68]

Yes, that DI box should work fine for you. The XENYX 802 that I mentioned has two preamp channels, which you still would probably use together with the DI for your guitars, and then stereo inputs for your keyboard. I agree that you need more than one preamp channel, and that is why I didn't mentioned the 502, which only has one.

From what you're saying, you're taking the output and putting it to a single amp; is this a standard PA amp, or just a guitar or keyboard combo amp? I don't think I could ever be happy without having a separate instrument amp for each of my electronic instruments, set up and matched to that instrument. Even with the effects foot pedals that supposedly mimic any amp you could want, I'd still rather have the real thing behind me. Also, if you're playing all three instruments simultaneously, you're asking for phase issues and problems with one instrument drowning out or muddying up the others. The mixers definitely help with this.

Of course, if you're determined to use the US-800 as a preamp/mixer, I can't stop you, and who knows, it may work just fine for what you are doing. I can't say I've never used a phono preamp channel in an old solid state home receiver to play guitar over my home stereo speakers. It did have a *unique* sound.

 

[mjbphotos]

I have not quite figured out how to play 2 guitars and a keyboard at the same time! Each one would be done one at a time. Yes, this signal is going direct to my Line 6 Spider 75. Nice amp which has some nice clean settings for use with acoustic and keys, and some more traditional guitar amp settings too. Right now for the Beatles tribute band I started practicing with, I use the clean acoustic and a couple of Vox-like settings for electric (haven't used the keys yet).

I'd like to hear from anyone else here using the US800!

 

[mjbphotos]

*bump bump bump*

 

[wilfoster]

hi, first post in years. I have the US-800 and used it unsuccessfully for the first time in a while last night.
ASUS laptop run Win7x64, (can't remember exact specs but it is robust)
Cubase Studio 4

I updated the driver to the new one and wasn't able to get any audio to mono in2-6 except what was going to mono in 1. I selected the US800 driver and assigned all the tracks in the VST connections in Cubase correctly. When looking at the US800 control panel I saw different levels for the different inputs but in Cubase everything was the kick. I finally gave up and we just rocked.
I had this working before with the old drivers and am thinking about just going back to them. any other suggestions?

thanks
Will Foster

 

[saggynuts]

Im going to "revive" this old thread. I found this while google searching, and had to create an account to lay some smack down.

I Did not read the ENTIRE thread but I did read the first 5 pages.

Listen.... Not only have I been building, and coding computers and hardware for almost a decade, but I am a huge power user and perfectionist when it comes to my hardware and software.

Now I picked up the US800 for $99 on the stupid deal of the day at musiciansfriend.com a while back, probably 2012. I figured it was an amazing deal, and EVEN WITH all the problems I am going to elaborate on, it still is a good deal. What I am about to say has to do with the development, and support, not with the actual performance of the product itself (when it does work.)

1) Any time a product that is well worth $250-$300+ is being sold for $99 and being discontinued, that is a red flag, bottom line. I mean seriously.
2) It may work on some of your computers flawlessly, it may work if you connect it in the "special order". And honestly, more power to you I am glad you can get your money's worth. But you are the 1%.

Here is the thing: Tascam wrote some of the WORST firmware and drivers for this product line EVER in the history of audio interfaces. With almost ZERO support for the product. I would say 75% of the people who purchased this interface could either: A) not install it correctly or B) not get it to work more than 20% of the time. Not only that, but I have used other Tascam products recently, and they have been equally as crappy. Tascam has gone downhill in the past decade and I am making a point of never buying a product from them for a while. DESPITE the fact that my US800 was only $100

Now, there was a couple of posters in this thread who said things along the lines of "well its a problem with YOUR COMPUTER, not the product. The product is awesome, stfu."

