Tascam FireOne

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Tascam FireOne

Post by Lunkhead »

I ordered one of these recently when it was Musician's Friend's stupid deal of the day, marked down $100 to $149. I got it today and have finally had a few minutes to play with it a bit tonight and I'm really impressed so far.

The biggest thing for me personally that's really cool about it is that it's going to replace 4 boxes for me! My old setup involved:

14-channel mixer
4-in/4-out 24bit/96kHz USB audio interface
4-out headphone amp
2-in/2-out USB MIDI interface

Really, though, I can settle for just 2 channels of in/out for audio, 1 MIDI in/out, and 2 headphone out, and the FireOne provides all of that in one box. I suspect most songfighters could get by with those options as well. Additionally, it can be bus powered, so it's portable.

Plus it provides something I didn't have before, in the big jog wheel, transport buttons, and 8 assignable function buttons (plus a shift key to change the function of all the aforementioned controls) to operate Cubase!

It's also got mic pres, phantom power, live (zero latency) monitoring, individual volume controls for both of the headphone outs and the line outs, two XLR/line combo inputs on the back, a 1/4" on the front for direct guitar/bass, and a cool pulsating green LED under the jog wheel.

Anyway, so far I give it an A+, especially at $149. I won't have time to do any recording with it till next week so I'll have to wait to find out how the sound quality is. Hopefully it will be OK. For now I'm very excited about it.
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Post by blue »

damn, if that were a trackball instead of a jog wheel i could clean off nearly my entire desk.

i'm about ready to give up my art tubepre -> soundblaster toolchain and step back up to power country. :D
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Post by Billy's Little Trip »

That is a pretty nifty little gadget. I just took a look at one. You scored getting it for $149.
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Post by Project-D »

I was hoping you were going to review it and say it sucks. I came really close to buying it, but I couldn't find a lot of reviews on it. I have only limited time on the computer at work, and I like to research things before I buy. Now because you like it, I can only kick myself.
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Post by Lunkhead »

Don't kick yourself, dude, just start saving your pennies. I think it's still a decent deal at $249. I had a chance to record a little bit with it, and my not-that-discerning ears couldn't hear anything wrong with the audio quality. I may post some examples at some point if I feel motivated.
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Post by Project-D »

Yeah, it still looks like a good deal, I might wait 'til they have some big sale. like they do. I have an old US224 from work and it's been pretty bombproof, so I've been happy with Tascam so far. Haven't had any problems with it really, I hear about some of the horror stories with people and their DA interface, so I've been lucky. I'm fairly techie, but I don't want to have to fool with it if I don't have to
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Post by Project-D »

Hey, just noticed that this is on sale again for $150 so I think I'll go get it.
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Post by Lunkhead »

Cool, go for it! I really think this gizmo would be great for a lot of people here, particularly those who only record by themselves (or at most with one other person) and are on a budget.
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Post by Project-D »

I got it! It says it's backordered, but I got it anyway. I got a "Stupid Deal" mic once before, and they ran out, so they gave me a better offer on a mic. If they run out of this maybe they'll do the same.
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Re: Tascam FireOne

Post by Lunkhead »

These are in stock again and still on sale for $149.
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Re: Tascam FireOne

Post by Rabid Garfunkel »

In stock, 149.99 @ Musician's Friend and with a $40 rebate coupon & BBE Sonic Maximizer plugin thrown in.

Thanks to Uncle Sam, I've got a new toy on the way! Heh.
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Re: Tascam FireOne

Post by ujnhunter »

Rabid Garfunkel wrote:In stock, 149.99 @ Musician's Friend and with a $40 rebate coupon & BBE Sonic Maximizer plugin thrown in.

Thanks to Uncle Sam, I've got a new toy on the way! Heh.
oh man... looks good... i... must... resist... pressing... the... button.... argh!

edit: it was just too irresistible especially with the plugin & $40 rebate... and the fact that my audio interface is a major flake of a unit...

edit 2: just a heads up... it's only a $15 rebate, found out after i ordered (i still would have ordered it... but i'm a little let down) the fine print is "up to a $40 rebate" but you need to buy the US-1641 to get the $40 rebate... kinda cheap advertising... ah well.
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Re: Tascam FireOne

Post by ujnhunter »

this came in the mail last night... w/ the BBE Sonic Maximizer, I plugged it in and was rocking in no time... well I had to adjust the latency settings first as I had crackling in all my recordings... but once I got that set, everything was groovy! I'm using it to record my Nur Ein Round 1 entry now... ;)
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Re: Tascam FireOne

Post by Rabid Garfunkel »

