Upgrading to the DP-32SD

[Jeff Volume]

I canceled mine as well .. Ill go with a DP-24 ,,, I cant go without the midi sync...

 

[Mid life crisis]

Now I'm not sure what to do? I'm old school and don't really use MIDI anyway. Never used it on the 2488's either. Hum ..... Do I still keep it or not? I realize resale might be a problem, but 1) I still have my 2488 Neo, never sold it and 2) paying only $400 new for the DP-32SD, I won't have to get as much for it if I do sell it later on, compared to $600. However, I am a little disappointed that I wasn't told about the lack of MIDI either. That would really put a damper to syncing another portastudio for more channels. I was led to believe the only thing missing was the CD burner. I'm starting to question MF's credibility. Mine will be here tomorrow and I'll see.
MLC

 

[Jeff Volume]

If I didn't use midi , it not having it wouldn't be an issue, its an incredible deal for 32 tracks of digital audio regardless..

 

[Top-L]

It can be synced with external hardware drum module or daw using MMC. Thats a really important feature for most users as they will use it with a drum machine or sequencer. In reality, I don't think the music I make on this will need more than 24 tracks. If it gets more elaborate I will bonce everything to the daw.

Bigger concerns of software reliability without two pieces of hardware. Who tested this to work? Will it crash when you try to use midi feature? Are the menus changed? Whole thing seems kinda sketchy.

I think it will be worth less than a DP24 in resale. Probably much less.

 

[corbo]

cancelled my order , was offered a dp24 as they have them in stock but at a higher price, kinda makes the whole deal of the day pointless.
Musicians Friend Failed on this one .

 

[jpondhawk]

I have the NEO and 2488. You can pan the paired stereo tracks separately. The DP-24 and DP-32 only allows global panning to the stereo pair. It is pre-fixed for 63 L and 63R otherwise. If you pan on the DP-24 or DP-32, say to 15L the paired adjacent stereo track will also pan to 15L so you will not have stereo. Both tracks will be 15L. It doesn't pan the adjacent paired track to 15 R that I know of. I listened to it and it was one sided when I panned to 15L. The stereo effect suffered.

When I record mono tracks I like to shoot them into stereo tracks. Now I can't because the mono tracks have to be adjusted and panned separately to get the final mix. This can be done on the NEO and 2488. On the DP-32 I would have to send the mono tracks back to two mono tracks (which I won't likely have left) and then adjust the pan, the send, EQ and then bounce them separately to stereo tracks to keep their unique pans, EQs and effect values.

The DP-32 has midi in and out... this is from Tascam's page of specs for the DP-32
MIDI IN / OUT
Connector DIN 5 pin
Format Standard MIDI format
It also has a CD burner...

 

[Jeff Volume]

The DP-32 has midi in and out... this is from Tascam's page of specs for the DP-32
MIDI IN / OUT
Connector DIN 5 pin
Format Standard MIDI format
It also has a CD burner...

Yes the DP-32 does have all those features but we are referring to the DP-32SD which dose not... Its not listed on the tascam site, its been discontinued everywhere except MusiciansFriend....
The DP-32SD seems to be a stripped down cheaper version... My major concern would be the lack of firmware updates by Tascam unless the DP-32 firmware would work ...

 

[corbo]

Received an email from MF , they are going to honor the $400 price on a DP-32 with midi and the burner , DP-32 is on back order they should get them back in stock by mid month, Have to give them credit they stepped up.

 

[Mid life crisis]

Got my DP-32SD today. Contrary to what the guy at MF told me, it does have an operation manual to match the machine. As everyone knows, the SD version does not have MIDI or a burner ...... and the manual reflects that. It's not just the manual from a regular DP-32. I won't need MIDI, but I am curious about the $400 offer on the DP-32 that Corbo mentioned. My problem is almost everyone is out of the DP-24 and Dp-32 and they all seem to be on back order. I asked Sweetwater when they were getting more in and was told they don't have a solid commitment from Tascam as to when. It sounds like MF has some now.

I know it's a big shot in the dark, but I'm going to try contacting Tascam regarding any firmware updates for the DP-32SD. Mine is at 1.00 0001 and I believe they are at 1.03 for a download. I won't upgrade until I hear from them. I doubt anyone at MF will know.

Jeff V., I was told the SD was an exclusive for MF and Guitar Center only. They weren't distributed anywhere else. But who knows !
MLC

 

[Jeff Volume]

MF didn't email me any offers, hmmmm..They did issue a return to sender change to UPS before it was delivered to my home though. ... Now I wait for Musicians Friend to to receive it back and refund my money lol...
I went ahead and ordered a DP-24 from Amazon yesterday as they had several in stock. supposed to be here Thursday with the upgraded shipping charge... Hope I at least receive it by the weekend, I want to start tracking...

