« Tascam DP-004 Pocket Studio does the job »

So if you are looking to lay down the tracks to your new EP, this isn't the one for you. If you are looking to lay down tracks for some rough ideas and put some basic tracks together, this can be a very nice tool to begin to chart out song ideas or work on rhythm and lead concepts. The DP-004 Pocket studio is a great little unit and packed full of features that make it truly worth the money. It has two 1/4 inch inputs and two built in mics that are surprisingly great in the quality of the sound they record. There are levels for each of the inputs as well as a master volume. Each of the four tracks has a Pan and Level and they work just fine and do the job they are supposed to. You can bounce tracks, input tracks and save to CD format. Most importantly this unit is easy to use and understand and simply does what it's supposed to do. The design allows you to work with one hand while holding an instrument with the other. They definitely had the musician in mind when they built this. The menu and main selector dial is as easy as can be and lets you quickly get to recording and not having to refer to the manual twenty times. The manual while small is sufficient to get you going fast.

I was quickly able to import a backing track, lay down a solo and submit for a contest which was why I bought this in the first place. Yes there are more sophisticated things out there for that purpose such as Garage Band or Pro Tools, but for a relatively low cost, this can be the perfect tool for small projects. I love this thing and will continue to use it.