Buy Tascam US1641 USB 2.0 Audio and MIDI Interface with digital Connection - Macintosh and WindowsTascam US1641 USB 2.0 Audio and MIDI Interface with digital Connection - Macintosh and Windows Product Description:
- 2 XLR mic inputs with phantom power ^S/PDIF Digital Input & Output^2 analog line inputs (1 switchable to high impedance for use with guitars, basses, etc.) ^1 MIDI input, 1 MIDI output^USB 2.0 equipped (also supports USB 1.1)
- 2 XLR mic inputs with phantom power
- S/PDIF Digital Input & Output; 2 analog line inputs; 1 MIDI input, 1 MIDI output; USB 2.0 equipped
- 2 XLR mic inputs with phantom power; S/PDIF Digital Input & Output
- 2 analog line inputs; 1 MIDI input, 1 MIDI output; USB 2.0 equipped
Product Description
With sixteen inputs, the TASCAM US-1641 is the ideal choice for musicians to record the whole band to a computer. Eight mic/line inputs plus six line inputs gives you plenty of channels for a large ensemble, drumset, live recording or worship service. It includes Cubase LE4, Steinberg's latest version, for 48 tracks of 96k/24-bit recording power. Using the latest high-speed USB 2.0 technology, the US-1641 packs the interfacing power of a big console into only one rackspace. The eight mic inputs employ TASCAM Pro mic pres for 60 dB of gain and phantom power for studio-quality recordings. Two balanced TRS line inputs on the front panel are switchable to guitar level for direct-in recording of bass or guitar tracks. Four more balanced line inputs and outputs fill out the rear panel, along with MIDI and S/PDIF digital inputs and outputs for a total of 16 ins. A built-in power supply means there's no special wall-wart to lose, and connection to the computer is handled by USB 2.0 technology - 40 times faster than USB 1.1 and 20% more bandwidth than FireWire 400. The US-1641 comes with Cubase LE4, Steinberg's latest version of the 48-track, 96kHz recording workstation, so you'll be ready to cut tracks right away. Also included is TASCAM's Continuous Velocity Piano, a VSTi plug-in for Windows that uses Giga technology for totally authentic grand piano sounds. The US-1641 installs ASIO and Core Audio drivers for Windows XP, Windows Vista 32 and Mac OS X, with simple instructions for hooking up to Logic Pro, Cubase, Nuendo, Digital Performer, SONAR, Reason, Live and nearly all other recording software. For musicians and bands always looking for more inputs, the US-1641 is the ultimate choice. Gather up your mics and head to your TASCAM dealer for more.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful.
Phenominal Interface for drum kit and bass...
By Jim Francis
I looked at virtually every multiple mic interface on the market and couldn't find anything to touch this in features and/or price... so I bought it.Wow!This thing rocks! I connected up 8 microphones for Kick, Snare, Hi-hat, Tom 1, Tom 2, Tom 3, Left Overhead and Right Overhead... all those mics plug into the 8 XLR mic sockets at the front of the unit. Got some really great 20ft XLR mic cables from Amazon for only $6.95 each (Whirlwind LowZ Microphone Cable (20 Foot) I then plugged in my bass guitar into one of 2 switchable line/guitar 1/4" mono inputs on the front.Each of the 10 front panel inputs has a volume control knob and red/green led. The drummer hits each drum individually one by one so I can adjust each vol control so that it just occasionally clips red but mostly stays green.After adjusting the six individual drum mics I now get the drummer to play the whole set and I adjust the left and right overheads mics so they don't clip (go red). That's it! The mics are setup ready to record.I took the main output from the back of the unit to my monitors and there's a volume control on the front of the unit to allow you to turn down the monitor while recording... then you turn it up to listen back... so in effect, the unit has it's own monitoring control.Two headphone jacks would've been nice, but I used a Y-adapter 1/4" Headphone Splitter to split the output allowing me to plug in the two headphones for me and the drummer.I now setup recording on my laptop (HP TX2500z) using the supplied Cubase LE4 software which is really easy to use - buy yourself the The Complete Idiot's Guide to Recording with Cubase. There's no specific book for version LE4 but this idiot's guide worked great for me.A note about my notebook - It's a tablet PC laptop HP Pavilion tx2500z 12.1" TOUCH-SCREEN Notebook with a great touch screen - so you can arm/disarm or mute/unmute your record channels/tracks just by touching the screen buttons with your finger - it's just like a real mixing desk with real tactile switches - it's really cool!You may need to tweak your laptop for audio recording to get the best results otherwise you will hear artifacts (odd noises) when recording if the laptop is struggling to find the necessary processing power. I tweaked my laptop and it was just amazing to see the