New Tascam Mixer / Multitrack Recorder

The Lounge Other Gear
#61

@CatLitterForBrains No issues at all recording all 14 tracks at once (not yet, anyway). I thought the lack of MIDI might be an issue but with my current recording setup - which is basically a live, one-take scenario - I don’t feel the need for any kind of clock implementation with the mixer. It may be something I desire down the road at some point, though.

No issues with the SD card either. I’m using a SanDisk 128GB Extreme SDXC UHS-I card, which technically isn’t on the Tascam-approved list but still works fine.

I should clarify that I have zero experience with Overbridge and haven’t bounced down individual tracks from my Model 16 to my DAW yet, so I can’t comment on that functionality.

@CitizenJ Thank you for the kind words! The electric bass guitar was sampled into the DT (though a lot of the basslines are doubled by a Bass Station II).

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#62

I’m using these as well. +1

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#63

Thanks @Kpucski and @Flood for the responses (and SD card recommendation!). A follow up question - after some web searches and reading reviews, it appears like the multi-track recordings only “print” the gain knob setting, low cut filter (if engaged), and channel insert 1 or 2.

The EQ, auxs, pan, and fader seem to be only for monitoring (unless you route a signal from an aux effect back into a channel for example). I note that channels 21/22 seem to be set up a little different than the others.

In other words, the multi-track recordings seem to be very “dry” and close to what’s being fed into the mixer. I can always take those individual tracks into a DAW and tweak them accordingly. Just wondering if those limitations have been an issue in how you’re using the Model 24?

Thank you!

#64

All true. As long as you are aware of this, it isn’t a problem. If you perform a stereo bounce, it retains the pan, fx, etc. If you import the stems to your DAW, they are essentially dry. If you pan as the tracks were originally, it isn’t a problem. The stereo channels will also be separated on import, so you will have to pan hard R/L to get proper stereo field.

In my DAW, I created a template to mirror the mixer, so all I have to do is drag the individual WAVs to the corresponding tracks. As for the fx, I go out the send, then back into one of the stereo tracks and record them to their own channel, so I can print them as they were when I recorded. This way, if I like them, I can keep them, or I can use different fx in my daw.

Only having one fx send would be my #1 gripe, with two, it would be more versatile. I have work arounds (I kept my old Mackie), so it doesn’t prevent me from doing what I want.

I hope this answer helps. I’m more than happy to help you determine whether or not it’s what you’re after.

For me, the ability to get most of the job done without using a computer outweighs any limitations it has. Simplicity.

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#65

I totally agree with you @Kpucski - I am after simplicity as well. Thanks for answering my questions, you’ve been very helpful.

I am also looking at the Cymatic uTrack 24, which seems to be a very simple and powerful solution as well.

Thanks again!

#66

Sounds fantastic. If you bypassed the internal fx, how did you master? Outboard geat as inserts or the L/R output in a daw or something? I noticed you mentioned an outboard compressor for example, was that part of your mastering?

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#67

Thanks! The routing wasn’t as sexy as one might imagine. :slight_smile: I just ran the stereo outs from the Model 16 into a Behringer Ultragain Pro MIC2200 tube preamp, then each channel into a DBX 166XL stereo compressor, and then into my DAW. So the DAW just printed the stereo channels from the mixer, basically. No other compression or EQ was applied within my DAW.

I really have no desire to do any bouncing of individual tracks into a DAW for mixing, though I understand the appeal of this feature. I’m no anti-DAW warrior but my aim is to keep everything “outside of the box” as possible and for affordability and ease of use, the Model line couldn’t be more perfect for this.

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#68

That’s my workflow exactly. I’m not an anti-dawer either, I just don’t gel with them. If anything, them daws are anti-circuitghost :slight_smile: I want to like them but they just laugh at me and make jokes I don’t get and then they leave to hang out with their cooler friends.

I’m (currently) on the Toraiz and its internal fx are so good, I believe each track can be mastered internally within the Toraiz. But it does have eight outs, so I am considering routing it all into something like the Tascam, some of the channels through a Chase Bliss pedal or two, and then let the entire master go through an outboard compressor or something. Of which I have none. I do have an SSL SiX, which is great, but I’m not sure it’s what I need for future projects.

Anyway, thanks for sharing and your EP is rock solid, man. I’ve listened to it all morning, it’s so funky it’s almost pissing me off. And that’s a good thing.

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#69

I’m slightly (2 years later) late to the party, however because I was searching for a multitrack mixer I was pondering between the Soundcraft 22 MTK and the Tascam 24, and it seems the opinions are split as to wether the 22 MTK can be used standalone or not. You say it cannot, however on gearslutz they say it can:

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Not really sure what to think about the 22 MTK now really. Am a bit torn between the Tascam and Soundcraft mixers.

