Just bought mine recently. Upgrading from a DR-05. Still playing with it but the main use is to record classical and acoustic guitar + voices. Also as audio intrface for th computer. Now... exploring how far can I go using the internal mic for recording the instrument, using either XY or AB setups and using the XLR inputs for voice... or perhaps reversed... just exploring. Any suggestion ?
Thanks for the video. I just recently bought a Tascam DR 40X. Had a little bit of trouble, trying to figure out why I wasn't getting any sound from my condenser microphone, using phantom power. With this new information, I'm going to try it again. Thanks
It’s always an added bonus when someone does a tutorial using the exact same gear as you, because then when your stuff sounds a bit wonky you can be certain the blame is entirely something you’re doing. Great video, and extremely useful.
2024 here... still using my DR40(non X) that I bought back in 2013 from Amazon. Picked it up and started recording my own sound effects for my small commercial ad showreels today. I honestly didn't know there was an X version until this video
Wow 11 years ago. And it still records well. Funny am saying this, because my 1996 Sony TDC7 still records well . Just difficult to get the sound onto. Computer
Great little recorder for multiple uses .. it needs a tripod and dead kitten for field recordings as so sensertive to movement etc. The quality is remarkable with the internal mics but even better with a cple of good rode externals ... I use it for so many things from getting samples for techno to on the fly recordings for bands rehersing I even sometimes mic up my studio monitors and record a mix direct from speakers to get that live feel especially when making dub the quality is fine and you can achieve some great nuances in the recordings. Yes production and sound quality has to be good but i think all so lots of character and originality gets lost in over produced material and the best takes are recorded on the fly and quickly and the tascam is perfect for those moments...like any kit it's how you apply it to what you are doing that counts ... there are no rules really beyond the basics of sound capture some of the best recordings ever came from happy accidents and experimentation and that's why I love the versertivity of this units ... if you know how to set it up right it will capture the situation and ambience as good as you hear it realtime and a portable recorder is a must for anyone who loves recording or a nerd like me ... ps .. zoom make fantastic ones too but I always loved tascam going right back to reels ...
Great video. Thank you. I bought the DR-40X and very rarely use it. The reason to buy it was to spread the built-in mics, put it on a table in the centre of my music room, and face it towards my hifi speakers. This way, I assume it will record audio the way my speakers actually sound in person. I could take a line level out of my hifi system and directly plug it into the DR-40X but that would just give me a hi-res audio file on the SD card, right?. In order to share files with friends and family with music the way I hear it in my room, what best way would you suggest? I have 4 different pairs of speakers, and I want to share how they all differently sound while playing the same music from the same source. Your thoughts on this will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Guitar recording is like its from a solo off an album. I just bought this Tascam. So my questions are now May 2024 not 3-4 years ago. Does this Tascam dr-40X take XLR in both ends meaning am i connecting from the mic with XLR then the other end goes in to the base of the Tascam? Apologies this is all knew to me. Thank for your video and any suggestions would be very much appreciated
much appreciate this video! This unit is not intuitively designed. Would love to know how to set the levels for recording with an external mic - you skipped over that part
Thank u for the detail. I watched another person's video and they did not explain- or possibly did not know about setting the sound to mono or explain choosing which ext port you are using. On the point of mono or stereo- is there a way to get stereo sound out of a mic plugged into this device or a way to attach the mic so it sends a stereo signal? As a vocalist a mono sound might be good for some things but stereo is preferred.
bro thank you. I am a novice in this field. i need to know how 1.lav microphones and 2. a shotgun mike and 3. an omni directional mike can be connected to this recorder. Should i use a small portable mixer and then connect it to the recorder for video shooting? Your answer would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Well done. Thanks very much. I have started experimenting again with the Tascam DR40X. Based on what you were saying, you recorded the audio on the condenser microphone. Where did you have it set up in relation to how you were positioned? Just off camera?
I got mine about a week ago and I am trying to hook it up to my wireless lavalier microphone. No luck so far. I don't believe that it requires phantom power. Have you tried it with a wireless mic?
How about radio frequency interference? I've seen some videos about dr-05x and dr-40 having this issue. How about this recorder? Is the problem still exist?
Hi, thanks for the video and the info. Is it possible to record each track separatley, so recording something on the xy mics and at a later time recording using the xlr inputs to the same project?
Hi, love your videos. I want to record my voice and a piano backing track at the same time. I would like to add effects to my vocals too. Could you tell me what the easiest way to do this is please. I have microphnes etc and I am good to go. Thank you!
