We are considering purchasing a Tascam Portacapture X8 for recording with a board feed and microphone mix. We thought about a Sound Device Mixpre but out of our budget. The ability to remix levels of individual inputs after recording is a must as I don't want to be limited to levels set during recording. Any thoughts on ease of operation? We have 3 recorders now, a Tascam DR40, Dr 100mklll, and a Tascam HD P2. Our mics are Shoeps V4, DPA 4080, and Nakamichi 701. The price of $400 seems really good compared to $1200 for the mixpre. The floating 32 bit thing is new to me but everyone here seems to like that feature. A Sony A10 is in our future as scans at the door are getting worse and the X8 would be for open recording situations. Bob
I looked at 2 reviews of this product each of which are in favor, price point vs features.
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/tascam-portacapture-x8
six channels of mics, only 4 XLR, but a good recorder imo having just read the reviews
it's a long review covering stuff we are interested in.
QuoteSo, while there are inevitably some minor quibbles, I regard the Portacapture X8 as a fine piece of kit. It's also excellent value for money at the current asking price. Reader, I bought one.
Primarily..
How many channels do you need?
Do you plan to run more than one pair of your mics at a time?
Do you want to use the built-in preamps only or run an external pre?
Straight stereo SBD or more than two chs for that?
Secondarily..
How important is modern feature set stuff to you?
Remote monitoring/transport control by phone?
32-bit float recording?
If you only need 4 channels, I think a first gen Mixpre 3 is a great option. Recent sales on ebay are around $400 or so and there is an update you can buy on the SD website for $79 to expand to 5 ISO channels (3 XLR + stereo 3.5mm).
used dr-680 would get the job done. maybe rocksuitcase or someone else will sell you one of theirs
Thanks for all replies, probably going to get this unit. Bob
Will be curious to hear your thoughts about it, if you do.
Quote from: Gutbucket on December 06, 2024, 01:23:08 PM
Will be curious to hear your thoughts about it, if you do.
Will do.
First version 24 bit Mixpre 6 show up used often at the $500 price point. I love mine. Easy to power, sounds great, super flexible, small and light.
If you don't need 32 bit it can't be beat for the going used price.