How To Record Music on Tascam DP03SD And Step by Step Walk Through

Hello Everyone! Here is a step by step walk through on how to record on the Tascam Dp03sd. I know its a long video but I tried to keep it short. If you guys would like to see more vids from me, feel free to comment on what you would like me to do it on. Thanks you All!

[@joequinn4025]

Thanks for this video. I have had my DP 03 for several years and never made time to really get into it. Your video has just inspired me to get back into working with it. Thanks again for taking the time to help us better understand how this thing works.

[@davidreidy5750]

Just recorded,mixed,mastered and exported a song on my day off today.Tomorrow it's going to master sweet in my Daw.Two yrs ago I had no idea how to do any of this.Also Highly recommend a mic preamp to boost the vocal 28db w/o the noise floor.The unit alone is kinda lackluster without one( for vocals).Also a DI pedal for Bass/guitar makes all the difference.Great work,enjoy!🗽🛸📼🎧

[@craven1927]

This was very helpful, thank you. I've been looking at this unit and the DP-008EX trying to see the differences and decide on which one to go with. Right away, I noticed that the input selection is much more intuitive and easier to use on this model. The DP-008EX requires you to go into the menu to change the input selection every time. So that's a nice feature on here to have that right out on the front of the unit.

[@kathleencruz76]

I appreciate your video this is the most informative video that I have clicked on I've been trying to get my music from the tascam to my laptop and now I have the confidence to go forward because first I was just clicking away at stuff and thank you very much

[@michaelgrant5312]

The final mix down sounds great I love it

[@jpvxray]

Great real world example for how this works. Thanks for taking the time to do this video!

[@Andrewausfa]

Very useful, just got one and the optional foot switch. Thanks very much for taking the time to go through this.

[@Bubbacat54]

Thanks very much for taking the trouble to create this video. I have just bought this model , so your guide was very useful.. Appreciate it......greetings from the wet and cold UK.

[@edbaiza7757]

That VERY INFORMATIVE!!! Thank You for going into the process, it was awesome and so was the track!!

[@prettyinfinite]

Loved the detailed breakdown and nice short song!!👍🏽✨

[@k.b.3418]

Thanks Brock - I'm starting with a new one arriving via mail tomorrow, so your video is very helpful. I used an old Boss cassette-based portable 30 years ago, so the technology is much better now!

[@bradhapa]

Thanks for the great walkthrough. Will be purchasing a used one after watching this!

[@Shedlight420]

Thank you for sharing. Your presentation is clear and easy to follow.

[@cambopalpatine2185]

Thanks so much. You single handedly helped my university assigment. Got an A+ thankksss

[@TheRawkVox]

Thank you very much for taking the time make this video ! You Rock brother !!!

[@Mr27Fit]

Excellent sound quality from these recording units, I dig the song you wrote. These units are more convenient than going onto the computers with the audio interface. I enjoy this approach much more. The device is top sound quality and give it 10 out of 10 for that. The durability of this is somewhat fragile, so I will have to make sure that I’m easy as I take it from one spot to another. You made tutorial very easy to understand, thanks!

[@mondocain]

Thank you for going through the recording process.

[@fireside007]

👍 Ty!! . . . More of this 🇺🇸🤛

[@tvmusikexpress]

Great video! Thank you!

[@rodgalloway6340]

Excellent!

[@martmtz.9380]

You're right thank you sir for your response and assistance. Now I was able to transfer it to my lap top, but for some reason the audio is so low even adjusting the volume levels when mixing. I'm not sure what's the matter, maybe is the USB cable I have it's not in good shape. Ill try with another one later on hopping to solve this other issue. Thank you once again Brock.

[@20YearsofTascam-rc1he]

Nice job, informative 👍

[@me.roderick]

Well done young Man. 🖒💪🎸

[@davidjefferys5158]

Very good video...!

[@charliejupiter3751]

Thanks Brock!

[@Spiro_knm]

ThAnk you

[@crlguitar1]

The chords you played sounded like 'Kryptonite' by Three Doors Down.... Thanks for the video....

[@stevenchacra4877]

Thank you .. well done. May I suggest putting your lights on ....was tough to see the recorder ... video was tough.

[@mcstabba]

Great video and I liked the groove of the song as well. The Tascam seems intuative and simple to work with, which I find great. When you export the file to a computor is it a wav-file then?

