Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder

Comments about Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder:

I have used digital recorders before so getting used to this machine was really straight forward with the help of a well written manual. Great sound, great onboard mikes. Portability is of course fantastic with that size. The only downside I came across was that when mastering, the track level indicators are not reflecting the signals you send to the master but rather the original signals recorded on each tracks. This is rather disappointing as it forces you to master by ear only without any visual reference to which track might pick or which one might be too low on your final cut.

Comments about Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder:

The DP-008 is a truly great product which is very easy to use. I did not have time to try all features yet but the multitrack recording works like a charm and I became comfortable at navigating in the different menus after a few minutes of use. The instructions booklet is very well done and does a good job to introduce you to all the features of the device. I recommend reading it instead of trying to guess how to use it! You will save a lot of time.

Overall I am very happy with this product so far and I recommend it without hesitation.

Comments about Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder:

If you need a simple, quick and easy multitrack this is a great deal for the money.(B&H had the best price and shipping,cheaper even than [@]!) I was amazed how fast I received it from B&H. I had it in three days with regular shipping. Everything arrived in perfect shape.I will be shopping here again!

Comments about Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder:

This thing is sweet. Easy to use, a pretty good user manual (that I started reading online even before I received the unit) and sounds great. I definately like the reverb, and the knobs. You still have menu's to scroll through, but the knobs make it feel like a professional mixing console. I convert each track to a WAV file and then USB it to Audacity. My only complaint is I haven't figured out how to attach the reverb setting to the WAV file. Maybe I can't, waiting to hear back from Tech Support.

Comments about Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder:

Portable recorders are very handy and Tascam has included very practical, useful features. Starting with the inputs, a choice of XLR with phantom power if needed and 1/4" line. The combination of input level adjustments easily matches a wide range of input signals. All track controls, REVERB - PAN - LEVEL - are right at your fingers with traditional analog board feel. Menu operation such as EQ and EFFECTS TYPE is simple with minimal need to reference the manual. The 44.1 sample rate is what it is and for the money, sounds great. A nearly complete solution with built in microphones make it an ideal portable. Spend the money for the AC adaptor. Even though it runs over 5 hours on battery, you'll find yourself spending lots of time experimenting. If you are used to multi-track recording you'll find 2 track recording a limiting factor in the studio requiring overdubs to a click track.

Comments about Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder:

I have already sketched out a "C32", that is a 32 min cassette master on this 8-trk. I bought it mainly for making masters for experimental music tapes and CDRs. Will also use it for recordings in the field. The only thing keeping this froma 5 star rating is the anticipated firmware update. Really hoping for some added features, such as recording from mics + inputs. Overall a great tool that can be used for many studio projects. Upgraded from a Tascam Porta03, ha.

Comments about Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder:

From basic acoustic and voice recording to plugging in my amp to recording some jams with the band the dp-008 is an all around reliable beast. When it comes to recording a band, don't expect Steve Albini results but with some tweaking and righteous mic placement you'll be satisfied. The settings/knobs are super responsive and the sound is sweet. If you're an intermediate player and above this should carry you until you're ready to use/build a professional studio. Great investment.

Comments about Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder:

Started out looking for a hand held portable audio recorder, but after looking at the Portastudio, I realized that for a lower price then I had been looking at, I could get a much greater capability. Sure, it's bigger then a typical hand held recorder, but not by much. The built in mics are positioned perfectly to replicate the position and orientation of human ears, so field recording results in a very realistic stereo sound. Quality of the mic pickup is much better then I expected. Overall, I'm very pleased with the unit.

Comments about Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder:

Yes, you really need the external power adapter. Yes it takes a long time to save the data to your PC (the SD drive has two partitions, and the unit writes your recorded info to the other half before dumping it via USB).
Those are the only cons I could come up with. If you dont mind the limitation of only two inputs at a time, you can't beat this recorder.
I'm an old-school tape guy, so the digital versatility - like being able to retrieve previous recording history - is pretty amazing to me.
Its so great to make multiple overdubs without worrying about tape degredation - and for the price, the signal-to-noise ratio is fantastic.
If you're just messing around, or if you are an experienced arranger this unit will do a lot of work.

Comments about Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder:

Although you can't see it in the picture, size is small. However, the sound quality is superb. If you want to record using the internal mics, then you'll be surprised. Exporting to my computer is really easy. As everyone will say, take 15 minutes to read the instructions guide and you'll be set. Get the adapter (you'll need it).[...]

Comments about Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder:

just upgraded from a tascam porta 424! i really like the DP-008. it was very simple to get up and running with this recorder. the mixdown process for getting recorded songs onto the computer is relatively easy and once on there they sound great. when you turn it on it defaults to the last song that was loaded, so it's important to back up work. also, when you create a master of a tracked recording, you have to enter a new song title. i'd like it to default to the title of the tracked version that i'm mastering. those aren't comlaints, just my own preferences. i don't know how it's done in pro recording studios. great price for a powerful machine.

