Tascam DP-008EX – 8-Track Digital Portastudio
Tascam DP-008EX
8-Track Digital Pocketstudio
The DP-008EX offers professional recording with plentiful features in a compact package. With two condenser microphones directly in the front, this compact battery-powered multitrack recorder is optimally designed for on-the-spot recording. Record vocals or acoustic guitar anytime without the need for extra equipment or set-up time. With the analogue feel of dedicated control knobs, built-in chromatic tuner and metronome and an ultra lightweight design, this Pocketstudio is one of the simplest to use songwriting scratchpad on the market.
The DP-008EX has two XLR/TS inputs with phantom power for condenser microphones to connect external microphones, an electric-acoustic guitar or a line-level device like a synthesizer. Recordings are written to widely available SD/SDHC card media (2GB card included). All song ideas can be transferred via USB 2.0 or SD card readers.
The DP-008EX is designed with insert effects for all input channels including EQ, compressor, de-esser and exciter. Also, six different types of reverb are available. Easily set the reverb level with dedicated control knobs for each track. And there are also mastering effects like 2-band EQ, multi-band compressor and normalization to provide high-quality master-like file creation.
- Portable, ultra-compact and easy-to-use multitrack recorder
- Simple, intuitive user interface
- Recording media: SD/SDHC card
- 8 recording tracks: 2 mono tracks, 2 stereo tracks
- Record a stereo source or two independent mono sources at once.
- Built-in stereo condenser mic
- Two Mic/Line inputs (XLR/TS combo connectors)
- Three-band parametric EQ per track, two-band parametric EQ on both inputs
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Simple, Easy-to-Use InterfaceOptimally designed for on-the-spot recording. No unnecessary features were included that might complicate the recording to ensure easy functionality, and dedicated knobs make recording faster than digging through menus. Designed with Portastudio functionality, these POCKETSTUDIOs are the easiest songwriting scratchpads you can buy. | Ultra Light Weight Design – Carry It With You EverywhereThe DP-006 and the DP-008EX both feature ultra light-weight designs to ensure portability. The DP-006 is 13 oz, and the DP-008EX is 21.5 oz. (without AA batteries) | High-Speed Data Transfer via USB2.0Both models have two inputs with 1/4″ jacks, these terminals provide to connect an external microphone, an electric-acoustic guitar and a line-level device like a synthesizer. Cables sold seperately allow you to connect an iPad or other sound device. | Two XLR Inputs with +48V Phantom PowerThe DP-008EX can supply phantom power for condenser microphones, even when operated with AA batteries. (Notice: Operating time becomes shorter when used with phantom power supply. We recommend connecting TASCAM’s BP-6AA or a power supply when using phantom power.) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recording tracks | 2 mono + 2 stereo | 8 | 8 | 12 mono + 6 stereo | 8 mono + 12 stereo |
| Records simultaneously to | 2 tracks | 2 tracks | 2 tracks | 8 tracks | 8 tracks |
| Microphone inputs | 2 × TS | 2 × XLR/TS | 2 × XLR/TS | 8 × XLR/TS | 8 × XLR/TS |
| Equalizer | 2-band parametric | 2-band parametric | 3-band parametric | 3-band parametric | |
| Dynamics processing | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Multi-effect | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Send effect | internal | internal (reverb) | internal/external | internal/external | |
| Mastering effects | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Built-in mic | 2 × Electret | 2 × Electret | 2 × Electret | ||
| Additional features | Editing functions | Auto punch | Auto punch | 99 location marks | 99 location marks |
| Weight: | 610 g |
| Dimensions: | 12.7 x 22.1 x 4.4 cm; 610 Grams |
| Model: | DP-008EX |
| Colour: | Black |
| Batteries Included: | 3 AA batteries required. |
| Colour: | Black |
Great device for recording quality demos.