[@brockspad1776]

Thank you for your comment! I'm glad you enjoyed and yes it will be a wav file once exported.

[@Mollipoprocks]

Hi Brock - super helpful video. May I ask what electronic drums kit you use?

[@brockspad1776]

Hello! I use the Alesis Mesh nitro edition but I just purchased the Simmons Titan 70 yesterday! I'm completely stoked and will be doing a review in a few days. Thank you for your comment!

[@crobilly19]

Hey, man thanks 4 the help. Watching you was much clearer than reading the instructions. I still have, but i wasn't understanding. Anout punch in/out?.. i thought that meant if say your lead guitar solo was 2 bars snd during the 2nd bar you messed up that you could play thatb portion on repeat and play your lead part again during the 2nd bar, then when you were ready you could have the recorder recorder cut back in on the 2nd bar and re-record your lead??.. am i accurste about thst?? Thsnk you 4 your help..

[@brockspad1776]

Hello! Thank you for your comment. My understanding is that set in and out is where you want your track to start and end. I was told by a sub that you could set punch in or markers to do what you're suggesting, but I have never tried. Another option would be to record the part you messed up on another track then bounce it back to one track. Probably be easier doing what you're saying however. I'll play around with my Tascam and see if I can figure this out and post back here when I do. Thank you again for you comment and question!

[@tanerremzi]

I've had this unit for over a year now and recorded loads been through 3 SD cards now. I haven't used much reverb though while recording, can anyone tell me is that why when I'm mixing adjusting the reverb doesn't seem to be making much difference?? I think I'm on top of everything else. My advice don't take out and use different SD cards too much, and as manual says always have unit off when taking them out! Btw cool acoustic guitar riff there... thanks

[@chrisgonzales5236]

Thanks so much for this and other videos. In relation to this one, is there any advice on if you are laying down vocals and make a mistake and need to rerecord over the vocals or delete vocals in order to start over? Thank you.

[@brockspad1776]

Hello Thank you for your comment and question! There's a couple of ways you can correct your vocal if you make a mistake. One way is to simply rewind the track up to the point of mistake and re record over your mistake. This is usually how I do it, but you can also add a punch in right before the mistake and it will begin rerecording from there. Here is the link to the Tascam manual that will show you how to do it! Thank you again for your comment! tascam.com/content/downloads/products/836/e_dp-03sd_om_vb.pdf

[@chrisgonzales5236]

Thanks so much!

[@jimkirk2985]

Nice vid, manual says when plugging in acoustic/electric guitar with preamp in input A use the mic/line, I notice you use guitar setting for your acoustic. Any reason you use that set up rather than manual recommendation? Curious.

[@brockspad1776]

Hello, thank you for your comment! It's weird because the Manuel tells you to switch to Guitar input once you connect your electric guitar, but it does say to switch to mic, line with built in pre-amp acoustic or electric. You are correct, but honestly, I don't notice a difference in the sound between the two. Maybe it has less feedback in this mode? Awesome question! Thank you.

[@sebjuliussen9378]

Hi Brock.. Thanks for the video.. Do you know if you can export individual stems to the SD card so you can edit on a DAW???

[@brockspad1776]

Hello Great Question! Yes you can import individual stems to the SD card or to directly through you Tascam file on your PC. I have done this a few times to add in vocals through my DAW after recording on my Tascam and to edit individual tracks on my DAW as well. Thank you for your question and comment!

[@cshtelecaster]

Thank you for the video,,,can i connect the tascam through a mixer to computer to have hands on for the eq ? Also what would happen if you had a 1 jack input to 2 Jack output to Tascam,,would you need to keep changing jacks...Also realy liked your rhythm guitar part,,Chris

[@brockspad1776]

Hello Chris! Thank you for your kind comments and questions! Unfortunately I don't believe the Tascam supports working with extra mixers and Equipment and It's basically a DAW in itself. Now for the question about using a splitter, that actually might work. I have never used a 1 input to two jack output with the Tascam..but I think it would work just fine. As long as the two tracks are triggered then it should work. I'm going to look into this more, Great question! Maybe I'll touch up on this in next video! Thank you Chris!

[@tonyphills6075]

Thank you for this informative video. But I was wondering How do you upload an already made track to lay vocals on?

