Tascam Model 12 Mixer Interface

Ok so 4.5 stars. It sounds amazing, the pre's are clean and characteristic of an analog console. the one knob analogue compressor on each channel strip is just amazing. Ran everything through it from bass, vocals, guitar as well. extremely happy with the functionality of the device, being able to take it to the rehearsal room and back to the studio is a massive deal for me. QUIRKS include. DAW Mode means you lose Ch 1 and 2 for PC return audio. Real dumb move. Also the Headphone outputs are directly tethered to the MAIN St output and don't have an independent knob as such to control volume independent of the main. E.G. if I mute the main ST bus to track a vocal with the headphones on exclusively for obvious reasons, you also kill the stereo playback of the main ... MoreOk so 4.5 stars. It sounds amazing, the pre's are clean and characteristic of an analog console. the one knob analogue compressor on each channel strip is just amazing. Ran everything through it from bass, vocals, guitar as well. extremely happy with the functionality of the device, being able to take it to the rehearsal room and back to the studio is a massive deal for me. QUIRKS include. DAW Mode means you lose Ch 1 and 2 for PC return audio. Real dumb move. Also the Headphone outputs are directly tethered to the MAIN St output and don't have an independent knob as such to control volume independent of the main. E.G. if I mute the main ST bus to track a vocal with the headphones on exclusively for obvious reasons, you also kill the stereo playback of the main signal as well through the phones. Another facepalm moment where I was blaming myself for being a simpleton. I hear there may be a firmware update that fixes this. Headphone mixes are best achieved through the SUB mix and you'll need a small headphone amp if you want to get best results I suppose, it would be great if that wasn't essential. apart from that happy days.

This little board is very good. From basic mixer function to more complex routing features, it's easy to use. It allows versatile work flow and a good amount of features for the cost. The FX section is nice and they don't sound like afterthoughts. The one knob comps are surprisingly good. It's almost a 5 star, but the reason for the 4 stars is because of a couple basic things that would have been easy to achieve. It's a bit oddly sized, compact but is big enough to be racked and Tascam doesn't include rack ears for this model. I'm not sure if they are available at this point. I also don't like the external adapter style power supply. The positives definitely out weigh the 2 cons I have. I highly recommend this mixer.

Absolute trash/Do not buy!!!!!!

Multitude of routing issues, I will never buy a TASCAM again! I've had this garbage for 3 months and it's the worst POS in my collection. Main fader as no effect, doesnt work, up down doesnt matter. PFL/ALF can not be changed, front panel button has no effect, internal menu has no effect. Settings can be changed, or rather say they are changed but no actual change to output. When all settings for all channels are the same and the faders are all the way down channels 4 and 5 arbitrary ignore fader settings. Sometimes the chanel pan knobs work, sometimes not? Does not record mixer settings, records all sound at max volume with total disregard to front panel settings. DAW interface, a joke! 2 channel not stereo interface only. This is a $500.00 pile of stank best used ... MoreMultitude of routing issues, I will never buy a TASCAM again! I've had this garbage for 3 months and it's the worst POS in my collection. Main fader as no effect, doesnt work, up down doesnt matter. PFL/ALF can not be changed, front panel button has no effect, internal menu has no effect. Settings can be changed, or rather say they are changed but no actual change to output. When all settings for all channels are the same and the faders are all the way down channels 4 and 5 arbitrary ignore fader settings. Sometimes the chanel pan knobs work, sometimes not? Does not record mixer settings, records all sound at max volume with total disregard to front panel settings. DAW interface, a joke! 2 channel not stereo interface only. This is a $500.00 pile of stank best used for target practice. DO NOT BUY!!!!!

