Great Deal for those wanting to record uke tunes

Sam Ash has the Tascam DP-008 (eight-track digital recorder) on sale for $219 (USD) on their website and will match the price in their retail stores. I bought one.

The recorder is about half the size of a sheet of paper and can run on four "AA" batteries or with an AC adapter. There are built-in condenser mics and it also has XLR jacks and 1/4 inch jacks for input.

The unit has built-in reverb that is really nice, low noise, high gain. This is a TRUE 8-track setup, that means 5/6 and 7/8 are not linked like every other 8-track on the market these days. You can master all tracks independently and either put the memory card into a computer to transfer the data or use the USB cable that is provided.

I will be writing a full review of the unit and providing pictures in Ukulele Player's next issue.

For uke tunes, this recorder is great and gives you lots of room for vocal harmonies, bass, percussion, and even guitar tracks (for those who want them).

BTW... regular price on this unit is $299, so the sale is a big savings.

Looks like a really neat unit. It looks a lot more intuitive than the Zoom H4 I have used. I like that it has lots of knobs to control things - even I can figure those out without a manual. I don't know how the sound from the mics compares to the H4, but if it sounds as good, I'd prefer the Tascom for the ease of use, and what looks like more functionality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxJDu5eOYO4

Looking forward to your full review. Have fun with your new 'toy.'

I've got the H4n and I wonder if I can use the mics on it through the Tascam? Does that make sense?

Sligthly better deal at BH ...
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/657974-REG/Tascam_DP_008_DP_008_Portable_8_Track_Portastudio.html

Chris, That would most likely work. I was just playing around with this unit a bit to get my feet wet with it and the input volume was great with a Behringer UB1202 mixer and a CAD M-177 mic. I also ran a Shure SM-57 through the Behringer. the gain was great. Without the Behringer, the unit was not as hot-- to get the same volume, you had to use a lot more gain on the unit itself and that causes a lot more noise. The H4n would probably be an excellent solution to that problem.

Cool. I know I can use the Zoom as an audio interface with my Mac via the USB, so I was wondering if it would work from Zoom to Tascam. Love the Zoom mics, but I'm starting to feel cramped by four tracks. Lately, I've been just dumping everything into GarageBand (which I usually do anyway for a final mix), but I've been wondering if more tracks would enable me to be untethered to the computer for creative recording freedom.

i need some help in understanding something on this about its usefulness.

i just used garageband for the first time (for real other than just noodling around with loops & stuff) on a recent project. so i used it to record & combine into one song lead vocals, background, picking uke, rhythm uke, shaker & other stuff all done by me at separate times. for example, i recorded me singing lead on one track and 5 min later recorded me doing the rhythm uke for the same song & then combined them, etc.

so... what is the benefit of this device or of mics like some zoom models that can record different tracks?

is this only beneficial if you have 2 or more ppl or instruments playing at the same time for their own separate tracks or am i missing something?

i'm asking because i'm looking to record more stuff using garageband and would like to start building a mini home studio and i was thinking that i've already got garageband for my tracks and the next purchase would be a decent usb mic (blue or zoom or something). so i'm just wondering how this device would do something better maybe than what garage band can do.

thanks!

:shaka:

If your Mac isn't a laptop, one benefit would definitely be the Tascam's or Zoom's portability. I'd guess that if you are cool with GB (I love it), and you don't need the portability, then a Tascam or Zoom is probably just overkill.