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Hey everyone,
Im thinking of purchasing a Tascam FW-1884, after extensive reading and searching the forums I think this is by best interest (it does seem as though there are a few out there that would beg to differ). The only other product that I'm still thinking about is the Firepod, but the fact it doesn't have seperate inserts for every input bothers me a little (or am I missing something?).
I know the Tascam has the fancy control surface, but is it really necessary?
Can I got some peoples two cents and weigh the pros and cons of each peice of hardware?

Comments

Calgary Fri, 12/16/2005 - 20:02

I was going to buy an 1884 but I just couldn't get used to not having any visual indicators at all on the rotaries, that was the deal buster for me. Other than that it looks quite nice, I was just fooling around with one the other day. I haven't heard any reviews on the quality of the audio yet though, i.e. the preamps and converters. 8-)

anonymous Fri, 12/16/2005 - 20:15

Thinking about the visuals for the rotaries, wouldn't that problem just make them useless? You would be checking the levels on the computer all the time and just adjusting it there.
I've heard mixed reviews about the preamps and converters, but I plan on getting some outboard preamps later on. I could just use those preamps in the inserts and bypass the 1884 preamps right?

Calgary Fri, 12/16/2005 - 20:39

I'm not sure if it has a true hardware bypass or not for the pre amps, my guess is just set them to zero and use an outboard.

As to the rotaries, that's a personal choice. For me it was a deal buster. If I have to squint at the onscreen mixer to reference the settings for each control it's no good for workflow, escpecially once the project gets above 20-25 tracks. Some folks might not mind I guess. The higher up TASCAMS (as well as my $199 Behringer BCF2000) have "endless" rotary pots with an LED ring indicator which is perfect for most basic stuff like using them to pan, etc. So I just use the Behringer and it's great, 8 100mm automated faders, etc. Took a minute to set up but I've grown used to it.

The TASCAM seems like a nice unit but ultimately for my to buy one they'll need to get the LED rings from their higher model into the 1884 as well as some tasty preamps and converters. I mean it's not like they're a cheap unit, IMO for that price the lack of indicators on the rotaries is downright inexcusable. That's why I decided not to buy one for now anyhow.

They're on the right track though, it's a good start. I can hardly wait until there's a good selection of dual duty standalone/DAW mixers. That's really going to change the way I do things. 8-)

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