All user reviews for the Tascam US-122MKII

What has motivated my choice? Advice on Audiofanzine, 2 XLR ports, reputation of the brand, the price.

I possde a macbook pro 13 "(2010 version), and I intended to record guitar and vocals.

USE

The drivers are very stable Mac is installed, plug and it's good (for against, do not forget to days drivers for Mac on the site, otherwise noise and not very strong) .dropoff window Basically I use Logic Pro and Ableton slightly. Under Logic, nikel, he perfectly recognizes "....
Latency seemed appropriate without being exceptional. (22.5 ms and 14.8 ms in Logic without the sound card, ie the core Audio)

IMPLEMENTATION

The installation was quick and trouble t, while for the same config, the manual is small but sufficient. At the incompatibilits I the accuracy of all again, do not forget to put drivers 2.machin days.

NOTICE GLOBAL

I use it for 3 days, um, a suitable without making me jump up ... The knobs are not very sturdy, the sound seems a bit limited, I can be a little deaf but I 'like the sound up loud to fully realize certain passages.
And I'm not enough can be a connoisseur but have more latency with no sound card, I did not expect to, as this is my first sound card. Menfin short, j'diterai may be my opinion in some time after use in recording and in the long term. At least you have an opinion of someone making the mao for 4 years without sound card and keyboard, and a little skeptical about the quality of listening gain that seems to me more than minim, knowing that the purpose of rather as a sound card recording but good.

I bought this sound card to record guitar and vocals

UTILIZATION

The drivers are stable Windows XP. I switched to Windows 7 and it's a stampede, it is often weak.

GETTING STARTED

No problem for intalation, the handling is easy

OVERALL OPINION

I used it for about 2 years. I went now to scarlett 18i6 who is superior.
The preamps are very limited, it should be used with micro that level too low output, I would say at least 13mV/Pa if there is too much wind.
The buttons can be a chip, they are people who run alone, y others who turn not alone ...
I do not like the buttons on the top, I would have preferred the group.

With the experience I will not repeat that choice, I will turn to another brand. If you are on windows 7 it is not worth it.

The Tascam US 122MKII is a USB 2 channel interface. It has switchable phantom power right on it. There are two XLR inputs for mics and 2 low noise microphone preamps. It comes with Cubase LE 4 and works great with multiple DAW software programs so you do not have to use it with Cubase LE if you do not want to.

UTILIZATION

This interface was pretty easy to set up, the preamps are quiet and have headroom. On Mac operating systems is where I ran into some issues with it. I had a fast processor and I was running a newer version of Macs OS X but for some reason it would not recognize it all of the time. It only would about 50 percent of the time and I would have to unplug and plug it back in for it to recognize it.

GETTING STARTED

On my Windows computer running XP 32 bit service pack 3 it ran smoothly every single time. I have even run it on a Vista system before and it never had any issues.

OVERALL OPINION

This interface gets its power from the computers USB port and it is very lightweight making it portable. There are MIDI ins and MIDI out 5 min connections. The sampling rat is 44.1 48 kHz, 88.2 and 96kHz. This interface did come with a manual (book) and I also had a PDF manual for it as well but never really needed to look at it. If you are a Mac user, I would not recommend this interface because there are some compatibly issues that can arise. Windows users will love this interface and the preamps in any software they choose to use it with.
This interface was pretty solid and could withstand a lot of use, the side panels where made of aluminum and it never let me down. I recommend it (to Windows users).

This is a really small interface, the Tascam US 122 can be purchased online used for really really cheap. I was surprised by how cheap a used one was, so I looked to see how much it was brand new and it wasn’t much more. After seeing the prices on them, I was curious on how it sounded, after getting one I can say that the sound was great, the latency was basically absent and the quality was very clean and precise. I also noticed when I used a cheaper mic with it that the quality was not so good at all. So it really comes down to the daw and the mics that you will use with interfaces. That is my theory, so paying a lot of money for an interface really isn’t necessary , only reason I will pay a large amount of money for an interface from this point forward is for the ability to record multiple mics and instruments at the same time, and to have a rack able unit.


UTILIZATION

I didn’t find anything wrong or negative to say about the Tascam US 122. I have been using Tascams products for years now and they always hold up and never cause me any problems. Between them and Behringer, those are the two best small interface providers in my book.


GETTING STARTED

No manual was needed everything is labeled and very easy to understand.


OVERALL OPINION

You will love using the Tascam US 122, its easy to use, and small. It will give you great recording quality as long as you have a good mic or at least a decent mic to plug into it. Invest more of your money into a good mic and good cables and get the Tascam US 122 used for around 45 dollars and you will have a good setup.

What characteristics have motivated your choice?

Royez Music

What instruments or systems (console, preamp, DtDs ...) the use and how you connect? ...

