Tascam DP-02 Digital Portastudio

June 24, 2011

For musicians or upcoming rock stars who want to record their samples and demos without any kind of production
experience, recording process hassle or confusing menus and controls, the Tascam DP-02 Digital Portastudio may be the appropriate choice. With simplicity, quality, and affordability, the company aims to produce a product that would incorporate these elements in order to serve the music-hungry population.

The device has two XLR microphone or line inputs that may take in phantom power as an additional source. It can cater a maximum of eight tracks of uncompressed 44.1 kilohertz, 16-bit audio quality. The portastudio interface features simple knobs for high and low equalizers, volume fader, pan, effect send, and equalizer frequency. The USB 2.0 jack enables file transferring to the computer for backup and further mixing. The device has a dedicated stereo master track for mixdown, and a built-in metronome and beat/bar indicator for accurate and evenly-partitioned sections. The headphone output enables silent playback listening. There are stereo line outputs on the RCA analog and S/PDIF optical digital connectors. The device also has an internal 40-Gigabyte hard drive. It has a multi-effects function that has vocals, bass, guitar, and drum samples, as well as a stereo reverb function with send/return. It has a chromatic tuner for instruments. The internal CD-RW burner is for quick file backup and mastering.

Pro 1: Quick Startup

For lone guitarists, bassists, or drummers who happen to pop up a good idea for a new song, this smart device offers them the convenience of direct and hassle-free recording without going through the harsh and complicated processes of mixing and computer-based tinkering. It is a reliable self-recording device that offers quick startup.

Pro 2: Has Essential Mastering Features

Being a distant product from the complicated and compound mastering devices inside a formal studio setting, the product has the essential mastering features that any recording artist may want. For example, the product has a silence option for portions of each track that only contain unnecessary noise. The preamp knobs are also good additions.

Pro 3: User-Friendly Interface and Manual

The device does not require professionals or geniuses in the sound and recording business to accomplish a single song or audio track. The user-friendly interface has easy-to-understand labels, knobs and controls that could be operated by any person. In case the person has no idea, the manual has the appropriate instructions that are easy to decipher.

Pro 4: Huge Array of Samples

Unlike most simple recording devices and those unbearably-expensive mixing machines, this product goes in between by staying within the affordable zone and by providing a huge array of sound samples from guitar, bass, amp sounds and drums. With these samples, even a lone musician would be able to appear like a full band.

Con: Freezing Issues

The device has interesting features, no doubt about it, but one certain instance takes it a notch lower as far as recording device standards go. There is a freezing issue at some points when the user presses stop during play mode. The sounds stop, but the system freezes, giving a “not stopped” display every time the user presses a different button.

What Others Are Saying About The Tascam DP-02 Digital Portastudio

After having browsed some consumer sites and Amazon it became clear that these are a very highly rated portastudio. On Amazon they had an average rating of 5 out of 5. Here are a few comments:

“So all in all, this IS completely worth purchasing, if you plan on using it the ways that I have mentioned. It really is an amazing piece of equipment, and I have looked at many many others before deciding upon this one.”

“So far, I am absolutely loving my new Tascam Portastudio. It does everything I need it to. That being said, I wish it had a built in metronome, which I havent found yet… and I also wish that it had a line-out for every line-in for monitoring. All in all though, a great product at a great price. Look at the feature list, it does all the things it claims and sounds great to match. “

“This is a great little recorder. Even though it’s limited to 2 tracks at a time, it works great, sounds great and has all the built in effects you could want. The built in CD recorder makes mastering easy. It does a lot of stuff so you will need to read the manual but it’s written clearly and will guide you through the steps to get things done. “

“This is so easy to use – I am having a great time, and have not read manual yet. Of course I am just laying down some basic tracks but the options and ease of use is outstanding”

Final Thoughts: All-in-One Recording Device

Despite the minor freezing flaw of the system of the device, the Tascam DP-02 Digital Portastudio is an all-in-one recording device that baffles its users in the form of a sleek box containing all the essential recording features, samples, and controls. Who knew recording and mixing could be so easy with this device?