 

[Top-L]

Received an email from MF , they are going to honor the $400 price on a DP-32 with midi and the burner , DP-32 is on back order they should get them back in stock by mid month, Have to give them credit they stepped up.

Wow, I should have fought for this. They were more than happy to reverse the shippping on the item. I have the 24 from Amazon.

If the 32 is out of stock at MF, it may be that people complained about lack of features on the SD and they offered replacements.. . Or that they are locking down the stock they had so they don't have to.

My guess is these will soon be replaced by a new model. What a mess.

 

[Top-L]

I know it's a big shot in the dark, but I'm going to try contacting Tascam regarding any firmware updates for the DP-32SD. Mine is at 1.00 0001 and I believe they are at 1.03 for a download. I won't upgrade until I hear from them. I doubt anyone at MF will know.

If the SD has its own firmware, my advice is to send it back. The chances that the 1.0 version is bug free is small, and because its a niche product therre won't be any updates.

However, it is possible that they would provide drivers that would allow midi over USB, making the midi port redundant.

 

[corbo]

MF is expecting stock the second week of the month. I also found out that the DP-32sd had been also sold in Europe by a dealer but they no longer carry it .

 

[Top-L]

I don't want to rain on your parade, but when MF doesn't know when something is coming in, they put 2 weeks out on their website. When the stock doesnt arrive, they keep adjusting the date.

I got caught in this trap last year before cancelling the order.

Also, I spoke with the rep before the sale who said the only differnce was the lack of CD drive. It seems there are incentives for them to clear these out. I am guessing a new porta will be announced shortly if it wasn't at namm.

 

[corbo]

They gave me a date of the 14 , will see what happens, I also got confirmation the SD does not have midi capabillities or burner

 

[Mid life crisis]

I did get through to TASCAM ops support today. They told me the DP-32SD 'should' accept the firmware updates for the DP-32, but he was waiting for an official answer from their portastudio programmers and will let me know. It's probably a mute point by now because it looks like everyone on this thread is dumping their SD and moving on. I did try some of the glitches stated in the release notes for Version 1.01, 1.02 and 1.03 that were fixed. So far, I can't duplicate the glitches they are referring to. For what it's worth, they also told me that because the ver 1.00 firmware release date on the SD is Jan 2013, the glitches may have already been addressed if the firmware is for the SD only. Without MIDI and CD capabilities, the programming / coding is less complex. I'm still veeery skeptical, but so far everything works as it should. I have 43 days left to check all of the functions. If anything hiccups, back it goes. I have to say that after staring at the 2488neo for a few years, any of the DP machines definitely regenerates the excitement of using the Portastudio. The color screen by itself is very cool.

 

[Top-L]

I am learning/using mine now, and my only wish is that it had a digital I/O port like the neo!!!!

I heard that Tascam was acquired by Gibson, hopefully they continue to release new versions. Maybe the next one will have digitla IO and automation. If so, it could almost completely replace a DAW.

 

[Top-L]

I did get through to TASCAM ops support today. They told me the DP-32SD 'should' accept the firmware updates for the DP-32, but he was waiting for an official answer from their portastudio programmers and will let me know. It's probably a mute point by now because it looks like everyone on this thread is dumping their SD and moving on. I did try some of the glitches stated in the release notes for Version 1.01, 1.02 and 1.03 that were fixed. So far, I can't duplicate the glitches they are referring to. For what it's worth, they also told me that because the ver 1.00 firmware release date on the SD is Jan 2013, the glitches may have already been addressed if the firmware is for the SD only. Without MIDI and CD capabilities, the programming / coding is less complex. I'm still veeery skeptical, but so far everything works as it should. I have 43 days left to check all of the functions. If anything hiccups, back it goes. I have to say that after staring at the 2488neo for a few years, any of the DP machines definitely regenerates the excitement of using the Portastudio. The color screen by itself is very cool.

I suspect at some point in the near future there will be a Stupid Deal of the Day on the 24 for $399.

 

[Mid life crisis]

Acquired by Gibson? Wow, that might be a plus. Gibson's customer service is by far, better than TASCAM's.

 

[tandc02]

I have been playing with the DP-32SD for two days now, so far so good. I don't miss the CD tray, but missing MIDI is a bummer.

My big concern is firmware support. I actually tried the DP-32 1.03 firmware on Tascam website, but the system doesn't allow it. (At least the system has 'some' intelligence built-in
I emailed Tascam support regarding firmware update. Will see what they have to say.

Regarding return, I think you have to pay your own shipping so that's another bummer if I do decide to return it...