Hi, sorry for the late reply! Your best bet is using the Tascam as a usb interface and recording into garage band or something similar. I’ve done a UA-cam of how to do this. Alternatively you can record into the Tascam, then export from the sd card into your desktop/iPad for editing with GarageBand or whatever audio software you choose.
Hi Ben I'm using a tascam 40x and Shure SM58 mic. It's great but I need to find a decent Microphone Preamp as the noise creeps in above volume 40. Any suggestions?
Yes, good combo. For preamp use a triton audio fethead, or a cloud lifter. (Have a look on google) I rate the fethead better myself but not a lot in it.
Hi ben! Your video was really useful! Maybe you can help me .. I am using a Shure 57 external dynamic microphone .. and the signal reaches me very very low .. I have already checked the Level input, and the rec mode is in mono, just like you .. This is the case with the dynamic microphones? Or is there something I may be doing wrong? Thank you! from Argentina! Hola Ben! Muy util realmente tu video! Quizas puedas Ayudarme.. Estoy utilizando un microfono dinámico externo Shure 57.. y la señal me llega muy muy baja.. ya revisé el Level input, y el rec mode lo tengo en mono, igual q vos.. Esto es asi con los microfonos dinamicos? O hay algo que puedo estar haciendo mal? gracias! slds desde argentina!
I am using this for music and recording my voice. I feel when I hit my peak notes it doesn't sound good...what option would be better to make it sound smooth and equal from lower notes to higher ones?
Hi Elizabeth, do you mean peak notes in volume, or high frequency? Are you using the built in microphones? Check that the gain isn’t too high, it could be clipping on the loudest parts.
Your welcome, let me know how you get on, if it’s still causing problems you could send me a clip and I might be better able to identify what’s causing it.. Ben 😀
I have the Deity Mic 2 plugged into the left side and phantom power on 48v but all I hear is static and my voice is extremely low (pretty much can hear me). Any help would be great!
I have a question. Have you ever used the Tascam DR40 X recorder with a lavalier microphone? Because I bought one and I can't make it go around with a lavalier or tie rack. I bought a 3.5 Jack to 6.5 Plug adapter to connect it to the line input of the recorder and I can't get it to record anything! 🤦♂️ Help !!! I already tried changing the different modes in the recording menu of Tascam and specifying what type of microphone it had connected, moved the selector that specifies if it is line, or mic, or phantom as well and nothing. I already wrote to Tascam and I still do not receive technical support. Could you help me please? Thanks!
Short answer is yes, it does work. The longer answer is it depends on your lav microphone. Dynamic lav’ dare fine but usually have a 3.5mm mono Jack. You have to find the right 3.5mm - 1/4” adapter. The problem being that most adapters are stereo (TRS) to stereo, so the connections of the mono (TS) lav mic don’t necessarily end up connecting to the correct pins in the Tascam. If I remember correctly, Rode do an adapter which solves this problem. Secondly, if your lav is a condenser mic, it’ll require phantom power, but most of these require a lower voltage than the Tascam can supply, and you’ve still got the adapter connections to look out for. Getting a dynamic lav with an appropriate adapter is the way forward here. Hope this helps!
@@tripleeightproductions So if I get a 3.5mm TS to 1/4 adapter, I should just plug it in and set my recording mode selector to "Line" and it will work? In the "Rec Mode" menu, how should I configure it to work correctly? Thanks.
I feel so stupid rn but would appreciate an answer; why would you plug an external mic (dynamic or condenser) into this, which also has a recorder and mic function?
With an external microphone you can get as many options as there are microphones for different specialist recording sources. Check out some of my other videos for more on external microphones.
Hi Guy. thank you for your comment. Yes, it can be used as an audio interface. connect up with a usb cable, press menu, down to ‘USB’, select ‘AUDIO I/F’, choose your computer or iOS then down to ‘EXEC’ to connect. let me know how you get on. Ben
I'm curious how is the preamp compared to something like a Focusrite Scarlett solo? in terms of noise? I was thinking in getting a Tascam DR-40x to use it as an audio interface, with the bonus that is an audio recorder
Focusrite and Tascam are 2 different systems. If you are looking to record in one place home studio for example. Get focusrite. but if you want something portable Tascam is what you need.
Very beautiful guitar tune ^_^ I have a question regarding xlr mic using in this reecorder: I am currently testing an external microphone and satellite dish to record nature sounds in the field with a tascam dr07mk2. I don't have access to a dr40, so I ask you: do you think I could get better results using a condenser microphone through the xlr with the parabolic in the field? Thanks for the video, and for your help and opinion. :)
Hi, thank you for your comment. For recording nature sounds I’d recommend using your built in microphones in a-b position. I’ve done a video about it here ua-cam.com/video/EG-XuKtMY2U/v-deo.html Good luck
I need to know how to connect the audio to the camera. How can you talk about improving the video without knowing how to connect the audio to the camera.
