Tascam DP-32 Portastudio

Tascam DP-32 Portastudio | Reviews
93
storage keep the DP-32 both compact
and light, but the buttons, faders and
controls still feel pretty solid. Even so,
the lack of digital connectivity and one
headphone output is slightly annoying.
We also thought the included USB
cable was absurdly short.
Track timer
The DP-32 uses a song-based
filesystem and it’s at this stage that you
select sample rate and bit rate. With
your song set up and selected you’ll
also get an idea of how much recording
time you have available from the
Remain indicator in the top right of the
screen. This hours and minutes counter
indicates overall track time, so if you
select multiple tracks to record it will
update accordingly based on your
current song length.
Routing signals is pretty
straightforward and with the Assign
page active, you can either use the
Source and Select buttons, or cursor
around the screen manually. It’s worth
noting that you can route one source to
more than one destination track.
The DP-32’s one headphone output
receives the same monitor signal as the
main monitors, which is somewhat
restrictive. However, if you really need a
separate feed you could use send 2 and
hook up an external headphone amp.
Next up, the included effects routing
allows you to apply the Dynamics block,
EQ and the Guitar Effects block (see
Effects Allocation box) prior to
recording, which is a nice touch.
With signals routed and monitoring
sorted, the nitty gritty of recording with
the DP-32 is amazingly simple, and
with Rehearse, Auto Punch (and
footpedal control if you buy their
proprietary one), there are various ways
you can fine-tune your ways of working.
As far as multiple takes are
concerned, you can actually create up
to eight virtual tracks for each track,
allowing easy stacking of multiple
takes. However, while this is a positive
experience, DP-32’s editing capabilities
are less well implemented. Editing
functions (cut, copy, paste, silence,
track clone and so on) all rely on setting
in and out edit points using the
transport locators, and although you
can zoom in and use the scrub wheel to
view waveforms of each track, it feels
too clunky for careful editing of your
master recordings.
However, the DP-32 has one rather
useful trick up its sleeve in the form of
AudioDepot. This allows you to import
and export WAV files via a shared folder
on the SD. Once you transfer this to
your computer (either on the SD or via
USB) you can then load it all into a
DAW. All your track files are rendered
from zero so it all lines up, and you’re
ready to edit, mix or both.
Box of tricks
The DP-32 delivers an interesting
combination of features, and in typical
Portastudio style, attempts to give you
everything in one box. Winning features
are its compact size and simple design,
and for me its strengths clearly lie in
tracking, which is why the basic
monitoring features are a bit
disappointing. The included EQ,
Dynamics and Send Effects are simple
but sound great, allowing you to quickly
tailor your signals
at source. If you
can get your head
around the DSP
sharing
limitations, the
Guitar Effects are
also a nice touch,
perfectly useable
and, again, can be recorded if you wish.
Although it has the facility to
master your mix and burn it to CD-R,
the option to transfer the track audio
to your computer and edit or finish the
process in a DAW is what really matters
here, and for me that’s what makes
the DP-32 still relevant in this
DAW-dominated world.
spECs
Recording media: SD
512MB to 2GB, SDHC 4GB
to 32GB
Inputs: 8 balanced jack/
XLR combination
Input impedance: Above
22kΩ line, 2.4kΩ
Main outputs:
unbalanced phono (stereo),
balanced jack (monitor)
Output impedance:
200Ω
MIDI: In & Out
USB support: Windows
XP, Vista or 7; Mac OS X
10.2 or later
Dimensions:
514 x 340 x 104mm
Weight:
6.2kg
VERDiCT
BUILD
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VALUE
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EASE OF USE
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VERSATILITY
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RESULTS
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Compact, solid and reliable but in a
world full of DAWs the DP-32 feels
somewhat restrictive.
The DP-32 includes
five processing blocks:
EQ, Dynamics, Send
Effects, Guitar Effects
and Mastering Effects.
The three-band EQ is
freely available on all
source inputs and track
playback so you can
‘EQ to tape’. The
Dynamics block has four
mutually exclusive
processors: Compressor,
Noise Suppressor,
De-esser and Exciter,
available for inputs but
not recorded tracks. The
Send Effect is hardwired
to send 1 and you can
choose one of three
effects: Reverb, Delay or
Chorus. Meanwhile the
Guitar Effects is a
four-effect chain: Amp,
Compressor, Effect
(phase, flange, chorus,
tremolo, auto wah and
delay) and Noise
Suppressor. The overall
input DSP is shared
allowing the following
combinations: 8
Dynamics, 0 Guitar
Effects; 2 Guitar Effects,
0 Dynamics; 1 Guitar
Effect, 2 Dynamics.
You can also use the
Guitar Effects on one
recorded track. Finally, to
round things off we have
the Mastering Effects,
which includes
three-band EQ,
multiband compressor,
normaliser and dither.
Effects Allocation
ALTERnATiVEs
Tascam DP-24
£699
If you don’t need the extra
track count, save your cash
and get its cheaper sibling.
www.tascam.co.uk
Zoom R24
£429
It has a less impressive
work surface but the
SD-based R24 packs in a
lot of features.
www.zoom.co.jp
Boss BR-1600CD
£1,150
This 16-track hard
disk-based system includes
up to 256 virtual tracks,
eight mic inputs and pitch
correction, amongst many
other features.
www.roland.co.uk
Winning features are its compact
size and simple design, and its
strengths clearly lie in tracking
FMU262.rev_tascam.indd 93 12/21/12 3:52 PM