Tascam Model 12 Reviews

Class Compliant Great, But...

I purchased the Model 12 for two big reasons. 1. To use as class compliant gear with my MPC 2. To be a (dawless) home studio mixer and recorder First, the Model 12 works very well with the MPC, being able to create separate tracks from the MPC and then mix each one before recording. I also loved the Tascam's ability to do overdub recording. However, when it came time to mix a couple of hardware synths and vocals for output, the unit's limitations became glaringly obvious. Vocals especially mixed very low, even with gain up to a maximum. In my opinion there is absolutely no way to create a completed recording with the Model 12 without a good deal of time and work in a DAW. While this may not be an issue for some, I personally just don't see the point with owning a mixer with such limitations when it comes to music production. I think this is a good case for 'you get what you pay for', but ask yourself what your expectations and goals are, because apart from natural talent the gear you own and use needs to support where you are trying to get to. And, with that old adage; I did end up switching to an RME audio interface that costs twice as much, but is twice as much and more in superiority. With that said, there are other audio interface options at lower price points that can do the job from manufacturers like Motu, Arturia and SSL to name a few.

Incompetent Windows driver

Seemingly wonderful piece of engineering, being brought down by absolutely incompetent Windows driver which breaks EVERY time the computer goes to sleep, and at least once a day while the computer is actually running. Sometimes crashing the whole computer.

Wow

Couldn't be better, recording machine with soo many options, live band recording, or you can add channel by channel on the same song by yourself vocals guitar etc, then eq and fx, and then save the final mix. or make any combination you can imagine. Save your ideas and send it to other band members or to anyone, Also for other uses that i dont care, like streaming podcast or daw processing/recording . I bought it for use without pc and iam super excited and satisfied!

Nice all-round digital mixer

Nice digital all-round mixer, good for recording (tracking with built-in compressor and EQ), mixing on the mixer or using it as a DAW controller. If it had motorised faders and monitor controller, it would be perfect, but still for the price it is a product currently unmatched in the market so therefore 5/5.

This is amazing!

I absolutely love the Tascam Model 12. I'd been thinking of buying a new audio interface for a while. In looking around I found this. Mixing Desk, Multitrack Recorder, Audio Interface and Daw Controller all in one. I've found it really intuitive to use and all the features are just fantastic. I honestly cannot recommend it highly enough. Really love it. Possibly the best bit of kit ive bought in a very long time.

Good stuff

Good price, good order, came asap thx

Fantastic piece of kit

Great value for money. Not complicated to use. Good instructions

Excellent Recording Equipment

I use this equipment for recording onboard only so I cannot comment on other features such as DAW and live mixing. However, for recording I like the simplicity and the hands on interface. Everything is top quality and very straightforward. I only had to look up a few things in the manual. But as everything, nothing is perfect, so here are a few things I would like improved:

1) The way headphones works for this system is a bit weird, for example, you cannot really use headphones and speakers at the same time.

2) The phantom power is global rather than for individual for each track, so all your recording mics must either support phantom power or not.

3) I find the tempo click works a bit weird.

4) Editing tools is very limited and could be improved a lot.

5) Such a shame volume, pan, Eq etc. each channel isn't saved with the tracls. I know it would be impossible as this mixer use physical knobs and sliders but annoying when you have a many songs recorded.

6) The effect channel is global, so only one effect is available for entire song, would be nice if different effects could be added.

If you can live with the above limitations then this equipment will serve you well. One thing I love is that you can quickly get stuff recorded and if you want it edited you always have the option to transfer it to a computer or simply set it up as a DAW.

Stand-alone recorder and mixer

Bought for both recording and live work, great features and superb sound quality. Have many audio interfaces from Univeral Audio, Audient, Soundcraft and Focusrite but there’s something very tactile and dare I say warm for a digital recorder / mixer.

Good sound for a reasonable price

Good sound for a reasonable price. The only downpoint I could find is that the USB function does not allow you to send all the channels to your DAW.

Steal

Tascam has been in the game for years, you can definitely trust the company, my only problem with the model 12 is a slight glitch that occurs sometimes but that might not be directly correlated with the mixer itself.

There are many input output options that can be reconfigured to your liking as seen on the rest of the models in this line and i initially thought the 12 might not have sufficient options for me however i was thankfully proven wrong. This thing is a beast.

