Product: TASCAM US-248
Price Paid: US $600
Submitted
06/19/2005
at
04:20pm
by
galileo32
Ease of Use
:
9
What it is - specs
This is both a mixer control surface that works with all your major sequencer packages (cubase, sonar, etc) and it is digital-analogue interface (soundcard) for recording. 4 simultaneous audio inputs, 1spdif, 2 digital inputs, 2x12midi channels, 1x2 (stereo) audio output, 1x2 (stereo) headphone output.
Ease of use
The main features, such as setting up for recording and then controlling your sequencer software are easy to use. With 8 channel sliders/faders switchable to control any number of channels in your sequencer, mixing is no longer the fiddly process of doing everything with the mouse (and getting rsi in the process). The shuttle dial and transport controls (play, record, ff, rewind, stop, beginning, end) make editing a much faster intuitive process, and jumping around within a song is a breeze.
Their is a section of switches and dials that can be used to control eq, and fx in your sequencer, but these are a little more involved to set up and I rarely use them, i'm not much of a tech-head so I've never quite been able to nut them out.
Sound Quality
:
9
Two of the four audio inputs (24bit, 44khz) are set up for three pin mike cables, and their sound quality is "transparent" meaning you don't get any valve coloration. Valve color has to be added either after recording using sequencer plugins or outboard effects, or you use a valve preamp (such as an ART or behringer tube ultragain) between the mike and US428.
The other two inputs are optimised for line inputs, and again they are transparent.
All the audio inputs have no significant noise.
The sound output coming from your sequencer going to your monitors is converted at 24bit44.1khz ie substantially higher than CD quality. This is excellent quality and again not significant noise.
The headphone output is good quality too, with more than enough volume (in fact i drive as many as three sets of headphones off the single output and still have volume capacity to spare.
Direct monitoring switch allows you to hear the sound coming from the
inputs before it goes into the sequencer.
I suppose you could criticize it as a bit out of date now that 96khz sample-rate recording and surround mixing might be becoming the new standard, but the 24bit/44.1 is still very good sound quality for home studio and songwriting applications.
Reliability
:
10
Used it for 4 years in home semi-pro studio without any problems at all. Its Tascam quality all the way!
While the US428s were also designed to be portable (lightweight and same size as a laptop) so as to appeal to the laptop user as well, i haven't used it on the road so much, so cannot comment on its robustness as a piece of travelling kit.
Customer Support
:
7
Quick helpful response from the customer support by email, and very useful support from the official US428 forum (which i gather is no longer running, so i should deduct some points for that...)
Overall Rating
:
9
I record customers/friends/colleagues doing everything from spoken word commercial CD recordings to singer songwriter demos, to rock, to electronica. Its a very straight forward external soundcard and sequencer control surface that does the job very well.
Regardless that it uses the supposedly slow USB interface to connect to the computer, it is absolutely fine with realtime mixing, playing back as many tracks as your computer/sequencer rig can handle. For realtime monitoring of an audio input going through your sequencers fx units this is a little on the slow side, ie a noticeable delay. But if you are just needing to add some reverb ambience for a vocalist while recording the delay doesn't matter. but 95% of the time I just use the direct monitoring option and add the fx later during mixing, or set up a second mike going into a mini pa for monitoring.
It is totally great for helping make music, and has earned me some money too doing recording for others. My upgrade path when i get around to it would be to add on another two to four audio inputs using the faster firewire or pci-card input/output format but would still use it as an additional source of inputs and definitely still use its control surface. I have it placed so that i operate the US428 with my right hand and use the 3 button mouse with my left hand (i'm right hand, but being a guitarist i'm used to doing stuff with both hands)
and i can work easily 4 times faster than my friends who do everything with the mouse.