Goddamn this is a solid feeling toy! Mine came last night also. It'll take me a couple of days to incorporate into my chaotic recording rig, but I plan on doing a simultaneous test recording to both it and my old recording setup to get a sample of just how much better it is, sound-wise. Boo-yaa.
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Re: Tascam FireOne

Post by ujnhunter »

yea, it definitely is pretty solid, i was quite surprised... i was half expecting some lightweight cheap plastic thingamabob that would easily slide off my desk... but it's got a nice weight to it. i need to read the manual and figure out how to get the cool buttons and jog wheel working in Cubase now... (hope it works in Cubase LE...)
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Re: Tascam FireOne

Post by Lunkhead »

Here's a picture of this thing set up. I've used every plug except the footswitch jack. (Now that I think of it that might actually be useful, too, and I do have a footswitch pedal around somewhere...) For our last song, Erin used the second headphone jack when she was tracking vocals and I used the guitar/line-in on the front to record the lap steel.

FireOne closeup

Here's a view of my setup before the FireOne, with the mixer, headphone amp, MIDI box, and other audio interface:

http://www.songfight.net/forums/viewtop ... 353#p99353

And here's my setup now:

http://geneticmail.com/sam/pictures/lun ... tation.jpg

Hooray for reclaimed desk space!
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Re: Tascam FireOne

Post by Rabid Garfunkel »

Just wedged a gig of RAM into my Mac Mini, and am starting the installs of Cubase LE, then the FireOne software.

Apple's recommended tool for opening the Mini's case... a 1.5" putty knife. Really. :shock:

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Re: Tascam FireOne

Post by Rabid Garfunkel »

Double Post!

So pulling one set of outs from my mixer to feed into the FireOne's ins has bollixed my existing monitor setup. Though the FireOne's onboard monitoring (through its headphone jacks) works just fine, so I'm not going quite so bugshit nuts.

Of course, combining the rearranging of the hardware sound with the install of Cubase LE (I'm a Cubasis user, from back in '98, same install on the same computer for the past 10 years), trying to get the BBE plugin in the right spot on my OS X box, and coaxing my SampleTank Mellotron instrument to be up and running has me a little frustrated, heh.

In for a penny, in for a pounding.

Adding to that complexity, a double mike bracket arrived in the post today (I really wanted my crystal mike on a stand next to the 58 for further sonic silliness [Clause 5, Subparagraph D, LIVE, among other things]) and I'm realizing to have balanced sound between the two of them, I'se gwine hafta rearrange my mike preamp/compressor hardware chain to help out the crystal mike.

And for some reason, Cubase LE isn't (at this time) configured to send the audio outs to the proper chain.

Ahhhh, complexity. Being a Mac user for the past 20 years, I really hate RTFM. Poor me, and thank the maker for beer!

I finally found a hook (for me) for the "Empty Wednesday" title, and would love to pop the new hardware & software's cherry on it. That's tacky imagery, I know, but hey, I ain't Cap'n Charm. The only other fighter that I could conceive of taking this angle would be Sven, and he's Nür Eining it çest moment. Arrrgh! Frustration! Crap, this is bordering on the fdrink thread now. :lol:
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Re: Tascam FireOne

Post by ken »

I hope people notice this post.

Sweetwater is blowing this unit out for $99!!!!

BUY IT!!!
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Re: Tascam FireOne

Post by Lunkhead »

Wow! That is a seriously good deal. I'd like to propose again that this interface is really well suited to many SongFight! participants' needs (ie you record alone or with one other person and generally record in mono or stereo, ie vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, etc.).

The few times when I've set up my MacBook and FireOne in our bedroom to record in a quieter/deader room, I've really appreciated having the big, easy to access/use transport controls. Using them is a lot better than trying to control my DAW with the laptop keyboard and trackpad.
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Re: Tascam FireOne

Post by Rabid Garfunkel »

Lunkhead wrote:I'd like to propose again that this interface is really well suited to many SongFight! participants' needs (ie you record alone or with one other person and generally record in mono or stereo, ie vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, etc.).
Or if you already have a mixing board, running the output from that into the L-R inputs on the FireOne = more fun potential.
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Re: Tascam FireOne

Post by signboy »

Has anybody tried the Mackie Onyx series w/ firewire out? I ask because I was considering the firepod but went with the MOTU version instead, (same form factor) and the lack of faders, bus options, etc. is pissing me off way more than I thought it would. Now I'm considering selling the retarded rackmount thingy and getting a Mackie just to work in a familiar environment with gear that feels right under my bum. Experience? Opinions?
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