All around joy to have in the home studio whether for producing or using it how i see fit for other audio alternatives.

Overall great

Pro: Works great stand alone, when recording capabilities do not exceed the available 12 tracks

Con: Not as analog as it looks (like de model 16/24), but not as flexible as it's digital relative (DP24/32); be sure to check how it fits your use-case. (Edit 2021): class compliant for the 12 tracks, not for DAW control, but I don't use this anyway, I use it on Linux.

MTR capabilities are limited to the physical tracks and once you have recorded the track you can only bounce it to a free track, there are no extra tracks like in the DP24. For live use this is no issue, but when trying to layer some parts you could quickly run out of tracks in a stand-alone mode, so be aware of these limits and how they possibly affect your workflow.

It's hard to tell if I would buy it again, I would probably for this price try other options, for now I have not really had an issue I couldn't work around by going outboard, even went as far as adding a mixer/router on the subs and sacrificing two inputs (stereo) for the returns.

My use case for now was aimed at playing and recording music, in future I'd like to test the broadcasting capabilities with e.g. OBS.

Highly Recommended

My first mixing desk.

Positives:

• Warm analogue pre-amps

• Great hands-on controls and DAW control works well (once I had RTFM)

• built-in reverb sounds great

• records 12 tracks to SD card (great for post-production)

• looks great

• enjoyable DAWless recording

Negatives:

• part-digital signal path (sounds great though)

• not enough sends and returns

• only seems to output channels 1 and 2 to DAW

Its the best console!!

Works perfect with studio one !! I am very satisfied with the tascam model 12!! i wish the model 16 could be a daw controller and have the same futures as the model 12.

Awesome Mixer

Such a vesatile and feature packed machine in such a small form factor. It is really quite outstanding. The sound quality is amazing too. I love that Tascam really thought ahead for all the producers that are working at home now.

Portastudio on steroids!

Brilliant product for old farts like me. I'm screen working too much and I love the opportunity to work with hardware, tactile and with real sliders, switches and buttons. Works very well and fast, great sound and build quality, very nice design and easy to understand. I've only consulted the manual 2 or 3 times. So not much of RTFM! Small footprint, light and easy to carry. A real hit from Tascam. Great business thinking to see the need for this machine.

Great features and versatility

I can only speak on DAW control and recording (haven't tried recording internally). It does have the professional feel and sensitivity of bigger desks. The DAW automation features cover the core of what you need, though in Logic you need your tracks organised -won't read folder tracks etc, and switching back and forth between mixing and recording involves manual re-adjusting of faders -fair enough.

Not exhaustively tested I've no negative point on it so far. It'd be awesome if it allowed for a higher recording frequency than 48Khz but, it's a great value for the money, maximum versatility

I love the Model 12

It is very easy to use, everything about it is quality. It was exactly what i was looking for. I can use all the technology that i think of and have my finger mixing thru its knobs. Live sessions can be PA from it and recorded. The DAW controlling, MIDI and general connectivity has no issues.

Magic Mix

'Brilliant build quality' was the first thing I said to myself as I popped the box. Having read the manual back to front many times whilst waiting on delivery, I found that in half an hour I had set up and ready to go - card formatted, click track working, synced to BFD3 and USB audio streaming out of BFD into a pair of channels.

All I can say is that Tascam have really nailed it with this one, and if they put MIDI etc on the 24 track it would be a truly pro workhorse. However, 10 track recording (and 2 master track) are adequate for my needs; primarily used out of my studio to record jam sessions with buddies.

If you want to get really picky then here's the dirt:

1/ Only two insert points (but appreciate the cost implications of putting them on all channels). I must say though a pair of master inserts would have been nice.

2/ Only 2 fx sends. Again a cost issue - also no dedicated simple returns. If you use the built in FX you are good to go, but if you patch in a box then you are going to lose 2 channels for a stereo return.

3/ Tascam must be the master if syncing to other gear or your DAW. Does not worry me.

EVERYTHING else is just brilliant and a lovely sounding machine it is. Tascam have a certain magic, especially with digital gear. Blindfold, you would swear it is analogue, but to be fair its better than that.

Conclusion, money well spent. Great value, simple to use, and all you need to do is RTFM :)