Great machine. Happy with it for what I want to use it for, recording quality demos, love the internal stereo mics feature, quality is great. But pfaffy transferring stuff over to the computer having to mess about with the processes for the SD card, it could probably do with a small amount of internal memory itself in the machine, and then the option to save to the SD for more space or to transfer. Other than that, pretty good. Not sure if I’d venture to record more complex layering and bouncing down, probably stick to a studio or home recording set up for that on computer.
Great as a starter as well though. NB, I always prefer slider than knobs, if am fussy.
Tascam DP-800EX
Great item. Easy to understand instructions if you are a careful reader.
This is not a bundle as advertised with a monitor, and the manual was in straight Japanese, no English, but with the help of YouTube I figured it out. It sounds great!
This is not a bundle as advertised with a monitor, and the manual was in straight Japanese, no English, but with the help of YouTube I figured it out. It sounds great!
Studio de poche
Ah, j’ai connu le multipistes bandes….Quel progrs technologique, quelle souplesse..
Very excellent track recorder for home recording. I use it for sampling sounds and live recording with my Korg arranger and Yamaha piano. Very easy to use and very convenient for mastering records and final output.
Very excellent track recorder for home recording. I use it for sampling sounds and live recording with my Korg arranger and Yamaha piano. Very easy to use and very convenient for mastering records and final output.
Man liest bei anderen Rezensionen, da das Gert kompliziert zu bedienen sei. Das ist nicht wirklich wahr – im Handbuch gibt es einen Schnelleinstieg: wenn man den berfliegt – und halbwegs mit dem Procedere beim Aufnehmen vertraut ist, gelingen sehr schnell gute Aufnahmen. Ich habe im Sektor Recording selten ein Gert gekauft, das so viel Spa und Effizienz bringt. Es hat die richtigen und gengend Anschlsse und Kanle (Die Beatles htten vermutlich von so einer Funktionalitt getrumt – und man htte damals einen fnfstelligen Betrag dafr ausgeben mssen. 😉 ) Und es nimmt in einer wirklich beeindruckenden Qualitt auf – das gilt hin bis zu den eingebauten Micros.
Praktisch, kompakt/transportabel und gute Tonqualitä
Super, ich kannte noch die alten 4-Spur Tascam Kassettenrecorder, im Prinzip ist es das gleiche nur mit 8 Spuren, digital und in viel besserer Tonqualitt und auch schon eingebautem, hochwertigem Stereomikrophon. Die grundstzliche Bedienung ist sehr einfach, mit Drehreglern fr Hall, Lautstrke und Balance fr jeden einzelnen Kanal. Wenn man tiefer ins Men eintaucht, kann man aber noch massig Effekte usw. fr jede einzelne Spur einstellen. Soweit bin ich leider nicht gekommen, ich hab das Gert nmlich als Gebrauchtgert/Rcklufer von Amazon gekauft und es war was mit dem Energiemanagement nicht o.k. (Batterieanzeige zeigte dauernd leer, obwohl neue Batterien eingelegt waren) – daher musste ich es leider zurckschicken.
Quite amazing gizmo .. brilliant value.
Bought for my daughter, but I couldn’t resist having a play when it arrived.
I have recorded digital audio for years, and have some top pro equipment. This is all very well, when you need to look impressive .. but be prepared to lug big flight cases around. This thing will most probably fit in your pocket, has quite reasonable mics built in, and enough built in stuff for most things. XLR input, works on batteries for goodness sake ! True it can only record two tracks at a time, but for what I envisage for my daughter that’s sufficient. It’s simple to operate (plenty of YouTube guides) and the end result is really quite impressive for something so tiny. I’m even considering buying another for myself .. very tempted !
I bought this recorder just for the sake of laying down a guitar bassline, rhythm and lead. In essence, I only needed 3 tracks, or 4 at most but I thought I’d go all out and treat myself to eight to future proof myself. I’m now using it predominantly in my Korg Volca setup in which I record directly to the Tascam in order to compose videos for youtube. It’s a much better solution than simply playing aloud and recording via an ipad or phone.
The build quality, although plastic is solid. Very robust, though it wouldn’t resist a drop. The knobs have a pleasing rubber texture to them and they turn very smoothly.
