How´s the sound quality

[xmortenx]

Truly fascinated by the Dp24Sd and 32Sd.
I´m leaving a classic Daw setup with Rme converters, Neve 1073 preamps and German mics.

Nice that the units are so cheap, but that also makes me vary of the sound quality of the units.. Can you make pro level sound with them (for instance if you are using external preamps and just running line in). I guess that the EQ, Comp and reverb will not be up to pro level, but I hope to be wrong. Perhaps trying to Eq and compress with external gear on the way in and use an external FX send reverb ?

How is your experience with the units ?

Morten

 

[shredd]

Howdy Morten - welcome to the show!

Your previous gear setup had some pretty choice gear in it. So it seems likely you’ll notice some dropoff if you turn right to a DP.

And be warned - “hardware”-based recording and DAW-based recording - while sharing some common ground - are essentially different worlds…totally different workflow/methods.

But you’re on the right track: using your high-quality external processors - either on AUX sends, or via patch-bay routing of your sources - will probably be closer to what you’re accustomed to, compared to the DP’s internal stuff.

All that said - I personally think the DP’s are terrific, price-class notwithstanding. I have an O/G DP-32, and a DP-008 that I reprogrammed with ‘008ex software (they added internal mastering & some very useful editing functions). There’s a deep-dive thread on that, somewhere on the forum here.

So - if your expectations are realistic, you’ll likely find the DP’s are terrific gear. And there’s a smattering of artists out there who’ve used DP’s either exclusively, or as part of, the production or complete studio-grade releases.

Keep us posted-

 

[xmortenx]

Cool Thank you

Anyone have some examples of records made on the Dp 24/32´s ? I see two scenarios. One where both recording and mixing is done exclusively on the DP and also one where all production is made on the DP and then the song is mixed/finished in a studio.

I would be ok with being able to make a great demo with mix completely on the DP and then take the project and finish off in a studio without having to re record the audio recorded on the DP. However if you need to re record then it´s not ideal..

Morten

 

[shredd]

It's at least possible that working end-to-end exclusively on a DP will not meet your standards. We're not able to determine that for you.

But the extremely user-friendly interface/track & song transfer abilities of the DP's would make it so that you could do your full project on it - right through mix/master - then export the raw trax as *.wav files and use them in a more elaborate studio environment, or even just in a DAW.

Unless you have standards for tracking quality that the DP won't meet, that would work.

 

[Jim Talbert]

As a DP-24 user for several years, I have wondered about the approach Shredd mentions . Record the best tracks you can, then export them one-by-one and take them to a pro for mixing/mastering. Has anyone actually tried this?

Also have to say, Morten, I have loved the absence of DAW software/hardware glitches and upgrades as I have learned to use the Tascam unit. So much more time efficient, doing music instead of tech.

 

[Mark Richards]

@xmortenx & @Jim Talbert.
No to all. These things have never been tried, ever. The quality of the DP-24/32/SD is so dismal that professional audio engineers just laugh in your face at the AM radio quality. So nobody has ever been successful creating hi-def or even radio-ready material for commercial release using a DP-24/32/SD portastudio. Not ever. The units are pure junk.

Oh, by the way, it's April First ("April Fools Day" in the US).
The exact opposite is true.
Just remember: the DP-24/32/SD are just tools.
What matters most is the skill of the people in front of and behind the mics; as well as the throughput quality of the entire system, from mics to the reference monitor/playback system.

Edit
Here's an example from 2020 of skill in front of and behind the mics, using two DP-32 portastudios and ProTools.

 

[shredd]

What matters most is the skill of the people in front of and behind the mics

THIS!!!

 

[-mjk-]

24 bit/48kHz is what it is. That's standard.

The difference is in the engineering.

 

[-mjk-]

all production is made on the DP and then the song is mixed/finished in a studio.

All "recording" was done on a DP-32 and then I edited, mixed and mastered the album:

 

[Phil Tipping]

I see two scenarios. One where both recording and mixing is done exclusively on the DP and also one where all production is made on the DP and then the song is mixed/finished in a studio.

A third scenario is just using it for tracking/overdubbing with no production, e.g. capturing raw high-quality digital tracks on location for exporting to a studio later for processing and mixing/mastering (unless that was what you meant by your 2nd scenario). Internal processing is handy to give the client some idea of the possibilities even if they are not used in the final mix.

Re. examples of music made on a DP in addition to the ones already given, see the Song Mixes sub-forum. Several members such as @Arjan P, @-mjk- and @Mark Richards run pro studios so worth checking out. Just to pick out a few other names at random, some starting out as newbies with the DP machine - with apologies to everyone else; there are too many ..... Paul Santa Maria (website), Christophe (Oceans Resurrection), David Porter (soundcloud), Jon Binnie, JP Illes, Bikerdude, James Flynn and Danmusic (who tracked on a portastudio and mixed/mastered using a D.A.W.); and Robert Monahan (who tracked on a portastudio and engaged -mjk- to mix and master the tracks). (the last few were copied from a post by Mark).

 

[-mjk-]

Yes, so many people doing great stuff on these machines. It really comes down to the user, not the tools.

 

[Mark Richards]

24 bit/48kHz is what it is. That's standard.

The difference is in the engineering.

And if James Flynn had original DP-32s with MIDI for his "KEF Live from Quarantine 2020" basement video, the two units could have been synced as master/slave for 16x64 operation in real time.

The later SD units require the "old school" method for using MIDI, demonstrated by Phil Tipping in his excellent video tutorial series.