I recently spoke with Korg about their new product, the D888 – a live recorder designed to capture band rehearsals, gigs and other applications. Together, we came up with the Broadjam Blog Giveaway, an idea that I hope will benefit both broadjam members and Korg.
Here’s how it works: I try the product, if I like it, I write a blog about it. And as you can see, I’m writing a blog about the D888. If you’re interested in this product after reading this entry, post a comment telling Korg why you should have the product and how you would use it. Later, we’ll all vote on the best five comments, and one of you will walk away with a brand new D888.
As I mentioned, I finally had a chance to check out the Korg D888. Dennis, our long-time customer service master, wanted to record a song as a gift for his mom’s birthday. Since we didn’t have enough time for a studio recording, I told him to bring his guitar into my office, and we could try the new Korg thing. I brought my 220 and my 414 mics to see what kind of sound we could get. I was interested in the feature set, but more importantly, I wanted to know what kind of sound quality the D888 had.
Three songs later I had gotten totally lost in the production and forgotten that part of my mission was to check out this product. How many times have you set up to do a recording and something was unplugged, or you were chasing a problem that you couldn’t identify? Within 20 minutes of taking the D888 out of the box, we were recording his acoustic guitar. 20 minutes after I took it out of the box, I knew enough to get the project done. I don’t ever recall a session being this easy.
[BTW: The mic pre-amps are pristine and the A/D conversion is excellent, so sound quality wasn’t a problem. It ended up that the 414 was a little better sounding on the guitar than the 220. However, we recorded with both of them simultaneously.]
Once we were finished I plugged a USB cable from my laptop to the D888, grabbed the folders off the recorder’s hard drive and dragged them to my desktop. Since the D888 already records as WAV files, we were editing in minutes. If you don’t already have DAW software for your computer, no worries. The D888 comes with Cubase LE 4, which allows you edit, arrange, mix and master your multi-track live performance.
I’m anxious to record a live band. I actually think one could make an extra buck or two doing this. And since the D888 is set up to be a fully functional live mixer, a small band could use it as both their mixer and recorder at the same time. I wish I had one of these when I was playing live, but digital products didn’t exist. In fact, presets didn’t exist either, nor did MIDI, USB, hard drives…but that’s another blog.
For the sake of full disclosure, I consider many of Korg’s employees close friends of mine, as I have worked on numerous projects with them in past lives. Last year I had the chance to have breakfast with Mr. Katoh (Founder and Chairman of Korg) and his son Seiki (President of Korg) at the Musik Messe in Frankfurt. I now know why they are industry leaders. Year after year, they put out great products with passion that is unsurpassed in the music industry.
So here’s your chance. Korg has made a generous offer to the bloggers on broadjam, so I ask you to answer these questions in your post: What features of this product are most attractive to you? How would you use this product if you owned it?
Here is a link to the Korg website www.korg.com/d888. Check out the features and write your thoughts about this product. Most importantly, tell me how you would use it, and be specific.
Best of luck,
Roy
Posted by Broadjam on Nov 20, 2007 in Broadjam Blog
I am working with a newer band and we have been recording our performances with a simple recorder, but the recordings it captures are not of good quality.
This recorder is exactly what we are looking for. It offeres a user-friendly interface and front end. It also has the capability to be a fully-functional studio recorder.
It would be great to have the ability to record our live performances and then go back and re-mix them with a device that offers a professional sound quality.
I have not worked a whole lot with Korg products but after reading what this recorder/ working studio has to offer I feel it is critical for our group to aquire one immediately. This would help our band sound better live & have the tools to produce the many songs we’ve written together with ease.
My band is out of Madison, WI (Logarhythm) Check us out at http://www.logarhythmmusic.com
Thanks for the opportunity!!
Dec 4, 2007/8:01 pmMatty
Hi Roy and blog readers,
I’m a songwriter from Alaska. I recently moved to the east coast with my wife to start a new, less snowy life together (I guess there were a few other reasons too….) We’ve landed in Boston where my wife is getting her ph.d in conservation biology and i’m working at an acoustic guitar store, bringing home the bacon (no pun intended….my last name is Bacon), as well as trying to make a name for myself in the Boston music scene.