This is one of those things where by if you sit down with a cup of coffee and read and take time to enjoy the manual, operation will become a breeze. Before then, the menus might seem a bit intimidating. True to the old adage; ‘It’s easy when you know how’, this case is no exception. There’s several options for inputs and input types and the like which may be confusing at first, but you’ll become accustomed to them. Oddly, as someone who knows their way around this unit now, the biggest mistake I make is the most obvious one – pressing record on the track on which I want to hear sound and record on. So, the menu and menu diving can be a bit cumbersome at first, but you’ll get used to it. The buttons are a good feel and the ‘clicking’ jog wheel is smooth and steady.
The onboard reverb is a nice touch and works very well. There’ dedicated knobs for the reverb on each channel. You just need to remember that reverb is added (if a dial is up) if you’ve already got rever applied in your signal chain, though sometimes a double helping of reverb works well. With this in mind, it’s best to have your monitoring gear (monitors or headphones) connected to the Tascam rather than monitoring from a mixer. That way, you know exactly what you’re getting – or close to.
The mixdown and mastering features stand as a testament that this is a proper studio recording device. In this regard, what you hear is not what you get. You get better after mastering. It really helps to bring out the sound. You can preview the mastered sound too with the rehearsal function. Once you’ve finished recording, you play / record through the track and you apply any changes in volume / reverb on-the-fly. Most importantly, you can select what tracks are actually playing. Once happy, you enter Master mode and once again it runs through the track and the machine does it’s own magic to make a better, more concise, quality mix.
The screen is a bright orange and very legible. It displays clearly the signal in the form of a bar and it shows which channel the signal is coming through. There’s a dedicated bar on the display for each channel and a Left / Right indicator. The counter is big enough to be clear, featuring minutes, seconds and milliseconds.
Bonuses include; phantom power for getting juice into microphones, metronome and tuner.
I’m really pleased with my purchase and I feel it was well worth the money. If it holds up, I feel this will last me a lifetime (of what’s left) for my needs and potential future needs (a band!?). I’ve got 5 tracks free afterall!
Thoroughly recommended!
My video is a Korg Volca jam recorded with the Tascam DP-008EX, mixed and mastered!
Great value ki
Given the range of features, this was surprisingly easy to use. It’s also compact and pretty robust for the price. The sound is crisp and full-ranged (I haven’t even explored the many mastering options yet) and there’s only a couple of minor annoyances. One of them is that I have to unplug line input A to make xlr input A work – you can’t switch between them. I’d also like to have an assignable FX knob per channel, instead of strictly reverb, but overall this is an excellent piece of kit for the price.
Great produc
A lot crammed into such a small package. Plenty of videos online that show you how to use it. No scrimping on quality for an entry level portable studio. Can’t fault it.
Would be nice to have a mains supply.
Bought for me as a gift and gratefully received too. This is a really lovely bit of kit and produces a great sound for something so small. I haven’t delved into all of the features yet but I’m sure I will over time. My only criticism at this point but I think it’s quite a significant one is that it only comes with batteries – no mains provision. The 9v mains adaptor has to be bought separately and that, for the product specific one, is an extra 16.99. Once I’m used to it, I may update this review but for now I am very pleased with it. Just that mains thing that bothers me.
Comprehensive instructions
Great piece of kit for the money. What more can I say and the instruction manual is very comprehensive even for a novice like myself.
I am very pleased with this little piece of tech, I’m able to record at convenient time and export each track ready to mix and edit in Logic Pro X.
I used to own the 4 track some years ago and this is even easier to use with extra buttons without going deeper into the menu.
I’m the sort of chap that likes to take the easier route to achieve my objectives and this does the job excellently well.
Es increíble
No creo que por ese dinero haya algo mejor. Se pueden grabar dos canales en simultneo y escuchar los otros a la vez, hasta ocho canales con la posibilidad de “volcar” pistas.
