Tascam DP-01

Been playing guitar and bass for about 5 years now I guess. Picked things up rather quickly due to my piano / keys background. Am starting to write my own music now, and actually prefer this to figuring out songs or playing covers. My musical tastes range from alternative, punk and hard rock to country. Anything that has some good guitar in it, I can appreciate.

Just paid $299 online at Musicians Friend. Was looking for something portable to take to friends homes or garage jams as it's too hard to keep lugging all of my desktop pc equipment (which I have done numerous times believe it or not).

I really like the simplicity of the one-knob-per function design. Don't make me work for it, let me get started right away and I'm happy. I also like the quality of the recordings. I like the 8 tracks and the 40GB hard drive which is enough flexibility for me. I also appreciate the S/PDIF outputs so I can run the digital outs to my PC for final mixdowns when I get home.

Well, it's not really a complaint, but I have been using an older PC for recording for years and it is not USB 2.0 compatible. So, I can't take advantage of that functionality. Not really a problem with the unit though.

The unit is sturdy. The knobs and controls have a well built feel to them and I'm sure the unit will take years of abuse before it fails me. I don't think it's solid enough to handle any drops, but then again I'm not going to test it out... =)

Overall, for $299 I love it. Has more than enough flexibility and produces great quality mixdowns for the price. The unit is normally about $100 more so I took advantage of the sale and purchased one. It was at my door in less than 5 days and the shipping was free. Can't beat that!

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The DP-01 has two 1/4 in. TRS mic inputs for dual mono or stereo recording. The DP-01 has a USB 2.0 jack for file backup and transferring files to a computer, There are analog RCA line outputs, a headphone out and S/PDIF line output, as well as each of the 8 channels having an effects send.

According to official specs the sampling rate is "CD quality 44.1kHz/16-bit." Problem is, no one with the capability to record at 24-bit would ever go slumming it in the 16-bit realm. Oh, how I wish I had read up more before buying. You will notice the difference.

It will record eight tracks uncompressed audio to an internal 40g harddrive, which is really nice. Each channel of the DP-01 has a 45mm volume fader, plus dedicated controls for pan, effects send, high EQ and low EQ. An LCD display shows meters, editing settings and locate points, though it is not a lighted screen so a desk lamp of some kind is a MUST to use this thing.

UTILIZATION

As far as knobs and faders, its like running a mixer and self-explanatory. Navigating the menus is a whole 'nother story. Some will find difficulty, other will adjust and learn the ins and outs. I don't have a lot of patience for overly complicated menus, especially on such a beginner bottom-run-of-the-ladder piece of equipment such as this so my opinion is that they could have streamlined it and given it a more user intuitive interface than a couple VCR style buttons. This thing is NOT a Portastudio. Getting started is pretty easy though, and the manual does help when it comes to editing/copying/pasting/saving/deleting functions.

SOUNDS

The concerters aren't great. Maybe that is why Tascam just discontinued it because it won't be hard to replace it in their lineup of products.
There are no effects, because I skimped and bought just the DP-01 and not the DP-01FX, but I read the effects were terrible quality anyway.

OVERALL OPINION

It would be nice to have true 3-band eq.
It would be nice to have XLR inputs.
It would be nice to record in 24 bit and not 16.
It would be nice to back songs up on a USB drive, so I don't have to lug this thing into the next room to upload files onto my PC.
It would be nice if it wasn't blue and felt like a toy.

For your money, I would buy the cheapest 4 track that records in 24 bit, because you can't record 8 tracks simultaneously on this anyway. This is a definite step up from my Yamaha anolog 4-track days, but I was still disapointed and wished I had dropped more money. I would buy one of these if you got it real cheap and used it as a portable studio for scratch demos only.

I use:
- Two analog inputs (you can only record two tracks at once)
- USB output
Attention there is no phantom power supply, I use an external amplifier. For the power supply and internal effects, we must turn to the DP01FX.
For the rest of the technique, I just said that the sample is 16 bit I think we can not find the doc on the Internet. You can not choose either the sampling frequency, which must be 96 kHz I believe.