[@brockspad1776]

Thank you for comment and question! You can import a wav file or mp3 from your computer to Tascam. Similar on how I showed how to export, except you just hit import and move the file from computer to your Tascam. Then you just load the song to track one, and you can add on vocals by recording on Track 2,3,4 etc. I hope this helps, I think it would be a good idea to do a how to video on this subject. Thank you!

[@tonyphills6075]

@@brockspad1776 🫡

[@user-rw7nh8bf5z]

nice Recording bro. i wanted to ask if the tascam can play a recording connecting it too a church System?

[@brockspad1776]

Thank you! Yes, the Tascam comes with the red and white audio plug ins. If your church audio system has these plug ins you would be able to play a recording through it!

[@mobeus84]

I want to give you a piece of advice you can assign those inputs by hitting the assigned button and they can all go off of the same input and put a or input be hit the assign button and then you'll see it come up on the screen which input to which track so say you want to make track to input a as well tap the record button for track to while you're in a sign mode and you'll see the input change hope that helps bro...this will allow u to keep ur instruments in sub groups.

[@brockspad1776]

That's awesome! I did not know, Thank you!

[@Haze763]

​@@brockspad1776 I've got all my 8 tracks to A. Hope it's working for ya. ✌

[@crazeefingas33]

how did you record your drums? did you come out with one cable from the drums or 2 cables for stereo

[@brockspad1776]

Thank you for your good question! I used one cable from the drums to Tascam to record.

[@martmtz.9380]

Hi Brock I hope you are doing well. I have a question in regards of transferring the master. Why after I do the mastering process and let it finish. I cannot do the transfer the master, because when I want to do that it doesn't allow me to because on the screen shows mastering mode on; even if I hit the home or menu button?

[@brockspad1776]

Hello, it sounds like you're still in mastering mode. Try hitting the mastering mixdown button and it should show multi track mode. Now try transferring your master and see if that helps. Let me know if that works and I'll troubleshoot more if I have too.

[@mrmarcus6200]

I must be missing something here but you plug the guitar and bass straight into the unit? Is the unit “amping” the signal? Wouldn’t you go guitar to (inc fx pedals) amp and then amp to tascam unit?

[@brockspad1776]

Hello! Yes, you plug the guitar and bass straight in the unit and the unit will amp the signal. As far as pedals, I've had a few other people ask the same thing about Fx pedals. I believe you would set input to mic/line 1 , connect guitar to pedal and then pedal to Tascam if that's what you're asking. If you don't have a pedal, then the instrument can be plugged straight in, and the Tascam will amp the signal. Thank you for you're question!

[@TheMichaelseymour]

i found a few times ....i have been too hasty and the rewind button freezes and i LOSE ! what i have been working on ! .....little tip ...be patient with the rewind button ! Thnx for the vid ....

[@user-cs9gj1wf5h]

Can this machine filter out vocals from songs so that I can do the voice over on any song..can it filter out drums so I can add my own drumming?

[@brockspad1776]

Great question! Unfortunately the Tascam is unable to filter out vocals or drums so that you can add your own. However you can upload a drum less version of the track and add drums or vocals that way. Thank you for your question!

[@paddyskate]

Can you save things mid progress and come back to them, having a few files of songs being worked on ? Or do you need to finish a session / track once started ? Thanks !

[@brockspad1776]

Hello, great question! Yes you can save things mid progress and pick up where you left off. Also the Tascam comes with a lot of memory so you can work on multiple songs.

[@paddyskate]

@@brockspad1776 thanks for the reply this is very helpful

[@valentinexyz]

Hi there Brock, May I ask you a question? I've just bought this machine, and I'm trying to use external microphones to capture acoustic guitar and vocals. I'm using a Shure SM57 and a Shure 55sh. Here's my issue - the input trim knobs are having to go RIGHT UP high to get enough volume through my headphones. Now, is this because the mics I'm using are 'Dynamic'?? The onboard condenser microphones are brilliant, and capture almost too much. If I assign a track and fiddle with the EQ I can get the mics to be more 'sensitive', but I do not feel like this should be necessary? I've managed to get a good recording without EQ fiddling, but as said, the input knobs are almost at maximum. Obviously I'm not incorporating phantom power because they're both dynamic mics. Any ideas would be gratefully received! Best wishes, from Derbyshire England.

