Tascam Model 24

This mixer / interface / recorder - may not be for everyone - but it was definitely perfect for me. I looked for an all in one solution (after several years of being out of the music recording loop due to work etc.) . This one fit the said requirements perfectly - it's a mixer with more than enough connections for live recording including drum recording (which alone needs 8 mics in my setup) + other live instruments, it's a more than capable audio interface (up to 48kHz 24bit) for my DAW, and it's also a standalone multitrack recorder (which needs an SD card) - perfect for simple live recording without depending on a DAW in live situations (but which can of course be imported to the DAW later on for more advanced mixing and mastering). It's also rather visually appealing with a vintage (faux) wood finish.

The standalone multitrack recording capabilities took me back on memory lane to the days of my 4 track fostex cassette recorder - but I digress (as well as revealing my age).

One slight drawback though - it would be nice to have an option to record the individual tracks through the audio interface into the DAW post fader - as well as pre fader - thus enabling to use the onboard EQ and effects on individual tracks. As it is - the only way to do this is through the stereo mixdown (channels 23/24). Still, most people would be using the DAW plugins anyway for EQ, effects and such, so it's not really a deal breaker as such. There are also steady firmware updates, so who's to tell what functionality might still be added.
Also, the newer (but much smaller) Model 12 has some functionality the Model 24 lacks - a built in metronome as well as a MIDI interface (so you don't need an extra MIDI usb adapter). These would have been nice to have on this Model as well, so if you don't need 24 tracks - maybe the Model 12 could be a better fit for you. But for me none of these are major issues.

So in short - highly recommended.

It almost a perfect mixer, inspired from a hugely successful Portastudio, but in 24 tracks digital.

It sounds clean and good enough. It is not going to blow you away with sound quality, but the convenience of having mixer, audio interface, and multitrack recorder all built together in one unit, wins.

A few things they could have improved, maybe even for MK2.

1. Routing possibility is very limited. You basically need DAW to do any kind of routing.

2. Build quality is pretty low. Maybe even one of the lowest I've seen from any mixer. (You would think Mackie is cheap enough...) Everything on the board feels solid but they just feel cheap. I wish I can replace all the knobs and faders, and I might.

3. There is no way to "bypass" EQ and Compressor. You can zero them, but still Compressor will stay active no matter what and I don't like that.

4. Limits at 48K sample rate. No Word Clock I/O.

5. No headphone cue, so not really suitable for certain Live applications. (unless you use another sub mixer)

6. Most importantly, recordings are done pre EQ and pre Compressor. No way to record post in MTR.

7. No MIDI clock support. (could be improved with Firmware)

8. Low and High range EQ are fixed and not sweepable.

But I still give 5 solid stars since it does work very well. And there is nothing in the market like Model series, at least in May of 2021.

If you have a few hardware instruments and use DAW together, this unit will improve your workflow for production.

Tascam, some things to be improved;
SOLO button would have been the icing on the cake.
Low cut and or eq's on the phono/bluetooth channel.
Aux rtn so I dont loose a channel just to return effects.
And plastic fake wood on the side, I mean come on, that was the most disappointing part of the entire product.
If you have a small studio with a few pieces of hardware and also run a few vst channels from your computer, then this this will NOT let you down. It was plug and play and everything worked first time and continues to do so. Very happy indeed and highly recommended, nice work people of Tascam.