In fact, Tascam still makes a range of Portastudios – from very portable models up to the DP-32SD, a 32-track model with hands-on controls, faders, effects, mastering and finalising tools and expandable storage. Nonetheless, they will do the job of capturing multi-channel audio perfectly well and can be used as the basis of a music-recording system.Standalone systemsĪt a more ‘prosumer’ level, there are still hard-disk or solid-state-based dedicated music-recording units around, in the vein of the classic Portastudio, though obviously with a more advanced featureset. Manufacturers such as Tascam and Fostex still make new hardware recording units, though these are often aimed at the field recording, live sound or broadcast industries, where a dedicated system can be preferable to something running Windows and a web browser, since stability is paramount. Old School If you’re lucky enough to have the money and the space, it’s still possible to record the old-fashioned way using a mixing desk and a tape machine (though realistically, you’ll be looking for a used reel-to-reel machine, which may need servicing and won’t be cheap, so you’d have to be pretty committed to tape to go down that route).

And though it can sound like a stereotype, it’s often guitarists who gravitate towards systems not based around computers – presumably because some feel more comfortable with real hardware, instead of a mouse and screen. There have been examples of big acts deliberately choosing computer-free studios to make their albums, such as avowed traditionalist Jack White. There won’t be many musicians who don’t own a computer or a tablet, but that doesn’t mean you inevitably or automatically have to involve them in your music-making.

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