Features:

  • Captures 16 mic and line inputs to your computer with clear sound quality and advanced features to manage big sessions
  • Eight Ultra-HDDA microphone preamps deliver the cleanest and quietest operation in their class while delivering up to 56dB of gain
  • An additional eight line inputs are provided, two of them switchable to instrument level for direct guitar or bass recording
  • Eight balanced line outputs are also available, two with a level control on the front panel for monitoring
  • Built in is a DSP Mixer for low-latency digital mixing, and each channel has four-band EQ and compression for polished-sounding monitor mixes
  • In addition to interface mode, the US-16x08 can be used as a standalone mic preamp
  • The first two channels switch to direct guitar inputs ideal for direct recording electric and acoustic guitar and bass without a preamp
A Great 4-Channel Recording Interface For The Price!

I have an Apogee Duet which is a 2-channel recording interface and was looking for something in a 4-channel model. Apogee's Quartet is $1300 and I didn't want to spend that much. Having used a lot of Tascam gear, I got this on one of Amazon's crazy deals for cheap. It's a nice unit. I just plugged it into my MacBook, even without the additional software, and it worked right away. The mic pres are really nice, quiet, and record well. It's also small, compact, and built well. If you are looking for a great 4-channel recording interface without spending a fortune, this is the one to get!

Amazing for the Price

"Doesn't include software" is this most rated review on this, which personally I find stupid as hell. If someone wants to buy an interface like this, the company is assuming you already have a DAW or means of recording, beacuse honestly, if you are getting an interface with 16 inputs you probably should anyways. A Lite version of a DAW isn't going to be helping you if it can only max 16 audio inputs anyways. I mean, I get you were disappointing because it didn't include software that it said it did, but despite that rethink your review a bit. In terms of the sound, this thing is really loud. REALLY loud. In comparison to my Komplete Audio 6, its probably 2-3x louder, which was a shock at first, but probably because its actually powered externally. Despite this I'm test listening right now and so far there's no pops, cracks, or hisses, which i was losing sleep over last night. So far it seems like it'll be a delight to use, so far its worked with Ableton 9 Suite, Cubase 7.5, and FL Studio 10 Producer Edition. I don't have super high end mics to explain the minute details about the pre amps, but they do sound pretty average to my ears, no real addition or loss, just kinda boosts the gain like a transparent preamp should. If you want something that does color the sound for pretty cheap I'd recommend the Behringer mic2200 or the ART Pro MPA II. Both are fantastic sounding, especially for their price range.

Works well with Garage Band and Ableton Live

This was almost plug n play with Garage Band on a MacBook Pro. The device was recognized instantly but I had an issue with the software and assigning the correct output. After clicking and changing random settings, I got it to work just fine. Using it with Ableton, I had no issue - selected the device and I was good to go (minus the few minutes to tinker with its settings). I run my studio monitors through it and it sounds great!

Works Great!

The Tascam US-4x4 interface and the Ableton Live 9 Lite software work great. Live 9 can be used to input all four inputs of the interface anyway you want and output to all four outputs anyway you want. You can also configure the interface to monitor it's inputs to avoid any latency problems. The software is pretty complicated if you are not familiar with this kind of software, I wasn't. Once I figured the software out, which was very painful because I kept fighting it, it turned out to be very useful and easy to use for recording and mixing. The software does come with a 600+ page manual which is actually pretty good, and when you park the mouse on just about anything it gives a simple explanation of what it does. The interface comes with drivers to connect Live 9 through the USB to the interface, also other driver can be seen and used by Live 9 such as the built in inputs and outputs of the computer. It also comes with drivers that emulate patch cords so you can connect various program inputs and outputs to the Live 9 software. The problem with using the drivers is the latency is pretty high, about 250 ms. The best I can figure Live 9 has built into it the ability to use ASIO to talk to the interface, this is nice because latency is only 25 ms, but you can't use any of the drivers that come with the interface. In the preference settings for Live 9 it's one or the other. I chose to use the ASIO for the low latency, I can actually loop everything through Live 9 to the monitor speakers with no detectable delay. I prefer this because if I can here it then I know the various tracks in Live 9 are setup correctly. To use the drivers you must configure the interface to do the monitoring and not loop through Live 9, the latency through Live 9 will drive the singers crazy. The latency is not caused by Live 9, it's the drivers because they use the Windows OS, ASIO bypasses the OS and goes straight to the interface. The bottom lines is, I like the interface and the Live 9 software. I'm actually able to have real recording sessions and then mix them down into stereo tracks and then output to wave files.

