Tascam US-800 (8 Inputs simultaneously)

[pwnified]

I'm so impressed with what you have done with this app and it's razor sharp focus on performance and stability. Tascam should license your software to bundle with whatever the successor to us-800 will be. It's a portastudio in the truest sense. Respect.

Thanks! I do get contacted by companies about licensing the technology and job offers all the time, but I doubt tascam would ask.

Couple of questions. When recording simultaneous tracks what is the ballpark time limits that should ensure stability? Is there some ratio like 8 track recordings should be kept under x number of minutes, and 4 tracks x/2 minutes?

There is only a 2 hour limit on each song, stability should be fine up to that point, but large amounts of memory are used by then. I usually recommend not having songs longer than about 30 minutes just in case, because users are always running bunches of other apps at the same time.

How can you clean out bins without mistakenly deleting files that you are actively using? Is the bin manager only accessible using the wifi/web browser interface?

Touch-hold to open the hotbox, and select "bins..." and then the song tab. All the unused bins are red, and an option for deleting all the the unused bins.

Is there a document with advice for app performance like enabling airplane mode etc?

Not yet.

Does the number of unactive projects in your app affect performance of the active project?

No, except that unused projects use a lot of filespace. It's recommended to archive them out off of the device if they wont be used for a while.

Do you have plans, or even accessibility to APIs that would allow your app to configure the monitoring settings of the us-800 with your app, rather than utilizing a secondary computer with tascam's often buggy and outdated clients?

I looked into that. It may be possible, but I'll have to check with apple.

Thanks again for your great work!

No problem!

[pj13]

Since I have this interface being delivered today and your update announcing the interface was no longer supported was posted ofter I ordered the US-800, can you please tell me some of the problems I might encounter with it and if there are any work arounds. Or should I just send it back? I bought this device for use with MultiTrack DAW and used this forum to make that decision. Thank you.

[pwnified]

There is a problem when using the aggregate device (headphones plugged into iPad), and you can't use software monitoring without a computer to switch it on (defeats the purpose of iPad recording). Sometimes, you have to power cycle the unit to get it recognized again (hasn't happened during a session, only when plugging/unplugging multiple times). Other than that, there are some people having issues with iOS5.0.1, I think this is related to other iOS5.0.1 issues like the iO Dock problems: http://community.alesis.com/alesis/topics/io_dock_hiss

When connected to a macbook pro, the mixer interface panel usually doesn't connect, and you need to reboot the mac for it to work (for a limited amount of time). Other people have reported even stranger issues with PC's.

So it sounds like a lot of problems, BUT, if you use the direct monitoring on the tascam, Apple CCK, without anything weird like super long cables, chances are it will work just fine with direct monitoring. Only a smaller percentage of people are affected by the iOS bug.

[pj13]

Thank you very much for your reply. In my first tests I was having a terrible noise issue, but switching to monitoring through the US800 fixed that. Thank you. I had boxed it all back up again and was ready to send it back when read your post. Yes on my iMac it shows up for a bit then disappears, but I got it just for my iPad.

Tomorrow I will hook it up to my home studio and see what happens.

Thank you for your help. I really do love your app and use it all the time.

[pj13]

Ok, I have hooked the US-800 up to my home studio. With a 16 channel mixer and my POD HD500 plugged into the US-800 and the US-800 into my iPad it all seems to work. Granted at this point I have only recorded two stereo channels at a time, but they worked fine. I used the US-800 for monitoring and had no problems. Thank you again for your help and for explaining what to look out for. Since I got it for $99 knowing they were to be discontinued it's not bad. Sound quality is quite good. Thanks.

[Tacomancini]

When doing over dubs that require a mix from the headphone jack and inputs from the us-800 i've found I get about a minute or so before the digital noise takes over. The remedy is to unplug and replug the headphone jack, it clears up the noise, but only for a minute or so more. But it helped to get the vocal overdub takes.

[Philvan]

Hello, i'm a new member here and joined so I could find out about the latest opinions regarding mobile DAW technology. i'm still using a presonus firestudio on my PC and want to adapt my ipad to simultaneous multitracking. The reviews I'm reading are saying that there are issues with compatibility based on the OS of the Ipad. does anyone know if this is correct and in fact how effective is the US-800 with the ipad? Would appreciate any info before, or if, I end up buying one.

[llamaman]

Well, I've given up on it after lots of frustration. Moved back to the laptop and not looking back.

[pj13]

I actually got the Tascam US-800 to work quite well. I will be posting a link in the "Made with MultiTrack" forum to an entire album I made with the US-800 an iPad2 and MultiTrackDaw.

The very few issues I had, I fixed easily and now I can take my studio everywhere I go. Even mix and master on the run if I have to.

Nice work Harmonicdog!

[Ringleader42]

Received my US800 yesterday, and so far, it's been a rather frustrating experience.

Everything looked good from the beginning. With MT DAW open, I plugged the 800 into my ipad2 and then my headphones into the iPad. It initially worked well, but after recording for around 30 seconds, the headphone output would start to degrade in a ring-mod type of distortion, and another, more delayed, output would slowly take its place. It is very bizarre, and it took a while to figure out what was going on.

This is all I was able to determine.
- Only happens while recording a signal. (electric guitar in my case. Passive pickups.)
- Doesn't appear on the actual recording. Seems to be purely a monitoring issue.
- Doesn't happen when recording no input. I even tried recording with just a 1/4" cable plugged into the 800 and everything was fine.
- Once the non-latent signal fully disappears, you can still hear the input, but with extreme latency; at least 300ms.
- Doesn't happen with my Sonuus I2M Musicport. Everything else was the same including all the cables.
- Happens with both front inputs and also with my guitar connected via an xlr cable through an active direct box.

Haven't tried it with a microphone, yet, or attached to a computer. It's entirely possible I have a defective unit. Wondering if anyone else is having similar issues.

Anybody make any progress with this issue? I have the new iPad and am experiencing the same thing. However, my Apogee Jam does not do this when my headphones are plugged directly into the iPad, so it makes me think it is an issue with the US-800. Bummer because everything else is so close to being perfect for me!

Also, does anyone ever get the occasional device not supported pop-up with the CCK attached to the iPad? It doesn't affect performance but it is annoying. I'm wondering if it is because I am using a generic CCK?