I have recorded with my computer in the past and have gotten great results, but am having a hard time with the ergonomics of the situation. i have a neck / shoulder injury, from repetitive stress induced by long hours of video editing. I have quit working in video all together because of the pain, which ended up being a blessing in disguise. I now have much more time to dedicate to my music career, but am having a bit of a struggle with the finances.
I’m currently recording song idea sketches with a zoom h4, which is pretty cool, but also limiting. i miss the ability to multitrack vocals, sing harmonies, play counterpoint, and put together serious pieces.
February Album Writing Month (write and record 14 songs in 28 days http://www.fawm.org) is coming up, and i could very much use the d888 to help with composition and creation. in the past i’ve recorded a few quality albums for F.A.W.M. (such as the album “sparrow” at http://www.stevenbacon.com), using a computer setup, but this year that is not an option. Aside from the erginomic issue, staring at a computer screen seems to really put a damper on my creativity. It feels like the difference between reading a novel or watching a tv show…. sitting on the porch of your cabin on the lake or in an apartment complex listening to your neighbor watch Jerry Springer. Ok.. maybe not as bad as the Jerry Springer comment, but you get my drift. I want to get the focus of the interface out of the way and stay in the meditative creative zone of my imagination during the creative process….is that so wrong?
-Steven
-steven
Dec 4, 2007/10:09 amHaving conducted an intense search for a digital multitrack recorder over the last several weeks, yesterday I decided on the perfect solution: the Korg D888. As luck would have it, I discovered this contest today.
The best feature of the D888 is it’s mixer design, which will allow me to connect our band members directly and feed the signal to the house system. That a sophisticated 8-track recorder underlies the mixer is sheer genius, and greatly simplifies the recording process.
It’s portability will allow me to bring it to practices, gigs, or anywhere and record on the fly. I plan to use Cubase for mixing and CD writing, and it is nice the the D888 isn’t burdened by too many workstation functions. Again, its simplicity is its strongest point.
Kudos to Korg for designing such a powerful, yet easy to use system. The D888 is truly an elegant solution for recording live performances. Korg’s creative design makes me wonder what all the other companies were thinking in their inadequate, overly complicated systems.
Dec 4, 2007/12:31 amI am confident that HARDWARE RECORDERS are better than software and it is here to stay and no amount of computerization of the music making process is going to change that.As an example i want to state my case-i have been a professional guitar player/producer for the last 20 odd years and have been an active participant in the new technologies and evolving process of music gear as and when they happened.Though i took to midi gear very late about 8 years ago i have not looked back since.
When i was debating as to what kind of music producing and recording set up to go for in my home studio 8 years ago, after months of contemplating and thoroughly researching the pros and cons of hardware vs software setups i finally settled for a computer based setup.Starting off with the most common tools like ACID,FRUITY LOOPS and CAKEWALK .I have spent the last 8 years hunched over my machine with a copy of the latest SOFTWARE Journal for reference in times of distress and half solved the million bugging problems only to realize that i don’t want to spend the rest of my life hunched over my computer monitor trying to point a mouse at a lame looking immitation of a classic beauty hardware Recording interface/synth but capture some music.I am moving strangely in the opposite direction and in the last 2 years i have snapped up quite a collection of hardware toys.
The point basically i am making is that with the passing of time and with the knowledge of how electronic musical instruments actually work i am getting the urge to create music with the real machines
and not just live in the bowels of my computer hard disk,also i want to capture the inspiration when it happens and not read a manual till my back gets numb..
Hardware has been strangely exhilarating to me with the liberating feel of actually turning a knob and slider and feeling the tones change in a more human and subtle way.It has come to such a state that i am constantly on the lookout for classic hardware DAW’s to capture that magic and most probably i will be getting a very good deal on a Korg D888 soon via this blog!!!.I already have a roland tb303,a yamaha ys200,Korg Trinity,Zoom sampletrack st224 sampler,roland gr 30 guitar synth,Kurzweil K2500R(KDFX),Presonus Tube pre,Korg tuner!!..etc.
Hands on experience with Hardware DAW’s have opened my ears and eyes to the world of hardware musical instruments and i will be ever grateful for that and as long as there are people who value purity of tone i am sure hardware like Korg D888 will be very much alive and that means KORG and Broadjam will be there also to oversee all the developments and guide us in this wonderful world of music production/composition.
cheers
Dec 3, 2007/10:42 amtuki
Korg D888 is a magic piece of equipment, for it can achieve the possibility of recording at home, going to someone else’s home, recording other instruments, and recording live-it’s the three-in-one we have all been waiting for!
