Honey, I shrunk the PortaStudio
(Dave Molter | Posted 2011-02-10)
I still have one of the first TASCAM four-track cassette recording studios, and it works just great. Of course home recording has come a long way sine TASCAM pioneered the studio-in-a-box concept, and it's possible to surpass the quality of many studio recordings of the 1960s by using one of today's portable recording setups.
Home recording enthusiasts will be happy to hear that TASCAM is back with the new, downsized DP-03 8-track Digital Portastudio. The DP-03 is the latest Portastudio in TASCAM’s 37-year progression of making recording simple and affordable for musicians. The 8-track digital recorder captures your music at CD quality to affordable SD/SDHC cards, and a 2GB card is included with the recorder. With built-in microphones, effects, mastering and CD burning, the DP-03 provides everything musicians need to record and share their music.
The DP-03 records two tracks at a time at CD quality to affordable SD/SDHC cards, using XLR microphone preamps or a pair of built-in condenser microphones. Mixing features like reverb and EQ are accessed using dedicated knobs for simple operation. When a production is finished, it can be transferred to computer over USB 2.0 or burned to CD using an internal drive.
A pair of inputs can be routed to any tracks, providing condenser microphones with phantom power when required. The DP-03 inputs also include 1/4" line and instrument level switches for recording sources like drum machines, guitar and bass. A tuner and metronome are built in for assembling polished performances. Once recorded, tracks can be bounced and edited.
Like the DP-02 before it, the DP-03 uses an array of dedicated controls for mixing, combined with a simple menu interface for editing and other features. New mastering effects like EQ and multiband compression have been added for radio-ready masters. With so much power in a compact package, the DP-03 makes recording affordable, portable and fun.
Features
•8-track Digital Portastudio with CD Burner
•Records to SD/SDHC Card media
•Import audio tracks from CD
•Built-in stereo condenser microphone
•Two XLR microphone inputs with phantom power
•1/4" stereo line inputs
•Switchable instrument-level input for guitar/bass direct recording
•Multi-band mastering effects
•2-band EQ per track
•Internal reverb processor with dedicated send per track
•Chromatic Tuner and Metronome
•Track editing, autopunch and bounce features
•Optional RC-3F footswitch offers three switches for punch-in and transport operation
•Compact and lightweight
The DP-03 is curently available at a street price of $499. For more information visit www.tascam.com.
From a press release.
