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TASCAM DP-03SD 8-track Digital Portastudio

8-track Portable Digital SD/SDHC Recorder with Onboard DSP Effects and Processing Plus Editing Controls
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TASCAM DP-03SD 8-track Digital Portastudio
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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
Create music how you like where you like with the TASCAM DP-03SD Digital Portastudio!

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Tech Specs

  • Simultaneous Rec Tracks: 2
  • Simultaneous Play Tracks: 8
  • Sample Rate: 44.1kHz
  • Bit Depth: 16-bit
  • Effects: Reverb
  • EQ: 2-band EQ per track
  • Compression: Yes
  • Phantom Power: Yes
  • Number of Mic Preamps: 2
  • Built-in Mics: Internal stereo condenser microphone
  • Analog Inputs: 2 x XLR, 2 x 1/4", 1 x 1/8" (optional RC-3F footswitch)
  • Analog Outputs: 1 x stereo RCA, 1 x 1/8" (headphone)
  • USB: Import WAV files from USB
  • Storage: SD/SDHC cards
  • Faders: 9 x 45mm Faders
  • Power: 12V DC power supply (included)
  • Height: 2.1"
  • Depth: 8.2"
  • Width: 11.4"
  • Weight: 4 lbs.
  • Manufacturer Part Number: DP-03SD

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Customer Reviews

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Rated 5/5

A Songwriter’s Dream!

I did a quick, 6-track sketch of a song using only the built-in mikes, just to see if I could. I didn't time it, but I'd say it was less than twenty minutes, start to finish.

I can also use my favorite mikes and do very high quality demos once a song is finished.

For the cost of a few hours of studio time, you can have your own demo studio!
Music background: I’ve been playing for money since 1967.
Rated 5/5

Dp03sd

Just begun but,great so far. For 40 bucks more youll have this over the 08ex with power wire and foot switch. Does not use batteries. Line out in back can go thru stereo.
Rated 5/5

Tascam dp 03

I love this recorder it's so simple and gives me wat I give it No bull no complex falderal I can't say anything but I love it with all my heart it's the bomb !!!! U won't be disappointed Best recorder they offer in my opinion bar none
Music background: I’m old in my 50s working harder than ever now that I can produce qwality recordings
Rated 5/5

Like to add a few more observations

So I'm now cranking out finished master recordings and have some more tips and pointers!

1) The master recording output is surprisingly good! I simply turn on EQ and compression without doing any adjustments to it before mastering. Everything sits well in mixes, with great separation... Sound quality is close to phenomenal for such a straightforward system. I'm using an Arturia drum machine and while some of the drum synth patches sound pretty artificial right out of the machine, when the mixdown and mastering is done those elements also improve markedly.
2) The DP-03SD works extremely well connecting directly through USB to my computer, so I get the best of both worlds. You can also yank the SD card out and stick it into a reader if you don't have a USB cable with the mini-USB connector. I didn't even have to install a driver!
3) The two simultaneous inputs, while it sounds like a severe limitation, turns out to be less of a problem in practice. I can only play one instrument at a time anyway! For a group of people it would certainly be an issue and they really should get the larger Tascam console. The Line out also works very well - plugged it right into my mixer and works flawlessly.
4) Be advised. The DP-03SD supports a maximum of 4GB of SD card space. It doesn't matter how big the SD card is, that's all you can use. This indicates to me that the Tascam is using only 32-bit code as 4GB is the limit of addressable memory in 32-bit code and CPUs. This is a big design flaw. If I had bought the larger 32-track Tascam console, and I had run into this limitation, I would have returned it. For the DP-03SD, it's an annoyance but nothing more as 4GB is enough for most tasks. I'd really like to see Tascam fix this. It's the only serious disappointment I have with the DP-03SD.
5) The workflow is surprisingly good for such a small LCD screen. The data wheel actually works well and navigation is fairly easy, especially compared to a lot of menu synths. The well-written manual helps - read it! I'd like to see them integrate the Track Edit button menu into the main menu and thus eliminate the Track Edit button entirely. There's no reason, from the user standpoint, to have a similar part of the menu system be a separate element enabled by separate hardware.

Enjoy! You are buying a great and very usable product.
Music background: Moderator at Pedalboards of Doom, 40+ years as musician, guitar, bass, keys
Rated 5/5

My first Tascam

I'd always tried to use DAW software on my PC (good luck with the driver support and device incompatibilities - really frustrating). Muddled along for awhile with a looper, Audacity and with Adobe Audition because the DAW software business, frankly, is a racket. Especially with the music business becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple. Then I noticed the Tascam Portastudios. Spent a lot of time looking very hard at the 32-track and 8-track consoles, which are now all-solid-state, which suits me just fine. ALMOST pulled the trigger on the 32-track and if I had the physical space for it, I'd be writing about that one.

But the 8-track Portastudio is an elegant, very usable little beast for which the learning curve is very quick. The small screen does just fine showing you what's going on, and the interface takes little time to learn. I stuck a 32GB SD card in it... and just finished my first complete rhythm section part with drum machine and bass, and man, am I happy with this thing. Recorded both directly into this little console, and the sound quality is so much better than the stuff I was using before. Panning on channels does a fantastic job separating parts in the mix. Wish I could have gone for the bigger unit but the DP-03SD rewards with its incredible portability. I also will never have any issue recording a gig ever again. (If gigs ever become a thing again.) I think the 8-track is exactly the right choice for me. Recommended: get a decent laptop stand for it - makes cabling a heck of a lot easier!

When I realized the 32-track Portastudio was the size of my synth, that started me thinking. This was the result. This thing is incredible for the size and the money.
Music background: Moderator at Pedalboards of Doom, 40+ years as musician, guitar, bass, keys
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