That is the whackest response ever. I have used DOZENS of audio interfaces, and other products that require drivers, and let me tell you, that if I have to go through some special set of steps, plugging in my US800 just to get it to recognize on the USB port, guess what...... thats s***ty coding and development, bottom line. Its not "my computer" its a crap product. All of my other interfaces have NEVER had problems like that, and I have used them on multiple computers and OS's.

My computers are always clean, top notch and optimized. My roland quad-capture interface has worked like a freiking charm for over 2 years, and I abuse that thing. Honest to God, if you want the best 4 channel interface on the market, get the Roland Quad Capture. Currently, roland is killing it with their support and coding, hopefully they don't go the Tascam route.

As far as my problems go, I have 2 computers that cannot successfully install the US800. I have taken extensive notes, tried numerous different strategies etc. I got it to install 2 out of 25 times, and even still, when I opened up my DAW, the drivers stopped working. That said, my US800 works flawlessly on my 3rd computer, no problems whatsoever.

So yes, it does come down to differences in software and hardware between PCs, but guess what? Microsoft makes their USB code (and related codes) available for companies like Tascam to use to develop. The fact that 9 of the interfaces I have used installed, and worked on USB 2.0 just fine, but the US800 did not means Tascam did a crappy job of making a product. Why do you think they discontinued it, and offered it for $99? I mean seriously.

Like I said, if it works for you, I am happy for you , I seriously am thats awesome! When it does work, its a pretty decent product pre-amp wise. The monitoring and such is busted and does not work how it should but that is not a feature I utilize.

Just because you got lucky with your BIOS/ firmware, does not mean you should go bash people who cannot get it to work. Go do a google search, this product is CRAP when it comes to drivers. In terms of performance, its worth maybe $150 (when working) but if its not working, its worth $10 to me, tops.

My final two cents: even if the product originally got released with issues, and Tascam fixed them and supported the product, it would be a different story. Instead Tascam tried to bury it, did not help the people who got ripped off, and replaced it with the 1800 line, which is probably just as crappy.

Ive had plenty of issues with plenty of different products, but they usually get resolved, or are at the very least, not a big deal. I cant even get the US800 to "work" for longer than 20 seconds in my DAW. Trust me I have tried everything. I am over it. I have it plugged into the ONE computer that it works on.

I will gladly admit that when working, this product is pretty dope, especially for only $100. But unfortunately Tascam decided to hire programmers from Madagascar who also shot Heroin while writing the Drivers.

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.
BUY A ROLAND QUAD CAPTURE, I PROMISE YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT. The roland drivers are some of the best in the entire industry, fastest, and most stable, and thats not just coming from me.

Anyways, I just got mad when I saw people being bashed because they were having issues using the US800, as if its their fault.
I shouldn't have to buy a product where I have to plug it in, and power it up in a certain order for USB. USB is supposed to be hot-swappable, and easy to deal with. Bottom line, Tascam screwed up and if I had paid any more than $100 for this I would be PISSSSSED.

 

[RAMI]

ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.............................

 

[Chili]

WAKE UP!!!

Hey brother, I'll be using your US-800 for the first real recording next weekend. I'm gonna record the kid's school band. I noticed the power jack is a little flaky, I've got to fix that sometime this week. I haven't used it since I first got it, but I think I've got the driver issues straightened out.

 

[RAMI]

WAKE UP!!!

Hey brother, I'll be using your US-800 for the first real recording next weekend. I'm gonna record the kid's school band. I noticed the power jack is a little flaky, I've got to fix that sometime this week. I haven't used it since I first got it, but I think I've got the driver issues straightened out.

Yeah, I remember having to occasionally wiggle the power jack. I never thought about it because the unit stayed put, so it was only every few weeks that I had to touch the power jack. Hope it works well for you.

 

[mjbphotos]

Im going to "revive" this old thread. ... blah blah blah .... I had paid any more than $100 for this I would be PISSSSSED.