Es fcil de usar, muy poco ruido. Los micrfonos incorporados funcionan muy bien (la primera prueba que hice fue tomar una guitarra acsticas con ellos y luego la voz y fue impreisonante). En pocas palabras, es increble lo que se puede hacer con algo tan pequeo. El nico pero es que no incluye el cargador, pero s una memoria. Es genial, la recomiendo 100%, repito, por este precio no podria ser mejor.
Great quality and value for money
Haven’t had a chance to use it all that much yet but laid down a bit of acoustic guitar on it the other day and it was great, just hoping I can get a spare 5 minutes to use it with my theremin.
Excellent value for money
Excellent product for the money. Once the instructions have been read very easy to operate I have produced multi track recordings from yamaha digital piano and yamaha key boards plus a korg synth. Very pleased with results. Very flexible and powefull little machine
A little more pricey for a reason! You are getting what you pay for with this item. It's all it claims to be, so whether your a hobbiest or a professional, you will love it!!!
A little more pricey for a reason! You are getting what you pay for with this item. It’s all it claims to be, so whether your a hobbiest or a professional, you will love it!!!
Rockin Recorde
unbelievable little machine, easy to use & sounds great.. compact, well made, no complaints..
maybe a bit more reverb & echos , but hey for the price , it’s fine.
Perfetto come da descrizione
Men sufficientemente intuitivo
Ottima la sensazione al tatto e il senso di robustezza, consiglio di acquistare l’alimentatore in quanto le batterie non durano moltissimo…
Se serve ad uso personale consiglio di confrontarlo con il BR 80 della BOSS.. stesso prezzo con drum ed effetti x chitarra inclusi….ma un po’ pi plasticoso
First time I’ve bought anything like this and I think it’s terrific. I play guitar and wanted to record my own compositions. I watched a couple of You Tube demos first and was able to record tracks immediately. I’ve had this a few weeks and have mixed and mastered tracks successfully. Usually use headphones when recording but have played back through my hi-fi and quality is amazing. The two front microphones work really well. It’s fairly intuitive once you get into it. Has some more advanced features but it’s not overly complicated.
I’ve got mountains of gear but never properly used it. With this, I put my favorite Pink Floyd track on track 8, play over tracks 1 – 7, then mix down and master my own version. Great sound, tiny footprint, can punch in with a foot pedal, has eq, copy and cut tracks, for the price it is just superb.
great produc
Easy to use and good quality. You’d expect nothing less from TASCAM!
A fully portable, easy to use 8-track unit for recording mono or, stereo instruments and vocals. Two inputs only but fine for 'field overdubs' as well as mix or bouncedown overdubbing. Wise to invest in a power adapter because the 4 AA battery life isn't that great - this is the only downside. Even the user manual is well set out and easy to follow.
A fully portable, easy to use 8-track unit for recording mono or, stereo instruments and vocals. Two inputs only but fine for ‘field overdubs’ as well as mix or bouncedown overdubbing. Wise to invest in a power adapter because the 4 AA battery life isn’t that great – this is the only downside. Even the user manual is well set out and easy to follow.
Debo empezar diciendo que no soy msico y que utilizo la grabadora como entretenimiento y slo para mis odos. Por tanto, los muy exigentes deben tomar mis opiniones con cierta precaucin. Dicho esto, debo expresar mi ms absoluto entusiamo con este artilugio al que an no le he sacado todo lo que da de s, en parte por mis propias limitaciones, como he dicho, y en parte porque son muchas las posibilades y hay que explorarlas poco a poco. La instrucciones en espaol y bastante claras para lo que es usual. El sonido es tan bueno como los monitores a los que se conecte (las conexiones RCA son para mi gusto uno de sus puntos fuertes). No he probado los micrfonos incorporados (lo mo no es cantar), pero la guitarra, sus efectos y el Trio Plus Band entran de miedo y con gran fidelidad.
En fin, me gustara ponerle una pega pero me resulta difcil, de veras. Por decir algo, la letra del manual es demasiado pequea para mis cansados ojos je je.
