Review of the TASCAM DR-44WL Posted

[MikeRivers]

This is TASCAM's latest hand-held recorder. 4 channels, decent mics built in, some pro features like a pair of XLR-1/4" combo jacks for real microphones (with phantom power). Coolest feature is that it contains a WiFi host and talks to an app (iOS and Android) to provide a full remote control - transport controls, track arming, level adjustment with meters, time display, etc. It also has a "Portastudio-like" mode which I expected to be easier to use, given that TASCAM has been in that business for a long time.

 

Find the review on the Product Reviews section of my web site: https://mikeriversaudio.wordpress.com/product-reviews/

 

or

 

download the PDF directly at: https://mikeriversaudio.files.wordpr...4wl_review.pdf

 

[WRGKMC]

Good review Mike.

 

I only found one typo likely caused by auto spell checking. "and the was plenty of room to increase the gain for quieter performances".

 

I did nod off in the middle for a few minutes, but that was because I just had lunch, not because of your writing skills.

 

I had considered buying one of these type of recorders when I was playing out live. My buddy had one and it really did a fine job recording the Doors bad I was in. It even picked up the bass and kick really good from about 25' in front of the band which is something allot of recorders don't do so good at. I got away from hardware recorders awhile ago because its more work figuring out how to do things then they're worth.

 

I truly hate navigating a device with a manual. I'm getting too old to be bothered and I'm spoiled. They may be going the right direction with the WiFi but I do think they have a long way to go especially for a small recording device used in a loud active situation where allot of concentration may be needed just to find the right buttons.

 

I think with an intuitive program on the phone, you could just text the command in or use voice to make changes, If you type in. "Raise track one recording volume 10db" then hit enter, it could eliminate allot of the buried menu from hell syndrome to manageable levels.

 

The quality of the technology is great, the price is good, the options are all there in one manor or another, but the navigation model these manufacturers is still in the stone age because the visibility is so low. Then if you don't use it allot you completely forget how to use it and have to start over.

 

.

[MikeRivers]

Good review Mike.

 

I only found one typo likely caused by auto spell checking. "and the was plenty of room to increase the gain for quieter performances".

 

I had considered buying one of these type of recorders when I was playing out live. My buddy had one and it really did a fine job recording the Doors bad I was in.

 

And there's YOUR typo.

 

I got away from hardware recorders awhile ago because its more work figuring out how to do things then they're worth.

 

I truly hate navigating a device with a manual. I'm getting too old to be bothered and I'm spoiled. They may be going the right direction with the WiFi but I do think they have a long way to go especially for a small recording device used in a loud active situation where allot of concentration may be needed just to find the right buttons.

 

I find that it's much easier to use a hardware recorder that has mics that are worth using than to open a recording app on my phone, plug in a preamp and a set of decent mics, and then figure out how to use the app. Sure, it takes a few minutes to go through some settings - file format, low cut filters or limiter off or on, and then you're ready to go with 1, 2, 3, or 4 channels. The 4-track Portastudio mode is a horrorshow. Even if you learn your way around it, it still takes a lot of button pressing, plus it's very limited with the way it doesn't handle bounced tracks. I would recommend it to someone who wants to do field capture recording. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who writes songs and wants to use multitrack recording as an aid to composing or arranging. There are better solutions, at least I hope so. I haven't played with a Portastudio for years and as they get more digital and less expensive, they've probably become worse as far as controls and user interrace.

 

[davd_indigo]

Thanks for this MIke. Nice review. I'm going to end up buying the DP24SD most likely. But a live 4 or 8 track (with inputs for more than 2 mics) with easy and quick setup would fill a niche for live jams and gigs. Seems like "they" could come up with several preset "templates" for quick setup for recording. If we're talking about it I'll bet Tascam has already been working on it. Maybe the WiFi will open the door to easy setup with a cellphone later on.

[MikeRivers]

Thanks for this MIke. Nice review. I'm going to end up buying the DP24SD most likely. But a live 4 or 8 track (with inputs for more than 2 mics) with easy and quick setup would fill a niche for live jams and gigs. Seems like "they" could come up with several preset "templates" for quick setup for recording.

 

There are so many things that you can set that it would be hard to come up with templates that would please everybody, or even somebody all the time. But once you figure them out and establish some standard settings, you probably won't have to change them other than to select the channels you want to record on (buttons are, of course, easier than menus), and maybe things like the limiter or a low cut filter.