Microphone + sound card early

then tested with various preamps

UTILIZATION

The drivers are stable?

Yes

How often are updated?

I do not know

What software do you use most often?

Cubase and Live

What you get lag?

between 4 and 7 ms

How many tracks do you manage to record / play simultaneously? ...

GETTING STARTED

The installation is done it without problem?

PC or Mac without worry

Have you encountered any incompatibilities?

No.

The general configuration is easy?

Easier, you die!

The manual is clear and sufficient? ...

I did not read ...

OVERALL OPINION

How long you use it?

almost 3 years

What is so special that you love the most, least?

+ Easy to use, Its more than adequate

- Lack of gain (but I quibble)

Did you tried many other models before buying it?

no it was my first!

How would you rate the quality / price?

Good especially since it comes with Cubase LE5

With experience, you do again this choice? ...

Yes, but I will leave soon on a Roland UA 55 quad capture!

I needed a cheap interface to start the Input / Output noon and 2 audio inputs to match my needs ...
I do a bit composting with Logic midi and audio Percu ... I am mobile and US 122 MK II, compact and quite sturdy.

My config is: Macbook pro 15 "core i7, 4GB of RAM and 500 GB HDD;

UTILIZATION

The card works fine except with some application like imovie, but it surrounds Logic impecable.
However on windows 7, it is not even worth the try, I left there my nerves

2 track simultaneous recording with no problem

GETTING STARTED

not compatible with windos 7, although the drivers are

OVERALL OPINION

I use the past 1 year
This is my first external sound card.

The Tascam US 122 MK II is a very affordable small interface made by Tascam, and it accompanies the US 144 MK II. Both of these interfaces offer two microphone and two line inputs each. They are both very affordable and very portable, and they both include midi, headphone monitoring, and line outs. What the US 144 MK II has over the US 122 MK II is its inclusion of digital. This US 122 MK II does not. Another strange limitation that seems to both me is the lack of separate knobs for headphone and line outputs, which the 144 has. This bothers me because I find this lack of inclusion very convoluted, and nothing but a way to upsell the customer to the 144. Either way, the line and phone output situations should not affect a recording situation too much, especially since this device probably will not be used in a situation where the lines and headphones will both be used anyway.

UTILIZATION

The drivers for this are very stable, and the latency is very low from when I used it. I have heard some strange things about them being incredibly unreliable on 64 bit systems though, so if that is true, and this is a universal complaint, so maybe it is, then it would mean that this product is practically unusable, since most people have already moved to 64 bit systems. Buyer beware, and test this out before you commit to this unit.

GETTING STARTED

Personally, I have found that the drivers on the computer I tried this on to be very simple and run with incredibly low latency. The preamps on this machine were also very pristine, oddly enough. I found them to be entirely sufficient, especially for the use that I know this machine will see. So I am not worried by this. Again though, the drivers seem to not work on 64 bit machines, so be careful!

OVERALL OPINION

I love this interface for what it is. I has a couple of silly limitations like the lack of separate knobs for headphones and line outputs, and the strange driver issue on 64 bit systems. The truth is, while this is a good unit in its own right, I cannot really recommend it to anyone for these annoying problems!

Brand reputation, and advice given by sonofrance after a long search, I play live with a TH2 overloud portable asus dual core laptop on vista os

UTILIZATION

No driver problems 
Overloud TH2
not tested in recording 
2.9 millisecond latency (royal)

GETTING STARTED

No problem

OVERALL OPINION

1 month
no
good price/quality ratio 
Yes

advised by a friend, I bought it with my eyes a bit closed as I was recommended it. 
many who have Windows 7 64-bit or 64 bit vista have problems with this card.
I have problems with crackling, this is due at 64 bits.

UTILIZATION

just for windows 7 64 bit there is indeed a driver but causing crackling or creaking, I'm not alone in this case. I use fl studio but even those who have the same config as me and using another software computer music are in the same issue.

GETTING STARTED

Installation is no problem, the driver + firmware.

OVERALL OPINION

I use it for some time now - for 1 month. So almost new.
otherwise the sound is good but there's always these parasite problems and apparently no new updates announced, tascam has a customer service that is very difficult to reach, they say they will call bakc and then they never do.

