DP-008 EX : User Friendly with Professional Results

The first thing you notice about the Tascam DP 008 EX is that it is very small; barely bigger than a paperback book at about 8 inches by 5 inches. But it certainly packs a LOT of features into a small package.

The unit is attractive and professional looking, with a bank of individual knobs at the front, 3 for each track: volume, left/right pan and reverb. The display screen seems very small at first but it is very easy to read, being back lit in a nice bright orange colour. It uses a series of menus to make choices in a step by step fashion, which you will quickly get used to.

The power supply is sold separately but is worth getting because although the 4 AA batteries make it portable and convenient to use anywhere, they only last about 5 hours of continuous use. I also bought a 32 GB SD card for it which enhances its capacity to hold lots of songs by a long way.

I made my first recording using guitar, bass, electronic drums, keyboards and a vocal and found the whole process easy and straight forward. You can visually monitor each instrument as the signal is shown in the display moving up and down as you play and during playback.

I bought a set of headphones to begin with for monitoring, but it is advisable to get monitor speakers as soon as you can. It makes the whole process so much more relaxed.

The on board condenser microphones are very good. I have done all my singing using them so far. You can plug your guitar or bass straight in and the results are excellent. Mixing the track is the real fun part. Once you have done that, I found it very easy to transfer onto a computer.

There is a basic, quick, easy way to record which will get you started on the way to your first recording but the more you use the DP 008 EX, the more you discover advanced features which you can incorporate as your technique improves.

I would highly recommend this mini studio. It’s user friendly and you get very professional results.