TASCAM FW-1884
Sep 1, 2004 12:00 PM, BY ROBERT HANSON
You might not ever think about it, but the concept of the project studio is a fairly new idea. And in the beginning, it was companies like Tascam that saw the future of recording moving from the high-dollar professional studio to the bedroom and the living room. Throughout the years, various Tascam products have been the centerpiece of my home studio. Like many, I started with the company's basic 4-track cassette recorder and moved through such products as the MIDIStudio 644, the TM-D1000 digital mixer and so on.
One of the company's newer offerings is the FW-1884, a combination audio/MIDI interface and DAW control surface. And like Tascam's old-school cassette-based recorders, the FW-1884 is the perfect product for its time by allowing users to address all of their audio, MIDI and control-surface needs with a compact, FireWire-based unit.
A LOOK AROUND
Starting with the main points on the control-surface side of things, the FW-1884 includes nine touch-sensitive 100mm motorized channel faders (eight channel faders and one master); eight rotary encoders positioned as pan pots; Track Select, Solo and Mute buttons for each of the channels; a collection of function keys, which include cut, copy, paste and other shortcut commands; full transport control; a shuttle/jog wheel; navigation keys; an EQ control; fader-bank select keys; and Automation Read, Write, Touch and Latch keys. On the audio front, the FW-1884 boasts eight mic pres with switchable 48V phantom power, eight ¼-inch balanced inputs with inserts (channel 8 can also be used as an instrument input), ADAT I/O, stereo coaxial I/O, word-clock I/O, eight ¼-inch balanced outputs (which can be used in surround applications), two FireWire ports, a 4×4 MIDI I/O and a ¼-inch headphone jack. Dedicated volume knobs for solo, monitor and headphones are also present.
The FW-1884 works in several different configurations that can be accessed from the top panel. In Computer mode, the unit functions as a dedicated DAW control surface, moving premapped data to and from the host computer. With the MIDI Control mode, the controls of the FW-1884 can be custom-mapped to MIDI control messages. And in Monitor Mix mode, the unit can be used as a stand-alone digital mixer, allowing users to mix among the eight analog, eight ADAT and two coaxial input sources. Finally, the unit supports as high as 24-bit, 96kHz recording and playback.
GETTING CONNECTED
Tascam designed this unit to work with as many different platforms as possible. As it stands, the FW-1884 is compatible with all of the big-name DAWs on Windows 2000 and XP, as well as Mac OS 9.2, Mac OS 10.2.4 and later. I tested the unit with Emagic Logic 6.3 on a 1GHz Mac PowerBook, running OS 10.2.8, with 256 MB of RAM. To get started, I downloaded the latest installer and the Logic/FW-1884 control surface plug-in from the Tascam Website. The audio and MIDI drivers, as well as a small management and control-panel application, installed as a single package, and upon completion, I was prompted to restart the machine. With my particular setup, I had to also create a MIDI plug-in folder to install the FW-1884 plug-in and have Logic recognize it. (If you happen to be using a DAW that doesn't directly support the FW-1884, the unit will function through both a Mackie Control and a HUI emulation that is accessible through the management software. Your DAW will then need to be configured using one of those two protocols.)
From there, I launched Logic and worked to configure the unit from the Preferences pull-down menu. From the Control Surface Set Up tab, I was able to select the FW-1884 template from a list of Logic-supported controllers. From there, it is necessary to select the MIDI control port assignments for the unit. This was the only place that I encountered any real confusion. Although the unit has four physical MIDI ports (which are available for selection), the fifth internal FW-1884 control port enables the unit to work as a control surface within Logic. Once I realized this and made the appropriate adjustments, the unit came online and the motorized faders snapped to attention.
