IBOOK or LAPTOP WITH TASCAM US428 Options

[UPOWER]

HI,

I wonder if anyone has a similar set up? The Tascam US428 seems to be a good unit. Does anyone have any comments about this? I like to have hands on in regards to mixing and twisting knobs. It looks like a good combination of audio interface, midi controller and mixing desk for live performances.

[Ged]

I'm currently using an ibook and tascam 428 combination to produce various kinds of soundtrack/instrumental music (no vocals, mainly sounds from an sc88 pro, di electric guitar and miked accoustic). The 428 comes bundled with cubasis VST and interfaces amazingly well with this sequencer (not sure about others although the manual gives protools a mention...) giving complete 'hands-on' control of levels, eq, pan, transport functions etc. I had a few problems at first with signal levels - the 428 tends to really boost input signals so, if you're recording to hard disk, what you're listening to through headphones/speakers is soooo much fatter than what's going to/coming from disk/comparable CDs etc. However, as you can probably guess, this was mainly due to my inexperience with hard disk recording/setting up the 428 etc. I guess the only real downside of the 428 is, it's a bit of a beast to look at (unless you're into very bright blue objects of course ...) Otherwise, as an interface for an ibook, it's more than satisfied both audio and midi requirements for me. Checkout both tascam and apple's sites for info/specs etc.

R

[UPOWER]

HI GED,

Thanx for your feedback, it sounds reassuring. I have got a few more questions if you don't mind. How did you resolve the fatness problem? Have you already recorded for tracks at once into Cubase? How many channels have you managed to play back through the unit via the USB port? Did you already reach the limits with the ibook in terms of running various audio tracks and plug-in? Can the tascam also be used as a normal 4 track mixing desk? And my last question is, would you recommend this setup for live performances?
Sorry for all these questions but I’m currently working with PC and I would like to switch to MAC.

[Ged]

Hi Flameboy,

Re: your questions, no worries...

1. As I mentioned in my previous posting, the fatness problem was due mainly to my inexperience with recording esp. with multiple audio outputs (i.e. the 428 and ibook's local audio ouput). I solved this problem simply by routing any source cds (professionally mastered cds of similiar styles used for checking levels, stereo width etc.) alongside my recorded tracks (from the ibook) through the 428. The resultant 'super fat' cds now provide me with a more accurate benchmark for final mixing/mastering levels etc.

2. No, I haven't yet recorded four tracks at once. This is simply because I only use one midi device (the scc88) and when I play guitar I prefer to concentrate on one thing at a time (I know, I know ...).

3 & 4. While recording my latest piece I pushed the ibook pretty close to it's limits. Prior to mixdown, I was running (just!) 24 tracks of audio (approx. 5 mins duration, not loops/ghost copies) in combination with 6 fx plugins (4 x reverbs/rooms, 1 x delay, 1 x amp simulator). In addition, more than half of the tracks were being processed using cubase's eq panel. Also, the kick, snare and bass were being individually processed/compressed using cubase's dynamics panel in channel mixer 1. The remaining (compressed) tracks were being routed and processed in three groups in channel mixer 2. Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention that I'd upgraded the ibook's internal memory from 128mb to 256 mb to do this...

5. I doubt if you could use the 428 like a regular 4 track recorder unless, of course, you connect it to err... some other recording device??? not sure??? Otherwise, the 428 simply acts as an interface for hard disk recording (i.e. the actual recording takes place in the computer, not inside the 428 itself). As a mixing desk (I assume you mean for 'live' mixing), sure, the 428 will allow you control most parameters (of a sequenced track) that you'd need to mix live - levels, pan, mutes, transport, parametric eq etc. Not sure about fx parameters (plug-ins etc.) other than eq, you might need some other ('non-rodent' ) device to control these...

6. As performing/mixing live's not my specialty I'd be reluctant to make any recommendations about this kind of thing. I haven't really explored the 428 with this context in mind, though again, if the basic functions listed above will suffice, it's great. The ibook's a study little beast and should stand up to the rigors of live performance/travel as well (looks pretty cool too ).

Hope this helps a bit.

R

[UPOWER]

Hi Ged,

Thanx again for your time, much appreciated. I like the sound of your comments. Could you actually play back those 24 audio tracks through the USB port? That sounds pretty impressive, also with just 256 MB Ram. I'm a drummer so I would probably need to record 4 tracks at once. If you hear anything about it, please let me know. Your experience with the unit seemed to be quite straight forward. I have read a few other comments about it. They didn't sound as positive. Driver related problems for instance. Are the Tascam people helpful? What kind of operating system do you use?

[Ged]

Hi Flameboy,

Yes, my experience with the 428 is quite limited (esp. in a live sense & re: your requirements as a drummer) so I'd talk with as many people as possible if I were you. With regard to your questions, no, I didn't have any trouble with drivers. Perhaps the negative comments were due to the fact that the 428 comes with a basic driver only for installation along with a recommendation that you download the latest driver from the tascam site. Although a little inconvenient it wasn't exactly a problem...
I guess my only criticism (related to the above) is that, as a migrating pc user, I found the setup process a little un-intuitive (for instance, I didn't 'instinctively' know that an OMS setup is vital to run the 428 and cubasis). Again, this was due to inexperience and so, for any migating pc user, I'd recommend reading the manual very carefully during installation to avoid any difficulties.
I'm using OS 9.1 for music making (see the OSX forum for a few reasons), OSX for pretty much everything else (the new ibook comes with both). I haven't yet needed to talk with the tascam people as yet. Their site is pretty straight forward though and contains a lot of info on the 428 (full manual, cubasis + manual, latest OMS/428 drivers and recommended setups). I'll let you know if I experience any difficulties.

R

[UPOWER]

BRILLIANT. HAVE A GREAT WEEK END.

[Ged]

Oh yeah, I was able to play the 24 tracks back through the USB port (just)...

R