difference in performance. You can Google "Tweak Vista for audio recording" to find the information on how to tweak.I also replaced my 5400rpm drive with a 7200rpm drive Seagate 500 GB 7200RPM 2.5" Drive - it's real easy to do... Google "Upgrading laptop hard drive". As well as getting a faster speed drive I also made it a 500GB to replace the 320GB drive that I had - so lot's more space... and very low cost too!RESULTS!!!!!!!!!!!Well... Let me tell you, I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by the results obtained with this unit! The Tascam 1641 is an amazing piece of gear and Amazon's price is just out of this World at only $299...It's like having a whole recording studio in a box - the mic pre's, the mixing desk (vol controls), the signal LED's, the monoring vol control, headphone controls, etc... AND the software - all for $299 - You can't beat that!The actual sound that I got was totally professional - I couldn't have done better if I was in a top-notch recording studio. I am 100,000% satisfied!GO FOR IT!!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful.Great So Far
By J. Foulke
I'm a drummer and I've been looking for something to really record my drums with. I knew I wanted to go with a 7 mic kit but the problem I faced was I couldn't find an interface that would handle 7 xlr inputs and wouldn't drain my bank account. This one certainly seemed to fit the bill once I found it. I've only had it for a few days now but it delivers on it's promise. It's a nice professionally put together piece of equipment. I'm running 7 mics into it and using GarageBand to record each to it's own track. I plan on using something more complex in the future but the Cubase 5 LE (I know the description says Cubase 4 LE but since that's an old version this now ships with version 5) this comes with is confusing and overly complicated. You can use this interface with any DAW or Digital Audio Workstation, like GarageBand, Logic, Cubase, etc. There are a whole bunch out there and this piece of hardware is compatible with all of them as far as I can tell with the exception of Pro Tools, which uses it's own hardware only.I did have a minor problem setting the system up and I'll write here how I got around it so anyone else having a similar issue can correct it. I started out by installing the drivers on the disc that came with the interface, but there have since been several upgrades to the drivers and the firmware that are available to download on the Tascam website. I immediately updated to the latest driver (I'm running OSX Snow Leopard and using this on an early 2008 MacBook Pro) and then went to upgrade to the latest firmware. But the firmware refused to install. Basically it doesn't place nice with the newer drivers. What I did was uninstall the drivers and go back to the disc version, then install the first firmware upgrade, then update the drivers with the first update (1.01 I believe) then install the second firmware upgrade, and finally updated to the latest set of drivers. It takes a bit of time but it's worth it.There's a couple of things on this that it'd be nice to have and Tascam addressed them on it's newer Tascam US2000 USB Audio Interface. Like it'd be nice to have an LED meter bridge instead of the single light you get on this model and also it'd be nice to have an individual 48v phantom power switch for each xlr input instead of the 2 switches which apply to 4 inputs each on this one. But that model is double the price and essentially those are the only real differences between the two models. So half the price to sacrifice just some lights and a couple of individual switches? Sounds like this is a better deal.A quick warning about that phantom power. There are two toggles on this, each one applies to 4 xlr inputs at a time. Meaning you can have phantom power on for ALL of inputs 1-4, ALL of 5-8, or ALL of 1-8. So if you're using a mic that should not be phantom powered (like a ribbon mic) make sure you don't group it with mics you need to power.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.Great Audio interface for its price range
By B-RockSolid
If you're serious about recording your music and you need a great audio and midi interface for your projects at a reasonable price, this is the one for you.Packed full of features and power and capability, it more than gets the job done, whether you plan to record with just a keyboard, or your whole band.The product literature lists the features, so I won't repeat them, but as a new user, the performance I have got from it has been great. Also it's easy to install and set up and integrates easily with any Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) you may be using for your project.I recommend 100%
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Fun for the older crowd. Not meant to be played with
Viper that bites your wallet
incorrect sizing information
Too Small