Tascam US-16x08 Reviews

Good audio interface!!

Really needed a thing like this , it really does the job for recording , using it right now on my new LP and the sound that Tascam provides is really solid

Tascam US-16x08.

I bought this unit just for the sake of the 8 mics to record drums mainly but also planned to use it for other purposes.Overall the impressions are very negative (but you get what you pay for) i would recommend it as a cheap solution for tracking drums or just home use, but for any serious projects it just doesn't do it for me.the driver is very poorly designed as much as even asio4all does a better job, also the latency is unbearable and from the looks of it Tascam does not plan to update anymore either drivers or firmware.I work on Pro tools only and i don't know if there would be any difference if using another DAW.

So to summarise i would recommend this interface for home use just for tracking and not very much else.

Great interface at an exceptional price

There are not many interfaces with 16 inputs and 8 outputs, specially at an affordable price.

This one is simple to operate, 8 XLR, 2 Line/Instr jack input and phones at the front (all with individual gain/volume control).

at the back the other (8) inputs make it easier to link to the (direct out) channels from a behringer 2442fx I have(for drums). Allowing me to record all drum channels, individually, alongside the rest of the band.

The software allows you to use it standalone (as if it was a mixer), or it's easily integrated with DAWs, in my case Reaper. The latency is very low, allowing you to play with monitoring though a PA without lag.

A cool feature, is that if you don't plug the USB, it will bypass XLR channels 1-8 directly to the jack outputs (as it was a patch bay) Meaning you could keep all wiring in place, whether you are recording, or just playing/rehearsing

Con: Mac users might find a problem that there is only a USB2 interface. But I use a PC, so still a 5*.

Solid Interface for the price

I bought this interface because I wanted a lot of analog ins and outs, and it delivers on that front and an amazing price. I have several synths and fx, and I like having my audio interface / PC as the central hub from which to route things; I find it preferable to a patch bay or manually rerouting cables.

Pro's:

-> Lots of ins, lots of outs

-> Construction feels solid

-> Sufficient amplification on the headphone out

-> Sufficient amplification on the main outs

-> Drivers on Win10 work well (64 sample latency on big projects without problems)

Cons:

-> No digital outs, so if you want to expand in that direction you'd need a different solution

-> The inputs are pretty sensitive - recording synthesizers I have the input knobs turned completely down, and get a clear signal with little noise. This isn't a con per-se, but if you, like me, were planning on using the input volume to mix a bit during jams, think again.

Overall I'm very happy with my purchase; the competing interfaces are either more expensive, or lack certain features this one has. If you're in the market for an interface with a lot of IO this is a solid choice.

Good all around

Had a hard time installing the drivers ,but in the end everything was ok

Great Product

Aswesome piece of kit, managed to produce 2 singles with it.

Tascam US-16x08

I bought this for drums recording and it does a great job. You have to pay way more money for a better interface with 16 inputs.

I'm a musician/mixing engineer and this interface helped me to work for the first time outside my home studio. I also use it live for tracks/Fx. You can send stereo tracks to the main mixer without the click.

Pros :

- 8 mic inputs. Enough for drums

- 8 line inputs. You can connect your favorite individual preamps to it and upgrade the sound

- 8 outputs. Great for sending tracks/stems to outboard gear while mixing and many other things.

- has all the standard things like Phantom power, 2xHi Z inputs, Asio driver, DSP with EQ and compressor for all 16 inputs.

- great for home studios

Cons :

- knob don't feel quite solid

- In my case when I record at 48k with my i5 laptop, sometimes (once per 60 min) the sampling rate resets to 44.1khz, the default rate. This comes also with sound errors like pops, clicks..etc.

- The sampling rate is set by the DAW (Reaper here) and not by the interface itself. And you have to set and reset it many times until the DSP receive the information.

Lots of quality inputs, cheap

Use for recording drums and sometimes full band.

Pros:

Lots of inputs for the price

Transparent pre-amps

Cons:

Phantom power must be turned on for 4 inputs at a time, would prefer if they could be done individually or in pairs.