[@brockspad1776]

Hello! This is weird and I'm not sure what could be causing this. I have a SM57 also, let me play with it on my Tascam and see if I can replicate this issue. I'll post back here once I'm done troubleshooting. Hopefully its a simple fix!

[@valentinexyz]

​@@brockspad1776 Hey there Brock, Thanks very much for replying. I've been on a Tascam forum and a veteran studio guy has informed me that these input knobs (A & B) actually SHOULD be up on full, to the 'mic' position, fully clockwise - certainly when using an external microphone. This (or rather these) knob(s) are only tweaked down when something's coming through 'hot', like if you went straight in with an electric guitar, then you can ease back if you're getting the overload light come on. It makes sense that it should be turned fully to 'mic' if you're inputting a mic, I guess, but this isn't made clear in the manual. I'd be interested to hear how you get on, replicating my set up. Thanks so much for helping out. It seems the Tascam community is a group of jolly helpful comrades.

[@lewdens]

Hey Brock, how would I go about using distortion when recording on this? I use a Proco RAT and I’m just wondering if I can still use it while recording?

[@brockspad1776]

Hello! That's a good question, I haven't used the Proco Rat 2 yet, but I checked, and it looks like it has the basic input/output setup. Which would make it act as a basic pedal and therefore should work just fine. I looked online and I found that a few people are using this Proco pedal with other Tascam models. I'm not 100% sure but I think you would be fine using it with this Tascam also. I hope this helps!

[@lewdens]

@@brockspad1776 thank you so much Brock!

[@alainmurray4159]

Great helpful video. Can you play with the speed? Like to have a Mickey Mouse voice effect?

[@brockspad1776]

Hello! Unfortunately I don't believe the Tascam has this option to speed up audio. But it's pretty easy to transfer the vocal to an app like bandlab, from there you can add the speed up effect. Then you can transfer it back to Tascam to continue recording more tracks. Thank you for your comment and question!

[@alainmurray4159]

Thank you very much

[@davegilbertmusic]

Thank you Brock, this has been very useful! When I get to the very last step where I plug the DP03SD into my laptop, nothing happens. My PC doesn't see or recognize an incoming file. I have Windows 11. Do I need to upload an APP or something? TIA!

[@brockspad1776]

Hello! I'm glad the video was useful but its unfortunate you're having issues transferring. After you finalize recording your master track, return to home screen. Then turn off the Tascam and then connect it to your PC. You should see the screen light up and show usb connected. From there you should see the DP-03 file on your PC. Your master track should be seen in the wave file on the DP-03 drive. I hope this helps!

[@davegilbertmusic]

​@@brockspad1776thanks Brock, I appreciate you getting back to me so quickly. I can get it to show the USB is connected but from there nothing else happens. Nothing shows up on my PC. I tried downloading the firmware from the TASCAM site but am not sure what App to use to open it, my Windows media player won't open it. I tried a different patch cord and even a different computer but nothing happens after it shows that the USB is connected to the PC. It's a real head scratcher.

[@brockspad1776]

@davegilbertmusic This is strange. After connecting the Tascam, open up your PC file. If your using windows it should show up under (This PC ) you should see a file that says DP-O3. Click on that and look for your wav file. If The DP-03 file doesn't show up under (This PC) contact Customer support at [phone]. It's possible it's faulty. I'm hope this helps and I'm sorry for these troubles.

[@davegilbertmusic]

@@brockspad1776 I really appreciate all of your help! I talked with the tech line and he couldn't figure out what the problem was either. I can pop the memory card out of the recorder and put that in my PC so at least I can get WAV files there now. Thanks again!

[@lincolnlee6595]

Hi there, Can the finished WAV file be converted to an mp3 file so the file size is a bit smaller? If so, would any quality be lost?

[@brockspad1776]

Hello, yes you can convert to an mp3 but the quality will not be as good as a wav file. There are free wav to mp3 converters you can use online! Honestly I've done this a few times and I didn't really notice a huge difference in quality. Thank you for your question!

[@davidsabludowsky7109]

Hey, my room mate handed one of these off to me. I’m able to hear the guitar when I record it but when I play back I hear nothing… any tips on that issue?

