TASCAM US-224 Four-Fader Controller with Audio and MIDI

Rating:
Summary: Really good but it could be a big pain to setup and maintain
Review: This is the first attempt I took at multitrack recording. I didn't realize how hard it was to setup computers for recording audio. If you are expecting to just plug this into your computer and instantly have a home recording studio, you may be painfully suprised.

I have read several reviews on this particular product and it seems like there have been mixed reviews. Some people got it to work flawlessy on the first try, some couldn't get it to work at all, and others got it to work after lots and lots of frustration.

The last scenario would be me. Ever since I set this up I've been having problems with it skipping during recording. It's really annoying. That is the only problem I've had though. I have revamped my whole computer several times to try and get it to stop skipping and I haven't had any success yet.

My computer has much better specs than what the minimum requirements on the box say too. If you are not very computer literate, I definitely would not recommend this product. If you are like most people who have used this product, you're gonna have problems that need fixed and you're gonna have to know your way around the computer to be able to fix them.

If this intimates you, I would suggest getting a stand alone multitrack recording unit instead. There are lots available. They have all the same capablities of this program, but you won't have to plug it into a computer. You just plug in your intruments, plug into a wall, and start recording. I've never used one personally but I imagine they would be less of a pain since they are already set up to work properly without any gliches. The only downside is that you won't have a nice big screen to navigate around your songs with. Many of the affordable standalone units have a little screen for you to try and see what's going on. I imagine that would be pretty annoying.

There are lots of websites around that have been made by people who are very experienced in the art of home recording. I would do my research before jumping into buying this. Make sure that you see all your options. I didn't do as much research as I should have. If I were to do it over, I think I would have got a standalone unit.

Once you get this thing to work right though, it is really good. You can get some really high quality recordings with it. The price is really good compared to other options also.