- 2 XLR mic inputs with phantom power ^S/PDIF Digital Input & Output^2 analog line inputs (1 switchable to high impedance for use with guitars, basses, etc.) ^1 MIDI input, 1 MIDI output^USB 2.0 equipped (also supports USB 1.1)
- 2 XLR mic inputs with phantom power
- S/PDIF Digital Input & Output; 2 analog line inputs; 1 MIDI input, 1 MIDI output; USB 2.0 equipped
- 2 XLR mic inputs with phantom power; S/PDIF Digital Input & Output
- 2 analog line inputs; 1 MIDI input, 1 MIDI output; USB 2.0 equipped
Wow!This thing rocks! I connected up 8 microphones for Kick, Snare, Hi-hat, Tom 1, Tom 2, Tom 3, Left Overhead and Right Overhead... all those mics plug into the 8 XLR mic sockets at the front of the unit. Got some really great 20ft XLR mic cables from Amazon for only $6.95 each (Whirlwind LowZ Microphone Cable (20 Foot) I then plugged in my bass guitar into one of 2 switchable line/guitar 1/4" mono inputs on the front.
Each of the 10 front panel inputs has a volume control knob and red/green led. The drummer hits each drum individually one by one so I can adjust each vol control so that it just occasionally clips red but mostly stays green.
After adjusting the six individual drum mics I now get the drummer to play the whole set and I adjust the left and right overheads mics so they don't clip (go red). That's it! The mics are setup ready to record.
I took the main output from the back of the unit to my monitors and there's a volume control on the front of the unit to allow you to turn down the monitor while recording... then you turn it up to listen back... so in effect, the unit has it's own monitoring control.
Two headphone jacks would've been nice, but I used a Y-adapter 1/4" Headphone Splitter to split the output allowing me to plug in the two headphones for me and the drummer.
I now setup recording on my laptop (HP TX2500z) using the supplied Cubase LE4 software which is really easy to use buy yourself the The Complete Idiot's Guide to Recording with Cubase. There's no specific book for version LE4 but this idiot's guide worked great for me.
A note about my notebook It's a tablet PC laptop HP Pavilion tx2500z 12.1" TOUCH-SCREEN Notebook with a great touch screen so you can arm/disarm or mute/unmute your record channels/tracks just by touching the screen buttons with your finger it's just like a real mixing desk with real tactile switches it's really cool!
You may need to tweak your laptop for audio recording to get the best results otherwise you will hear artifacts (odd noises) when recording if the laptop is struggling to find the necessary processing power. I tweaked my laptop and it was just amazing to see the difference in performance. You can Google "Tweak Vista for audio recording" to find the information on how to tweak.
I also replaced my 5400rpm drive with a 7200rpm drive Seagate 500 GB 7200RPM 2.5" Drive it's real easy to do... Google "Upgrading laptop hard drive". As well as getting a faster speed drive I also made it a 500GB to replace the 320GB drive that I had so lot's more space... and very low cost too!
RESULTS!!!!!!!!!!!
Well... Let me tell you, I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by the results obtained with this unit! The Tascam 1641 is an amazing piece of gear and Amazon's price is just out of this World at only $299...
It's like having a whole recording studio in a box the mic pre's, the mixing desk (vol controls), the signal LED's, the monoring vol control, headphone controls, etc... AND the software all for $299 You can't beat that!
The actual sound that I got was totally professional I couldn't have done better if I was in a top-notch recording studio. I am 100,000% satisfied!
GO FOR IT!!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!I'm a drummer and I've been looking for something to really record my drums with. I knew I wanted to go with a 7 mic kit but the problem I faced was I couldn't find an interface that would handle 7 xlr inputs and wouldn't drain my bank account. This one certainly seemed to fit the bill once I found it. I've only had it for a few days now but it delivers on it's promise. It's a nice professionally put together piece of equipment. I'm running 7 mics into it and using GarageBand to record each to it's own track. I plan on using something more complex in the future but the Cubase 5 LE (I know the description says Cubase 4 LE but since that's an old version this now ships with version 5) this comes with is confusing and overly complicated. You can use this interface with any DAW or Digital Audio Workstation, like GarageBand, Logic, Cubase, etc. There are a whole bunch out there and this piece of hardware is compatible with all of them as far as I can tell with the exception of Pro Tools, which uses it's own hardware only.
I did have a minor problem setting the system up and I'll write here how I got around it so anyone else having a similar issue can correct it. I started out by installing the drivers on the disc that came with the interface, but there have since been several upgrades to the drivers and the firmware that are available to download on the Tascam website. I immediately updated to the latest driver (I'm running OSX Snow Leopard and using this on an early 2008 MacBook Pro) and then went to upgrade to the latest firmware. But the firmware refused to install. Basically it doesn't place nice with the newer drivers. What I did was uninstall the drivers and go back to the disc version, then install the first firmware upgrade, then update the drivers with the first update (1.01 I believe) then install the second firmware upgrade, and finally updated to the latest set of drivers. It takes a bit of time but it's worth it.