So the fact that you got it to work on 1 computer and not 2 others points to the Tascam being the problem, huh? Oh yeah, Microsoft is so good ...
I haven't had any issues since I got mine from Jimmy - except when I accidentally wiped out the drivers in the stupid Windows audio device selector. So I downloaded and installed them again, no problem.
Did about 3 hours of tracking today, again no problems.

 

[JimmyS1969]

Tascam hater it seems.

I can see that someone who had issues themselves in the past with a product or manufacturer may have a bit of residual anger for the situation...

But to come across as 'all knowing' then throw out the quote "My final two cents: even if the product originally got released with issues, and Tascam fixed them and supported the product, it would be a different story. Instead Tascam tried to bury it, did not help the people who got ripped off, and replaced it with the 1800 line, which is probably just as crappy." is just the continuation of a personal experience in the form of slander.

Oh yeah, the 1800 is a model in the 'US' series. Not a new line. You need to be clear about the details when you give your opinion if you wish to be credible. I have already lost faith in that credibility.

Obviously this guy has a bone to pick as he is even bothering posting about an interface that has been off the market for what-2 years now? Yet still users that have no issues. Hmm. Who is the computer tech?

By the way, the Tascam US1641 was also discontinued. It was upgraded to US 1800 with an external power supply and the same drivers worked flawlessly for both. I owned both and never had an issue.

For the $100 price tag the US800 worked great for many. Why you would come here to revive a thread just to bitch about the unit is quite intriguing. Or possibly annoying.

I call 'grouchy pants!


Carry on...

 

[GRANTEUS]

US800 with EL Capitan on late 2011 MacBook Pro

For all those interested in the US-800 and compatibility with mac on El Capitan. It appears to function correctly, but I only tested the inputs into Logic. Audio and Midi sees the device but allows for selecting sample rates above what is allowed by the hardware. Simply select 41kHz in the drop down and then launch Logic. In Logic select the audio device and presto changeo all inputs are seen once the track has been record enabled.

I also tested the hot plug usb issues that keep cropping up. I discovered that unplugging the usb and replugging it while Logic is open, it will not rediscover the us800. However in the Audio Midi setup you can see the device reattach. Simply closing Logic and reopening your project gets things back to normal with all inputs working.

This all started on a clean install of Mountain Lion, installation of iconfig from iconnectivity for my Audio4+ in garageband. Then when I finally settled on Logic X, I had to upgrade...but the only upgrade available at the time was El Capitan...so I jumped. El Cap recognized my cheesy 16bit MAudio interface and was part of an aggregate device for use in Logic. But after using Logic and really liking the workflow, I wanted more ports along with SPDIF since I have some DAT masters I need to bring into this century from my early CuBase days done on a IIvx.

What I did:

No USB hub
Plugged directly into a USB2.0 interface (late 2011 MBP 16GB RAM 256GB SSD El Capitan)
No special drivers or software installed from TASCAM
Changed the sample rate from the Apple utility

I don't know if my unit which I purchased used had any additional firmware upgrade from days past, but I think the notion of USB 2.0 Audio compliant (backwards compatibility) has now been addressed from Apple and that is why it is recognized by the OS and seems to basically work.

With my new 10 mic input aggregate (Audio 4+ & US800) I plan on doing some big tracking tests to see if this thing can really do 88.2Khz 24bit on all the inputs.

For the money, this thing beats any patch bay. And without the Tascam Utility I wont be able to play with the mixer out outputs internally...but for a mic port expander that meets similar specs as the Audio4+...it seems like a killer deal for the money.

Some reading for those who are interested:

http://tascam.com/content/downloads/products/207/us800_om.pdf
http://www.tascam.eu/en/docs/US-800_Insrt_Notice_vA.pdf
https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/technotes/tn2274/_index.html

 

[JimmyS1969]

WOW!

Props for finding a way to use the long since discontinued 800 on modern systems. Many have had great results with the interface. Which is why I started the thread and bought them up when they were killed by the manufacturer and sold them at cost to members here.