The out-of-computer music recording experience
Yeah, I'm kind of using out-of-computer the same way one would say out-of-body experience. I think there can be some similarities made between the two.
Okay, so I've been recording with my DP-008 and have been flying out track after track just about every day. It is simply amazing to me just how much faster and better my ideas flow when putting them into the little recorder compared to the computer.
When I first started multitracking, I used a Tascam 424. I even remember the price paid for it new in the early 1990s, $525. And that was in the deflated dollars of the time. Worth it? Yeah, considering everything else was sky-high in price, such as the Tascam DA-88.
Small recording history note: A lot of stuff changed in the early 1990s, and the "in" thing back then was DAT, as in Digital Audio Tape. The two hottest (and ridiculously expensive) DAT machines of the time were the Alesis ADAT and the Tascam DA-88 mentioned above. ADAT in particular was amazing. Each machine was a digital 8-track, but you could synchronize 16 of them together for a 128-track system. Yes, really. And if I remember correctly, you had real-time counters as well (which was a big deal).
I never used DAT back in the day simply because it was way too expensive. The original ADAT was introduced in 1992 at a starting price of - get ready for this - $3,995. I'll let you do the math to know how much it would have cost to buy 16 of them all at once for 128 tracks, never mind just one. And that didn't include the cost of the enclosures to house them, remote units, extra cables, etc.
So anyway, I went with cassette-based multitracking. It was literally the most inexpensive way you could multitrack back then, and the units were generally reliable.
When the next decade turned around (the 2000s), all you needed to get 128 tracks of multitrack goodness was a PC and Cool Edit Pro 2 (now Adobe Audition); in the early 2000s the maximum number of supported tracks was 128. I'm sure today's modern software offerings allow for 256 or simply "unlimited" digital audio tracks, depending on PC hardware capability. But anyway, it was in the 2000s that I switched over to PC-based recording, because heck, 128 tracks is a lot better than 4, right? :-)
Note on that: The most tracks I have ever used in any single recording session was just shy of 24 (I think it was 21 or 22), and it was when I was making an attempt to recreate Black Sabbath's Symptom of the Universe, which has a ton of layered tracks in it. In fact, I'm pretty sure 'Sabbath did use a 24-track system when they originally recorded that song in the late 1970s. Either that, or they got very creative with a 16-track system because I'm certain the SotU song contains at least 8 guitars.
So now I've "reverted" back to using a standalone unit for recording, with the difference being I'm using digital instead of analog. And to be totally honest, I haven't had this much fun recording since the old Tascam 424 days.
Something I didn't mention before is that with the DP-008, I don't need a mixer. Totally not necessary. It's just me recording my stuff, and since the 008 has two 1/4-inch and two XLR inputs, I was able to cut out the mixer altogether.
In effect, I'm using what's probably one of the smallest recording rigs you could get. One guitar effects processor, one drum machine, one recorder. That's it. I only use the laptop when I need to export the master WAV so I can get it out to the internet and maybe do some minor (and I mean minor) post-production work on it.
This "condensed" style of recording is something I haven't done in a long time, and it's so cool I can do so much in so small of a setup, and it almost feels magical in a way, as in, "How can something that small get so much done so well?"
I mean, I thought the 424 was small back when I was using that. Compared to the reel systems before it, it was just plain tiny. But the 008 is well less than half the size the 424 was and does a ton more than the 424 ever did.
And yeah, of course, you can go even smaller with a recording rig by using the iPhone, and do it for just 10 bucks(!) But that's a little too small for me. :-)
I'm really liking how much I'm getting done with my 008. Will you hear some of the stuff I've been doing with it soon?
Yes, you will. :-)
An experiment with organic sound
The last time I used a proper microphone to record anything was about 7 years ago; it was a Blue Snowball, used with a boom stand. In all honesty, the Snowball performed quite well and I was surprised how well it could capture a vocal. It did it so well that it almost didn't need any tweaking on a digital level.
ANYWAY... so my new DP-008 has a condenser microphone built-in to it, so I figured I might as well try it out.
I just wanted to throw something quick-and-dirty together, so I recorded two guitars first, then used manually "played" stuff to see how well the mic would capture.
I decided the easiest thing would be to create a beat.