What characteristics have motivated your choice?
I needed an audio interface with stereo input for entering the output of a mixer, but also an interface to record from time to time to play guitar and bass (equivalent to a TonePort), I So I opted for this model

With which instruments or systems (console, preamp, DTD ...) do you use it with?
To record my group, I am returning the output of a mixer over, and I record what comes directly from the table. For my personal records, I use it with an electric guitar (Yamaha AES620) and an active bass (Ibanez SR 700)

For what purpose?
Record myself and my group, to play without having to use a huge amp too and to play quietly to play headphones, without latency. (No latency if it plugs directly into the headphone output)

What is your config (Motherboard / CPU / Ram / Disk ,...)?
Now I am running a MacBook Pro 2011 with Ableton Live 8, but before that I was under Windows which was not very powerful Windows that had 3-4 years, and it worked fine too, depending on use, but generally with ASIO and Ableton, it runs pretty good, the power has little to do with it in the end

UTILIZATION

The drivers are stable?
No crash for 3 months now and I've had several recording sessions. Daily use, pops in early use, but some settings in the buffers and asio and here we go!

What latency you get?
If you go through the large loop and we do TascamAbletonEntry Monitoring Tascam, we had a latency of a good second (both with my old PC, as with the Mac setup question I guess). On the other hand, we may very well plug in the guitar direct, activate the integrated guitar preamp (and yes, super good quality and more, maybe just a little low level noise, but it depends on taste) and get directly to the output of the Tascam headphone, and there is absolutely no latency, as on a normal amp.

GETTING STARTED

The installation is done it without problems?
A little laborious to install drivers on Windows, but it can go anyway

The manual is clear and sufficient?
It is very big (80-100 pages, A4), that's all I can say I did not open it...

OVERALL OPINION

For how long have you been using it?
Since January 2011 (3 Months) daily as an external sound card. It is an excellent sound card, from the integrated Realtek chipset for my old windows or in relation to the sound card in the MacBook Pro 2011, the quality is far superior, is in deep bass, treble sounds so good, excellent, nothing to say about that!

Did you try many other models before getting this one?
I just had the little home Toneport line 6 (GX). The Toneport is a plastic toy compared to this metal case and macif. While the software in line 6 is very comprehensive, on the hardware level, we feel the difference ... Toneport GX the box must have weighed about 100 grams, the Tascam weighs almost 1kg and above, you can type on it, throw it, the case is indestructible (except the buttons seem a bit "plastic").

What thing do you like most/least about it?
+
- Robust
- Sound card quality
- Input / Output MIDI
- Phantom Power
- Integrated preamp for guitars
- No latency direct mode

-
- Installing a bit difficult
- Sizzling guitar preamp when pushed a little (this is may be also my active bass preamp)
- Buttons wide gap with the robustness of the box (buttons not resistant)
- Connecting via USB 2 (Firwire, 3 or even USB Thunderbolt were favorites ...)

What is your opinion about the value for the price?
Just unbeatable! Maybe the Mackie ONYX home can compete, but it does not offer so many functions and connections.

Knowing what you know now, would you make the same choice?
I would choose a Tascam again, but with more inputs, a model for a hair above the price can record my entire group together (multi) better. But for the use of the musician who wants to record on Sunday and wants to have a quality sound on his computer, yes, it's really great!

For a laptop, the problem of Firewire is summarized in one word: From the game in the making!
That is why, I was looking for a USB2 card, and I chose this model.

I use a HP Pavilion dv8 (Intel Core i7, 7 64-bit Windows) Cubase VST 5 and including Omnisphere I use it a lot.

I work a lot with headphones: Sony MDR-7509HD
(By the way I need to write a review on this headphone, it is pretty amazing)

UTILIZATION

No worries, it's as stable as a marble base.
For latency, I cannot remember anymore, but it is insignificant.

GETTING STARTED

Bah, with Windows 7, if we plug it in, you can go have a coffee. You can come back, and it's ready: it will look for drivers alone as it is great!

OVERALL OPINION

I use it for 1 year.
It is true that I have not yet had the opportunity to make tracks with the microphone to the acoustic .... but it's not going away.

I will update my review and tell you.

One thing is certain: the price / quality ratio is quite monstrous!

I work with a laptop and an external card was the primary motivation. For my part I use this card to capture sounds from external synths and occasionally from a microphone to record a bass guitar.

On sound side it is great. On the midi side, it is a simple and effective interface, I am glad to have found it to pilot from my synth to my sequencer (Ableton Live 8 on Windows 7 32 B)

my profile is rather electro / studio which forces me to master the effects with maximum precision and I do not really see the benefit of having onboard effects.
For the price, other cards on paper have more options.

Self-powered via USB, it's cool.

UTILIZATION

control buttons are thin and tight.
I'm using the 2 simultaneous inputs converted to Mono in stereo from Ableton, I mix the sound level at the entrance directly with the card and it's perfect.

The problems of latency do not really affect me for the studio, but I can see that it is low.

GETTING STARTED

Download the driver at the site and it rolls. Manual very clear RAS

OVERALL OPINION

My only regret is that I want a second midi input ...

All I can say is that this card is super simple to use. This is the best purchase I made in my config, never disappointed!;
On the price/quality ratio, I have nothing to say.