Tascam US-1641, anyone?

[Ozterkvlt]

Does anyone have any experience with said interface? It seems like an awesome bang for the buck (especially for a poor student like me ) considering it's USB 2.0, has a total of 16 inputs (8 for regular mics) and it only costs 266 €. It seems almost a bit TOO cheap considering all the features, haha. Also, would I be able to just plug some mics into the tascam and hook it up to my laptop with vista (32-bit) via USB and record, or would there be any problems? Sorry for the basic questions, I just wanna make sure I make the right purchase. In case it matters, I would mainly be recording drums with it, but also some guitar (all of this is just for fun/learning, I don't have any clients yet). Thanks.

 

[KeithReyn]

A friend of mine has one. He likes it, but he hasnt recorded more than 3 tracks at a time. I was going to tell you what my buddy said about the interface, but I decided to do a search to see any info to back up what he said. I actually found a post HE made in the process. I didnt even know he was on any recording forums! Take the tech info he said, but dont judge the interface on the mixes he posted. His mixes would sound the same even if tracked and mixed with all super high end gear. Anyway, here is his post: http://forum.recordingreview.com/f50/tascam-us-1641-a-19081/



Also, remember this unit has no ADAT, so expandability is lacking. If you wont need any more inputs than whats there, then youre good to go.
Im sure some people will chime in saying to get something else, but in the end it comes down to what you can afford. Id love to have different interfaces, but i had to get what I could afford.
Hope I helped somehow.

 

[timislegend]

never buy anything with the word 'scam' in the name.

 

[Ozterkvlt]

A friend of mine has one. He likes it, but he hasnt recorded more than 3 tracks at a time. I was going to tell you what my buddy said about the interface, but I decided to do a search to see any info to back up what he said. I actually found a post HE made in the process. I didnt even know he was on any recording forums! Take the tech info he said, but dont judge the interface on the mixes he posted. His mixes would sound the same even if tracked and mixed with all super high end gear. Anyway, here is his post: http://forum.recordingreview.com/f50/tascam-us-1641-a-19081/



Also, remember this unit has no ADAT, so expandability is lacking. If you wont need any more inputs than whats there, then youre good to go.
Im sure some people will chime in saying to get something else, but in the end it comes down to what you can afford. Id love to have different interfaces, but i had to get what I could afford.
Hope I helped somehow.

never buy anything with the word 'scam' in the name.

All I really need is the ability to record a full drum kit with 8 inputs, quality isn't that important since I'm still pretty much a newb at recording. I'm not after studio quality gear, I just need something to learn with. I wouldn't say it has "scam" in the name, as long as it does what it's supposed to do, I'm happy with it. It wouldn't probably work for high-end studio stuff, but then again I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between high-end interfaces and this one, haha. I also don't need any more inputs than what's available in the interface so expandability isn't really an issue. I just want to be able to plug straight into the interface and into my computer to record stuff, that's all I'm really worried about at this point.

 

[timislegend]

All I really need is the ability to record a full drum kit with 8 inputs, quality isn't that important since I'm still pretty much a newb at recording. I'm not after studio quality gear, I just need something to learn with. I wouldn't say it has "scam" in the name, as long as it does what it's supposed to do, I'm happy with it. It wouldn't probably work for high-end studio stuff, but then again I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between high-end interfaces and this one, haha. I also don't need any more inputs than what's available in the interface so expandability isn't really an issue. I just want to be able to plug straight into the interface and into my computer to record stuff, that's all I'm really worried about at this point.

that... is what we call a joke.

there are a lot of other solutions. m-audio makes some pretty decent audio interfaces for the pro-sumer. as well as presonus.

i don't know what level of ae you are starting at but it's really important (imo) to catch the good from the bad, in terms of quality from the get-go. source quality is the single most important tactic that a beginner an acquire.

there are definitely used/refurb deals on gear for a relatively similar cost but insanely better quality.

 

[Alex Vik]

I've got one, and it does the job. I think at the most I've only recorded with 4 or 5 of the inputs, but I haven't really had any issues with it in the 7 or so months of owning it. And you'll be fine running it on 32 bit Vista, that's what I use.

 

[Russtopher]

I've got one, sold my Firepod to acquire it when my laptop's firewire port died. I already had another dual core lappy with USB 2.0 on it so rather than spend the bucks on a new lappy, I swapped interfaces.

2 weeks ago I recorded my band live in our rehearsal space (aka the playroom of of our guitarist's kids ) 12 tracks total at the same time (kit, amps, and DIs) with zero problems. Laptop was running XP with 2GB ram.

Was there a major difference in audio quality vs. my Presonus unit? Honestly, I couldn't tell. Like the OP, I'm a hobbyist for the most part with a couple of paid projects to this point, but nothing major. When mixing I bumped up the latency to the highest level (just as I used to with my Presonus unit) and had no problem with plugins.

 

[emerica167852]

I got one too, its awesome considering the price. ive recorded up to 10 inputs on with no latency at all. The only thing i feel it lacks is inserts for outboard gear but thats no big deal at all.

 

[bryan_kilco]

I got one too, its awesome considering the price. ive recorded up to 10 inputs on with no latency at all. The only thing i feel it lacks is inserts for outboard gear but thats no big deal at all.

Used one, seems ok for the price.

 

[downstroy]

well i just recorded drums using 10 inputs and no problems so im happy with it but i cant compare it to other interfaces