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TASCAM 2488 |
TASCAM 2488
The name Tascam is synonymous with recording and their latest portastudio/ recorder, the 2488 boasts some impressive features;
24 tracks of digital recording, 3-band EQ on each track, 8 mic inputs (4 have phantom power), a guitar multi-effects processor, a General MIDI sound module, CD/RW drive, and USB 2.0. I had the opportunity to try the 2488 out and my initial challenge was not to see how far I could get without touching the manual…
I’m happy to say that within a short space of time I managed to record a few tracks, copy and paste, mix-down, add effects, and burn a CD. If you’ve used other digital-recorders you’ll find it pretty straightforward, but with some handy new features thrown in.
There are plenty of onboard effects including guitar-multi effects, mic effects, reverb, delay, chorus, flanger, phaser, pitch-shifter and more. The guitar-multi patches include a chain of effects i.e. noise suppressor, distortion, amp-simulation, phaser, and delay; all with separate adjustable parameters. A single effect bus is available and functions as a send on each track, and there are two external effect sends allowing you to patch in other processors you wish to use.
The Pitch/SSA (slow-speed-audition) is a life-saver for musicians; it allows you to increase/decrease the pitch by 6% and slow the speed of your track down to 50% of its original speed (without changing pitch). The repeat function is also handy, and I’m happy to say that it will loop a section of your song seamlessly i.e. it maintains solid time and leaves no gaps of silence as it loops! I used this to trim down a four bar phrase till it looped smoothly, and then copied and pasted it to create a [rather repetitive] song.
So how does the USB2.0 port operate? Your computer will see the 2488 as a USB hard-disk and you can then drag and drop selected files (both audio and MIDI) in and out of the 2488; for recent operating-systems no hard-disk drivers are required. This opens up plenty of options including being able to back up files on computer, or perhaps finish mixing using a software program. Interestingly I also used the 2488’s hard-disk to store a copy of the review that you’re reading now; its all 1’s and 0’s!
I imported a MIDI file into the 2488 using the above process. From here I could edit sounds, key, panning, and reverb/chorus amounts. The draw-card however, was the fact that I could connect a keyboard to the MIDI socket of the 2488 and play the MIDI voices in real-time! So in essence you get a 128-voice sound module included in your digital recorder. I’ll make it clear that the 2488 is not a MIDI sequencer, but you can easily record from the MIDI sound-module to a designated audio track.
As you can gather I was impressed with the 2488. It is priced attractively and includes some unique features like Pitch/SSA, the GM sound-module, and USB 2.0. Its ease of use will make it appealing to those entering the world of digital-recording and will open a door for songwriters/musicians who are keen to get their tracks down.