–
edit - wow i totally misunderstood what you wrote, sorry. Thanks to @KaOsphere for clarifying the difference.

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#70

The soundcraft can be used as a standalone mixer, but not as a standalone recorder. That’s the main difference.
I would expect the tascam to sound better, I’ll have my answer on wednesday. :grin:

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#71

thanks for clarifying, my bad!
Hope you post feedback after you try it! :+1: :+1: :+1:

#72

As KaOsphere says, it’s a standalone mixer, and a pretty good one. I used it as such, with a MOTU 1248 as my interface. However, I did once record an mix an entire song using it as the sole mixer and interface, with Cubase acting only as a multitrack recorder.

I am looking hard at one of the Tascams as a quick n’ easy option for mixing and recording when I don’t want to be bothered with the computer, interfaces, and racks full of distractions.

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#73

I’m also really considering more and more to get a Tascam Model 24, for precisely your reason - I am a software developer and stare at the screen for 8+ hours a day. I do love Ableton but I want to be OOTB in the evenings when making music.

What really concerns me is reliability - I prefer a mixer that emphasizes reliability than features. If it can have both, that’s great. I was looking at the Soundcraft 22 MTK but multiple people reported issues with it having no power switch and getting the PSU fried multiple times and having to deal with replacement hassles. That’s really the last thing I want to worry about.

The Tascam’s only complaints I could find so far are “fragile/low quality knobs, unsuitable for gigging”. I can definitely live with that. If someone can comment further on the reliability of the Tascam Model(s) it would be great.

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#74

I have been owning one for like a year. Using it with all the outputs of my equipment (MD, MnM and OP-1, plus two effects busses for Eventide Space and TimeFactor) routed into almost all the inputs of the Tascam.
Yeah, the knobs and faders don’t feel super strong indeed, but I don’t intend to carry it around, so it shouldn’t be a problem. I also have to say that I don’t use them so much as I try to do as much mixing as I can within the machines themselves.
So the mixer is mainly used for simple multitrack recording, which it does very well - at least for my needs. I am no audiophile nazi and I have noticed no real difference with my RME Fireface, quality-wise.
I also work on computer the whole day, so I really appreciate being able to record all my tracks separately OOTB. There is also an option on the mixer to bounce everything into a single stereo file, which I do to save it in my phone and listen to my recorded sessions while going to work the next day. If I like a session, I can always transfer the separate tracks into Ableton to edit/finalize the song.

[Edit: My only gripe is that there is only one sub bus for effects. There is also an internal FX but I haven’t really been using the internal effects, being quite happy with my Eventides.]

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#75

You mean two mono (= one stereo) send bus, right?

#76

Well, to be honest, I don’t remember clearly how I made my routing (and I’m not at home to check), this was quite a complex set up for my poor brain and I remember I had to put quite a lot of thinking into it. But what I can tell you is that I input mono tracks into my Eventides, but their outputs are stereo.

I’m not sure the sub bus is stereo. I use it for the first Eventide and for the second I have to use one of the Monitor busses (routed to the control room or phone channel, can’t remember). I know, this is probably quite unorthodox, but it works for my needs.

#77

I just checked, indeed there are 2 mono aux sends (that you can thus treat as one stereo if it fits you)

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#78

Hi everyone, long time lurker here! :slight_smile:

I’m considering buying one of these, and I’m wondering if there’s a Model 16/24 owner in here that could clarify something for me:

When setting a channel’s 'MODE" switch to “PC” and arming for record - is the signal from USB/DAW recorded to that channel’s track on the SD card? The manual is unclear on this:

When a MODE switch is set to “MTR”, the signal from the input jack on that channel will be recorded.

It does not state that no signal will be recorded if the track is armed but MTR is not selected, so I’m hoping it is possible to record the DAW audio feed to the SD.

My plan is to use my Digitakt with Overbridge and a Roland TR-6S (audio over USB) into my Mac/Ableton and then out to the console via the Model 24 USB connection. Does that sound doable?

I would really like to make sure I can track EVERYTHING on the Model 24’s SD card before purchasing. I like the idea of just using the computer to simply route audio and just recording everything to SD. Then when happy I’ll copy the stems into Ableton for a final edit.

If I still need to arm tracks and record the DT/TR-6S in Ableton anyway, the SD card feature would be redundant, I may as well record my other synth audio directly into Ableton as well (therefore I could consider the cheaper and possibly better sounding Soundcraft MTK series, however I’ve read some worrying stories about power supplies eventually failing on those).

Would really appreciate any help, thanks!

#79

Man, you sound great! You and I have somewhat similar sounds snd am definitely looking forward to laying down an EP using my model 16…I was really glad to hear this.

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