Tascam Portastudio DP-24SD / DP-32SD

[Jon Hall]

I have a lot of experience recording with a handheld Tascam DR-07 Mk2 and editing the files with Audacity. I'm interested in expanding to recording 8 tracks simultaneously and being able to mix the separate tracks.

I hope that there are Café members who have experience with either of these recorders.

Are there any comparable Roland/Boss units? If there are I haven't been able to find them on their website.

[dhbailey]

I have the Zoom R24 which is very similar, but is $100 less at sweetwater.com. The Zoom also has the advantage of being able to run on 6 AA batteries for use when not near AC power (it comes with an AC adapter) and it can also be powered from USB. It also has 2 built-in mics for very easy recording when setting up mics would be impossible. You should check it out and compare the features between the Zoom R24 and either of the Portastudio models you're asking about. Zoom makes an R16 which is more limited but also costs less.

It is possible to get a "project" started on the Zoom (it gets its own folder on the SD card) and then copy mp3 files or wav files into that folder and assign them to some of the tracks on the project so that you can record yourself along with pre-recorded backing tracks (either those which accompany some songbooks or ones you make yourself in Band-in-a-Box or similar program on your computer).

I'm not saying the Zoom is better since I haven't used a Tascam Portastudio since the 4-track cassette models and thus I can't compare, but it's worth looking into. And be sure to contact your sales rep at Sweetwater.com and ask him/her any questions comparing the 2. If you don't have a sales rep at Sweetwater.com yet, ask for Josh Dillon -- he's helped me for years and I've always found his answers to put my best interests over simply trying to get sales.

[Jon Hall]

Thanks! I'll look at the Zoom product.

[mandroid]

Tascam is the same company as Teac , right?

[Jon Hall]

Yep

[seththedude]

I just picked up a used DP24. Hoping to start recording some tracks in the coming weeks.

I have had a few smaller 4 track machines so I am not totally green. This unit seems to have the specs for some decent quality stuff.