WOW! Amazing Deal!

I have one. Its wonderful when you don't want to deal with a PC. However there are some issues with it:
 
1) no automation
2) although it responds to midi, it does not transmit anything beyond transport control and midi sync/clock.
3) the built in gm synth was removed from the neo
4) limited effects capabilities
5) screen is small, though it could be worse.
 
It has good routing capabilities and has good preamps for an all-in-one. it is nice to be able to turn it on, plug in some mics and hit record in under a minute. :)

js516


   
It has good routing capabilities and has good preamps for an all-in-one. it is nice to be able to turn it on, plug in some mics and hit record in under a minute. :)

For quick and easy 24 track recording @ USD 499, how can it get any better?  And you can always upload the wav files to Sonar X1 for additional MIDI and audio recording...

Wish they would upgrade it with a DVD drive for quick and easy data backup.

daveny5

For quick and easy 24 track recording @ USD 499, how can it get any better?

Are you a salesman? You can get Sonar X1 for $399 and it does so much more. Does this have softsynths like True Piano, Dimension Pro, Rapture? No. Sonar can be updated. This can't. 

Yeah, $399 + $1500 for a computer to run it on, LOL! All in one DAWs are still useful for quick and dirty stuff or in situations where I want to record but my PC isn't there - I still use my VS880 to record live piano tracks in my living room then fly the tracks into Sonar down in the studio - and, I'd probably use it even more if it had good preamps with phantom power and it was easier to get the tracks into the PC (as the Neo would certainly be). Don't worry, even with the best salesman in the world and at $499, the Neo is not likely to put Cakewalk out of business - one doesn't exclude the other...
 
p.s. I'm sure the Neo can be updated if necessary - thing is, these things are usually rock solid and don't need updating.

daveny5


Are you a salesman? You can get Sonar X1 for $399 and it does so much more. Does this have softsynths like True Piano, Dimension Pro, Rapture? No. Sonar can be updated. This can't. 

No...I'm a full time musician, and I teach basic audio recording at a local university here.

I was just amazed that this unit costs this much. I was seriously considering upgrading to the Octa-Capture for $699 (Sweetwater).  But this unit (a plug and play 24 track DAW?) at $499 beats the Octa hands down....

If there's a better deal somewhere....please let me know. 

I love SX1 and DAW recording and  all it's benefits...but this Tascam unit is the best value for money deal at the moment...surely you must agree with me on this point....

:)

"And Alan Parsons hasn't been relevant since....... EVER!"
 
Irrelevant?

Beatles: Abbey Road
Pink Floyd: Dark Side Of The Moon

Hmmm . . . I guess you're right.

jabdo56


"And Alan Parsons hasn't been relevant since....... EVER!"
 
Irrelevant?

Beatles: Abbey Road
Pink Floyd: Dark Side Of The Moon

Hmmm . . . I guess you're right.

Well said... not to mention Hollies, Ambrosia and Al Stewart... hey, didn't he use a Neo on those projects?

jabdo56


"And Alan Parsons hasn't been relevant since....... EVER!"
 
Irrelevant?

Beatles: Abbey Road
Pink Floyd: Dark Side Of The Moon

Hmmm . . . I guess you're right.

OK, I'll give him props as an engineer, but his music was quite forgetable. Also, his Symphonic Music of Yes CD was pretty bad. Even Jon Anderson didn't like it. 

I have the original Tascam 2488 and now use it as a monitoring board. But when I was recording with it, it sounded great.
For $499, it's still a very useful piece of equipment....no you won't get the editing, plugins as in Sonar...but you also won't get the issues like souncard issues, pops, clicks, etc.
I actually bring my 2488 when I do cowrites in Nashville

  Over the years I had 2 different tascam 4 track cassette machines (still have one of them) and a digital 8 track that I used for years before getting into the DAW world.   Yes, I agree with the OP if you are looking to integrate with sonar ths is a cheap way to get 24 audio tracks down simultaneously with extream portability a daw can't provide.  You can always dump tracks into sonar to edit (as he said).

M@ B - a laptop with the vs100 (or 700 for that matter) isn't going to let you throw up mics on a drum kit, on guitars, bass,  + vocals.... It just ain't gonna happen.
 
EDIT: Neither is the neo with only 8 inputs....   though this had more?  WTH ?  Nah, with that in mind, why bother with it?

Konradh- This section is FOR non-sonar based hardware....  this is posted in the right place bro!

I seriously considered this unit when I got started too.  For someone on a budget looking to track a real live band (no synths, samples, etc) this is a valid option and a cheaper one.  No it doesn't give you the editing capabilities,  but I produced some fun stuff on a machine with a lot less capabilities than this thing...   I looked at it and thought well either way I need ref. monitors so that's a wash.   So $500 for the neo and say $500 for monitors and I could get started... $1000

   Or on the flip side(approx values), it's monitors $500, + computer (cheap at $600) +Keyboard $20+ mouse $15+ monitor screen $150+ interface ($500)+ sonar ($400) = $2185.00 a lot more money and a hefty learning curve and now I can get started....

    I utimately went with the DAW because I knew I wanted the flexibility to edit more, but I paid for it.   I would love to have a Neo to add to this system myself.  It would be great for live recording at gigs.  I could get our sound tech to run outputs from the board and run those into the neo and edit/mix later in sonar.

ChuckC -------- You're right, vs100 does not have comparable inputs, not even close. That was a bad example. Last year I was interested in making the type of recording you described above, though lack of inputs was only part of the problem. The bigger issue was that even if i could get all of the instruments onto their own track along with 4 or 5 mics on the drum kit, I did not have the means to isolate all of the instruments from each other and prevent bleed. Ultimately, the drum and vocal mics would have been reduced to a bunch of room mics, while the bass and guitar would have had reasonable isolation. So the outcome was just to track the bass (direct) and the drums first and overdub everything else. With a few channels of external preamps, this is do-able with the vs100 and a laptop. ---------------------------------------- Either way, whether you purchase this Tascam unit or if you go the laptop/interface route, some additional hardware is required. Imho, spending $500 on the Tascam is really debatable, the laptop/interface is much more powerful.