First I tried slapping my hands on my knee, but that didn't work out too well. Then I tried hitting a pen on the desk, but that didn't work either. Then I grabbed a keychain with a loop on it, and when I rocked it back and for it made a clicking sound that I could control in time, so that was my "hi-hat". For the "snare", that was snapping fingers. For the "bass drum", that was me thumping my chest (I had to dial up some bass EQ to make that heard).
The levels in the demo above are way off, but I don't care because I just wanted to get this thing recorded to see if I could actually pull it off. And pull it off I did.
This is the second time I've used the DP-008's mic. The first time was with playing a Strat totally unplugged, but this time I wanted to record different organic stuff like keychain clicks, snaps and thumps. The mic picked it all up and did it proper for the most part, so yeah, it totally works. :-)
Rich buys a Tascam DP-008
This is a review... sort of. Actually it's more of a combination of the pros/cons of the DP-008, and why we're literally forced to seek out means of different ways of recording compared to how we used to do it.
With that said, here we go.
I bought a new laptop recently, and like with most laptops, all the input audio functions are condensed into what's called a "combo port", where it can serve as either an input or an output. But of course, "Line In" and "Stereo Mix" (sometimes labeled as "What You Hear") are not available recording options.
At that point, if you are intent on using your laptop as the recording device, you will have to use USB, but then you encounter the absolutely (and this is putting it mildly) enraging fact that when you use USB, there is always latency, commonly known as "lag".
Lag. Frickin'. Sucks. And everyone hates it. Everyone.
How to defeat the lag?
You need zero-latency monitoring hardware, as in hardware that completely bypasses the software buffers so you get true "as-it's-played" monitoring, such as the Tascam US-1800, or the lower-cost Tascam US-122MKII...
...but that of course adds in additional crap you have to buy just to defeat the lag and will cost you a minimum of $100 just to do it.
What I find ironic is that the way zero-latency monitoring hardware works is by - you guessed it - analog.
That Tascam US-1800 I mentioned above? It lists itself as having independent monitoring outputs. Think those are digital? They're not; both are analog. So even when you buy pro-level gear, you're still diving back into the world of analog just to defeat the lag; an ancient technology. Progress!
We've got all this wonderful digital crapola, yet USB still has the exact same lag problem it did back when USB 2.0 spec was released in April 2000. And if you thought USB 3.0 was going to save you, it won't. The two things USB 3.0 has as improvements are better data throughput and more power available to powered ports, but the audio latency is still exactly the same as it was in 2.0 spec. Progress!
Let's say for the moment you didn't get the zero-latency hardware and tried to exclusively use USB 2.0 or 3.0 in an attempt to be lag-free to save a few bucks. Well, that's going to be a challenge at best and an outright want-to-throw-your-laptop-in-the-dumpster feeling at the worst. No matter what USB interface you get, it's lag, lag, lag and more frickin' lag. Progress!
Remember, a $50 piece-of-crap decade-old PC with Windows XP that you can buy at a yard sale that has a sound card with that little blue "LINE IN" port on the back can provide you with an audio recording environment that has no lag. At all. Progress!
Don't hate me. Hate the technology. Any time you have to listen to a sound that's generated by the computer, there will be a delay and the best way to get around this delay is to have a real analog sound that you can listen to while you're playing. Progress!
When you're sick of the lag and at your wit's end...
...you get a standalone multitrack recorder.
And that's why I bought a Tascam DP-008. It's not a perfect unit, obviously, but it definitely gets the job done and does it 100% lag-free.
My review of the DP-008
Instead of doing the traditional pros-and-cons, I'm going to flip that around and actually list the cons first.
Con: Center-indentation for pan knobs could be a little bit better
When you adjust any pan knob for its center position for an equal amount of volume on both the left and right, this indentation should be a bit more stiff; it's a bit too easy to roll over the center mark. This is nothing you can't get used to, but I noticed it.
Con: Finding the contrast adjustment for the screen is too buried
This should be something that can be found without the use of the manual, but instead its buried in a submenu: MENU > PREFERENCE > CONTRAST; this should have been made a lot more obvious.
Con: ABAB default input assignment for a new song is stupid
The way input assignments are made for any new song is that the odd-numbered tracks are set to A input, and even-numbered tracks are B input. I think this is dumb, and that all tracks should be A by default.