Dans ma jeunesse je possdais un vieux Tascam bandes. Quels progrs depuis. Le manuel est particulirement bien fait pour une prise en main pas pas. Prise micro fantme auto-alimente, prise casque, foot switch, connectique pc, carte sd ! Splendide appareil. Je ne regrette pas mon investissement. Que du bonheur.
Budget brilliance..
The technology is brilliant.. Granted most modern based systems are software based, but it is nice to have a tactile interface. 8 tracks are plenty for sketches and even quality recordings to release.
Great product. I was disappointed that the bundled speakers weren't included. I put that down to a language failure rather than deception.
Great product. I was disappointed that the bundled speakers weren’t included. I put that down to a language failure rather than deception.
This is a great piece of kit. You can record eight tracks, bounce them down to two tracks or even one – I found that bouncing down to one you can still use the pan pots for stereo effects. Then record another seven tracks so in effect you have a 15 track machine. The reverb effect is excellent. I still cannot believe the size of this unit so small yet everything is there to make terrific recordings. I would say some recordings are more than just “demos”. The quality of build is very high, which I always expect from Tascam/Teac. Easy to navigate around the controls. Highly recommended for that bedroom recording studio. I did notice some “hum” when connecting electric guitar while the Tascam is connected via mains power supply. This hum disappeared when using battery power. But this could have been cause by earth loop in my domestic wiring.
Initial impressions are great, compact and portable piece of kit. Some trial and error involved getting it set up to get a decent in the room sound, but DI recordings are crisp and clear. Not used half the functions as yet, including mastering and mixdowns but so far so good! Very much new to this but the booklet instructions are clear enough.
Sencillo, pequeo, facil de manejar y con un sonido excelente. Cumple todas mis expectativas. Justo lo que se puede pedir para un estudio casero.
Achet il y a quelques mois ce home studio est assez simple d’utilisation . Il faut se plonger un peu dans le mode d’emploi au dbut, mais il est plutt clair et on se fait vite la main. On peut brancher directement une guitare ou une basse ( il y a deux prises jacks) ou sinon on peut brancher des micros ( deux prises xlr), on dispose galement de deux micros intgrs ( trs bon son ) pour s’enregistrer en repet par exemple. Il est possible d’enregistrer deux pistes simultanment. Je branche ensuite l’appareil sur ma chaine hifi pour me faire une ide du rendu du morceau. Par contre je n’ai pas encore mixer ou connect mon ordinateur, j’attends d’avoir mis en boite une dizaine de titres !
Je conseille ce home studio tous les amateurs de musique qui veulent faire des maquettes de bonne qualit.
Great value…very portable, high quality recording via inputs, built/in mice not bad, basic mixing and mastering very straightforward, in general more intuitive and less fiddly than I expected…pity you can’t record more than two sources at one time, but I don’t need to, so no bother.
M.averma
Super Hammer Teil. Macht alles was es soll tadellos. Bin sehr zufrieden. Beste aufnahme.n. Klasse Sound. Mit externem Micro bessere Aufnahme
Ho acquistato il Tascam DP-008EX per mio figlio che studia chitarra classica ed elettrica. Abbiamo provato insieme il dispositivo, che a parte qualche difficolt iniziale nella comprensione dei comandi si rivelato semplice da usare ed efficiente. Attualmente collegato a una pedaliera Boss ME 80 a sua volta collegata a una Gibson LesPoll Standard. Non essendo un professionista non posso valutare la qualit del suono. Trovo molto utile la possibilit di registrare in multitraccia. Ottimo per monitorare la propria abilit tecnica.
Il tascam non si discute, qualit e affidabilit. il DP008ex ha caratteristiche che per chi vuole la portabilit fra i primi in assoluto. Comunque un ottimo prodotto. Acquisto ottimo per comunicazione e tempi di consegna. l’accoppiata amazon e Tascam impareggiabile.