DAW Front End That Doubles As Live Mixer

Sound:Studio grade preamps,quiet with tight knobs and faders. Heavy well made unit.Features:Channel strips are top notch,plus the effects are very good for live use.Ease of Use:The beauty of tactile knobs and faders! It's fun to mix with my ears,again. Excellent DAW mixer w basic controls.Quality:The 12's aren't plastic,these are heavy mixers.Value:Worth every penny!The Wow Factor:The Tascam 12 and a pair of 8" monitors makes for one heckuva studio. Or add quality cans,and go remote. Or use as your DAW control surface. Or...Overall:These mixers are amazing in any studio setting-Sturdy,quiet and well made. First off,the pre's sound smooth/musical w no added color. A plus for our needs is that the effects don't print as you record;they are for live ... MoreSound:Studio grade preamps,quiet with tight knobs and faders. Heavy well made unit.Features:Channel strips are top notch,plus the effects are very good for live use.Ease of Use:The beauty of tactile knobs and faders! It's fun to mix with my ears,again. Excellent DAW mixer w basic controls.Quality:The 12's aren't plastic,these are heavy mixers.Value:Worth every penny!The Wow Factor:The Tascam 12 and a pair of 8" monitors makes for one heckuva studio. Or add quality cans,and go remote. Or use as your DAW control surface. Or...Overall:These mixers are amazing in any studio setting-Sturdy,quiet and well made. First off,the pre's sound smooth/musical w no added color. A plus for our needs is that the effects don't print as you record;they are for live band mode(or used as effects in the cans while overdubbing and such). This allows us to record in the studio,or remote situations,@48 w/o effects,move the tracks to Studio One,and then mix down with our fave effects @96 within our DAW. We send various "outs" to the line inputs of our studio grade interfaces,making the Tascam 12 so much more than a live mixer or standalone recorder-it's like a Swiss army knife for your project studio. The main outs have shelved EQ's if we need that option. In addition,we can send a stereo pair out of channel inserts and/or headphone outs to wherever we need. I have fun using the bluetooth to add backing tracks for fun/rehearsal,but another professional option is using the 12's stereo DAW/computer channel output for live backing tracks. Super Sweet Thing-you can record your ideas quickly,without cranking up your laptop or pc,then waiting on your DAW to load 300 new plugins(wtf?!),etc.,and then,finally...forgetting your song idea in the meantime. That's the beauty of the Tascam 12's Portastudio heritage,with all of the old school joy of instant recording mixed with DAW fluent options that allow for serious studio integration. One of the best purchases we've made in years.

Fantastic Machine that works!

Overall:My main use is for a personal mini home studio. After extensive research, the Model 12 checked all the boxes. I wanted an analog style mixer, onboard recorder and audio interface with the ability to complete projects with minimal computer based DAW interaction. The DAW controller is a pretty nice feature but was not very important for me and neither was the MIDI capability. I am an amateur at using a computer based DAW so the Model 12 was perfect as to not limit me from that. Without a DAW, I can still make studio quality recordings but I can still use a DAW to tweak if I choose to. As a mixer, recorder & audio interface, it's fantastic. As a DAW controller it works perfect as long as you use a compatible DAW. Tascam has a separate downloadable DAW ... MoreOverall:My main use is for a personal mini home studio. After extensive research, the Model 12 checked all the boxes. I wanted an analog style mixer, onboard recorder and audio interface with the ability to complete projects with minimal computer based DAW interaction. The DAW controller is a pretty nice feature but was not very important for me and neither was the MIDI capability. I am an amateur at using a computer based DAW so the Model 12 was perfect as to not limit me from that. Without a DAW, I can still make studio quality recordings but I can still use a DAW to tweak if I choose to. As a mixer, recorder & audio interface, it's fantastic. As a DAW controller it works perfect as long as you use a compatible DAW. Tascam has a separate downloadable DAW controller manual on their website that tells you which DAW's work. Download it + download the user manual before you buy it and you can see and learn about the unit. Also, physically it's built like a tank. It's metal construction and it's heavy. Anything else that competes is all plastic. If you are a beginner, you need to read everything about it before you get it working. Don't expect to take it out of the box and for everything to run on Autopilot. It won't do that, this is professional level equipment that has a learning curve. That learning curve in invaluable though because you will really learn how to record & mix. Plenty of info online if you look up the Model 16 & 24. This is a small version of the model 16 & 24 that includes midi + DAW controller. The model 12 has only been on the market for 6 months and the other ones have been around for almost 2 years. So you can't expect a huge amount of user information about the model 12 yet. If you download the audio driver + update it to the latest firmware, it will do exactly what it's supposed to do. Also, you need to use an SD card from the list of Tascam tested cards and format it in the machine. If you dont, you might get errors and freezes. It also helps that any of these machines work better with smaller cards. I use 32 gig Transcend SDHC cards and they work perfect. Remember: Update the firmware, download the Audio driver, buy a smaller size Tascam tested SD card and make sure you format it with the Tascam Model 12, verify that your DAW is compatible (if you wan't to use the DAW controller feature) and it should work as advertised.

Great live mixer (and recording is the icing)

We purchased this mixer to use specifically for community circus performances. The per-channel, 1-knob compression, per-channel EQ, ability to choose between pre/post Aux send and main EQ made this the perfect choice.Yes, I read the manual, watched the various online videos and bought the recommended Ultra SDHC card. These tasks addressed all of the complaints I heard about this mixer. It fits nicely inside of a 19 rack (with room to spare). And, the recordings sound great!Our sound is incredibly dynamic, so I added a compressor on the mains. That's it - Then, straight into the speakers.

Own it, love it!