You can connect the Tascam output to your camera line in if it has one, using a 3.5mm patch cable. However, this isn’t particularly good quality and defies the point of a separate recorder. Simply add your separate audio file to your video file using your post processing software
Who else is using a DR-40x? What do you think of it? What are you using it for?
Just bought mine recently. Upgrading from a DR-05. Still playing with it but the main use is to record classical and acoustic guitar + voices.
Also as audio intrface for th computer.
Now... exploring how far can I go using the internal mic for recording the instrument, using either XY or AB setups and using the XLR inputs for voice... or perhaps reversed... just exploring.
Any suggestion ?
Great video thanks. I'm collecting oral histories with mine.
Thanks for the video. I just recently bought a Tascam DR 40X. Had a little bit of trouble, trying to figure out why I wasn't getting any sound from my condenser microphone, using phantom power. With this new information, I'm going to try it again. Thanks
I had to return it, i found it unusable, the floor noise was insane.
It’s always an added bonus when someone does a tutorial using the exact same gear as you, because then when your stuff sounds a bit wonky you can be certain the blame is entirely something you’re doing. Great video, and extremely useful.
This is exactly the info I've been looking for with the dr40x
Great! I’m glad it was helpful
2024 here... still using my DR40(non X) that I bought back in 2013 from Amazon. Picked it up and started recording my own sound effects for my small commercial ad showreels today. I honestly didn't know there was an X version until this video
Wow 11 years ago. And it still records well. Funny am saying this, because my 1996 Sony TDC7 still records well . Just difficult to get the sound onto. Computer
I'm new to recording myself with digital devices and decided to get the dr-40x -- this was very helpful, Ben!
Hi Michael, thank you, I’m glad it was helpful!
Man, I wishbI had found your tutorial 2 weeks ago😪. Great tutorial and very much needed.
Thanks for the help. Amateur producer here working with all the equipment myself.
Much appreciated!
Are you sure you were recording with the sm58? I'm pretty sure it doesn't sound like that...
I love my DR-40, and these comparison videos are really helpful. Thank you, you've earned another subscriber!
Great little recorder for multiple uses .. it needs a tripod and dead kitten for field recordings as so sensertive to movement etc. The quality is remarkable with the internal mics but even better with a cple of good rode externals ... I use it for so many things from getting samples for techno to on the fly recordings for bands rehersing I even sometimes mic up my studio monitors and record a mix direct from speakers to get that live feel especially when making dub the quality is fine and you can achieve some great nuances in the recordings. Yes production and sound quality has to be good but i think all so lots of character and originality gets lost in over produced material and the best takes are recorded on the fly and quickly and the tascam is perfect for those moments...like any kit it's how you apply it to what you are doing that counts ... there are no rules really beyond the basics of sound capture some of the best recordings ever came from happy accidents and experimentation and that's why I love the versertivity of this units ... if you know how to set it up right it will capture the situation and ambience as good as you hear it realtime and a portable recorder is a must for anyone who loves recording or a nerd like me ... ps .. zoom make fantastic ones too but I always loved tascam going right back to reels ...
Great review, pace, info, everything. 👌
Great video. Thank you. I bought the DR-40X and very rarely use it. The reason to buy it was to spread the built-in mics, put it on a table in the centre of my music room, and face it towards my hifi speakers. This way, I assume it will record audio the way my speakers actually sound in person. I could take a line level out of my hifi system and directly plug it into the DR-40X but that would just give me a hi-res audio file on the SD card, right?. In order to share files with friends and family with music the way I hear it in my room, what best way would you suggest? I have 4 different pairs of speakers, and I want to share how they all differently sound while playing the same music from the same source. Your thoughts on this will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
you look like Nikola Sarcovic from Millencolin and the guitar at the end sounds like his solo stuff... helpful video by the way..
Thank you for this tutorial Ben. It was really helpful and informative .
Thank you for your comment. I’m pleased you found it helpful.
Guitar recording is like its from a solo off an album. I just bought this Tascam. So my questions are now May 2024 not 3-4 years ago. Does this Tascam dr-40X take XLR in both ends meaning am i connecting from the mic with XLR then the other end goes in to the base of the Tascam? Apologies this is all knew to me. Thank for your video and any suggestions would be very much appreciated
Very helpful. Thank you for this!
much appreciate this video! This unit is not intuitively designed. Would love to know how to set the levels for recording with an external mic - you skipped over that part
Thank You !! Very helpful !!
