Tascam Portastudio 414 Review

History:

Purchase: This four-track recorder was given to me as a gift almost three years ago. It's in almost every music store and catalogue around, and currently sells for around $299.

What I Like About This Unit: If you want to perfect your playing by jamming along with your own grooves, or record demos of your own songs, but don't want to spend a grand for a digital recording system, go with this high-quality four-track. This may surprise you, but some four-tracks can't record four different tracks simultaneously. This one can. Each track has two effects sends and its own EQ. There are also two stereo inputs and stereo line and monitor outputs. The 414MkII, which is the most current model, also includes two XLR inputs (sweet)! I'm pretty convinced that this is about as good as four track tape recording gets. Using my Portastudio, I have cut two demos for my band, a demo of my own solo project, and dozens of side projects. And when I'm not recording, it comes in handy as a mixer as well.

What I Do NOT Like About The Tascam Portastudio 414: The instructions can be a bit confusing if you don't know alot about recording. You will probably gain a better understanding of the unit if you just work with it for a little while, but definitely read over the instructions first or you will be lost. Also, I have found the DBX noise reduction to be pretty useless. I recommend leaving it off at all times to acchieve the cleanest, purest sound possible, or you may find yourself missing some very important parts of an instrument's tone.

Portastudio 414 Quality: My Portastudio has seen all kinds of dust, bumps, drops, etc., and it's still working well. One time, my dog even pulled it off of the table and it landed face down on the floor. I'm amazed that it's survived this long, since the outer shell of the unit is made entirely from plastic. The only thing that had to be replaced was the AC adapter, which burned to a crisp one day after having the four track about two years. Other than that, if you clean the heads and the pinch roller regularly, you shouldn't have any problems. Make sure you use the right cleaning solutions (Tascam sells their own, by the way.)

Summary: The Portastudio is a great four-track. The 414MkII has everything you need, and it's pretty compact. There is also a 424MkIII, but it's much more complicated, and sells for about a hundred dollars more. I would encourage any developing musician/songwriter to get a four-track. I believe you will find it to be a great learning tool.

Rating of this product: 5

This Tascam Multitrack Recorders Review Submitted By: Dorian Wills

Date: 2001-06-29