Tascam no longer makes reliable equipment?

[Stephen Jones]

Oh by the way, in watching Phil's videos, he makes tremendous reference to the Block Diagram in the back of the manual. This is, of course, the best and most proper way of learning the details of how and why you have to do things a certain way.

But this is a good example to me of why the machine and manual are not user-friendly. I have owned a ton of different electronic musical devices (Amps, Recorders, Effects, et al) since the mid-1960s. A lot of them come with similar Block Diagrams. I have usually glanced over them and oohed-and-aahed about their complexity for a few minutes. But I never once had to refer to them and absolutely never had to look at them to understand how to use the unit. Of course, the Tascam is a lot more complex than anything I have ever owned. But a lot of what comes out in these forums and in the videos are things that should at least have been summarized or at least mentioned in the Manual.

For example, the business of having to fully stop the Tascam while bouncing/Mixing in order to move the Pan, should have a note in the manual, since that is definitely not intuitive... at least for a beginner in digital recording. The manual just stated that you can change the Pan but never mentions how. And I had to experiment some before I figured out for myself how to do it.

 

[David Porter]

I hear you.

I think that, regardless of the recording platform, one path to the best recordings is taking the time necessary to not only understand the power and capabilities of chosen platform, but also having an equal understanding of the limitations. Short cuts and workarounds become more clear. Sounds like you're well on your way. Best of luck to you!

 

[Stephen Jones]

Yep. After the holidays I will go back and review and finish Phil's videos and try to get a better handle on things. I have learned a lot through trial and error though.

Thanks again for the encouragement! I'll admit, I am having a ton of fun. Best Christmas gift my wife ever gave me! She keeps bugging me for a finished CD, and she's worth it!

 

[BikerDude]

My experience.
I've owned a DP02 for years and upgraded to a DP32.
I've had it since Christmas.
I had problems out of the gate with the supplied SD card.
I did 2 songs and turned the unit off and took the SD card to my laptop and copied over the master tracks. When I put the SD card back in the 32 I couldn't open either song. I got the dreaded "file error" message.
I put a fresh SAN Disk 32 Gig ultra in and did a full format.
Re-recorded the 2 songs and haven't had problems since.

I'm still getting my sea legs but it's a relief that this got straightened out.
I did not want to return the unit.
I've found Phil's videos and I'm working my way through getting the ropes.
I kind of didn't get the adjustments on the reverb. But it was ok because I apply the most important delay outside the unit. I'm using a vocal processor and a guitar multieffects pedal so it still came out ok. But I'm used to the 02 where the reverb has a dedicated pot for each track where you control how much is applied. But in the long run the 32's effects seem much better than the DP02.
The other thing is that there is a bit less flexibility in the volume at mixdown.
You really need to get your levels right. You could fudge it with the o2 and boost the levels at mixdown.
The 32 is a bit tougher if you record with less volume than you'd like in the final mix but it's a learning curve.
Right now I'm pretty happy.

 

[Jimmy Bruno]

I got my shipping label from musicians friend it is on its way back to them now. I was going to get an exchange but they don't have anymore and the item is discontinued so I am just getting a refund. I really hope Tascam puts out a new model this year.

A lot of web sites are no linger carrying the unit.. YOu'd think tascam would get the message.

I decided to keep mine but it fails me from time to time

 

[David Porter]

Not sure if this an "across the pond" problem.... or what. But I check semi-regularly - just for curiosity's sake. And I continue to see the Tascam DP-32SD *IN STOCK* and ready to ship from:

Musicians Friend

Sweetwater

Guitar Center

Zzounds

 

[BikerDude]

Not sure if this an "across the pond" problem.... or what. But I check semi-regularly - just for curiosity's sake. And I continue to see the Tascam DP-32SD *IN STOCK* and ready to ship from:

Musicians Friend

Sweetwater

Guitar Center

Zzounds

And the Tascam website doesn't show it as discontinued.
It does for other products. Like the Dp02
http://tascam.com/product/dp-02/
It could be that they just aren't publicizing it's discontinuation so that the remaining units can be sold.
But so far it's listed on Musicians Friend and Amazon.
In fact it's tagged with a "top rated" tag at Musician's Friend.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/audio-recorders

 

[massimo nannelli]

If you can help me , please ! I'm an italian owner of the "32 SD" Me too as Jeff I have troubles with "writing failed " message or "file error " and even " card error" the last time . All this way is frustrating... And it came with the same cards of him !! SAND DISK EXTREME PRO 32 GB ...with other cards it never failed , SAN DISK EXTREME was ok. It could be a faulty card to block the device ?! When it happens the only way to do is turn off the dc switch current to wall to the appareil. At the first I thought that it could be a crowded dates problem, cause I 've been not careful to use the " delete unused " function , and then I accumulated an amount of memory dates that the card can't stand on one single song....Doubts.... Coming back on recording other songs with less memory dates all goes on right ..but that song failed staying so , I can't help it ! What kind of advice can you givce me ? ..to try a different type of sd cards or to ask a technical about repair ( expensive solution for more than one reason...long distance from technical assistance, time to spend, complexity of the trouble ..) ....Waiting for your advice... Thanks

 

[Mark Richards]

Massimo, welcome to the forum. The DP-xxYY is highly reliable when used with TASCAM tested SD cards and the firmware is up-to-date, so it is unlikely you have a hardware problem.

There are many discussions on SD card issues like yours. You can find them by searching on "sd card" and then clicking on the "site results" tab.
http://www.tascamforums.com/search/8242699/?q=Sd card&o=date&c[node]=7
It is very likely you will find the answer you are looking for in one or more of those threads.

But I would start here with this recent discussion with links to current TASCAM tested SD cards:
http://www.tascamforums.com/threads/my-new-sop.5699/#post-28547

You might also want to make sure you have the most current firmware installed. If you need to update, the owner manual has instructions for identifying the installed firmware and for updating to the most current firmware.

 

[massimo nannelli]

Thanks ... My Tascam DP 32 SD is just one year old , just one month beyond warranty and the troubles have begun with the SAN DISK EXTREME PRO , no trouble with more simple Extreme series and only when the dates exceed in one single song too much dates (p.e. 1,7 gb. or more ). If I recharge as Wav files the same failed song in other place , it works . Very strange... I thought too many overdubbing corrections could cause it , not using "delete unused " and creating too much dates ...

 

[-mjk-]

I re-read the OP and subsequent messages, and I think I now understand what originally happened. Over the course of several messages, the OP makes reference to:

• For my test I transferred a session from my DP-24.
• The only lingering thought I have is that the DP32 can not truly support sessions made on the DP24. However, they claim to be able to play DP24 session without a problem.
• I also wonder if the device can not handle imported tracks.
• I would like to pop another card in and not use any imported tracks or DP 24 sessions and just record a ton of tracks, do a ton of editing and mix downs and see if it fails.....
• I have to wonder if the machine is just unreliable while using DP24 sessions and imported tracks.
• This time I am only importing tracks through the Audio Depot - Wav files that were previously exported from the DP-24.
• I have now imported the tracks into a DP-32SD Session. I have made some some track editing and have made 2 mix downs. So far no problems...

Notice the differentiation between a DP-24 session and imported tracks. I believe that the OP either took the card out of the DP-24 and put it in the DP-32, or copied a DP-24 song onto the card he put in the DP-32, and experienced failures. Later on he says that the imported tracks seem to work, but by that time, the suspicion that the unit was faulty was probably too hard to overcome. It made for a very interesting read.