Dec 2, 2007/3:37 pmCouple this with the knowledge that it is easy to use,its sound quality is second to none and its failure rate is almost zero,please take note other makes!
I need the triple experience that I have been struggling with until now,using a Boss.Let Korg ride me to the horizon I have been waiting for,I need a new boss.
Rob Byron
Hey, I am a singer songwriter. I have been recording on a Fostex fd4. It works ok for me, but I just started a band. We want to record ‘live’ in the studio, but the Fostex just can’t handle it. I tried to lug it plus pre’s, countless other effects and another mixer around…killer.
The mic pre’s and onboard effects will save my back and improve my sound. Eight input channels can cover our small band effectively. We can’t wait to record ‘live’!!!
Nov 30, 2007/4:42 pmI have written about 300 songs, which many people (in the industry) have told me are really good, but I cannot afford to get 300 songs produced to get them out there to people because I just started my own business and won’t work 2 jobs because of my 2-year-old son Zachary. The Korg D888 would allow me to get my band together and just play, mix, and get them out to people. In addition to this amazingly rewarding gift the Korg D888 would be, it would also assist children worldwide. You see, I also have a set of songs to promote neglected and abused children’s rights that I would provide to nonprofit children’s organizations to help children. So, the Korg D888 would be well-used and incredibly appreciated by many people. It would be a fantastic opportunity and would therefore draw a lot of attention to itself as well.
Nov 30, 2007/12:02 pmWhat a year it’s been for 9Lies!
It was the year which saw the ‘Behind It All’ album being released to critical acclaim, with massive radio airplay around the globe, and all without a record company being involved! It was also the year which saw the song ‘Blind’ being snapped up by Warner Brothers, and ‘Behind it All’ the title track from the album finding a new home as theme tune to reality tv show ‘Our Prisoner’ in the USA. We’ve been beamed up and down from satellites around the world more times than we care to remember.
In just 6 months, 18000 people joined us on our 2 International myspace sites and in the last 3 months we’ve gathered almost 900 groupies since joining the Bebo social networking site, with fans placing our songs on over 1500 of their playlists!
The Song ‘Slippin Away’ has not only been downloaded online during the last year more than 29,000 times, but has more recently been chosen by ASCAP for excellence in songwriting at the ASCAP Music Expo 07 in L.A.
Download sales on digital sites such as iTunes and Rhapsody have remained strong, as have Material Worldwide CD sales from our Online Music Store, and all of this is down to you! Thankyou!!!
It does’nt end there though! The new album ‘Halfway from Nowhere’ is almost finished and sounding absolutely fantastic!! If you haven’t already done so, then join the 9Lies Mailing list for free, to be kept up to date and receive free member offers!
For additional resources about the band, check out http://www.9Lies.net
Nov 30, 2007/9:49 amWOW!!!! SOOOO MANY COMMENTS, with lots to say about other gear, I HAVE BEEN A KORG PLAYER AROUND THE WORLD FOR MANY YEARS, in Ibiza they actually call me Dr. Korgenstein. Due to one day at the all night clubs, i had a terminal strip, and plugged in was all my Korg’s The Electribe ER-1 and my Korg Electribe EA-1, and last but NOT LEAST my Korg MicroKorg, which i LOVE!!!! and the THE KP2, wish i waited until the new KP3 and the new Micrcosynth were uleased which sound like nothing i ever heard before! course we all can’t afford more gear yet, so i use the wavestation and M1 VST WOW is all i gotta say!!( i build studios and computers) & recommend your stuff all the time especially the triton.
>>>|< <<(: and tracks may be bounced digitally with no quality loss. The entire mix can be bounced to a stereo Master Track. Non-destructive editing functions include copy, paste, erase and more, with Undo and Redo commands. Thanx for the time in reading tthis...
Nov 30, 2007/6:22 amnow the D888 all-in-one mixer /DAW (with cubase LE included) and the Backlit LCD panel is a godsend!! NOW THE D888, well what a workstation, from the reviews, its a straight forward machine from what i have seen, i would not go as far to say it better then a Neve console! But i just relocated down to south florida to help out with family, i have a mixer that i bought from behringer, and they would not take it back, the digital effects are broken, and i just keep getting the run-a-round to get it repaired!!! not many mixers tend to think about how many live tracks you can put on a buss, i was amazed to see 64 track capability!