Brilliant advice and tips
Thank you Dale, that’s much appreciated. Are there any other features of the DR-40x you’d like to see a video on?
Definitely Helpful!
Thanks Man good stuff.
Thank u for the detail. I watched another person's video and they did not explain- or possibly did not know about setting the sound to mono or explain choosing which ext port you are using. On the point of mono or stereo- is there a way to get stereo sound out of a mic plugged into this device or a way to attach the mic so it sends a stereo signal? As a vocalist a mono sound might be good for some things but stereo is preferred.
I’m looking to see if it can record 4 channel at 96k. The H4n is limited to 48k sample rate when using its 4 channel mode.
bro thank you. I am a novice in this field.
i need to know how 1.lav microphones and 2. a shotgun mike and 3. an omni directional mike can be connected to this recorder. Should i use a small portable mixer and then connect it to the recorder for video shooting?
Your answer would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Thanks....guys
Well done. Thanks very much. I have started experimenting again with the Tascam DR40X. Based on what you were saying, you recorded the audio on the condenser microphone. Where did you have it set up in relation to how you were positioned? Just off camera?
What this sounds so good! I have the same recorder with NTG4+ but can’t get it so sound as nice with no noise. What are you doing in post?
Is it normal to here a static sound when recording
I got mine about a week ago and I am trying to hook it up to my wireless lavalier microphone. No luck so far. I don't believe that it requires phantom power. Have you tried it with a wireless mic?
Can this voice recorder do audio reverse? I hope that you can answer this..It would be great if it can do this. I use audacity to reverse the audio.
thank you!!!!
How do you sync the audio and video file? Or do you record them simultaneously?
How about radio frequency interference? I've seen some videos about dr-05x and dr-40 having this issue. How about this recorder? Is the problem still exist?
Hi! I have long dreamed of having such a recorder that I can control with WIRELESS HEADPHONES. Do you know if this model has Bluetooth?
Hi, thanks for the video and the info. Is it possible to record each track separatley, so recording something on the xy mics and at a later time recording using the xlr inputs to the same project?
Yes this is possible. I tend to do this with separate editing software but you can do it all within the Tascam. I’ll make a video of this soon.
Alright.. you've got your self a new sub
Hey, thanks, much appreciated. Let me know if there’s anything specific you’d like to see covered.
Hi, love your videos. I want to record my voice and a piano backing track at the same time. I would like to add effects to my vocals too. Could you tell me what the easiest way to do this is please. I have microphnes etc and I am good to go. Thank you!
Hi, sorry for the late reply! Your best bet is using the Tascam as a usb interface and recording into garage band or something similar. I’ve done a UA-cam of how to do this. Alternatively you can record into the Tascam, then export from the sd card into your desktop/iPad for editing with GarageBand or whatever audio software you choose.
Thanks for this guide.
What are your views on the Tascam DR-100MKIII?
Hi, I’m sorry but I don’t have experience with the dr100 mk3
Hi Ben I'm using a tascam 40x and Shure SM58 mic. It's great but I need to find a decent Microphone Preamp as the noise creeps in above volume 40. Any suggestions?
Yes, good combo. For preamp use a triton audio fethead, or a cloud lifter. (Have a look on google) I rate the fethead better myself but not a lot in it.
Thank you!!
Can I use 3.5mm (female) adapter to 6.5mm for my 3.5mm Lav mic plug to tascam?
Hi, yes that will work, as long as your lav mic doesn’t require power through the connector.
Hi ben! Your video was really useful! Maybe you can help me .. I am using a Shure 57 external dynamic microphone .. and the signal reaches me very very low .. I have already checked the Level input, and the rec mode is in mono, just like you .. This is the case with the dynamic microphones? Or is there something I may be doing wrong? Thank you! from Argentina!
Hola Ben! Muy util realmente tu video! Quizas puedas Ayudarme.. Estoy utilizando un microfono dinámico externo Shure 57.. y la señal me llega muy muy baja.. ya revisé el Level input, y el rec mode lo tengo en mono, igual q vos.. Esto es asi con los microfonos dinamicos? O hay algo que puedo estar haciendo mal? gracias! slds desde argentina!
Tascam dr40x needs self powered mic.
Tascam sucks😁
How about with 2 mics at the same time?
No problem!
I am using this for music and recording my voice. I feel when I hit my peak notes it doesn't sound good...what option would be better to make it sound smooth and equal from lower notes to higher ones?
