Update: I have been using the DP24SD quite intensively and I’m really impressed by the ease of use and quality of the recordings. Except for the internal guitar effects which I abandoned for an external multi effects pedal and which improved things tremendously. As written below, I expect this to be the last of its kind with DAW having taken over almost completely so for those in doubt, grab one now as long as they are on sale. The price is an all time low (I got mine for a ridiculous $400). I’m seriously thinking of getting me a 2nd machine and keep it in the box for when my current one runs out. Soon these things will be heavily sought after by a small but dedicated group of enthusiasts.
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The DP24SD is my 3rd multitrack recorder after a Yamaha MT4X and a Zoom R8. I got it a month ago and give my first impressions here. No doubt the R8 is a more sophisticated device than the Tascam DP24SD. In fact, the R8 is more sophisticated than its bigger siblings R16 and R24 and is the latest launched. I compare the R8 and DP24SD like a Lamborghini vs a pickup truck; they both get you there but with difference in sophistication, speed and onboard resources. Otherwise, the ways of working is fairly similar.
The R8 comes choke-full with effects, many derived from Zoom's G2Nu and available for whatever you want to record. Each can be tweaked and adjusted ad infinitum. You can even tell the device what kind of batteries you are using. It also has a sequencer and drum machine but the latter shouldn’t be taken too serious. Still, it comes handy. The R8 also integrates well with DAWs. It’s mind-boggling how they can cram so much resource in such a small device. It can handle two send/return effects simultaneously. Furthermore, you have access from within your current project to all tracks of any song on your SD card, to be imported without having to go to a computer first. It can handle an infinite amount of reserve takes to be linked to any track. And it does all this at greater speed and smaller file size than the DP24SD. The DP24SD’s on-board effects are borderline at best and if you insist on quality you better bring your own. The guitar effect’s Chorus and Reverb for example are inferior to those of the R8 and in addition have a irritating hiss, very noticeable through headphones and which doesn’t go away with the Noise Reduction. The R8 in contrast is a very quiet machine. And finally, the R8 is amazingly mobile; it works on batteries, is light, small and fits easily in a backpack or even in a coat with large pockets. Not to mention the high quality mics.
What made me decide to keep the DP24SD aside from the obvious difference in number of inputs and tracks (although the R24 can match that) is the convenience and ease of use; it’s bigger (I don’t need mobility), has more knobs (I’m a knob guy) and the color screen is a blessing compared to the miniscule yellowish screen of the R8. I also find the sound of the DP24SD more pleasant; it has a nice organic warmth to it while the R8 to me sounds rather harsh. In spite of all the EQ possibilities (6 bands for the effects plus 3 bands for the tracks) I never managed to get a sound out of the R8 fully to my liking. I must admit that my current monitors (Yamaha HS5) are far from ideal to assist in achieving this. Even with a woofer. I would not buy them again nor recommend them to anyone (but that’s a different review). The DP24SD feels and looks more robust although some of the knobs feel pretty shaky. The R8 overall comes over as rather fragile. For both devices price comes at a cost.
Both devices are software driven (the DP24SD more than the R8) and that makes for bugs. The R8 is known to occasionally freeze which is when unplugging and removing the batteries is needed to turn it off and get it up and running again. It never got a firmware update since launch and most likely never will. Its firmware is basically an augmented version of the updated R24’s as it was launched later. The Tascam on the other hand went through several firmware updates. Given the kind of problems these address my impression is that Tascam was in a hurry to get it to the market. Even with the latest update my device is still a bit awkward. For example, the auto shutdown sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. I haven’t found a reason why it stays awake when it does. Also, on first use or after reset the effects are at such low settings that the first thought is that they are malfunctioning. The thought that the default setting is “no setting at all” is not an obvious one. Then there is this hiss in the guitar effects which I guess a firmware update could address.
My current setup uses both devices as follows: the guitar feeds into a Mimiq Doubler pedal which splits the signal in two; each slightly offset, differently equalized and of opposite phase, within the box. One signal is processed by a Zoom G1XON. The other signal by the R8’s effects module. Both enter the DP24SD on respectively channel 1 and 2, panned left and right. Both are lo cut at 100 Hz and further EQ’d by the DP24SD’s track eq’s. This makes it sound as if two different guitars are playing together, with different effects but with the nice DP24SD sound.
I realize that multitrack recorders are a dying breed. Tascam, Boss and Zoom are the only ones left and they are milking their current offers (with prices at all time low). DAWs rein while Zoom’s latest launch, the L12 LiveTrak shows in what direction machine based recording is heading; mix boards with recording capabilities. Presonis follows the same trend with their StudioLive line. And slowly it’s lights out for the standalone devices.
