2488 Neo - SSD Upgrade!

Scott Tribbey

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Gear owned
2488 neo, dp24, dp008
I still can't bring myself to sell the 2488 Neo as it just represents such an awesome multitrack. The Neo was much closer to a hardware DAW than any of the current Tascam or even Zoom machines.

My 2488 Neo came with a 160GB drive installed. I assumed the first owner had upgraded it but as it turns out this is not the case.

Nevertheless, the one thing I didn't like about the Neo was the hard drive itself. It's actually pretty fast, in some cases faster than a dp24. Still though, the physical drive represents the most likely failure point - along with the CD drive.

I wanted to see if it was possible to upgrade the 2488 Neo to an SSD transparently. Obviously, the system will know nothing about the SSD so modern SSD technologies like TRIM won't be operating. No big deal. It would still be a really nice upgrade.

I have seen teardown shots of the Neo showing the base and top portion split away from each other. In those shots the base contains the power supply, CDROM and 5 1/4" HD. The drives are directly connected via a single IDE cable to the mainboard.

When I removed the 11 screws on the base to see my HD I was surprised to see not only the drive but a factory TEAC IDE-to-SATA converter board. My CDROM was marked 2009 so my Neo must be a 2009/2010 model. Clearly Tascam had already run out of sources for plain old IDE drives and had tackled the problem with a converter.

When planning my SSD upgrade I purchased a PNY 120GB SATA SSD ($17!) and a StarTech IDE-to-SATA converter from Amazon. That StarTech is highly rated by people who have had trouble with other converters when attempting to upgrade older equipment. It probably would have worked as well but obviously the best choice here was to simply use the converter already supplied by Tascam.

Anyhow, I connected the PNY SSD to the converter, strapped it down with a nylon tie and buttoned everything back together. The Neo booted normally and of course stopped early to ask if I wanted to format the drive. Yes was the obvious answer. It created 3 32GB audio partitions and a 17GB FAT partition for exporting to USB.

I recommend shutting down and restarting the Neo after booting and formatting a new drive.

I imported some backups I had made from the hard drive before removing it. Everything runs perfectly! It seems somewhat faster booting and shutting down and certainly a bit faster in other operations but it's not using anywhere near the bandwidth the SSD is capable of. This upgrade is not about making the Neo super fast. It's already a responsive machine. After all the drive transfer rates are limited by the interface speed of the motherboard in the Neo.

The real point of the upgrade is to get rid of the most fragile part of the machine. On top of that, removing the hard drive reduces overall power usage in the system. This lowers the load on the power supply, keeps the heat down and presumably could lead to longer life for the supply as well now that the 12V rail is hardly used. You also lighten the Neo by a few ounces though that's hardly noticeable.

Here's a link to the StarTech converter if you're interested.
https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Drive-Optical-Adapter-Converter/dp/B00EOJNGC2/ref=sr_1_3?crid=AVKNXJGTZIOH&keywords=startech ide to sata adapter&qid=1566569798&s=gateway&sprefix=startech ide,aps,142&sr=8-3

This same approach using the Startech converter MIGHT work on earlier 2488 models. It's a small gamble. The SSD's are getting very cheap.

NOTE: I stuck with a 120GB drive because the Neo probably doesn't handle drives larger than 160GB. 3 32GB audio partitions is a lot of recording time. I checked the manual and found that the maximum number of partitions is 4 and max partition size is 32GB so indeed don't use a drive larger than 160GB.

Now the question is do I keep my dp24? :)
 
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Here is the factory converter.
view

https://drive.google.com/file/d/103Oznqz6q76LQimkgS8hQp_GUAUiIob3/view?usp=drivesdk

Here is the finished job.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/103WvpF5nYjna0IXf_ZWqcT870XYT-5Pv/view?usp=drivesdk

Hmm... can't get image links to work with Google. :-|
view
 
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I've successfully upgraded an original 2488 to SSD ( Samsung PM871b Opal 2.0 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gbps SSD) using a generic PATA IDE to SATA Converter Adapter from ebay. Rather than mounting with cable ties, I made a 3.5" to 2.5" adapter plate to hold the SDD.

