TASCAM DP-006 6-Track Digital Pocketstudio Reviews

I am a hobbyist guitar player (acoustic) wanting to record and playback for my own learning and enjoyment. This piece of equipment is just what I need. The layout is easy to understand and use. The written directions that come with it are very well written and clear. The quality of the sound is excellent. I really like the Tascam DP-006 and can recommend it to anyone in my situation.

A very handy, small digital recorder.Good sound and easy to use.

Love this company!! Great merchandise, reasonable prices, great products. Ordered this item as a valentine's day gift for my hubby, he has been wanting one for a while now! He is going to be thrilled! Shipped, & arrived very quickly as always..I have purchased several guitar related items from Sweetwater over the past few years, they always have what I'm looking for! Thank you for the great service again!

First off I'm a amateur musician. I really like adding percussion sounds to many of my favorite songs. I looked around for a recording device to add sound quality and also making good music. This product is a home run! If you heard the songs you would think that my adds were part of it and that's what I was looking for.

I just recently got back involved with playing the violin. Speaking with my brother, he just bought the TASCAM DP-008EX and loves it. Not sure how much I would get into recording and mixing I went with the TASCAM DP-006. And I love it! It's high quality and the manual is simply the best owner's manual that I've ever read. It's very detailed. Brendon at Sweetwater added to the great buying experience by answering the questions I had.

Thanks!

Gary Kaminska

Excellent affordable recording device. To quickly learn all the ins & outs check out the studio on a stick channel on YouTube. You'll be shocked by all the really cool features..etc..

Wish I got this years ago. This is much better than recording quick music ideas on my phone. Not going to use this in place of a recording studio, but for quick songwriting it's perfect. Easy to use once you work through the manual.

Great recording device. But not a bargain at sweetwster

Always wanted a simple 4 track recorder. It will take some getting used to, but not too far off from a DAW. I have to set the metronome and track input settings every time I use it, then put it in master mode to record to the SD card… but still it's a joy to record and not be visually distracted by a large monitor.

Highly recommend this model for people who enjoy creating demos and simple song writing.

PS: I think creating music is the best way to learn you instrument. Just need a way to get all the sounds through the mic or ¼ jack. Cheers!

It is simple to set an use. I have used a multi track on the computer. But don't like the way it makes an overdriven guitar sound. Recording on this solves that problem. You bounce tracks but sometimes bounced tracks ca get weak. I have found to exports the tracks to a computer based program then bounce the tracks,so you can hear them and then add new tracks then export them to the computer where you have the access to compressors, reverb and other effects. Great value at the price. Songs are stored on SD chips. Get a SD that has lots of memory. They will quickly fill up. Only draw back is it will quickly go through batteries. But comes with an adapter with a long cord.

Most important thing you have to do with this thing is have an idea, read the manual, and then do it again a couple more times. Without actively using it to record, edit, mix & export, you will never figure it out.
I keep the manual on hand at all times, as I refer to it often.
If you do not put the time into learning how to use this thing, then you will be disappointed, as it not intuitive until you use it a few times.
BUT once you get used to it, how it works, then it becomes a fantastic tool for jotting down ideas, making simple demos, even sampling some interesting sounds with the built in mics!

The tascam recorder is working really well when I need to record a few tracks or any ideas that I have

Easy to figure out , great microphones, recordings sound great. Tascam needs to provide a magnifying glass with the instructions though.

I know nothing about synths, music, or recording. But I bought this because DAWs seems to have too many features I don't really need. This TASCAM also has many features and seems like a good buy for $... But the manual seemed to hop from one topic to another in one or two instances. I was very confused and frustrated for about a week because I decided to put it aside until I had plenty of time. I also have a tendency to not take breaks when I need them. So maybe I was just tired and the manual is not that bad.

Anyway, I finally figured it out. I'm having fun recording the noises I make with my synth.

If you've ever owned a track recorder this is a breeze . A little time with the destructions to familiarize myself and I was recording .
A little getting used to with the input functions between mic's / guitar / line and the sensitivities and assigning to tracks , it's easy to forget about the mic guitar / line side button . That gave me that old "why ain't this &%~>ing working right a couple times, but it works perfectly fine it's just me .
I really really do like this unit . The price on sale and the power of this little thing is increadable . Years ago we had a scratchy 4 track cassette tape recorder it cost double this !
Great for a quick recording of a jam or Song idea ! Built in Mic's are quite sensitive .

Tascam DP006 . I made two- check this thing out recordings on it and already impressed me . I got it on sale… through Sweetwater… 6 channels... that's amazing . Small and very portable . I intend to use it as more of a field recorder . Loose jams with fellow musicians . But I made a couple 3 channel attempts with good success in stereo . I had a little learning curve to be expected. I'm starting to get used to it after about 4 hrs. I already feel confident about a real serious tracked recording but want to try different things first . Built in metronome is a great feature and I can get rid of it for the master . Still has bells and whistles I'm gonna have to learn . It has in and out points which is great . Read the Manuel ! RTZ ( return to zero )'I learned can be quicker if you hold the stop and RTZ at the same time ,THAT SPED THINGS UP A BIT ! The mic's are sensitive low- Med - high . I used the Med sensitivity on an acoustic guitar and it was picking up the tv and my wife walking around upstairs with the door closed ( sounded like battle maneuvers up there with the headphones on ha ! ) So find a quite place for the mic's.
This does more than I'll ever need I'm sure but it's fairly simple like me . Next I want try bouncing a couple tracks ! And gotta figure out how to get the music to my iPhone . Comes with a cable to the computer . Guess I gotta download to iTunes or something . But for now I have a portable little JBL BLUE TOOTH speaker that has a stereo cable . Not stereo but plays both channel mono . Buy one you can't go wrong !