But for a small group of enthusiast, me included these "mature" machines are as sophisticated and rewarding as music recording gets. Just don’t bet on new ones coming to replace them. So buy them while they are still being sold. They may be worth a lot more in a few years from now.
————-
The DP24SD is my 3rd multitrack recorder after a Yamaha MT4X and a Zoom R8. I got it a month ago and give my first impressions here. No doubt the R8 is a more sophisticated device than the Tascam DP24SD. In fact, the R8 is more sophisticated than its bigger siblings R16 and R24 and is the latest launched. I compare the R8 and DP24SD like a Lamborghini vs a pickup truck; they both get you there but with difference in sophistication, speed and onboard resources. Otherwise, the ways of working is fairly similar.
The R8 comes choke-full with effects, many derived from Zoom's G2Nu and available for whatever you want to record. Each can be tweaked and adjusted ad infinitum. You can even tell the device what kind of batteries you are using. It also has a sequencer and drum machine but the latter shouldn’t be taken too serious. Still, it comes handy. The R8 also integrates well with DAWs. It’s mind-boggling how they can cram so much resource in such a small device. It can handle two send/return effects simultaneously. Furthermore, you have access from within your current project to all tracks of any song on your SD card, to be imported without having to go to a computer first. It can handle an infinite amount of reserve takes to be linked to any track. And it does all this at greater speed and smaller file size than the DP24SD. The DP24SD’s on-board effects are borderline at best and if you insist on quality you better bring your own. The guitar effect’s Chorus and Reverb for example are inferior to those of the R8 and in addition have a irritating hiss, very noticeable through headphones and which doesn’t go away with the Noise Reduction. The R8 in contrast is a very quiet machine. And finally, the R8 is amazingly mobile; it works on batteries, is light, small and fits easily in a backpack or even in a coat with large pockets. Not to mention the high quality mics.
What made me decide to keep the DP24SD aside from the obvious difference in number of inputs and tracks (although the R24 can match that) is the convenience and ease of use; it’s bigger (I don’t need mobility), has more knobs (I’m a knob guy) and the color screen is a blessing compared to the miniscule yellowish screen of the R8. I also find the sound of the DP24SD more pleasant; it has a nice organic warmth to it while the R8 to me sounds rather harsh. In spite of all the EQ possibilities (6 bands for the effects plus 3 bands for the tracks) I never managed to get a sound out of the R8 fully to my liking. I must admit that my current monitors (Yamaha HS5) are far from ideal to assist in achieving this. Even with a woofer. I would not buy them again nor recommend them to anyone (but that’s a different review). The DP24SD feels and looks more robust although some of the knobs feel pretty shaky. The R8 overall comes over as rather fragile. For both devices price comes at a cost.
Both devices are software driven (the DP24SD more than the R8) and that makes for bugs. The R8 is known to occasionally freeze which is when unplugging and removing the batteries is needed to turn it off and get it up and running again. It never got a firmware update since launch and most likely never will. Its firmware is basically an augmented version of the updated R24’s as it was launched later. The Tascam on the other hand went through several firmware updates. Given the kind of problems these address my impression is that Tascam was in a hurry to get it to the market. Even with the latest update my device is still a bit awkward. For example, the auto shutdown sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. I haven’t found a reason why it stays awake when it does. Also, on first use or after reset the effects are at such low settings that the first thought is that they are malfunctioning. The thought that the default setting is “no setting at all” is not an obvious one. Then there is this hiss in the guitar effects which I guess a firmware update could address.
My current setup uses both devices as follows: the guitar feeds into a Mimiq Doubler pedal which splits the signal in two; each slightly offset, differently equalized and of opposite phase, within the box. One signal is processed by a Zoom G1XON. The other signal by the R8’s effects module. Both enter the DP24SD on respectively channel 1 and 2, panned left and right. Both are lo cut at 100 Hz and further EQ’d by the DP24SD’s track eq’s. This makes it sound as if two different guitars are playing together, with different effects but with the nice DP24SD sound.
I realize that multitrack recorders are a dying breed. Tascam, Boss and Zoom are the only ones left and they are milking their current offers (with prices at all time low). DAWs rein while Zoom’s latest launch, the L12 LiveTrak shows in what direction machine based recording is heading; mix boards with recording capabilities. Presonis follows the same trend with their StudioLive line. And slowly it’s lights out for the standalone devices.
But for a small group of enthusiast, me included these "mature" machines are as sophisticated and rewarding as music recording gets. Just don’t bet on new ones coming to replace them. So buy them while they are still being sold. They may be worth a lot more in a few years from now.
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