Good Choise For Small Money

Everything is ok, but there is a seriouse problem with the usb comunnication with computer.Tascam US-16x08 sometimes doesn`t like some of the USB ports. Why, nobody could tell...It didn`t like my USB 2 and it was a big problemq because all of my usb portsq except this one, USB 3...So I connected the interface through USB 3 ( although I`ve read in the manual that it`s not possible ) and it`s working.

Great for the price!

I use this product in my home studio for recording a full band. I bought it because it looked fine for the price but when I tested it I was really surprised. I could easily record full 7part band with drums 2vocals 2guitars bass and keyboards. the interface didnt had no problems at all. I also used it live on a concert and it did absolutly great. no clipping at all. its not perfect but for a small studio or beginers its great.

Pros:

-multi track recording (up to 16 channels)

-good value for money

- good sound and build quality

Cons:

- only one headphone out

- not the best preamps

-external power supply is a must

I recommand this unit to everyone who is a producer on a buget. You wont regret buying this.

But If you are looking for something more proffesional you might want to go look somewhere else.

Great for the price

i have it 2 weeks, i use it on a i5 laptop with 4gRam, i have recorded 9 simultaneously drum tracks with no probs. Silent pres, stable drivers, satisfactory sound with the samson 7kit drum mics and you can achieve remarkable results with a little procesing on your daw. I think it is an honest solution on this price range

pros: 16 channels, standalone function, price, dsp mixer, 2xdi

cons: no aditional software, little tough to handle gain nobs, one headphone output.

i would suggest easily

work horse of an interface

this interface is pretty simple to use the drivers were simple to install and there is a link for them on the tascam website not hard to find at all, 8 XLR inputs and the 2 1/4" jack inputs that can be ether instrument level inputs or line level with the flick of a switch however id of liked an optical input to connect other pre amps to extend the inputs. the built in pre amps are pretty good there quiet and transparent. this is a grate interface for a small home studio.

Perfect for recording drums

I used this product for recording Drums and sometimes live band performances.

Its design was simple and it suited the use in different locations. It can be placed on a desk but also came with mount ears for putting in a rack unit which was a nice feature that allowed me that option in the future.

The face of the unit where the inputs are tilted up towards the user which made it nice to plug in as the cables weren't flush with the surface beneath.

The gain dials had a nice smoothness to them which I found useful for small adjustments.

The headphone output is in a good location on the device.

I have never had any issue with connecting to my laptop.

The fact that its USB allows me to use on different platforms.

It would be an improvement if the inputs were both xlr and instrument line like other interfaces but there is enough inputs.

The phantom option allows you to just assign phantom to certain groups which is great.

All in all a great piece of equipment for the price

Budget interface

Poor routing options in internal mixer - hard wired to mix all computer busses to main output without volume or mute option so - no sends. Multiple outputs can be used bypassing internal mixer. In that case - software monitoring only. But i guess that is what you get for the money. Decent strong sound output.

Very good

Very good Interface. I just had to plug it into my old macbook and everything worked fine. Plug and play. I record my bands rehersals and this is just perfect for that.

Very nice preamps!

I bought it to record drums but now I'm using this on everything. It's a class compliant USB audio interface so you don?t need drivers to install (Mac Os users). You can even record directly to garage band with an iPad or iPhone!

If you need a simple, easy to install and good sounding interface, get it.

Super quality

High quality soundcard. I use it to record multiple sound and does the job well done

Good Audio Device

I bought this audio device and my first impressions are quite positive. for this range of price there's nothing better.

I needed lots of IN, and this product fits completely. I use it as standalone, or simply, as audio device with Ableton Live.

PRO:

- lots of inputs

- simple interface and handling

- good preamp and sound

CON:

- DSP mixer could be done better

- knobs a little "soft"

- a volume meter on the front, would be useful

An okay interface

The interface is great for using tracks, but not the best on recording in studio. The preamps are fine, but no more.

Perfect for live session and home recording

I use the US-16x08 connected to a powerful Windows 10 PC running REAPER to record all members of a 6 piece band and remix into a quality recording.

It is exceptionally simple to setup, and works perfectly with REAPER, although I haven't tested it with other DAW's.

The mic preamps are ultra low-noise which makes use with highly sensitive condenser mics a dream.

Highly recommended from a quality, cost and performance perspective.