Tascam US-16x08

Really nice interface

Really nice interface - I bought mostly so I could track drums when I needed, through multiple inputs. I've done this perhaps 5 or 6 times over the last few years. THe interface has always held up, no issues whatsover. Seems well built and easy to use.

As a more casual user - I cannot compare it to other devices of similar specs, as this is the first I've had. I can say that professional mixing engineers have told me they were impressed by the quality of the pre-amps when I sent them stems.

Works pretty well

I have been using this for years, only had some problems with the switch on/off button that sometimes just doesn't work, but always self-fixes within few minutes. Preamps work pretty well at low-mid gain, not so satisfying for hi-gain but overall still very good. MIDI works great both in and out. I wish there where more routing possibilities, but the signal path of the digital mixer is not customisable. It's kind of a big device, but I suppose it's the minimum for 16 in and 8 out ports. It fits perfectly both in the rack mount and "stand-alone", it works as pre-bank with no usb connection and as digital mixer with usb and remote monitor (pc or mac). Never regret buying this, never had the necessity to buy a different one (though I'm not a professional sound engineer). Totally worth the price!

Well built and so much I/O

Good unit for the price, very well built and fairly solid, sound-wise.

There is a audio glitch that occurs occasionally and resolves in a few seconds, irritating for sure but you can live with it.

Works well as an extra i/o for the MPC line of sequencers, which was a huge surprise and bonus for me.

I wish more of the inputs were to the rear of the unit as i used it racked alongside a patchpay.

Other that that I'd say it's best bang per buck for extra I/O.

Under-appreciated and overlooked.

This doesn't get the praise it deserves, it easily competes with similar products and out performs a lot in my opinion. Very simplistic making it easy to use. The quality of audio is up there with some of the best products in the market.

My only negative is that the software is a bit dated and can be frustrating, frustrating to use.

Powerful multi track interface. Love it.

I had been messign around with options to record in the studio, and had tested and bought several different interfaces, looking for the right product and method to hook everything up.

The Tascam ended up being the best option for me, in terms of features and price, as well as overall quality of the brand.

16 seperate audio in channels , and decent quality, solid build without any noise or usb ground loop sounds or latencuy troubles.

Somewhere in between the budget multi channel interfaces and the high end stuff out there, but kind of offering both in my opinion.

If you have a multi synth set up, and u will probably expand , this is a nice alternative to a mixer, with a decent array of direct individual inputs for each instrument.

Exactly what I needed, works for me :)

The best.

In the past I used several USB and firewire external rack sound cards.

This is by far, the best, specially after the latest drivers release.

I recommend it hands-down.

Well built, sounds great

Build quality is great, and the sound from it is amazingly clean and transparent, only thing I could ask for is slightly improved software for it

You get exactly what you pay for and even more.

This was my first multi channel interface. I got that because I was on a budget and I had to record a band for an ep with real live drums, so I needed inputs. Pretty basic design and no features at all, although the digital compression may save the day at some cases. The construction is not the best but it is ok for the money. the signal clarity is one of the worst on the market for an 8+ analogue input interface without being inadequate though. One other issue might be the lack of pad switch and the very hot input on all the channels.

In general is a very decent buy if you are on a budget and you want to buy a 16 analogue input interface. 5 stars because it saved me and I managed to deliver the work in a pretty good final quality, despite its drawbacks.

Pros:

- Cheap

- easy to use

- Lots of inputs

- quite sturdy for the price

Cons

- not the best signal quality (it actually has the worst in the class without that making it a bad interface)

- very hot inputs (you might find it difficult to deal with gain with different mics)

- no features at all except for the digital interface compression.

Great sounding interface until I bought an Audient ID14

This review has been updated - It is basic but has a reasonable sound with a hint of noise and is very loud so you need to keep an eye on levels.

Great format for rack mounting. Is it as good as the Behringer UMC 1820 with an ADAT? Since I have that as well I can tell you it isn't because feature-wise the UMC with a SPDIF cable has two more channels, has better gain staging and more outputs but it is cheaper and takes up less valuable rack space.

I bought it as a spare because if I didn't have at least 16 channels available I'd go crazy :)

Update: Comparing this to a product with new digital to analog converters the Tascam is let down by the cloudiness of its output - compared to my new Audient it lacks detail, however, with 16 clean inputs it makes for a sound DAC into your DAW.

mixed feelings

I can use the number of ports for all my drums microphones but the software is weird plus when the knobs are set to 0 you still get sound in.

For preproduction is ok otherwise not so great.