 

The TASCAM DR-22WL that I mentioned in the review has several presets for different recording situations in addition to letting you set your own, though I don't know if it has a "user settings" preset where you can save a group of settings, But that's only 2 channels.

 

 

 

 

[JeffLearman]

Thanks, Mike -- great review! Your review of the DR-40 was great and is probably why I got one. There are a couple of times when I'd have liked the remote capability, but mostly before I had 16G and 32G flash drives and had to stop the recorder during band breaks.

 

Please add this to the wish list: SPL meter! I sure wish my DR40 had that feature, since I lost my trusty old Radio Shack meter. I recently got another one for only $22, but it'd be nice not to have to carry both around. (Though, top priority feature would be usability as a USB audio interface. I'd have used that several times already, since my MOTU is Firewire only, and I've wanted to use USB on other computers.)

 

Yes, I know my phone works as an SPL meter (and frankly, its display is better than the RS meter) but it isn't accurate over 95 dB or so (accurate range depends on which phone you have.) That's understandable, since it's a PHONE and the mic shouldn't be expected to accurately measure a loud rock band or jet takeoff.

 

Actually, I suspect that I could use my DR40 as an SPL meter, once I calibrate it, since the meters read in dB. It probably won't be A or C weighted, though. Usually, ballpark is all I need from a meter, and generally just to prove that I'm not crazy when I say "Dammit guys, you were over 110 dB all through the 2nd set!"

 

Another one for the wish list, though I wouldn't use MTR mode: have a nondestructive bounce that automatically saves all original tracks. Especially with 32G flash drives, there's no need to reclaim the space. Just rename the originals by adding a suffix and have the 4track recorder ignore them subsequently. But when we get home and want to clean up the mess on our DAW, we have all the originals.

[MikeRivers]

Thanks' date=' Mike -- great review! Your review of the DR-40 was great and is probably why I got one. There are a couple of times when I'd have liked the remote capability, but mostly before I had 16G and 32G flash drives and had to stop the recorder during band breaks.[/quote']

 

I found the transport control on the remote to be most useful for recording music workshops. I pause it when the whole class is playing through the tune about a hundred times, all sightly out of tune with each other.

 

By the way, I learned something about my phone since the review. I had commented that on my phone, the meters were really squashed into a small vertical space, whereas on my tablet, they were tall enough to actually be useful for something other than indicating the presence of signal. Well, I discovered that I had my phone set up for "large font" because it was easier to read text screens. When I set it for "small font" the DR-Control was no more difficult to read, but it left more room for the meters, which they gladly accepted.

 

Please add this to the wish list: SPL meter!

 

I suppose that would be possible, but since the mic preamp gain is what's controlled to set the recording level, it would need a separate preamp with fixed gain so that the meter could be calibrated. I have the Studio Six Digital SPL meter app on my phone so it's always handy when I'm using the recorder remote. I calibrated it to my good SPL meter at 85 dB (my Radio Shack original model analog meter is within a couple of dB of that) and it tracks the hardware SPL meter close enough up to about 105 dBA, at which point I go away.

 

Though, top priority feature would be usability as a USB audio interface. I'd have used that several times already, since my MOTU is Firewire only, and I've wanted to use USB on other computers.

 

This is the third TASCAM mini recorder I've worked with and none of them offer that feature. I mentioned it in my review just beause I think it's about time they caught up with the Zooms.

 

Actually, I suspect that I could use my DR40 as an SPL meter, once I calibrate it, since the meters read in dB. It probably won't be A or C weighted, though.

 

The Studio Six SPL app has both A and C weighting. It's essentially a copy of the Radio Shack meter. With the phone mic it's not as good as the Radio Shack meter, but it's good enough. I take it out in a loud restaurant and impress my dining companions. I have an Android phone and the only app Studio Six makes for it is the SPL meter. They have a whole test suite for iOS devices including a high quality input stage and A/D converter, but that costs a lot more than the buck for the Android SPL app. But then iPhone users probably have a lot of money.

 

Another one for the wish list, though I wouldn't use MTR mode: have a nondestructive bounce that automatically saves all original tracks.

 

That MTR mode is so ferschluggenuh that suggesting something simple like bouncing to another stereo file rather than overwriting two tracks of the four you just recorded seemed trivial. They likely do what they do because of their scheme of file management. Maybe the two modes were designed by two different teams.