Comments about Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder:

The very first thing that grabbed my attention was the easily accessible controls; not a whole lot of menu-searching or dialogue. The second thing that got me was the ease of use. I never even opened the plastic manual/ warranty packet included in the box. I was major impressesed! :-)[...] Anyway, it's (DP-008)a great product for a beginner, OR a seasoned veteran of recording.....

Comments about Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder:

For the price this is a great little recorder. I was really missing my old 4 track from the late 80's - a Yamaha MT100, so I decided to replace it with a new one to be my song writing notepad. At these prices, I decided the 8-track would be even better than the 4-track. I just got tired of using my large Roland VS workstation for every little idea & scratch track. This was a really good solution. The only thing that drives me crazy so far, is the lack of markers or locaters so I can jump instantly to a specific point in a song, which for me is a huge benefit in working with digital. The DP-008 is worth every penny & more, & I love the battery function. Price wise it's unbeatable. Fairly easy to use too!

Comments about Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder:

always been a huge fan of tascam's portastudio recorders... started out with the 4 track cass recorder back in 1992... i play around with hip hop and r&b tracks... currently use fl studios with cool edit pro 2.1 and the DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio allows me to travel to peoples houses i normally wouldnt bring to my own (LOL) so with this unit i could record their vocals and then go home and transfer (export wave file via usb) right into my cool edit program and then mix and master the completed track... the quality on this dp-008 is amazing... no hum....no hisss... no noise AT ALL...!

Comments about Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder:

You will need lots of batteries, so the power suplly would be add.

Comments about Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder:

I'm astonished that this affordable, small unit has the recording capabilities that just a few years ago, would've come in a big and bulky (cassette) unit. Nicely designed and mostly easy to work with, the DP-008 accompanied me on a weeklong songwriting sabbatical and within moments of deboxing it, I was up and running.

This is my 6th multitrack in 20 years and it's the most intuitive of them all. I'd say the only clunky thing about it has to do with the more technical end of it: file and memory card management. Follow the instructions without thinking about them and you'll be fine.

Please note that I bought the recommended PSP520 power supply and did not bother to test with batteries -- I can't speak to how energy-efficient this unit is.

Comments about Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder:

As a 63 year old musician, the challenges of recording can be daunting. The Tascam DP-008 I ordered from B&H gives me the opportunity to lay down multiple tracks with high quality sound right in my living room. Running drum track, bass, rhythm and lead along with vocals is easy and fun to play back. The best thing is the quiet operation I achieve by using headphones so no one else can hear what I am playing until I am ready to share. Good quality machine, solidly built and simple to operate. Phantom power availability is a welcome option. The reverb effects are great. Order the optional power supply so you don't have to replace batteries. It's well worth it.

Comments about Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder:

I rated this 5 stars based on the price and how pleased I was. I've played guitar for over 20 yrs but my recording exposure has been little, just looking for something to record a decent demo or ideas onto and am very pleased. I saved a significant amount of money buying here rather than the other local or online choices such as music shops etc. I sat down and without even reading the instructions in less than 10 minutes I had a awesome recording. The sound of the built in mics was extremely surprising, it just gets better when you start plugging in better mics, guitars etc. The sound is really clear. Its easy to use and I like having the knobs rather than a maze of digital adjustments. Saving, sending to computer and burning a cd gets a little more complicated. For the money it is probably impossible to beat. Is it perfect?, No, for one more effects would be nice but then again you have to consider the price. Its also very compact, portable and battery life has been excellent.

Comments about Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder:

First, this product records great and clean with no latency which is the "iffy" part on software based multitrack recording. The disappointment is the joke about the "optional" power supply and non-interoperable aspects of the system and slow write/save backup speeds.

The included batteries only lasted a few hours. 4 new Energizers were down to one bar in 6. They absolutely should include a power supply with each unit. It is both greener and more convenient.

The ad copy about moving files back and forth to your comupter is only a half truth in that you have to export and write everything to a partition on the storage chip (more than 5 minutes for a song) and then plug it in to your computer to transfer from the partition which disables all recording and menu functions on the DP-008. Also, Tascam was too cheap to pay the license to write mp3, so you have to mix a master, export a .wav and then convert it on your computer. Great for little songs and bites and the audio is clean as a whistle.

Comments about Tascam DP-008 Portable 8-Track Portastudio Recorder:

I use the DP-008 in producing music as an amateur. I plug my electric or electric-acoustic guitar into the device to mix with other rhythm tracks. I also find it useful in hearing how I am playing and self critiquing myself so that I can become a better player. I connect ti to M-Audio or Alesis speakers for monitoring or listen through earphones.

Pros: easy to use, good documentation and it comes with a demo file that walks you through to use it, Quality construction, compact and portable, runs good just on batteries.

Cons; I think the output amp is underpowered. I have to turn the volume way up to hear through the earphones.