[@brockspad1776]

Hello! That's weird, the only thing I can think of is that it didn't record your track. Did you create a new song, hit record and play button and same time? Does it show the recording icon on data screen when recording.....hhhmmm. I need more info, to figure this out. There's 3 volume buttons....the headset, track volume and master volume ..are these up on play back? It's weird you can hear it while playing an not on play back, these are the only things I can think of without the Tascam having technical issues.

[@_RZ____]

You normalized before (potentially) eq-ing and compressing. Is that recommended or shouldn’t you master and then normalize overall volume?

[@brockspad1776]

Hello, I've heard some people say do it before and others say after. I've also read others say not to normalize at all. Thats a real good question and I'm going to do some research and touch up on this in a future video. Thank you!

[@_RZ____]

I tried normalization once and ran away. I thought it was way too much

[@maxwellnicodemus5306]

Tells me Track is too short when I try to enter mix down mode, I did the set in and set out just like you did, any ideas?

[@brockspad1776]

Hello, usually this message is because the set out did not take. I would try doing a set in and set out again. After try hitting the mixdown button again to see if it works. If not let me know and I'll try to replicate this error on my Tascam to see what is going on.

[@coolowlman]

would you happen to know if it saves the master onto the sd card?

[@brockspad1776]

Hello! Yes it saves it to a micro SD card! It makes it pretty easy for transfer. Great question!

[@BAND-MAID-USA]

Dumb question I’m sure. Once I transfer my mastered song to my computer, how do I then sent that song to other ppl? Thank you.

[@brockspad1776]

Hello, This is not a dumb question and I would be happy to answer! I use a Google drive account. You can download your song from Google drive by selecting upload file and then selecting your song from your PC file. From there you can share it with your friends! I hope this helps 🙂

[@BAND-MAID-USA]

@@brockspad1776 much appreciated. Thank you.

[@philliphaugabook9781]

great video, however I cant seem to get any playback once I record. I have it plugged to my MPC one

[@brockspad1776]

Hello, are you using a headset to listen to playback or speakers?

[@philliphaugabook9781]

@@brockspad1776 I'm using headphones

[@brockspad1776]

Are you seeing a playback on the meter? Have you tried using the RCA input to see if other speakers work? The Tascam comes with a demo song, can you play the demo on it through your headphones and hear it? If you can here the demo song through the headset or RCA speakers, then the song is not being recorded or there's a faulty board issue. If you are seeing playback on the meter, and have checked to make sure your headset is working properly, I would contact customer support for Tascam. Hopefully it's not a faulty board. Here is the contact for customer support [phone]. I'm sorry this is happening, sounds very frustrating.

[@philliphaugabook9781]

@brockspad1776 I got this at a pawn shop. There was no demo. And no I haven't seen playback. Honestly I don't even think I saw recording...I did a factory reset and it didn't work

[@illquasar]

Any reason why I can hear myself thru my headphones using the internal mic but when I record it the levels stop working and it won’t playback?

[@brockspad1776]

Hmmm, that is weird. Let me look into it and see if I can help. Ill post back here when I can find something.

[@brockspad1776]

I tried recreating your issue on my Tascam and I'm not for sure what's going on here without actually seeing your Tascam. Can you adjust levels when you're in mixdown master mode? It's possible there is something faulty going on. I've looked up Tascam customer support, here is their number 323-726-0303. Try adjusting volumes in mixdown master mode, and if that doesn't work I would call customer support. I hope this helps you.

[@jesusgavemeaids]

How does one of these sound in comparison with a DAW ???? That's one thing I cannot get an answer for

[@brockspad1776]

That's a good question! I use pro tools 8 with my mbox to record my music and I think the Tascam sounds pretty dang close. Obviously you have more features with a workstation but all in all, I think the Tascam can produce a similar quality mix.

[@MikaelKonradsson]

@@brockspad1776so you dont have to export the files to a pc at all? Can you do a whole song on the tascam, then mix it on the device Also? I mean is there a Song mode where you can build a song from A B C parts and so on?

[@brockspad1776]

Yes you can record and mix the whole song on the Tascam. Once your done, you can export the song to a PC, it will be a wav file.

[@RichieIsRight]

Great vid and great feet! 🤣

[@brockspad1776]

Lol! I need to ware shoes next time!

[@GaylordBonnafous]

Hello, I think there is no compression? Is it bad?