Tascam model 16 or presonus ar16c

[zozoe]

Silly place to post this, but I need some unbiased honesty...

"Hi all, & hoping all is well. Well, PreSonus now has their StudioLive AR16c, & has 2 extra tracks to record to, but no tweakable FX section, & no Compressor on each I/O,,, but the Tascam Model 16 has only 14 recordable tracks, but, tweakable FX, Comp.... both similarly priced. I do not have a PC, nor do I intend to.

Again, no PC,,, I know, I'm thinking old school, but I gotta keep my load small, & I'd rather lay down some tracks over the next 6 months than learn software & interfaces,,, I s'pose I'm setting myself up for a bit of a challange, but once upon a time, I'd make & mix 4-trk cassettes that sounded like 8,, 8 tracks that sounded like 12 or 16, then I had a 1" 16 trk, then it was off to the races with 2 Alesis HD24XR's & my 32 ch. board. It's all gone & now I have a burning desire to do my band's songs, among others before I kick and/or my fingers no longer work, & my brain can no longer call the shots,,,, I'll be a jack of all trades, but master of ONE,,, just one. Keep it easy, simple, soulful, & in time, if I choose to add on, I'll get a PC, but not now.
Any thoughts, or blessings?

Many thanks & be well...."

 

[-mjk-]

Unbiased Honesty Mode: [ON]/

Kenny....

In the last few weeks, we, the users of the Forum, have told you everything we know about the Model vs: Portastudio debate in several threads and with a considerable number of posts.

Don't get me wrong though. You're always welcome here in the Tascam Forums, but you are asking the same question in several different ways. What you really want to know is:

"What should I buy?" ​

We cannot tell you that.

1. Make a list of your requirements and everything that is important to you.
2. Then add to that list, the capabilities of each machine you are considering.
3. Do a typical Pro/Con analysis.
4. Make a decision.
5. Buy one.
6. Make Music.
7. Then Read The Manual

If you have to do something "before I kick and/or my fingers no longer work, & my brain can no longer call the shots" you'd better make a decision and start working, and soon.

You might be better off going to a non product-specific home recording forum to discuss differences between competing models of gear.
[OFF]/

 

[zozoe]

I totally agree,,, the PRESONUS was just brought to my attention, so just curious...
But please reiterate the diff. between the Model & the Portas. Thanks for your tolerance & knowledge... I mean both are self contained & capable of mixing onboard,,, & that the Portas are jog doal dependent, where 16 is more of the analog board setup...?

 

[-mjk-]

https://www.sweetwater.com/c1008--Digital_Multitrack_Recorders

Now you can compare as much as you want.

I'm beginning to think that all the effort we've put into organizing and indexing the forum is for nothing.

The very first post in this thread talks about the comparsons:

https://www.tascamforums.com/threads/basic-facts-model-24-16-12.7968/

I really don't get it about the "jog dial". You act as if you have to spin it to generate power to run the machine. It's a knob Kenny. The main menus are single-level so you never have to menu-dive to find things. Important functions you use every session, like Assign, Dynamics, FX and Mixer all have dedicated menus, so you don't have to scroll though a master menu to get to them. And yes (OMG!) sometimes, you do have to turn a knob to adjust things. It's the same knob that's used for moving the transport, changing the resolution of the timeline, and many other things. It has a detent in it for your finger to you can spin it. Yes, it's the dreaded jog wheel.... My 1995 Soundcraft Ghost has one. All professional hardware editing systems have them. Even brand new, modern design DAW controllers have them: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PTDock--avid-pro-tools-dock

You must get over your fear of the Jog Wheel....

 

[Blue Monster 65]

The Model 16 is much heftier and the knobs feel better than the AR-16c (if that helps). Seriously, though: follow the advice above, read the manuals and go from there. Buy from a reputable dealer (Sweetwater is HIGHLY recommended) and if you don't like your purchase, return it within the window and get the other one.

You're really overthinking this.

 

[Freebird]

Personally I would go for the Model16 (I have model 24 myself)

Model 16 have a display where you can manage everything inside the Model 16.
The Presonus doesn't seem to have that possibility at all.

Model 16 have more send options per channel: PFL/SUB/Main, while Presonus only have PFL

Model 16 have a Master Equalizer for mixdown/mastering which Presonus dont seems to have.

Model 16 have 3 AUX Send/return while Presonus only have 2.

Also... I can't see in pictures of the Presonus that there is any individual channel REC-buttons... something Model 16 have.

If you want to avoid using a computer/DAW... I would say that Model 16 have more possibilities than Presonus to do everything "outside the box".

Sure... you get a couple of more channels on Presonus, and it's a bit cheaper than Model 16. But from working on Model 24 I would chose Model 16 in your case!

https://www.thomann.de/se/tascam_model_16.htm

https://www.thomann.de/se/presonus_studiolive_ar16c.htm