How to resolve AdBlock issue? TASCAM Portacapture X6 for Neon Vines
As an electronic multi-instrumentalist and music producer, Jackie Buono, known professionally as Neon Vines, loves to explore the vast creative potential of modern music gear and software. By blending the technical intricacies of music production with the expressive, emotional world of musicianship, she delivers a performance and sound that is both fresh and innovative in today’s industry. She has spent the last two years finalizing her forthcoming album, which is set to be released in March 2025. As music creation involves both experimentation and capturing ideas on a moment’s notice, she finds the flexibility and portability of the TASCAM Portacapture X6 to be a vital component of her creative process. Neon Vines described some of the various ways in which she uses her Portacapture, “I find it extremely helpful for capturing spontaneous ideas that I come up with when I’m on the go or away from my computer. I often sing short rough ideas or concepts into the built-in microphone so I can revisit them later.”
“Recently I’ve been using the Portacapture X6 to record my handpan - a pitched percussion instrument - and hand percussion playing,” she added. “I can even take my handpan out into the forest, and the quality of the audio captured by the recorder is amazing. I also enjoy recording audio samples from nature, then coming back into the studio and using little bits of chopped nature samples within my drum grooves. It adds a dynamic layer of depth and a breath of life to the beat that helps make the rhythms all that more unique.”
Neon Vines reports that she has been working with her Portacapture X6 for roughly a year and a half. When asked about those features that she finds most beneficial to her manner of working, she offered the following thoughts. “The unit’s portability is a major selling point for me,” she explained. “It’s really the only piece of gear I own that I can easily use for audio capture wherever I go. Also, the built-in mic preamps are high quality and very low noise, so it’s great for capturing the subtleties and details in sound without a high noise floor.”
The TASCAM Portacapture X6 offers both presets for quickly capturing various types of sound with optimum settings as well as a Manual mode for customizing one’s own settings. When queried about her experience with the recorder in these areas, she offered the following, “I use the Music and Field Recording presets the most often. The music setting works great for live hand percussion, acoustic guitar, or vocal recording, while the field recording preset helps me capture environmental textures with clarity and depth. Manual mode is great for fine-tuning input levels, EQ, and dynamics based on the sound source,” she added. “I often tweak settings to optimize recordings for post-processing - especially when layering sounds for a complex arrangement.”
With the seemingly unlimited number of ways today’s electronic equipment gets used as part of the creative process, questions inevitably arise. Hence, responsive and capable customer support services are crucial. Here too, Neon Vines has received excellent support from TASCAM. “TASCAM has always responded promptly to any questions I have encountered and are very thorough and helpful with any troubleshooting needs. They clearly have people on staff who understand both the equipment and the recording process.”
Before shifting her focus back to the business of the day, Neon Vines offered these parting comments, “Utilizing the Portacapture X6 has been awesome. It's versatile, easy to use, and delivers professional quality recordings in any setting. Whether I'm recording live performance content or experimenting with new sonic textures, it's a tool I can rely on. For anyone looking for a portable, high-quality recorder that fits into both studio and live performance setups, the Portacapture X6 is an excellent choice. It bridges the gap between professional sound quality and ease of use - making it perfect for creators who need flexibility and reliability.”