Compact performant
on peut faire toutes les retouches etc…
On peut equaliser et compresser l’enregistrement au mixdown et au mastering
j’ai achet un micro electrets pour un meilleur son
je revend mon dp 006 qui est basique
Uno strumento tanto facile da usare quanto potente: creare una canzone questione di pochi minuti, registrare le diverse tracce semplicissimo, mixaggio e mastering immediati (c’ pure un modo Auto che fa tutto da solo per chi non vuole sbattersi troppo).
I microfoni a condensatore sono veramente buoni; io l’ho usate per registrare tre ore di sala prove (non propriamente il suo mestiere) e la registrazione davvero buona; perfetta per riascoltarsi e a valle delle prove.
Piccolo, leggero, portabilissimo, con le pile fa oltre 5 ore di funzionamento. Vale tutti i soldi spesi.
Cant fault the delivery ordered on the 15th Jan 16 delivered on the 18th Jan 16 at 08:30. Very solid structure indeed although the interface screen is a bit small it’s still quite adequate to monitor all you need to see to set up; only had a few hours to play about with it so haven’t explored it’s full potential functions but what I have explored am more that happy that it will service my intentions that I will be using it for. PS: The battery life is not good on 4 AA’s so shop around for a Tascam PS-P520 DC 5V power supply.
Als Amateur mit hherem Anspruch und nicht so viel Geduld wrde ich mich in der Ausgangssituation beschreiben und ich hatte vorher bereits zwei andere Gerte im Einsatz. Das heit eigentlich nur eines richtig, denn das erste war so kompliziert zu handhaben, dass es recht schnell auf dem Dachboden verschwand.
Das zweite benutzte ich zwar etwas lnger, aber auch das war etwas zu aufwendig zu bedienen und nach zwei solche Pleiten hat man einen etwas besseren berblick, wie solch ein Gert zu sein hat.
Ich wollte bei guter Sound-Qualitt eine einfache Bedienung haben.
Tascams groer Vorteil ist, dass es Kinderreichtum zu handhaben ist und man sich vornehmlich um das musikalische Gedanken machen kann, anstatt die Technik zu studieren.
Keine doppelt belegten Knpfe und ein Kapitel Schnellster in der Bedienungsanleitung machten es mglich.
Die erste Aufnahme mit drei Stereospuren Keyboards und zwei Mono-Gesangsspuren klang bereits sehr klar und bersichtlich.
Das Mastern erbrachte im Automodus recht gute Ergebnisse und ohne viel Arbeit habe ich in nullkommanichts einen Song eingespielt, der klangtechnisch ordentlich ist. Ein gutes Demo sollte sich damit immer machen lassen.
So sollen Gerte sein.
C’est le deuxime enregistreur un peu pro que j’achte. Comme on dit dans les chaumires, Y a pas phot. La prise en main est assez rapide. Et la qualit de restitution impeccable.
pretty good for the price, can be used as a desk for live stuff, the recording is very good, fairly simple to use, (if you read the instructions) and decent effects, I only had a play around with ti today but it seems good, better than recording straight to audacity on my lappy anyway!, only possible improvement, a better user interface, its just a bit clunky, but it gets the job done.
Everything you need to get composing. Simple and straight to the thing you want to focus on.
Bought to record my guitar playing, and was using it effectively within minutes. I had grown tired of using an analogue mixer, audio usb interface and laptop with all the cables and clutter, this miniature work station has it all. Guitar can plug directly in to jack in (it’s a built in acoustic guitar preamp, so you use the line setting) and voila! I have also done some recording using the built in condenser mics, they are very nice.
Adding extra tracks is a breeze, and you can add reverb as you make the master mix down, or export to PC/Reaper to finish off once all the playing/recording is done.
The unit ships without the absurdly expensive optional mains power supply, but I have invested in a couple of sets of high capacity rechargeable batteries as I like the no cables.
Pros
Easy to use
Intuitive
Excellent sound quality
Plenty of on board features
Accepts xlr or jack on two channels at a time
Phantom 48v available
Really small footprint but knobs easily controlled
Cons
None that I can think of