From the audio front, the unit can be configured in several ways, depending on your needs and the amount of computing horsepower you have to spare. The unit can be used as an 18-, 8- or 2-channel audio I/O interface. And when using the FW-1884 in either the 8- or 2-channel modes, the input sources and output destinations can be any logical combination of the available analog and digital connections. Furthermore, the output sources of both the ADAT and coaxial connections can be set to mirror the analog connections if desired. I was able to easily customize the audio setting from the Core Audio tab within the FW-1884 software manager, and once everything was set, Logic booted up the drivers without incident.
THE TACTILE CHALLENGE
My first real test of the control-surface capabilities was to run some of my own Logic sessions through it and check the responsiveness of the faders. A few of the sessions included some pretty extreme pieces of automation that I had drawn in with a mouse. Overall, the faders jumped around perfectly in time with the existing volume cues. Using the faders to create automation curves or move through the session is also an exercise in simplicity. Just touching the fader will highlight that particular track on the screen, and with a simple push of the Automation Write button, you begin creating a mix just like you were working with a real console. Furthermore, the basic fader and pan controls worked perfectly, and I had a hard time creating a mix situation in which the unit couldn't keep up.
In addition to the basic faders and pan pots, the unit also includes controls for EQ plug-ins with knobs for gain, Q and frequency, as well as buttons for high, high-mid, low-mid and low EQ points. With the included Channel EQ in Logic, etching out an EQ curve with the hardware was a breeze, as the controls were premapped to the software. What's more, the included shortcut keys for cut, copy, paste and delete helped to speed up my work flow more than I could imagine. With my right hand on the navigation controls and the shuttle wheel and my left hand on the shortcut keys, moving chunks of audio around the arrangement window has never been faster.
AUDIO ALLEY
From an audio-I/O standpoint, I couldn't find anything about the FW-1884 that was lacking. The preamps include 56 dB of gain, and, overall, they are uncolored and transparent-sounding — exactly what you would expect on a unit like this. If you're tracking vocals or acoustic guitar through a high-end condenser, you'll most likely want to supplement things with an appropriate channel-strip preamp. But for mobile-recording tasks and basic dynamic-mic applications, the onboard preamps were more than sufficient.
The ability to use the unit as a stand-alone mixer is also a blessing for location recording. For a drum recording session, I was able to set up in the same room as the drummer and, with a pair of in-ear monitors, work up a miking scheme and make basic level and gain adjustments without having to leave my laptop running and monitor the incoming audio through the software.
WRAP IT UP, B!
On first look, the FW-1884 may seem a little intimidating to some users. But on closer inspection or after just a short period of time with the unit, most users who have a basic understanding of DAWs and mixers should find the FW-1884 a pleasure to use. The unit includes a standard manual and a setup guide. Both are surprisingly short and to the point, and most users should have no problem skimming through them and getting up to speed quickly.
All in all, the FW-1884 is designed to be a transparent and largely effortless transition for most people. It doesn't have a dizzying array of dedicated buttons, assignable keys or endless layers of hidden functions. The principle functions that most use on a minute-to-minute basis are brought front and center and presented in a logical and user-friendly way. On the flip side, you can custom-configure the unit to your heart's desire. And that flexibility, in addition to a robust audio/MIDI interface, makes the FW-1884 an excellent value for users who are ready to step up their main production rig or add a powerful mobile-recording interface to their arsenal. And for a street a price in the neighborhood of $1,200, you'd be hard-pressed to cover your audio, MIDI and controller needs for less.
Product Summary
TASCAM
FW-1884 > $1,599
Pros: Audio, MIDI and control surface combination. Solid audio I/O section. Responsive faders. Logical, easy-to-use layout.
Cons: Level metering a bit anemic.
Contact: e-mail tascam@tascam.com; Web www.tascam.com
System Requirements
MAC: Any G3 or G4; Mac OS 9.2/Mac OS 10.2.4 or later; available FireWire port; any Mackie Control- or HUI-supported application
PC: Any Windows-compatible processor; Windows 2000/XP; available 6-pin IEEE (FireWire) port; any Mackie Control- or HUI-supported application
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