The workaround is that the first thing you do when you create a new song is press the ASSIGN button, then set all the even-numbered tracks to A.
Con: Metronome could be louder, and there is only one metronome sound type
This is admittedly a nitpick since you can just turn down the output levels when recording, but even when the metronome is set to 100 volume, it's not loud enough. And the fact there is only one type of metronome click sound is a bit annoying. Yes, it can be worked with, but I would have appreciated beeps over clicks.
Con: Proprietary partitioning of SD card storage is dumb
(This is the last con, and a bit long. You might want to skip this one and scroll down to the pros.)
Because I'm geeky, I know the workaround for this, but most wouldn't. And to note, this has absolutely nothing to do with how it records but rather how it handles media storage.
Okay, so the DP-008 will take a fresh SD card and partition it into either 2 or 4GB partitions, your choice; that's not the problem. The problem is when you, say, upgrade to a bigger SD card and want to use the old card normally in your laptop, PC or digital camera as it won't be used in the DP-008 anymore.
In order to get that SD card "normal" again, you have to blow away its partitions. And the absolute easiest way to do that is with HDD LLF Low Level Format Tool; the free version of this will work fine here and no, you don't have to use the low-level format function.
Quick explanation on how to do that with screenshots.
Assuming you want to totally blow away the card and format it new, you do it like this:
1. Pop in the card to your laptop.
2. Run the Low Level Format Tool.
3. Select the card and hit Continue:
Make DAMNED SURE you selected your SD card here and not your primary hard drive or any other USB cards/sticks/whatever you have connected, because it's a little too easy to blow away the wrong storage media here.
4. Select the tab "LOW-LEVEL FORMAT" at top, check the box "Perform quick wipe (just remove partitions and MBR)" at bottom, and click "FORMAT THIS DEVICE".
5. When done, close the program.
6. Launch Windows Explorer (as in "My Computer"), Windows will ask if you want to format the card, do so. At that point you've got a "normal" card again ready for use in the PC, laptop, digital camera or whatever.
This is really handy information to know if you have any SD card that will not format in Windows no matter what you do, or if you installed a live Linux distribution to one or whatever and need those partitions (particularly for blowing away things like Linux's grub) gone. The HDD Low Level Format Tool is without a doubt the absolute easiest way to blow away a memory card and format the frickin' thing so it can get working normally again 100%.
On a final note here: Is this utility worth paying for? Only if you use it for actual low-level formatting. The free version purposely throttles the low-level format speed, while the paid version opens up and low-level formats as quickly as possible. But for quick partition blow-aways, no, you don't need the paid version.
Pro: Excellent sound quality
I hear nothing "washy" whatsoever in the way the DP-008 records.
Pro: Ridiculously easy-to-use (once you know the ASSIGN trick)
As listed in a con above, the ABAB thing with input assignments is dumb. But once you're around that, recording stuff in the DP-008 is so easy it's not funny.
Pro: Reverb knobs
I love the fact that adding reverb in the DP-008 is so easy and has its own dedicated knob for it on each track.
Pro: Stereo reverb even with mono-recorded tracks
This I did not expect, but wow what a cool feature.
Take any recorded track, and add in some reverb. Then pan the track hard to one side (right or left, your choice). On the other side of the track, you'll hear "distant" reverb, just as in the track was in stereo, even though it's mono. VERY COOL that this exists on a simple recorder like the DP-008.
What I thought would happen is that a panned track would carry both its signal and the reverb effect along with it to the panned side, but that didn't happen. Instead, this wickedly awesome stereo effect happened instead. Like I said, that's a very trick feature because it essentially converts a mono track into stereo.
I'll try to explain further how cool this is. Ordinarily when you want to route a stereo reverb, there's a bit of legwork involved. Not so on the DP-008. Just turn the knob and it's there; it doesn't get any easier.
If you happen to get a DP-008, try doing this. You will freakin' love it.
Pro: 6 types of reverb
Again, a nice surprise here.
The reverbs are Hall 1, Hall 2, Room, Studio, Plate 1 and Plate 2. And I seriously dig the fact there are little "pictures" specifically telling you what each type of reverb is used for.
For example, plate reverbs suck for guitars, but work great for vocals. When you're on a plate setting, that's exactly what the DP-008 is trying to tell you. There will be a little image on the display of a person singing, and that's actually quite helpful for someone who wouldn't know any better what a particular reverb type would be used for.
