Feb 05, 2008 03:38 pm The TRS inputs will be looking for a line level signal. If you plan to use those inputs for mics then you will need a pre-amp in front of the Tascam to bring them up to line level.
TASCAM US-1641
Posted on Feb 05, 2008 03:24 pm
TipMcVenus
Member Since: Feb 05, 2008
Hey guys,
I am investing into an interface over the next few weeks and this model: TASCAM US-1641 just jumped out at me as being an amazing piece of equipment. 16 tracks! That is just too cool.
The application will be a cross between a studio setting and live recording. I have a deal worked out with a club owner to record some live shows for them to put out a "Live at...." CD and I am also going to start recording local artists.
But before I buy, I would love to hear some feedback about what you guys think of this piece of equipment.
Also, and this is probably more important, I wanted to know your thoughts on using the balanced TRS line ins for recording. I do not want to invest in preamps for these channels so I wanted to know what you thought of using these inputs for microphone recording using a XLR to TRS cable.
Are the recording gods going to frown on such a use?
[ Back to Top ]
Feb 05, 2008 03:38 pm The TRS inputs will be looking for a line level signal. If you plan to use those inputs for mics then you will need a pre-amp in front of the Tascam to bring them up to line level.
Feb 06, 2008 06:54 am hey man, yeah bought one a while back, wish i could tell you some things about it. im still waiting for my computer to come back from repairs from those "dogs"
at Acer.
Anyway, supposed to be a killer piece of equipment. i think its got preamps up to number 10. which is 8 xlr and 2 trs. i think. eventually i will try it.
Feb 06, 2008 03:37 pm thanks for the info
do i need a pre amp that runs out a balanced line to insert into the 4 balanced line ins on the tascam or is it ok for an unbalanced line out from the pre amp to go into the balanced in on the tascam?
Mar 27, 2008 11:55 pm I just recently got my US-1641, and so far, it is outstanding. The latency isn't great, but latency really only comes into play when dealing with multi-layering, which you should be able to get away from with 16 channels.
Ins:
8 microphone level balanced XLR w/gain
2 line-level balnaced TRS (selectable to guitar level) w/gain
4 line-level balanced TRS w/o gain
1 SPDIF (stereo)
Outs:
4 line-level balanced TRS
1 SPDIF (stereo) (duplicating either analog out 1/2 or 3/4)
2 line-level balanced TRS monitor out.
1 stereo headphone out.
Quirks:
The headphone out is not from the computer. It is strictly a mix of the input channels, with a single volume knob.
The monitor out has a volume adjust, and has a fader to adjust it between the live inputs, and either outs 1/2 or outs 3/4.
The sound quality is very good, especially for the low cost (compared to any other unit with this many simultaneous channels).
I have used all 16 channels, using the internal pre-amps for 1-8, and a seperate 8 channel mic pre-amp for channels 9-16 (15/16 are the digital in, which i am digitizing using an old EMU 0404 board)
This nice thing about this board, is it lets you mic up an entire band, and not have to lose the 'feel' by having to do multiple passes. Now, my biggest challenge is isolating the instruments from each other's mics to aid in post.
Mar 28, 2008 08:05 am hey man,
yeah i bought one about 8 weeks ago, yeah pretty kick a** i like it, have yet to use all inputs at once. cant wait to try it out on drum kit.
Mar 28, 2008 01:29 pm dude, this is an amazing piece of epuipment! we recorded drums using a total of 12 mics! We had close mics on the snare, kick and toms, two overheads and 4 room mics. the thing ran beautifully! can't wait to try this with a full band at once.
i wish i could have a bigger led display on the front so i can push those inputs as loud as possible to get the full use of the preamps but oh well.
Mar 28, 2008 07:26 pm I use the front panel LED's for initial quick setup, but I fine tune the pre's using the meters in Sonar, where I can get all the accuracy I need. Sounds like a great drum set up though, My problem currently is no dedicated drum room... and that's a big project ahead of me.
Mar 31, 2008 12:32 am i've got a room but havent set it up for drums yet, but yeah i think it could be a bit of a mission also.
Mar 31, 2008 05:52 am Anyone have any issues running the 1641 w/ a MAC? I'm running OS 10.4 and can't get the 1641 running... Basically the OS sees the device (As do both LIVE and Cubase) but it won't provide an audio signal - input to the MAC... I have set the 1641 up on my WinXP PC and works fine. Anyone else having issues running the 1641 on MAC?
Thanks in advance for any info!
Mar 31, 2008 09:42 pm yeah im runnin the same, im using an iMAC.
have you set up the VST connections?
sounds like thats what it is, easy as to do.
first make sure youve got the us1641 driver working.
go into "device" in cubase choose the us1641 driver.
then go into "vst connections" in the "device" menu in cubase and click.
you need to set up a mono track so click on the "inputs" button at the top an choose, "add bus", when the window comes up choose "mono" count 1.
cick ok.
you should ave another bus there now> "mono 3". you will need to use device port 3 on the interface which is an XLR jack.
if you wanna use the guitar jack, i think its classified as No.9 on the interface, then instead of using device port 3 you need to click on where the new mono 3 is, and change it to number 9.
thats it for that part of it.
you can use any port on the interface just click what ever number you want or you can set up all of em at once to say record a full band.
Now in your project in cubase, you need to set up your track to liase with the bus you just made, so to the left of where the track windows are, you'll see the selected track heading EG track 1.
under all that there are windows that say stereo in and stereo out. you wanna change stereo in, to mono in, leave the stereo out as is.
should be a goer now.
if you already know all this, then i suppose this was a waste of time.
cant think of what else it could be though, if your computer recognizes the interface.
give it a shot. even if you have set all that up already, i know sometimes i have to go and re do mine, dunno why.
Mar 31, 2008 10:54 pm There is a 'general USB audio bug' in current OSX so...
unplug the device... then plug it back in...then go to the command prompt and type dmesg.
The last couple lines should be the device initialization... so see if any warnings or errors show up.
Apr 01, 2008 05:01 am Thanks for the suggestions. I'll give them a shot and let you know what happens. The MAC is actually a friend who I jam with so won't see him or the MAC until next weekend.
|
Related Forum Topics: |
If you would like to participate in the forum discussions, feel free to register for your free membership.