|
Ok, this "review" is gonna be all over the place: it's late/early, and I've got a lot to say about it. If you're coming from an analog (tape) 4-track recorder, you will be blown away by the sound quality. If you've used any kind of software recorder, or another stand-alone digital recorder, don't stop here: the sound is compressed, tracks 5/6 and 7/8 are linked, 250mb zip disks are relatively expensive. It's great as a "starter" recorder, but if you're gonna spend $500-$600 on a recorder, save a couple of hundred more, and get the Tascam 788 (retails for $899, but I can get you one cheaper than that): it's uncompressed, there's a built-in hard drive, and a built-in SCSI out, for burning/backing up data. It's crazy: not even a year ago, I would've given this a 9 or a 10, but the digital recording scene has exploded so fast, that it's very average to below average "bang for buck". I DO, however, like the effects in the 840EX, and there are SO many of them, and the ability to save like 100 user patches is very handy. You're limited to one effect at at time, unless you "print" it with the track, rendering the effect on the "printed" track uneditable after that, but freeing up the effects processor for another track. The two main points, in any digital recorder, is sound quality and storage, and, for a digital recorder, it comes up a bit short. If the absolute limit to your budget is $500, then this IS the recorder for you, but if you can spare a couple of extra hundred, get the Tascam 788.
|
listings
