Tascam 2488neo 24-Track Multitrack Recorder

The Good:

24 Tracks, Good range of Effects, extensive midi Sync

features, excellent sound quality, quiet in operation,

handy CD writer, import and export via usb to computer, fairly large angled screen, footswith punch socket, extensive eq on every channel.

The Bad:

Only 12 tracks are mono the rest are 6 stereo tracks.

The guitar effects are not as good as an average dedicated fx unit although the reverb is quite good.

Would have preferred to transfer files directly to a usb memory stick.

No returns for effects which is a big let down for me.

However, considering the present price I think this is a bargain and I much prefer it to my Zoom R16.

The first Tascam I had was a 4 track cassette multitrack and this is light years ahead and I am happy in purchasing the Tascam Neo.

I purchased the tascam 2488neo for home recording, having previously owened the Roland BR1600 which, although good, was a nightmare to learn to use, i did a lot of research before i decided on the Tascam.

the main plus points are ease of use, seperate menues for recording, bounce down, final mixing etc, no unnescessary clutter on the screen and at all times it very clear and easy to see exactly how you have it set up. downside is that the screen is rather small and the backlight is very bright, but there is a solution!! more about that further on.

the ability to see you signal routing, E.Q, pan & fader settings via sparate menu buttons make it so easy to edit these on the fly and you return to the main screen simply by preessing "HOME"

recording quality is excellent, 5*+++++.

now there are one or two slight criticisms, No record pause function, You arm the track(s) you want to record to and hit the rec/play buttons together and away it goes, personally i would like to be able to use a foot switch not just for punch in but also have the option as pause on/off.

Phantom power is available but is either on or off for the four XLR inputs so if you use a condenser mic on one of these you cant use the other three with dynamic mics. A seperate switch for each channel would be a better idea. However, i get round this by using a separate samson phantom power supply.

Now back to the display, it really is ok if you have 20/20 vision and you are sitting right in front of the machine, but, if like me you wear glasses and stand up with your guitar on, it becomes a little more difficult. The solution is to go to the HGR2488.co.uk website and buy a little module that simply plugs in inside the recorder and you can connect up a normal VGA computer monitor and see the menues in any size you like!! i use a spare 17" flat screen.

Finally, my overall opinion is that for the price it is exceptional value for money and is a real pleasure to use. given the choice, i would not buy anything different.

Having owned an 8 track anologue recorder by Tascam for many years, I was reasonably assured that the overall quality of my new machine would be very high.

I was glad to find I wasn't dissapointed!

24 tracks (and 100's of virtual tracks) to play with presented me with an exciting musical adventure to look forward to.

I have pulled back from giving it 5 stars not because it is a bad machine, it's far from it.

However... I can certainly see it being a bit confusing for a beginner, and it was a little for me, and I know what I'm doing!

I even went as far as purchasing the quite expensive dvd tutorial (£20 plus!) to walk me through the mixing & mastering functions that the machine provides, as the manual is a bit of a 'headache' to decypher at times.

But what it provides from a recording & playback point of view is simplified down to one word 'quality!'

It is a thing of beauty for certain....