Been looking forward to getting back into song writer and creating music and this gear is right for the job. Love the fact that it is portable and easy to use. Waiting for the rest of the gear to arrive to start the work. Thanks Sweetwater for the GREAT DEALS!!!

I was looking for a simple, easy to use "sketch pad" for practice and writing songs, and this fits the bill perfectly. I have it on a bracket attached to my mic stand, and the two inputs are attached to the "Record Out" on the sound board I use for practice.

Tip: Read the 5 minutes of instructions before you mess with it. There are a few things you have to do before hitting the "record" button.

My only complaint: It's a bit too basic. I would love to at least have a Master Bass/Treble. However, that is not a deal breaker. For the price, it does what I want it to do.

Let me first start by saying that Cameron was phenomenal as usual in assisting with my purchase. Package arrived quickly and in perfect condition. Just not sure I'm smart enough to get it to work! Haha. Instructions are just a little confusing. I will update once I reread the instructions.

Awesome recording equipment find great quality and usability to be of high standard. Only thing that I wish was present is a backlight for the screen. Other than that I've had great enjoy it with this device particularly for the price

The Tascam DP-006 as a songwriter companion is an excellent recording machine. For someone who has Parkinsons Disease with cognitive issues. This recorder after following instructions and going online to view a demonstration is quite simple to navigate. I needed something simple that after recording and, to make easy transfer to my Desktop computer also to mix with the music software I use to make MP3's or CD's. I have thoroughly enjoyed this little recorder from the day I received in the mail. Well, worth the money you will spend. Enjoy!

Have not really used it yet but am familiar with DP 08 and liked it. These are all easy to operate.
I will probably buy another unit and A guitar.
I love SWEETWATER customer servive

I wanted a portable means of capturing ideas and rough drafts of songs etc. Having DAW and home studio is great, sometimes I just want to lay down a riff or play around with an idea that can be lost setting up everything for DAW recording. The DP-006 works well and its small footprint makes it easy to set up quickly using line,mic and even built in condenser. Up to 32gb SD(HC) is nice and all in all it's an affordable solutions with nice features. On 2 side notes, being older, the tiny lcd is difficult to navigate (read) some controls are not obvious ie punch in, bouncing can be cumbersome. But being able to bounce to a track with data is nice. The 2nd is the "promo" of headphones, mic and 16gb SD card was a welcome add. Nothing stellar but, it is a nice package for those entering multitrack recording. The Tascam process is not very transparent in that u register your device and submit. A webpage says thank you...etc but no email confirmation or any idea how long before your gear will arrive. The built in mics are capable and the built in tuner and metronome are very nice tools to have. The final feature I appreciate is USB connection. Not having to remove the sd card to transfer files to a DAW or Laptop is Handy. So 4 stars but that's from an old dude who has spent decades reading meters, crt's and lcd's and reading manuals in low light so take what u want from my observation.

The mics are more than decent. They won't be the limiting factor. I don't bother with the onboard tuner, it doesn't seem to track well, at least not acoustically.

The camera mount is brilliant for an all-in-one unit. Good battery life (still, use rechargables!).

This unit would be nearly-perfect for me (for my minimum requirements) if it had
a. 24-bit recording capacity,
b. balanced inputs and outputs,
c. the ability to create both a stereo main and a custom stereo or mono submix and
d. route those to separate outputs for artist monitor feeds, external mixing and signal processing in context of the rest of the mix.

If it could do those things, then it could serve as the modular brains of a small recording studio.

But for a "keep with you" sketchpad and demo production unit with a very focused and streamlined workflow, you can't beat it. Add an external mixer or mic preamp. The audio quality is sufficient that you can use what you record on this unit (with external preamps or the built-in mics or direct) in the finished product just fine.

A great first foray into recording, or a backup or satellite unit. I am ready to upgrade, not just for more tracks, but more I/O specifically, and 24-bit depth.

I've wanted to get into multitracking for a while. A few years ago someone gave me an old Tascam 424 cassette 4-track. I never really got the hang of it. This thing is SO much easier although there is a bit of a learning curve (this may be compounded by my inexperience). I listened to the demo that is included and I could tell write away the sound quality is quite good. Anyway, after about an hour and a half of reading the manual and watching a YouTube tutorial I started noodling with it and within an hour had recorded a basic blues with guitar, bass, keyboard, and percussion (actually just a loop from IReal) and although it's not Sgt. Pepper it sounded pretty decent. Looking forward to spending more time with it and expanding my skill set.
Pros: Controls are easy to figure out.
Pretty intuitive
Good sound quality
Very portable, it's actually TINY, about the size of a paperback book.
Great price
Cons: No back-lighting on the meter
DC power supply ("wall wart") not included.
Owner's manual is thorough but print is really small, needed reading glasses AND a magnifying glass for some
sections.
Would definitely recommend it for newbs like me, would also be a good field recorder as it is extremely portable

It is great for fleshing out arrangements before taking the song to final recording with a better recorder.

My only issues are (1) it's sometimes hard to get the onboard mics in a good spot for recording acoustic instruments and still see the screen and (2) the jacks are somewhat spongy and it is sometimes difficult to tell if the plugs have been inserted all the way or not.

I was looking for something I could just press a button to record and another button to play back.
This thing is too complicated.
And it feeds back into the mixer and the only way I can figure out how to fix it is only listen with headphones.