Other reverbs show other little images similar to the one above. "Room" shows an image of someone playing a guitar, "Studio" shows a little studio environment, etc.
Pro: Very easy to set levels, and easy to know when your signal is too hot
On inputs A and B is an "OL" red light, which I'm pretty sure means either "Over Limit" or "Overload".
Simply put, if you see the red light start to pulsate or give solid illumination, your signal is too hot. Roll the trim down a bit until the red goes away and you're good to go.
To note: TRIM is not the same as LEVEL. With LEVEL, that refers to the level of volume in the mix and not the level of the incoming audio signal. In other words, TRIM is for input, LEVEL is for output.
Pro: The chromatic tuner is really frickin' good!
You can totally tell Tascam had guitar players in mind when they designed this thing, as it has a built-in tuner.
The tuner function is easy to get to. Just press the TUNER button.
Ah, but it's not just any old chromatic tuner as it has some advanced features. You can actually calibrate it if you want (anywhere from 435Hz to 445Hz), and in addition you can also have it output notes to tune with as a simple tone.
I'll tell you why the output note matters. Let's say there's you playing guitar and your friend is sitting next to you with his guitar. Instead of both of you having to plug in to the thing just to tune, have the DP-008 output a tone instead and just tune to that. The DP-008 can output a tone anywhere from C3 to B5, meaning it can cover everything from bass guitars to electrics and everywhere in between.
Pro: "UNDO" works great
With a digital recorder, its undo function is totally hit-or-miss, and it's a hit on the DP-008 for the following reasons:
- It executes very quickly. Very little (if any) wait time for it to finish undoing.
- It can also REDO, so you can do the exact in reverse and is not a Point Of No Return button.
- The button for it is positioned in a place that totally makes sense, but at the same time is difficult to press on accident.
Pro: HISTORY button
The HISTORY button is probably something you wouldn't pay any attention to at first, but believe me, it's a cool thing.
HISTORY button explained: A list of every single thing you've done on the DP-008 since you booted it up.
Yes, the history clears when you shut it down, but that's fine because otherwise the list would get way too long and unmanageable.
When you really start working with this thing, loading and saving songs and so on, you can lose track of where you were - but only if you don't know to use the HISTORY feature.
Pro: LOW, MED and HIGH input level options
I was so, so happy to see this included in the DP-008 because I was legitimately concerned about this before I bought it.
The consistency of output level from one thing to another when plugged into a mixer varies wildly. An electric guitar with passive electronics for example has no amplification, while a digital drum machine on the other hand does have its own amplification. And trying to get the levels just right for each specific thing you plug in is a pain in the ass.
Sure, mixers have adjustable levels as they all do, but the DP-008 has an additional section where you can set the input level as LOW, MED or HIGH even before you have to do anything via TRIM.
In other words, if you have something like an old analog synth with a really hot output, you can purposely set the DP-008's incoming input setting to LOW so the synth won't overload the crap out of the signal when plugged in.
These settings are accessed via the INPUT SETTING button at the top left of the DP-008.
Pro: Beveled power button
You'll notice on the DP-008 that the power button is the only one with an upraised plastic ring around it. This is so you don't hit that button by mistake and power the unit off accidentally.
I sincerely appreciate little touches like that because it shows attention to detail, and the fact the Tascam design team knew whom they were building this unit for.
You'd be surprised how many electronic devices are made that don't feature any built-in countermeasure to prevent accidental shutoff.
Pro: Easy EQ, easy mastering
Each track has a 2-band EQ, split into 4 parts. Hi-F, Hi-G, Low-F and Low-G. F is for frequency range and G is for gain.
The first thing I appreciated about the EQ is the on/off toggle on an individual track basis. Ordinarily when EQ is on in most small setups like this, it's global and there's not a damned thing you can do about it. Not so on the DP-008. Each track can have EQ on or off, and the frequency range and gain is also individual to each track.
That's actually a pretty powerful setup even though it's only a 2-band. If it were not for the fact you could select the freq range, it would totally suck. But you can, and it does the job it's supposed to.
Mastering is also really easy. Once you get your tracks done and levels set, you hit REC MODE, go into MASTER REC mode from there and record the whole finished thing.