Here's some pics

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19hkV8STu6SMguZ3QGutXF7whHMZPP4FN/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HegGNDf00Z6VQG3z1H8o7evWU-vZyisw/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c5eNx_Tihw_Vd44BiltEaw1uj2mv_3B5/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j5O13JfZO1jMfE-x6fEDBkugiwa10UrP/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EXreWABu7ds__T-AjFUIKMmL6K1ipdj-/view?usp=sharing
 
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2pm 1-1-2020 I admire BOTH your upgrades ! My '2009 Dream Machine-NEO' has NEVER been apart. That being said...it seems pretty clear i will NOT need to purchase an SSD adopter-it's already there. Then again, I'm old school-if it ain't broke don't fix it. At 70yrs YOUNG & on a budget-i'm hesitant to make the change even though I have good CC's. knowing that an SSD would lower the heat & voltage usage does make me salivate to make the move.
Then, I saw Scott's beautiful monitor setup & I'm thinkin' my 4-eyes need a break reading my OEM's dark screen...I need to know if there's a cheep way for that hookup as opposed to the $200+ pricetag I saw & quickly dismissed when they 1st came out. So, I'm hoping some1 sends me the URL for the monitor setup or else I'll eat the bullet & do the SSD upgrade when my next SS ck arrives. :) I'm an open book, FRIENDS. I love my TASCAM-neo. I only wish I used it a ton more times b-4 radiation took away my once pretty good singing voice. If i can share anything w/this group it would be: live out your dreams NOW-don'y postpone 'till tomorrow ! Yea, Musical Life can be cut THAT SHORT, that quickly. I performed my dreams of touring & playing lounges, bars & even concerts. I never smoked--yet that 2nd-hand smoke is credited for my stage 4 throat 'c'. I'm only trying to be HELPFUL while I pontificate here. If anyone is offended--too bad.
I'm going to try & locate a how to install that monitor in case i don't get a quick response. Nah, I'm going to enjoy my liquid-lunch w/my wife of 34 years. I'll never complain after all, I am still able to play my Yamaha, Korg, & Roland keyboards & my yamaha elec. drums & I have it pretty good when I consider all those children living @ St. Jude's Hospital w/their 'C." Thanks again for your help, guys.
 
I must confess that I had to finally revert my 2488 neo to the original hard drive. :(

It would run great with the SSD for long periods of time and then randomly crash hard with a message that read...

MTR Stopped !!
Host DSP in error state.

The crash only happened on recording, not playback.

When it locked up like that the only thing to do was reboot. :mad:

I thought it might be the older IDE to SATA converter that Tascam included. My thought was that it might be too old to work with a modern SSD even though that should be transparent.

I tried a different IDE to SATA controller. It worked about the same.
The other possibility is that the PNY 120GB SSD I'm using has its own issues. Maybe it needs a firmware update.

I may try another SSD drive at some point but the Hitachi 160GB 7200rpm drive that came with it is actually a good, fast drive.

A project for another day.

Did your SSD have any problems johnjohn?
 
I just upgraded from a NEO to a DP32sd, and it's great! It's completely silent and transfers fast to my PC for editing.
Just curious, what about the NEO "was much closer to a hardware DAW than any of the current Tascam or even Zoom machines" ?
 
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Just curious, what about the NEO "was much closer to a hardware DAW than any of the current Tascam or even Zoom machines" ?

Nothing. "DAW" means "digital audio workstation" and that could be anything. Anything that is digital and does audio recording and editing could be characterized as a DAW. The issue is software vs: hardware.
 
Obviously that was my opinion, there is no formal definition. Nevertheless, the Neo had many useful features the new machines have done away with usually as a cost reduction.
  • MIDI sync support - send or receive - a MUST for keyboard people
  • MIDI automation of effects, mixer, etc.
  • Considerably more flexible and comprehensive effects
  • Numerous FX presets
  • Expression pedal input for FX control
  • Mixer Scenes
  • Tempo and Time Sig change maps for songs
  • 3 internal stereo busses and 2 send channels
  • s/pdif digital audio - coax IN and OUT
  • Full control of individual channel panning on stereo tracks making them more like dual mono tracks.
  • Varispeed recording and playback +-6%
  • SSA - Slow Speed Audition with constant pitch from normal down to half speed.
  • 999 level undo
  • etc,
Lots of stuff I wish the current dp series had. MIDI is the big one for me though.
 
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I agree Scott. I searched for and bought a used DP-32 for the MIDI capability.
 
Thank you Scott for taking the time to reply on the features of the Neo over the DP32sd.
I've only recorded acoustic instruments so far but I appreciate knowing the differences in the 2 recorders.
 
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I agree Scott. I searched for and bought a used DP-32 for the MIDI capability.
As did I. MIDI is important.

I actually have in my possession a brand-new OEM-spec WDigital 80G hdd for my ‘neo, which I bought’cuz I read about the original hdd’s eventuality flaming out.
Though I’d OFTEN wished a faster SSD could be made to work…the ‘neo’s file system/data handling speeds make the Apollo 13 onboard computer look like Deep Blue.
But when I studied up on it, it seemed like a crappshoot…and - amazingly - my ‘neo’s original hdd, after so many years of heavy use, still works perfectly. Not one error or freeze/crash EVER.

And now, my ‘neo sits idle while the DP does the work!!!
Anyone interested in my ‘neo??
 
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