Tascam Model 12

'Brilliant build quality' was the first thing I said to myself as I popped the box. Having read the manual back to front many times whilst waiting on delivery, I found that in half an hour I had set up and ready to go - card formatted, click track working, synced to BFD3 and USB audio streaming out of BFD into a pair of channels.

All I can say is that Tascam have really nailed it with this one, and if they put MIDI etc on the 24 track it would be a truly pro workhorse. However, 10 track recording (and 2 master track) are adequate for my needs; primarily used out of my studio to record jam sessions with buddies.

If you want to get really picky then here's the dirt:

1/ Only two insert points (but appreciate the cost implications of putting them on all channels). I must say though a pair of master inserts would have been nice.

2/ Only 2 fx sends. Again a cost issue - also no dedicated simple returns. If you use the built in FX you are good to go, but if you patch in a box then you are going to lose 2 channels for a stereo return.

3/ Tascam must be the master if syncing to other gear or your DAW. Does not worry me.

EVERYTHING else is just brilliant and a lovely sounding machine it is. Tascam have a certain magic, especially with digital gear. Blindfold, you would swear it is analogue, but to be fair its better than that.

Conclusion, money well spent. Great value, simple to use, and all you need to do is RTFM :)

I purchased the Model 12 for two big reasons.

1. To use as class compliant gear with my MPC
2. To be a (dawless) home studio mixer and recorder

First, the Model 12 works very well with the MPC, being able to create separate tracks from the MPC and then mix each one before recording. I also loved the Tascam's ability to do overdub recording. However, when it came time to mix a couple of hardware synths and vocals for output, the unit's limitations became glaringly obvious. Vocals especially mixed very low, even with gain up to a maximum. In my opinion there is absolutely no way to create a completed recording with the Model 12 without a good deal of time and work in a DAW. While this may not be an issue for some, I personally just don't see the point with owning a mixer with such limitations when it comes to music production.

I think this is a good case for 'you get what you pay for', but ask yourself what your expectations and goals are, because apart from natural talent the gear you own and use needs to support where you are trying to get to. And, with that old adage; I did end up switching to an RME audio interface that costs twice as much, but is twice as much and more in superiority.

With that said, there are other audio interface options at lower price points that can do the job from manufacturers like Motu, Arturia and SSL to name a few.

Pro: Works great stand alone, when recording capabilities do not exceed the available 12 tracks
Con: Not as analog as it looks (like de model 16/24), but not as flexible as it's digital relative (DP24/32); be sure to check how it fits your use-case. (Edit 2021): class compliant for the 12 tracks, not for DAW control, but I don't use this anyway, I use it on Linux.
MTR capabilities are limited to the physical tracks and once you have recorded the track you can only bounce it to a free track, there are no extra tracks like in the DP24. For live use this is no issue, but when trying to layer some parts you could quickly run out of tracks in a stand-alone mode, so be aware of these limits and how they possibly affect your workflow.
It's hard to tell if I would buy it again, I would probably for this price try other options, for now I have not really had an issue I couldn't work around by going outboard, even went as far as adding a mixer/router on the subs and sacrificing two inputs (stereo) for the returns.
My use case for now was aimed at playing and recording music, in future I'd like to test the broadcasting capabilities with e.g. OBS.

I use this equipment for recording onboard only so I cannot comment on other features such as DAW and live mixing. However, for recording I like the simplicity and the hands on interface. Everything is top quality and very straightforward. I only had to look up a few things in the manual. But as everything, nothing is perfect, so here are a few things I would like improved:

1) The way headphones works for this system is a bit weird, for example, you cannot really use headphones and speakers at the same time.

2) The phantom power is global rather than for individual for each track, so all your recording mics must either support phantom power or not.

3) I find the tempo click works a bit weird.

4) Editing tools is very limited and could be improved a lot.

5) Such a shame volume, pan, Eq etc. each channel isn't saved with the tracls. I know it would be impossible as this mixer use physical knobs and sliders but annoying when you have a many songs recorded.

6) The effect channel is global, so only one effect is available for entire song, would be nice if different effects could be added.

If you can live with the above limitations then this equipment will serve you well. One thing I love is that you can quickly get stuff recorded and if you want it edited you always have the option to transfer it to a computer or simply set it up as a DAW.

Ik denk eindelijk gevonden te hebben wat mij zal helpen sneller muziek op te nemen !
De Model 12 is zeker een aanrader vanaf het moment dat je MEERDERE INSTRUMENTEN wil inspelen. En al zeker als je met externe loopers werkt of (beperkt) DUB wil maken. Meerdere tot alle kanalen tegelijk opnemen is mogelijk. Als enige multitrackrecorder/mixer heeft de Model 12 op elk kanaal een instrument-in (Hi impedance) knop. De kanalen staan bij mij klaar per instrument. Je moet hiervoor niet menu-diven en alles naar een kanaaltje herbekabelen.
De DAW-less recording op sd-kaart is veel makkelijker dan ik dacht. Dat gaat echt met de ogen dicht. En alles is beschikbaar in .wav per kanaal voor eventuele latere daw finetuning. Het hebben van alle regelknoppen fysiek, maakt het een plezier om op te nemen. Dit wordt mijn after-work manier van opnemen !
De DAW controller vereist wat studie. Maar je wil dit dan ook kunnen. Recente handleidingen om te installeren zijn niet goed te vinden, hoewel het simpel is. De Daw control vereist ook wat abstract denken met meerdere functies per kanaal (daw control, usb in, usb out, live input, master out mixer, master out daw,....). Ik heb er nog even werk aan voor ik het goed ga kunnen gebruiken. Vooral het ongelofelijk aantal tracks lijkt me een plus ten opzichte van de SD kaart. Je kan de DAW control per 9 tracks opschuiven telkens.

De pre-amps geven een mooi geluid. Ze zijn analoog. Dat de rest digitaal is, stoort mij niet. Integendeel, het apparaat is lekker licht en compact in vergelijking met analoge mixers met evenveel kanalen.

Het enige echte vervelende is dat je in de DAW mode een kanaal verliest omdat er een stereokanaal moet gereserveerd worden om USB audio terug te sturen naar model 12. Daar hadden ze een apart usb kanaal voor mogen maken. Het compliceert de zaken. Alleen al de uitleg...

Samengevat denk ik dat er weinig recorders zijn met die mogelijkheden en die prijs. Het is een luxe-recorder. De DAW mogelijkheden moet ik nog verder uitdiepen om te zien hoe die voor mij werken.