After that when you want to export a lossless WAV, you hit REC MODE, go back to MULTI TRACK, then MENU > IMPORT/EXPORT > EXPORT MASTER. The DP-008 generates the master WAV, you connect the DP-008 to USB to the laptop, grab the file, done deal.
I honestly thought generating a master WAV would take a lot more steps, but it's only a few button presses. And yeah, I did wonder if it was slower or faster compared to the software way of doing it. In reality, the speed of the operator (you) performing this function takes the same amount of time whether on the DP-008 or software. The only way to get this done faster via software means would have to be done with a macro. But that's assuming you know how to set up a macro.
Pro: Individual lossless WAV exports of each track (if desired)
This is actually a really cool feature if you needed to bring the audio into a computer later on an individual track level.
Let's say for the moment the mix you got out of the DP-008 was good, but you needed some extra tweaking that you weren't able to accomplish on the unit. No problem. Just export each track as an individual WAV, connect up the USB, copy over to the laptop and throw 'em all into an audio editor with multitrack capability like Audacity.
"Wouldn't sync be an issue?"
Nope. Just export each WAV from beginning to end and they'll all match up perfectly when you bring them into the audio editor.
"Can I re-import back to the 008?"
Of course you can. It would be pointless to offer an export feature without an import feature.
It's also cool you can do the export thing if you were to hand off your project to a studio guy for post-production work. Aaaaaand, if you happened to use the metronome while recording (which I strongly recommend using), you can even tell your studio guy exactly what beat-per-minute timing you were using, making it easier for him when be brings the WAVs into his software because that makes for much easier synchronization where necessary.
Can you record anything "pro" with the DP-008?
"Pro" in the context of recording quality is a totally subjective term, but even so, I'll tackle this question anyway.
Ultimately, the difference between "amateur" and "pro" all depends on operator technique.
Give a guy a $20,000 digital rig who has no recording experience, and his recordings will sound like crap. Give a guy a DP-008 (which is under $250) who knows proper recording techniques and creative ways to get around technology limitations, and his recordings will sing.
Put another way, ritzy recording gear does not magically grant creativity. Never has and never will. There is something to be said for purposely working in a restrictive recording environment, because it separates the truly creative from the fakers.
The entire point of the DP-008 even existing is to allow you to get your ideas into the machine in a fast, easy way - and that it does. It's not made for studio rats; it's made for musicians.
If that sounds good to you (pun intended), buy one.
There comes a time when you have to stop playing metal
In every guitar player's life - ones who play metal specifically - there is a point where playing only metal can sometimes get on your nerves.
Even for people under 24 that may read this, you know there are days when you pick up the guitar, do the same thing you've always done where you mash the distortion pedal and go for it, but... meh, you're just not "feeling the metal" that particular day. This sometimes happens, and it's nothing to get angry over. Doing the metal thing requires being in the mood for it.
I do play metal from time to time. And there was a point when it was the only thing I played. But then I eventually branched out into other styles as seen above, and these days I play more "dirty overdrive" than I do outright heavy metal music.
Is this because I'm over 30? Partially. Metal is a game for the young, because that's the time when you have "the attitude" for it, i.e. teen angst. For you older guys that just got ticked off at me by reading that, don't be. When you get older, you start turning the volume down a bit and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. And please, do not take turning down the volume as an admission of defeat, because it's not and never has been.
It sometimes is really difficult for a metal guy (or girl for that matter) to branch out into other styles of music, simply because metalheads don't permit it. For whatever reason there's this unwritten rule that if you have decided to be metalhead, you must only listen to metal and absolutely nothing else. Personally, I think that's b.s. and you should be able to listen to whatever you want. If you like a combo of Pantera, Whitesnake, Nine Inch Nails and - oh, my God - Garth Brooks, rock on. Seriously. You listen to whatever you want and be proud of it.
Do you have to stop playing metal forever?
No, of course not.
But I am saying you should stop playing metal all the time, and I'll tell you exactly why: Because it makes you a better musician.
When you branch out into other styles, most of the time you can incorporate the new stuff you learn back into metal.
See, the problem with being only-metal-all-the-time is that you will at some point get into a creative rut. You'll try to think of riffs one day, and they just won't happen. You'll try to compose a solo, and that's not happening either. You've literally exhausted all that you know and need some inspiration...