My “Other mixer” i dont even use, since the effects dont work, its in the closet collecting dust. i love the analogue feel, as well as the integrated eight simultaneous audio tracks with 16-bit, 44.1 kHz resolution. 8 virtual tracks per audio track which is sweet!!!and the Punch-in and-out for overdubs. The internal 40 GB hard drive provides will save my computer Hard drive since movinh to hot florida!!, with 200 songs, four locate points and 100 markers per song. You just cant go wrong!
and i could REALLY USE THE AD/DA converterss, U-Haul killed my old edirol i used to have, it got crushed, maybe it was supposed to happen, cause having an ALL-IN-ONE device would help me focus on my musik, and utilize the optiopnal fuunctions such as the live effectcts! my brothers A/C unit went out so i can keep my computer down here in florida due to the heat and all my hard drives piled up inside my brushed Aluminum case, i have turned into a DJ/promoter down here for south beach, but i just have one LAST THING TO SAY, I WAS SO VERY UPSET KORG DID NOT SHOW UP AT THE SUMMER SESSION NAMM IN 2005!!!! IT WAS A BLAST WITH SOOO MANY BANDS PLAYING, I EVEN GOT TO PLAY AT A Restaurant! but if i had a D888 instead of a traditional mixer i could perform all the functions of say 4 of my rackmount gear that’s– EXACTLY WHAT I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR AS WELL BEEN READING ABOUT IN SOUND ON SOUND., GREAT REVIEWS, EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE BTW!!! (When my MicroKorg had problems) knowledgeable staff, just wish i got to meet your company at Summer Session NAMM indinaiiapolis!!
Thanx for the chance even thought its one in a trillion…-
Sincerely, Christopher\aka DJ Dr. Korgenstien
Sincerely,
-Christopher Bonin—-Synthetik Musik
Boynton Beach, FL
aka DJ Dr. Gumby in the states!!!…Long Live GOA!!!
Is this a Keen Offer that’s Really Good? A Kuick Opportunity to Raise Goods? A Kick Off to Reasonable Gifts?
Whatever, it is, I definitely need one! No begging. No kids to feed issue. No band with poor equipment. No ‘make my life complete’ plea. Just a need to have a good piece of kit.
R
http://www.fernandezqatar.com
Nov 30, 2007/4:44 amWe have heard alot of great things about Korg but we are not quite sure it has what it takes to capture the essence of what we lay down.We are a Metal band that has some pretty wicked guitar licks and a double bass that is super pounding.Not to mention the screaming vocals. We currently have to lay down each track individually and mix using our Old school Delta,We have tried the Yamaha aw16 as well as several other so called on the go mixers with little results. We would love to put the D888 to the test ,and if you want an honest opinion we are your band.
Skeptical in Indiana
ADEPT
http://www.adeptnmm.com
Nov 30, 2007/3:08 amGive it to the Kid, man.
actually………
i Am a kid when it comes to Korg
Nov 29, 2007/11:33 pmMay I thank you guys in advance for the wonderfull gift of the Korg D888. I know you have already read the rather pathetic attempts at tugging at your heartstrings with rather lame reasons and sometimes blatent lies as to why they should own this equipement, and can I say, I am so glad you saw through it!
Nov 29, 2007/5:07 pmThanks once again, I hope it lasts longer than my Triton, actually, when you send the D888 to me, could you possibly ask Korg to include a new joystick assembly for my Triton.
PS Could you possibly let me know on which day I can expect delivery so I can make sure I am in and not out doing my usual ten hour days of charity work! All the best to you Earl.
I once had a dream when I was very young, about being in music thought it could be done. I started in choir, and I actually loved it. I knew I had talent and would never quit. I got really good as the years went by. The only problem was I was really shy. I had low self esteem hated the way I looked, but I loved music and it had me hooked. So I put songs on the web and got good feedback, It was only the equipment that I lack. So if I get this it would be a dream come true, and if I get it, I’ll make it to the top too. I know I can make it and you will see, because I have determination and thats the key. So please give me shot to make this dream real. Then you will see
Nov 29, 2007/2:03 pmby the way i get no parental help my parents have no idea how to do anything
Nov 29, 2007/1:54 pm