Building a small, spare bedroom studio and got the model 12 because of all of its I/O and features. Every "problem" I've experienced has been due to my ignorance of the platform, and/or recording/mixing in general. I have eventually figured them all out and it's been a blast learning and working with it! It's really simple and it just works once you figure it out. Would absolutely buy it again! The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is due to inflexibility with the usb return audio. It should let me select or, at the very least, return on one of the stereo channels so it only uses one lane. Other than that (which I'm hoping they can address in firmware) I have only good things to say about the model 12, and have suffered exactly ZERO buyers remorse. I use my ... MoreBuilding a small, spare bedroom studio and got the model 12 because of all of its I/O and features. Every "problem" I've experienced has been due to my ignorance of the platform, and/or recording/mixing in general. I have eventually figured them all out and it's been a blast learning and working with it! It's really simple and it just works once you figure it out. Would absolutely buy it again! The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is due to inflexibility with the usb return audio. It should let me select or, at the very least, return on one of the stereo channels so it only uses one lane. Other than that (which I'm hoping they can address in firmware) I have only good things to say about the model 12, and have suffered exactly ZERO buyers remorse. I use my P6 to control in the box and the m12 for aggregation and everything external like synths, guitar, and vocals. And, if you are into OBS it works great for that too! Thank you Greg Titzer! TL;DR? Buy it. Especially at $. 4.5 out of 5 stars for me.

Really excellent quality and value

Overall:I am really enjoying my Model 12. I've had it about 6 months now, and I still am amazed at the ease of use and the excellent quality. I love being able to punch in and out of record with a footswitch like the old days, and my workflow has gotten so much simpler and I find I am actually completing projects now, where before the complexity of DAW slowed me down. The quality of the sliders and buttons and knobs is first rate, the mic pre's are excellent, clean and quiet; the effects are usable. It's a great mixer for a live show too and I can record everyone on their own track, which is pretty amazing not having to use a computer. The more I use this thing, the more I like it and appreciate all the little touches and features that were added to make this so ... MoreOverall:I am really enjoying my Model 12. I've had it about 6 months now, and I still am amazed at the ease of use and the excellent quality. I love being able to punch in and out of record with a footswitch like the old days, and my workflow has gotten so much simpler and I find I am actually completing projects now, where before the complexity of DAW slowed me down. The quality of the sliders and buttons and knobs is first rate, the mic pre's are excellent, clean and quiet; the effects are usable. It's a great mixer for a live show too and I can record everyone on their own track, which is pretty amazing not having to use a computer. The more I use this thing, the more I like it and appreciate all the little touches and features that were added to make this so versatile. Not missing my Audient interface at all! I've been recording since the cassette 4 track days, so ease of use for me was pretty much point and shoot once I got used to the live/mode/mtr switch, (remembering to put it in the right place for the function at hand) and the manual is well written for the more in depth functions. It looks, WOW. and is a great value. Where else can you get a mixer with 8 hi Z inputs?

Robust feature sets, great sound, compact and great value

Very professional in every aspect: build quality, sound, feature sets, and great customer service. It's a fantastic value as a package given the price point and performance. Very responsive tech support during setup. Highly recommend for home studio recording, musician practices (solo practice with orchestra/band), and most importantly, DAW users. (I use Logic Pro) The DAW control is easy and works very well in MacOS Big Sur. It should have packaged a USB-C to USB-C for newer PC's. The only improvement would be an option for sample rate at 192K.

Take my money please

My dad loves to sing, but he is old and could not learn to use computer software to record. Last year I helped him record several songs. This year I moved out and cannot help him to record anymore. I've done quite hours of research and found this Tascam mixer to be a good choice for him. I also found Korg soundlink which has similar functions but much more expensive. Zoom L-8 is cheaper but looks cheap and does not have tactile control as Tascam. So, I bought this Tascam and within 1 hour guiding my dad, he is able to record his own song. Of course the record is dry channels and I will mix them properly on computer, but now my dad is in total control of his record and he can sing as much as he wants now. The sound quality is great compared to my old Yamaha Mg10xu ... MoreMy dad loves to sing, but he is old and could not learn to use computer software to record. Last year I helped him record several songs. This year I moved out and cannot help him to record anymore. I've done quite hours of research and found this Tascam mixer to be a good choice for him. I also found Korg soundlink which has similar functions but much more expensive. Zoom L-8 is cheaper but looks cheap and does not have tactile control as Tascam. So, I bought this Tascam and within 1 hour guiding my dad, he is able to record his own song. Of course the record is dry channels and I will mix them properly on computer, but now my dad is in total control of his record and he can sing as much as he wants now. The sound quality is great compared to my old Yamaha Mg10xu and much better than Mackie profx12. I am still learning all possible functions of this Tascam. This is the best gift for my dad. Thank you Tascam for making such great product.