There's a couple of things on this that it'd be nice to have and Tascam addressed them on it's newer Tascam US2000 USB Audio Interface. Like it'd be nice to have an LED meter bridge instead of the single light you get on this model and also it'd be nice to have an individual 48v phantom power switch for each xlr input instead of the 2 switches which apply to 4 inputs each on this one. But that model is double the price and essentially those are the only real differences between the two models. So half the price to sacrifice just some lights and a couple of individual switches? Sounds like this is a better deal.
A quick warning about that phantom power. There are two toggles on this, each one applies to 4 xlr inputs at a time. Meaning you can have phantom power on for ALL of inputs 1-4, ALL of 5-8, or ALL of 1-8. So if you're using a mic that should not be phantom powered (like a ribbon mic) make sure you don't group it with mics you need to power.If you're serious about recording your music and you need a great audio and midi interface for your projects at a reasonable price, this is the one for you.
Packed full of features and power and capability, it more than gets the job done, whether you plan to record with just a keyboard, or your whole band.
The product literature lists the features, so I won't repeat them, but as a new user, the performance I have got from it has been great. Also it's easy to install and set up and integrates easily with any Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) you may be using for your project.
I recommend 100%I'll preface this review by stating that if you have any kind of digital, multi-input recording interface...you'd better have a good working knowledge of your computer and your DAW. If so, this will not be very painful...if your knowledge is limited, you may incur some significant growing pains before you are comfortable with your equipment.
I'm a drummer by training and an electronics addict, so I figured this out pretty well.
My recommended computer specifications are:
Multiple Core processor @ 2.8GHz per core (or faster)
4+ GB RAM
500GB 7200rpm hard Drive
Dedicated USB 2.0 card.
17" or more of screen (for your DAW to render properly)
Setting up the US-1641:
Download the latest drivers from TASCAM's site (especially for the 64-bit drivers, use ver 2.02)
Download and update the firmware for the interface
As for the interface itself:
8x XLR (w/pre-amp) inputs on the front. Good pre-amps no distortion or weird noises from them. All 8x with 48v phantom power (switchable in bundles of 4x channels). These are inputs 1-8 when visible in your DAW and have gain knobs on the front of the interface.
2x Guitar pre-amp OR line inputs (1/4"). Inputs 9-10 and have gain knobs on the front of the interface.
4x Line-in (1/4") on the rear of the module. Inputs 11-14. (I use an external microphone pre-amp to feed additional mics into the US-1641)
1x stereo SPDIF input on the rear. Inputs 15-16.
1x 1/4" stereo headphone output; volume knob as well as a knob to mix how much input signal you want to hear vice playback signal from your DAW.
Also has stereo monitor out on rear of the module with a knob on the front for control.
At first I had some dropout problems with this...mainly because I was using an archaic computer, did not upgrade the firmware, and did not have the latest drivers loaded. I bought a new computer, performed the upgrades, and with Sonar Producer 8.5, I am smoking! No dropouts recording 9x inputs simultaneously.
This unit comes with CUBASE 5LE...I'm not as familiar with Cubase as I am Cakewalk, so I stuck with my DAW of choice. Also works with Reaper (shareware). With Audacity it will only feed a stereo signal into the program (because the US-1641 uses an ASIO driver to talk to the DAW, Audacity uses a WDM driver). Make sure in the audio options of your DAW, you're using the ASIO driver!
I am real happy with this interface. I've recorded a 6-song EP for a local musician with it, record my own songs, and am beginning to take on session projects for other musicians using this. It's very reliable and the sound is incredible. I would compare it with some of the mid-level DigiDesign interfaces, but with a significantly lower price point (I bought this, the 8x channel pre-amp, rack case, headphone amp, power conditioner, M-Audio monitors, and a new computer for the price of a single DigiDesign 002 Rack unit).
I've recorded 9x inputs simultaneously without a droppout. I'm betting I can use 14x inputs without a droppout (I don't have any device that uses SPDIF, so 2x channels are useless to me). Oh and if I had a MIDI controller, I'd be rocking that through this as well!
I don't see how you can beat this for the price and quality. As long as you have a dedicated, high quality computer, this interface will do you very well.
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Zero regrets and I am a solo player doing home studio recording. I looked at the high-end consumer gear which was about $100 less. The TASCAM US-1641 is, at a *minimum*, low-end professional gear. That's my opinion but I've used plenty of music gear over the years. You just get a feel for things that are well made, and this product thoroughly qualifies in that realm.If you have studio engineering in your blood and are very technically oriented, the Cubase 5 LE software that comes with the unit will be right up your alley. I am very techincally oriented but do not have studio engineering in my blood -so I went ahead and spent the extra $75 to buy Acoustica Mixcraft as my recording studio software. Ecstatic with the combination of the Tascam & Mixcraft would be an understatement.
You would have to have an awfully big reason to need more than what the Tascam US-1641 can deliver. At this price, even a solo artist should demand no less.
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