Tascam DP-03SD Digital Portastudio

Eight Tracks of Portable Production Power

There’s something creatively freeing about recording with a TASCAM DP-03SD Digital Portastudio that many working musicians can appreciate. For example, the DP-03SD’s built-in microphones mean you don’t have to pack a mic, while the onboard effects and processing let you quickly polish up your sound. Eight tracks of CD-quality recording with bounce and editing functions offer a ton of possibilities too, and onboard essentials such as a tuner and a metronome let you travel light if you’re on the move. Top it off with multiband mastering processing, and create a complete record from start to finish on your DP-03SD.

TASCAM DP-03SD Digital Portastudio at a Glance:

• Onboard microphones and quality I/O let you get your ideas down fast
• Go back and forth with your DAW with CD-quality SD card recording
• Start with an idea and finish with a fully produced, radio-ready song

Onboard microphones and quality I/O let you get your ideas down fast

Part of the joy of working with an all-in-one multitrack recorder like the TASCAM DP-03SD Digital Portastudio is that the tools you need to lay down your ideas are never far away. Say you’re strumming away on the couch and you’ve got an idea you want to get down before it fades. No problem. Grab your guitar, set your DP-03SD down on the coffee table, arm the built-in mics, and fire away. While you’re laying down your first pass, you get this idea for cool lead line. Plug your electric guitar right in and take another pass on track three. Harmonies? No problem. How about some handclaps to try out a rhythm? You have plenty of tracks, so go for it. Before you know it, you’ve got a fleshed out idea you’re ready to take to the studio.

Go back and forth with your DAW with CD-quality SD card recording

Taking a scratch track (or better yet, the start of a song) that you’ve recorded on your DP-03SD into the studio is a piece of cake. It natively records everything in up to CD-quality 16-bit/44.1kHz onto cheap SD/SDHC card media, which you can easily import into your DAW. What if you’ve got a friend who plays a mean B3, but you can’t haul that beast of an instrument into your studio? No worries. Just bounce a few stems from your DAW session, toss them onto an SD card, and load them onto tracks in your DP-03SD. Now you can take the session to the organist, track the B3 parts, and take it back to your studio. There are even handy punch and surprisingly powerful onboard editing functions onboard, and with the optional RC-3F footswitch, some of these functions can be hands-free.

Start with an idea and finish with a fully produced, radio-ready song

What if you don’t even want to touch a DAW or look at your computer while you make your next musical masterpiece? With the TASCAM DP-03SD, it’s entirely possible to to start from scratch and create a fully produced final mix without ever leaving the Portastudio. Onboard, you’ll find such studio magic as a beautiful reverb engine with dedicated sends from each track. Each track also includes a 2-band EQ, and you can bounce tracks to stems to free them up for more recording power. Simple transport and editing commands make getting around your project easy, and when you’re ready to mix down, you’ll be impressed by the multiband processing onboard the DP-03SD.

TASCAM DP-03SD Digital Portastudio Features:

• An 8-track digital recorder that’s perfect for home and mobile music production
• Records at 16-bit/44.1kHz CD quality to inexpensive SD/SDHC card media
• Built-in stereo microphone pair lets you capture acoustic sources
• Includes onboard effects and processing, including multiband mastering effects
• Essential music tools such as a metronome and a chromatic tuner included

• 8-track digital Portastudio
• Recording/playback at 44.1 kHz, 16 bit using SD/SDHC memory card
• Simultaneous recording of two tracks
• Record in stereo or record two independent mono sources
• Simultaneous playback of eight tracks
• Use dedicated controls on each channel for volume, pan and effect to create a mix
• Dedicated stereo mixdown track
• Mix your song to a stereo file you can transfer to a computer for MP3 encoding
• Built-in stereo condenser microphone
• Create a two-track recording instantly and without cabling
• Two XLR mic inputs with phantom power
• Plug in your favourite studio condenser microphones
• Two TRS line inputs, one switchable to guitar (hi-Z)
• Connect an electrical guitar or bass as well as synths, drum machines etc. directly
• RCA line output
• Connect your monitor amplifier/speakers here
• Headphones output with level control
• Two-band shelving EQ per track and on both inputs
• Set the frequencies the low and high EQ knobs cut or boost depending on your sound sources
• On-board Reverb processor to polish your mixes
• On-board mastering effects
• Get the most out of your mix with two-band EQ, single/multi-band compression and a normalizer to maximise the overall level and improve the sound density
• Auto punch in/out
• Record a marked section while playing or singing without pressing any button
• Track bounce feature
• Use more than eight tracks by creating a mixdown of several tracks to another track
• Workstation-style editing with copy, move, open, cut etc.
• Edit your tracks like a pro: tighten your timing, create loops, cut unwanted noise etc.
• Multi-level undo/redo history
• Undo/redo multiple steps in case you have made a mistake (including the editing functions)
• Location marks
• Set marks to easily locate the start of verses, soli, vocals etc.
• Built-in tuner and metronome
• USB 2.0 port
• Backup/restore projects or import/export wave files from/to a computer
• Nine 45-mm faders
• Selectable foot switch operation mode
• Foot switch with three switches and assignable functions available as an option (RC-3F)