Don't throw away your M-Audio Audiophile 2496 and Mackie VLZ3 mixer just yet!

First off, it works great on linux. Tested with Arch linux-rt-4.6.7 and normal linux-4.7.4 kernels. The lowest latency I could get on Jack was 10.7ms using 256 frames/period and 4 periods/buffer. Any lower would just freeze up Jack with xruns as soon as i started up qsynth or ardour (although audacity worked just fine for some reason). With my previous M-Audio Audiophile 2496 card I could get a lower latency with no problem.

Great multitrack soundboard

My first multichannel soundboard. I previously used a Peavey 14 channel mixer for 3 years, but it only recorded to one stereo channel. So I then bought several cheap USB to XLR sound cables and multitracked that way, but it was such a hassle to do because there was a low sample rate, no preamp, and it recorded in 16 bit. With this, there's a much higher sample rate, record in 24-bit and has a preamp. I can do so much more with this, and when I record I can actually hear myself when I'm drumming, and that's after all the effects are applied to the channels. There's little to no delay. Absolutely would recommend.

Great little unit!

This is a great little unit for the price. The size is perfect for sitting on my desk/workstation. The sound quality from the A/D-D/A converter is amazing. Actually better sounding than the straight audio out from my 2016 MBP. I drive a set of Mackie Monitors and a 12" sub and the sound is amazing. Haven't used a mic with it mud instrument input is great. Latency (when configured correctly) is VERY low. Not zero, but low enough it doesn't hinder playing over the monitor. Garage Band integration on a mac is easy. Just plug it in, load garage band, and choose it for the input/output and your set. Took longer to open the packaging than to get it set up. I'll update this review if anything changes but for now, I couldn't be happier.

Definitely recommended!

This thing is fantastic! I'm currently using it on a custom-built Windows 8.1 workstation with Reaper and Audacity. The drivers are stable, the software routing/mixer is great and it's LOUD! My former workstation was an older XP-based machine using a PCI-based audio interface, so I had my doubts about USB interfaces at first. I did have some slight latency issues initially, but I figured it was competing for bandwidth on the integrated USB 2.0 bus (I have a lot hooked up to this workstation). I picked up a 5-port USB 3.0 card, connected the TASCAM unit to one of the USB 3.0 ports and those issues immediately went away. I know it's a USB 2.0 device but there wasn't any practical reason to get a USB 2.0 card when 3.0 is fully backwards compatible.

Great recording interface

Not the easiest product to get to work on Windows 10 64 bit but definitely works well with my Mixcraft Pro Studio 8+, you just have to use headphones or connect your sound system to this unit because it overrides your sound card in your PC. The features are pretty standard but the inclusion of the 48v for my Shure SM 87 really helps and the angled body does make it easier to work with on your desktop.

Upholds the great Tascam tradition of quality, high performance & great value

My first Tascam piece of gear was a Tascam 424 PortaStudio I got new in 1993. That cassette multitrack was so well made. I learned the basics of recording on it and I still have it...I could power it up right now, after it's been retired in my music room for a decade or more, and it would work flawlessly. Tascam still makes gear that is to that standard and to me this interface proves it beautifully. The all metal body is bulletproof, it is rock solid. The knobs and input jacks are all really stout too. The preamps are unreal for this price range, but that's a Tascam trademark...they always go the extra mile. This interface is perfect for home recording demos or complete projects. It is super clean sounding with huge headroom, very low if any noise and the monitor balance control to select the PC/DAW or input is a pro level feature. Latency will not be an issue. I'm reviewing this a good while after receiving the unit. I wanted to use it heavy for months at a stretch and then really see if it's like the classic Tascam gear. Well, it is, in spades. Everything is solid, sounds gorgeous, works with Windows, Mac AND iOS...it's a perfect 2-in 2-out interface and now that the price is even closer to an even $100, it's silly not to really consider this when shopping for an interface, for recording in any situation you can throw at it.

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