I am not a good note because I guess if it's cheap is that there is a reason.
And then 8 tracks, it's still little, and two tracks at the recording, very little, but it depends on what you want to do.

UTILIZATION

I knew the ergonomics of the tascam and it is easy to use. One can easily juggle with eight tracks available, bouncer, and get the tracks on a computer (provided you have patience to export / import the tracks on the part of the disc which exports USB)

Small disappointments: this machine is no metronome with a tempo change during the song, as does yet tascam 2488. I did not find either how to adjust the output level in the headphone of what is being recorded, I'm afraid we can not. And it's never convenient to place themselves at a desired location on the piece with the buttons that always moves too quickly or too little. M'enfin, all that is not very serious, and we can not ask for this kind of machine that does not crash the ergonomics of a computer screen. Computer I use for mixing, in any case on the DP01 no effects included.

the most: the features found in the tascam 2488: auto punch: you can choose a piece of re-record the track you want, and the machine automatically moves a little forward, and stops automatically after a few and then where you have to replace if you want to listen. I should be sorry not to have this feature.

SOUNDS

I am very happy, especially since it is surely the rest of my string that is of lower quality ..

OVERALL OPINION

I use this machine since March 2005 to record primarily with a micro electro-acoustic (guitar, vocals, harmonica, clarinet, etc..), And SP100 digital piano which I use the output jack.

In summary, this machine has made me great service, and I am very attached

44.1 KHz 16-bit recorder (like CD) 40 GB hard drive. 2 mono channels recording simultaneously. 8 channel mono mixdown. 2 between asymtrique jack, Stereo analog output, SP / DIF optical, USB 2.0 for TRANSFR 2-way (Windows 2000 or XP), headphone output, MIDI sync output, plus some other connectors.
I use it to record rptitions. I put a pair of cardioid dynamic microphones in ORTF pair (capsules space of about 17 cm and an angle of about 110) in a corner of the room, I start recording, I ask the drummer to type like a deaf man, I make sure to be just below saturation, and go. 3:00 APRS j'arrte recording and I catch everything. We hear everyone and the quality of sound is correct trs. Then I isolate the pieces by editing the DP01 can I TRANSFR by USB to a PC, and APRS I encode to mp3 and send emails to pieces by the group.

UTILIZATION

There is a small driving move but it's pretty easy to do simple things, especially since the interface is not bad. For example, to dplacer in a record, you can enter a timecode value, you can forward on top of play (speed = 3 x wholesale), or to forward over stop (speed = seen against lie as long as you keep your finger on the button forward). We feel that it is a machine that does think carefully.
The biggest complaint I have is that it's long enough to extract a piece of recording and bring it to a PC, it requires a lot of manipulations, some of which are not instantaneous.
A few other small criticism: the meters are not seen prcis, the display is not clear rtro the power supply is a 12VDC power, not a big fat cord, the device is quite large I am obliged to restarting my PC/windows2000 he deigns to notice that I connect the DP01.
The manual is good, and there is also the site a quick guide Tlcharger Tascam is INTERESTED.

SOUNDS

The quality of her good looks to me, but to be honest I have not done much testing yet.
The unit is extremely quiet. You do not hear the hard drive, there is a fan in the device but must stick above the ear to hear it. I am full of sr that users do not even taient it realized.

OVERALL OPINION

I use it for 3 weeks. I am far from having been around, so today I give notice forcment part, but I think it's useful when even to the extent that there is only one further notice.
A year ago I was looking for a machine to do that and in this price range I did not see a competitor, not even the new Fostex MR8 HD, who can not record a song over 99 minutes and who can not do anything other than forward or reverse speed to 3 x dplacer in a record. As for the mini recorders Stereo, M Audio has a battery that must be replaced at the factory, the Edirol has not really of mics, the D4 Kord recorded in 32 KHz (hi conversions).
I would do this choice, and then may be I would take the DP01-FX because it has XLR inputs with phantom power supply for condenser microphones set, but when I bought it n'tait not available France.