Great, easy to use tool needed by anyone wanting to record music
I only just recently picked one of these up. I have an old Tascam 414 4-track tape recorder and another old Tascam DP-01 8-track digital recorder. Both of these units were and still are great, but I wanted to upgrade to a newer multitrack recorder. I decided that I needed at least a 24-track recorder, and was looking into the Tascam units, but was very disappointed with the amount of "actual" tracks. I play the instruments myself and don't need a lot of stereo tracks that are automatically linked. I came across the Zoom R24 on the internet and began to research the reviews on it. I have used Zoom's guitar pedals for the past 19 years and have been very pleased with them. I was also interested in the drum machine and sequencer, as I can not play the drums myself, and had been looking into a stand-alone unit.
After my research, I found an R24 for a great price, bought it, and as soon as it was in my hands was up and recording. I was able to find "How-to" videos on YouTube for things that I could not understand in the manual, and have been very pleased with the performance and sound of this unit. I was a little concerned when I received it, mainly because of how light the unit is. Compared to my DP-01, it must weigh about 5 pounds less, but the DP-01 has an internal hard drive for memory, while the R24 has an SD drive.
With my past knowledge of the Tascam units, there was only a slight learning curve to begin with this. I recorded a whole song in about an hour, using a drum loop that I had already had. I decided to try to sequence a complete song's worth of drums, and after about 3 hours of compiling and re-working, I had a great-sounding drum part, exactly as I had imagined, that went completely with a song that I was in the process of writing. I was able to record the entire song in another hour, including 3 guitars, bass, and 3 vocals, and still had another 8 tracks to work with if I needed them.
The effects on this unit seem to be great also, right in line with the guitar pedals I already have. I used 2 different distortions for recording 2 guitars, a bass effect, and different vocal effects also. It is my understanding that most recordings are done dry, but I usually record with the effect on the track, mainly because that is what I'm used to doing. On this machine, you can record either way.
I have not attempted to work with this on the computer, as I have no interest in it. My other recorders are standalone, and this can be also.
I am completely happy with the R24, and if someone is out there doing the same research I did, if you are on the fence, pick one of these up. I also want to give credit to topdazzle on YouTube for assisting me, and I'm sure countless others, with the features that this little machine has and actually explaining and showing how to use them.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
