Akai DPS16i

I just got this TODAY and I've fiddled with the knobs and manual with wear and that's why I'm on the computer instead. The manual doesn't give you the step by step play so you gotta just go figure.

I'm using a keyboard and ZZounds included a killer AKG c1000 mic with it. The mic is beautiful! However, as I'm tweaking with the effects I can't seem to get a difference in the ears at all. Maybe it's me still trying to figure it out by a miss of one button or something. The sound is nice and rounded even before tweeking.

I guess I can depend on it. It weighs a lot more than the ZOOM. It's pretty weighty (solid parts) considering this day and age when everything is disposable! I am concerned whether the flip up screen which is a total PLUS is gonna hold up and stay up within time. It's suspended with clicks.
As for gigging with it, my set up is too large to lug around.

I called tech support today as a matter of fact. The guy returned my call within two hours. He thought he'd get away with a quick question to end his work day. He was helpful but I didn't ask much but he did invite me to call back for future support if I have any further questions. He had a nice phone voice and he actually made certain of his info before just assuming an answer to get me off the phone.

I play urban pop tunes and so far so good. I don't own any compressor units and effects type things yet so this was pretty straight forward. The point is it sounds GOOD. I haven't gotten attached to it enough to give faith by it. I did A LOT of research before settling in on this one. I think I made the right choice. There isn't one device that does everything I want it to in this price range. I'm not certain that the touch screen thing will hold up over time. I've worked with a slew of POS systems with touch screen and they have a tendency to crash with more data it has. I just wish it had a effects mastering.

Very intuitive. The manual is more confusing than just going ahead and using the machine. Just a couple things I don't like- you have to switch between the effect screen and the mixer screen a lot when putting effects on stuff. Not a problem but somewhat annoying. Also the way some of the mixer functions work is inconveniant- not confusing but just a little more tedious than using an actual mixer. However I have used one of Roland's VS series recorders and the DPS16 is WAY less tedious and easier to work with than Roland's.

Very quiet, very accurate recording. My biggest complaint with this machine is the effects though. Many of them are totally useless. The compressor does almost nothing no matter what the settings are. The noise reduction does nothing no matter what the settings are. And the touch wah, although not as neccessary, can be noticed only slightly if you manage to tweak it perfectly. However there are a few decent reverbs, and some of the modulation effects (flangers, chorus, phasers) are decent if they are not overdone. Oh yeah the rotary speaker simulation is pretty good I think. I have a really cheesy keyboard that sounds surprisingly good through that effect. So I don't know if effects really belong in this review category. I give it a 9 because the main reason for buying a recorder is usually the recording/mixing functions and not the effects, which can be purchased separately anyway. On a side note Roland's (VS series)effects, especially the reverbs, are considerably better.

Completely reliable so far but I've only had it for about 6 months.

haven't had to deal with Akai yet. As inappropriate as it may be I have to voice my extreme frustration with Musician's Friend's customer support, which was a huge problem when I got this thing! Don't get it from them if you can! Unfortunately they have the best prices but.........

I would definitely buy it again if it were stolen. I looked pretty thoroughly at everything remotely comparable to this unit before I bought it, and I also try to keep up with what's still coming out, and I still definitely think this is by far the best unit available. Just a few more features in case people don't already know: 256 virtual tracks- really really useful. You can try out other parts without screwing up what you already have. Also useful for a lot of other stuff but I'm trying to keep this somewhat short. Graphic waveform editing - awesome. You can zoom way way way in on the wave to perfectly pinpoint a punch in point, or edit points. Digital editing: great. You can cut and paste, timestretch, copy, delete, and whatever else you want. Then you can undo it if you didn't get it right. If you are used to analog stuff you will be thrilled. If you are used to other companies' digital stuff you will probably still be thrilled. The only thing on this is the timestretch can sound bad if you overdo it, but it is still useful for minor adjustments. What else, Phantom power is good to have and not all the other recorders have that. Jog/shuttle wheel is very helpful. SCSI connection is really great- you can directly hook up a CD burner. The only thing with that is that you have to lose 2 tracks in a way because you have to master all tracks down to 2 tracks for the CD recorder to record. If you want to do a fadeout you have to try to slide 14 faders at once etc. Still I'd rather have a SCSI connection than not. Locate points: very helpful- you can basically set as many points as you want and either name them to a list or assign them to physical keys. So you can save the time of repeatedly cue-ing. Lots of recorders have this but it's still nice. Inputs- I wish they had more XLR inputs (there's only 2) and more inputs altogether (there's only 8 plus two digital). However the gain/trim is very quiet. And you can very easily assign any input to any track. Outputs: two RCA stereo outs, 4 aux sends (1/4"), the above mentioned SCSI connection, and I apologize if I'm forgetting any others at the moment. Screen is a nice big flip up LCD with a lot of functions viewable at once. Controls: the 6 Q-link knobs by the screen are a hell of a time saver with EQ compared to Roland and I think several other recorders. And oh yeah EQ: THREE SWEPT frequencies per channel! (you get to choose what frequency you adjust instead of fixed 10khz treble adjustment etc.) This is WAY way better than what you get on a lot of dedicated mixers! The frequencies overlap so you can really fix up certain areas if you need to. The adjustment range is 16khz down to 40hz. And then if you want you can use the digital EQ effect for even more eq options. This is really great for mastering, and has more range on the hi's - up to 20khz. I guess not everyone cares about eq like I do but I think it is extremely useful. Memory: 20 gig. Not as big as the universe but at least you don't have to worry about it in the middle of a song like you do with those recorders that record on zip drives or only have a 2 or 6 gig memory. Right now I still have 12 gigabytes left/free and I have about 32 different "projects" on there, most of which are about 6-7 minutes long with all 16 tracks. I will probably have to eventually back up the disk info but that's to be expected and I can get through making a CD without dealing with that in the middle of it. Another feature that I really like on this machine is that you can record 10 tracks simultaneously in 16 bit mode. I think it is pretty ridiculous that Korg has a 16 track machine that only records 2 tracks at a time. How could you possibly record a fully miked drumset or a full band live? 10 tracks isn't huge but it's way better than what's out there so I'm grateful for that. If you're just going to record a million guitar and keyboard parts by yourself, then this isn't probably an issue but if you want to record all at on