Hi Elizabeth, do you mean peak notes in volume, or high frequency? Are you using the built in microphones?
Check that the gain isn’t too high, it could be clipping on the loudest parts.
@@tripleeightproductions I am using the phantom with a studio microphone. I'll check the gain and see that might be the problem thanks
Your welcome, let me know how you get on, if it’s still causing problems you could send me a clip and I might be better able to identify what’s causing it.. Ben 😀
I have the Deity Mic 2 plugged into the left side and phantom power on 48v but all I hear is static and my voice is extremely low (pretty much can hear me). Any help would be great!
Hmm.. try another XLR cable. It sounds like a wiring issue. Can you check the mic on something else?
I have a question. Have you ever used the Tascam DR40 X recorder with a lavalier microphone? Because I bought one and I can't make it go around with a lavalier or tie rack. I bought a 3.5 Jack to 6.5 Plug adapter to connect it to the line input of the recorder and I can't get it to record anything! 🤦♂️ Help !!! I already tried changing the different modes in the recording menu of Tascam and specifying what type of microphone it had connected, moved the selector that specifies if it is line, or mic, or phantom as well and nothing. I already wrote to Tascam and I still do not receive technical support. Could you help me please? Thanks!
Short answer is yes, it does work. The longer answer is it depends on your lav microphone. Dynamic lav’ dare fine but usually have a 3.5mm mono Jack. You have to find the right 3.5mm - 1/4” adapter. The problem being that most adapters are stereo (TRS) to stereo, so the connections of the mono (TS) lav mic don’t necessarily end up connecting to the correct pins in the Tascam. If I remember correctly, Rode do an adapter which solves this problem.
Secondly, if your lav is a condenser mic, it’ll require phantom power, but most of these require a lower voltage than the Tascam can supply, and you’ve still got the adapter connections to look out for.
Getting a dynamic lav with an appropriate adapter is the way forward here.
Hope this helps!
@@tripleeightproductions So if I get a 3.5mm TS to 1/4 adapter, I should just plug it in and set my recording mode selector to "Line" and it will work?
In the "Rec Mode" menu, how should I configure it to work correctly?
Thanks.
What lav mic do you have?
@@tripleeightproductions i'm using this: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085TK4N92/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I feel so stupid rn but would appreciate an answer; why would you plug an external mic (dynamic or condenser) into this, which also has a recorder and mic function?
With an external microphone you can get as many options as there are microphones for different specialist recording sources. Check out some of my other videos for more on external microphones.
Hello 888,
Thanks for the very helpful video. Any idea how to connect the Tascam to a USB interface like a Focusrite 2i2?
Hi Guy. thank you for your comment. Yes, it can be used as an audio interface. connect up with a usb cable, press menu, down to ‘USB’, select ‘AUDIO I/F’, choose your computer or iOS then down to ‘EXEC’ to connect. let me know how you get on. Ben
@@tripleeightproductions so this tascam can connect to either focusrite or to laptop rit.. Then it's used as external mic for laptop rit
I'm curious how is the preamp compared to something like a Focusrite Scarlett solo? in terms of noise? I was thinking in getting a Tascam DR-40x to use it as an audio interface, with the bonus that is an audio recorder
Focusrite and Tascam are 2 different systems. If you are looking to record in one place home studio for example. Get focusrite. but if you want something portable Tascam is what you need.
Very beautiful guitar tune ^_^ I have a question regarding xlr mic using in this reecorder: I am currently testing an external microphone and satellite dish to record nature sounds in the field with a tascam dr07mk2. I don't have access to a dr40, so I ask you: do you think I could get better results using a condenser microphone through the xlr with the parabolic in the field? Thanks for the video, and for your help and opinion. :)
Hi, thank you for your comment. For recording nature sounds I’d recommend using your built in microphones in a-b position.
I’ve done a video about it here
ua-cam.com/video/EG-XuKtMY2U/v-deo.html
Good luck
I need to know how to connect the audio to the camera. How can you talk about improving the video without knowing how to connect the audio to the camera.
You can connect the Tascam output to your camera line in if it has one, using a 3.5mm patch cable. However, this isn’t particularly good quality and defies the point of a separate recorder. Simply add your separate audio file to your video file using your post processing software
Hi, I find the tascam dr 40x to be too noisy (hiss) when used with a large condenser mic..any advice? thanks a lot!
What mic model is it?
@@tripleeightproductions It's an AKG P120
Can i rap over a beat on it ?
hisssssssssssss
u mean ribbon not dynamic