Focusrite 18i20 used for transferring 8 tracks simultaneously from Tascam 388 to Logic

[Sam Higgins]

Hey yall,

I just got my hands on a Tascam 388 in perfect condition and have recorded 4 songs on it, but as of now, I have no way of dumping my songs into my DAW with the direct outs because I do not own an interface that could handle all 8 tracks at once. I plan on editing each track in Logic, so doing a stereo out to the DAW for a final mixdown isn't quite the solution that I'm looking for. 

So here's my question: would a Focusrite 18i20 be able to take 8 tracks coming from the 388's direct outs all at once, or are the inputs on the 18i20 made specifically for microphones and instruments (rather than track transfers)?

[Lee Knight]

From the Overview on the Focusrite site:

 

Scarlett 18i20 features six combo XLR/jack mic/line inputs plus two front-panel XLR/jack mic/line/instrument inputs...

 

6 + 2 and you're good. Switch them all to line input and go. No wait, the Tascam has -10 outs maybe? Anyone? Anyway, it should work great I would think.

[Phil O'Keefe]

The Tascam 388 has unbalanced -10dBV line (actually called "tape") outputs. The Focusrite appears to have input gain controls, as opposed to mic preamp gain controls. If that's indeed the case, they should affect not only the mic inputs, but the line inputs as well, so it should be possible to calibrate it and add some gain to the input signals so you can get hot enough levels to the DAW when you do a transfer.

Print a 0dB VU test signal on all 8 tracks of the Tascam, and then when you play them back into your DAW using the Focusrite, adjust the input gain levels on the Focusrite so that it is equal to the 0 point of the converters - which is either -18dBFS or -15dBFS on your DAW software meters, depending on where Focusrite decided to set it. Then just assign all eight line inputs to individual tracks and you should be good to go.