Huh??? Really??? Wat???
So this was just released for backup purposes?
Walk into a studio Huh??? Wat???
Maybe you're used to a different time
A studio these days is where ever somebody is doing recording.
Are you aware that these days grammy award nominated songs have been recorded on a cellphone?
https://genius.com/a/steve-lacy-explains-how-he-produces-grammy-nominated-songs-on-his-iphone
Freelance ... huh? wat? I do freelance tracks all the time on my DP 24. Hell, I've done freelance work for a client using my 2 track DR-05. Do you realize all the ways that today's artists get songs on ITunes, Spotify, Facebook, Youtube, Bandcamp, etc? In 2019 a studio can be somebody's Cubase rig, Somebody's IPhone, Somebody's Tascam DR-05. These days if it can spit out a .wav file or .mp3 it can be used as a recording studio, and the result can be uploaded to the Internet and sold for a Patreon contribution
Walking into a studio ???? @mjk I think you might be referring to a narrow paradigm of recording studios from possibly a previous era, or only a certain crowd. Today anybody can have a recording studio virtually anywhere and if you know what you're doing you can easily get work as a freelance recording engineer (easily!) Now because recording can literally be done anywhere the payscale for a recording freelance job is not what it use to be
But the work is plentiful.
Large segments of the listening public stream music over the Internet, download tracks from all kinds of websites for all kinds of prices and for all intentional purposes its a recording free for all out there
@mjk this is a freelancer's world more than any other point in time in history.
So I'm a bit confused about what premises you might be using for your argument. For example, I have a Tascam DP 24, DP-02, and DR-05 and Midi Recording setup. That is my recording studio, I get paid by local bands, choirs, the community brass band, vocalists, hopeful garage bands regularly to record, mix, and master tracks. So far (knock on wood) my customers have been very happy with the product I deliver. In most cases I take my studio to where the client is performing. And I deal with whatever acoustics are there. I consider myself a freelancer in this regard.
Now perhaps you are referring to situations or scenarios where a freelancer walks into someone else's setup. I don't have much experience about that paradigm. Or what happens when someone walks in an old school AAA studio. But its 2019 and high quality digital multi-track recording can be accomplished in a myriad of ways. And if you're uncomfortable working with someone else's gear or in someone else's spot, Start your own
and use whatever setup suits you. If you're any good at producing the finished product you'll get work
As a matter of fact, there are times that when my clients see my setup they say "Finally somebody who knows what he's doing"
But to be sure no recording studio these days have a monopoly on producing records, demos, film scores, cable tv scores, game music,etc. It literally can be done virtually anywhere and by anybody with basic recording skills that can produce stereo wav, mp3, or .mid files. I know this is true because I see it almost every day
The large record companies and recording studios no longer dictate what is recorded, who records it, or how its recorded.
And the notion that we've seen the last MTR is odd considering that the Tascam M 24 which is a MTR was just recently released. And even if there is nothing after the DP 24, and DP 32, Perhaps that's more a testament of if-aint-broke-dont-fix-it (notwithstanding a HDMI out port) And in any event the DP 24 and DP 32 will be in service for a long long time. For Pete's sake, folks are still using 2488's, I've seen DP-01s out there being actively used for commercially released material.
I guess we are all heavily influenced by the circles we travel in , or are exposed to. In the environment I'm in, the sky is the limit for freelancers (in terms of quantity of work opportunities) again the pay reflects the fact that there is a lot of competition out there. But there is plenty of work to go around.
And in my particular case, my work integrates well with others because I either do the recording myself with my gear, or I accept wav files, .mp3 files, or .mid files and I produce wav files, .mp3 file and .mid files. Because I have no proprietary DAW file formats to worry about coming in to me or going out from me, I don't run into the DAW trap. So from a gear point of view my customers could actually care less whether I'm using Protools, Cubase, Reason, Cakewalk, or Tascam recording solutions as long as I can handle their file formats, and give them back files that they can use.
And, if you have some setup that can't work with .wav 16 bit or 24bit, or .midi files or .mp3 or can't be recorded by my setup then you are not a potential customer for me
and I am not a potential freelancer for you
I think TEAC will keep selling PortaStudio standalone solutions as long as there is a market and so far: PortaStudio has been more or less continually available since 1979. That suggests to me the Tascam folks know a great deal about home recording. mjk make no mistake about it, there is more home recording going on than any other kind and there are more ppl, freelancing, hustling, making money(albeit small money) off home recording scale rigs than there are AAA recording studios.
So if I were to bet, I would say that the Portastudio in one form or another will outlast the concept of the large AAA recording studio
And what improvements beyond my suggestion to add HDMI out to DP 24 and DP 32 would you add.? DP 24,32 already have the basic recording, mixing, and mastering tools, They provide acceptable interface to computers, they produce very high quality recordings, they have send ,return, and aux capability that allow the users to add whatever outboard gear they need. One could argue that adding Midi Sync would be a good addition. Reasonable ppl can disagree over this but, those who want midi features do have valid arguments. What improvements could TEAC realistically add and keep the units at $499 and $599? Perhaps increasing SD card storage to keep up with the Model 24
I think you might be in for a surprise with respect to the future of standalone MTRs