...and that's when you dive into other music styles to get a much-needed break from the metal.
And I suggest starting with country, because oh yeah, there are some ridiculously good country guitar players to listen to.
After that, listen to surf music.
Buy a guitar that "doesn't look metal" at all
The appearance of an axe has a whole lot to do with how you feel when playing and what you feel like playing.
And nothing says "not metal" more than a Stratocaster in Fiesta Red with a maple neck and fingerboard.
Every metal guitar player should own at least one "totally not metal" guitar. Why? Because it's different and it's a break from the guitars you normally play.
No, I'm not trying to "convert" metal players
Mr. or Ms. Metalhead Guitar Player, you know as well as I do you're going to hit a creative rut sooner or later. Probably sooner.
Avoid the rut by having useful diversions. Listen to other music styles, buy a "non-metal" inexpensive guitar, and do whatever it takes to keep your creativity going.
Keep it fun and interesting; that's all I'm saying.
The weirdness of the Fender '51
The '51 is probably one of the weirdest ways I've ever seen Fender treat a specific model of guitar.
Okay, a little history.
The '51 is, if you can believe it, an original Squier design (for 6-string guitar and not bass) and was never a Fender first; this is one of the rare and few instances where this has actually happened. Originally, this guitar appeared in 2004, meaning it's not something pulled from some wacky design experiment back in the 1950s or 1960s. For whatever reason, this design of guitar was a Squier original. And being it was a Squier, it obviously sold for really cheap - as in $150 cheap new back in the mid-2000s. And there were even instances where major guitar stores knocked down the price of the Squier '51 to $99 just to get rid of these things because nobody was buying them.
The '51 is a guitar that I'm 100% sure started Fender's whole "Pawn Shop" series.
Speaking of which, the Pawn Shop series started in 2011, and as far as I'm aware, all Pawn Shop models are made in Japan, which of course is not a bad thing because Japan makes good stuff.
The Fender '51 obviously costs a whole lot more than the Squier '51 ever did. And yes, it is classified by Fender as a Pawn Shop model.
The differences between the Fender and the Squier are:
- The Squier is a basswood body and the Fender is alder.
- Although I can't confirm this, I'm sure the tuning machines are far better on the Fender model.
- I'm also sure bridge is made of a better steel on the Fender.
- The electronics operate exactly the same as they did on the Squier, but the pickups in the Fender are much better as there is an "Enforcer" humbucker in the bridge and a "Texas Special" in the neck. On the Squier they're just plain ol' cheap pickups.
- The frets probably have much better finished edges compared to the Squier, although I can't confirm that.
...and that's pretty much it.
As far as the weight difference between the two, I'd guess the Fender is slightly heavier for the reason a slim profile was probably used on the Squier '51 and a full-profile Strat body was used on the Fender.
Why would Fender take a Squier design and make an expensive guitar out of it?
I'm not sure, so I'm going to have to guess here.
The Squier '51 is a mish-mash of several Fender designs put into one guitar, but what really makes it unique is how the controls work.
The two knobs do a lot more than you think.
The volume knob is a push/pull to split the humbucker to a single-coil. The second knob - get this - is a blend and is in fact your pickup selector. Roll all the way back, bridge pickup. Roll to the middle, both pickups. Roll to the front, neck pickup.
Pretty crazy, eh?
It's stuff like that which totally qualifies it as a "Pawn Shop" guitar. What other Fender model do you know of that has an H/S setup, splittable bridge humbucker and a blend knob?
What makes the guitar weird?
Something you don't immediately notice - the string spacing is slightly narrower. What this means is that if you buy a Squier '51 with the intention of modding it, well, that may prove to be a challenge because since the spacing is narrower, the pole pieces on the pickups are also spaced closer together. I suppose you could work around this by using a "rails" pickup which should (but wouldn't be guaranteed) still sound right even with the closer string spacing.
This weirdness also means that while the '51 may be Strat-shaped and look like it has a Telecaster neck on it, that string spacing may feel a lot different than what you're used to.
Does the FENDER '51 have that same narrower string spacing?
I honestly don't know - but - the fact it has the Enforcer and a Texas Special pickups mounted in it suggests the saddle spacing is standard. But I can't confirm that.
Want the Squier '51?
They're readily available for cheap. Cool guitar? Yeah, I think so.