Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've been doing some home recording with software based programs (Audacity and Reaper) for the past couple of years with reasonable results. However, I've been frustrated by latency issues, and the degree to which you need to become a computer hardware expert just to record a multi-track song. I found myself longing for the simplicity of the old 4 track reel to reel Tascam days. (Not to say there aren't HUGE advantages working in digital media.) I thought this recorder might recapture some of that simplicity while still allowing me to manipulate the final tracks or master recording in a pc program if I wished. I have found that to be the case. I've had this unit for 3 weeks now and I'm quite impressed by the quality. This unit feels substantial in your hands. All the controls are solid. I've recorded 6 songs already on it with nice results. The manual is somewhat long, but that is because it is VERY detailed and has pictures of every screen you will see as you follow the instructions, which is incredibly helpful. It also has a great Quick Start section at the beginning. I followed the quick start section to record my first arrangement of a percussive electric guitar song as a test. 2 stereo tracks doing the primary guitar part, 2 stereo tracks doing a bass part, and two tracks of background chords and harmonics. Took me about 20 minutes. You tell the unit which inputs you are going to use (mic, line, guitar), press the 1+2 track record buttons, set your levels, press PLAY and RECORD together and you’re off. Go back to the beginning and press 3+4 to record the next stereo track, etc. If you flub a take, you just stop and go back to the beginning of that track and rerecord. It has individual reverb, pan and level for each track. The previous tracks automatically play back while your are recording new tracks AND THERE ARE NO LATENCY ISSUES! (I can't stress this enough even with caps!) If tracks 5+6 don't enter into the song until 2 minutes in, you simply arm the tracks and start at 1:50. No need to start from the beginning to record new tracks. The condenser mics on the front did a nice job recording an acoustic guitar song, in stereo and with reverb (numerous different reverb types available). The unit has a built in metronome and tuner, you can bounce tracks with no degradation (freeing up tracks for more recording), mix 8 tracks down to a stereo mix, and then mastering effects (auto or manual) can be applied to the final master. All this is recorded on an SD card. You can transfer files via USB to a computer for further work or to save as WAV files. Also has built in condenser mics on the front of it for capturing live performances. Plus auto punch in and out. All this on something the size of a VHS cassette. Pretty fun. NOTE: 1. this is not a mixing board. Admittedly, this looks like a small mixer for 8 simultaneous inputs. It doesn't do that. You can only record 2 tracks at a time. The "mixer" is used to set levels for recording the 2 active tracks and/or playback levels of previously recorded tracks. 2. this cannot be used as a USB recording interface. You can transfer files to a computer AFTER recording them, but not WHILE you are recording them.