- Do not use auto level control
- Do not use low cut filter
- Anything else that promises to automatically do something, turn it off.
Likely, the Tascam will distort at a loud rock concert no matter what, if you are using internal mics. That rated SPL is almost certainly not an accurate spec. Most of these manufacturers publish absurd specs on their internals that have no correlation to reality.
That said, to have any hope, set the mic sensitivity to "LOW" if such a setting exists, and then set your levels so that you are peaking at or just above -12dB
I strongly recommend looking into some small external mics from The Sound Professionals (
www.soundprofessionals.com) or Church Audio (see "Retail Space")