Hello
@scott123 - let me first empathize with you: I was a die-hard 2488-series devotee from the first version, right through the 'ne0...we're talkin' 15+ years here.
I'd argue to this day that despite their shortcomings/limitations, the 'neo was the best PortaStudio TASCAM ever made -
Yet - much as I
loved them - one of the bugs under my butt about them was your exact issue...the fact that they were designed with their own proprietary file system and would NOT connect to any standard computer; there's not even a USB or SD port for transferring files to detachable drives, even
after you've done that inane internal-convert-to-FAT-partition-for-export thing...only a USB cable-to-computer connection - very limiting.
This, of course, is one of the flaws/failings of a design that's probably going on 20 years old...and yet was always worth working around for me, because I always considered the '88's the class of their product category (I've used various comparative ZOOM and BOSS models, and I always favored the 88's). And to this day, I'd have a hard time choosing between transitioning my studio to DAW-based, and a chain-saw pedicure.
BUT: it won't surprise you to hear that just in the last couple years, I transitioned to an O/G DP-32, for several reasons - one of which was the SD-card compatibility/capability. I'd always dismissed the SD card storage aspect as less solid/stable/reliable than a true HDD (and I think that's true) - but when you throw in the 100% file-system compatibility of the DP via it's USB port (no more of that proprietary file system horse-puckey)...well, it was a done deal.
And - if it's relevant to your needs/wishes: another colossal step-up that going to the DP's gives: the nice little
control array, rather than the fully-menu-driven system with one big encoder. I didn't mind using it, but it (and the buttons) woulda worn out faster than using the array the DP has.
And the color screen doesn't suk either.
