How to resolve AdBlock issue? TASCAM’s Portacapture X8 used by Qumarosh Abbas Khan
Today’s audio professionals are required to deliver high quality content for a wide range of applications, including TV and film, podcasting, video games, virtual reality, and more. To accomplish this, not only must the audio engineer have the capability to address these various tasks, they must also have the tools capable of delivering the type of content necessary. This is precisely why producer and sound designer Qumarosh Abbas Khan relies on the Portacapture X8 8-channel 32-bit float Portable Audio Field Recorder from TASCAM.
After earning his Bachelor’s degree in Musicology and Master’s in Sound and Visual Technology, Khan began working in multiple disciplines, including orchestral and choral recording, dialogue for film, sound effects for games, and visual art media to name just a few. Khan takes pride in his Master’s Thesis Soundscape of Estonia in Ambisonics by Qumarosh Khan because he had the opportunity to record natural ambiances from multiple locations in two Estonian cities. He is also very proud of a choral recording that he captured in Essen, Germany titled Ad Te, Deus! by Essener Domsingknaben and Harald Martini. He discussed his fondness for the TASCAM Portacapture X8.
“I have been using the Portacapture X8 since 2023 for a wide range of projects,” Khan reports. “I use it for recording foley sounds both in my studio and outdoors. Most of these sounds are used for a variety of video games, virtual reality applications, and sometimes I use it in an XY configuration to record additional channels during recording sessions. Further, I use the Portacapture X8 as an audio interface when working remotely, and in my studio, I use it as a mic for my Zoom and Google Meet calls. My clients, I might add, mostly use it for podcast and voiceover work.”
When queried about those Portacapture X8 features that he finds most appealing, Khan offered the following thoughts, “First of all, the 32-bit float point record capability ensures optimum sound levels, and it is quite easy to link channels. It’s also very compact and lightweight, so I can keep it in my bag while I capture binaural recordings. I can also control the recorder using a Bluetooth connection from my phone when running the TASCAM X application. I can also connect four microphones and use the two built-in mics, which provides considerable creative freedom. Additionally, the recorder is USB-C powered, so it works with most power banks.”
The TASCAM Portacapture X8 includes a variety of application specific configurations, or presets, that enable the unit to have optimized settings for tasks such as podcasting, field recording, vocal recording, musical instruments, or ASMR. When asked about his experience with these presets, Khan said, “I always use the Manual mode. Being a classical music recording engineer for both Indian and western classical, I prefer to make my own settings. I can control all the parameters and most importantly, in Manual mode, I don’t have to do anything. I just connect the microphone and start recording. There is no extra step or configuration that I must be concerned with. It’s important to note, however, that you can very easily start with one of the presets and fine-tune it more to your own preference. With the Portacapture X8, you have the flexibility to work either way.”
With many of today’s musical / audio electronic devices, questions inevitably arise, so responsive and capable customer support services are crucial. When asked about his experience in this area, Khan reports, “So far, I have not encountered any issues that have required me to contact TASCAM Customer Service. What I might add, however, is that the company has a variety of excellent product tutorials available on YouTube, and these can be extremely helpful.”
Before shifting his focus back to the business of the day, Khan offered these parting thoughts regarding his Portacapture X8, “I believe that, in my 8 years of buying different equipment for recording audio and working with different brands of field recorders, the Portacapture X8 is a terrific and extremely versatile one-stop solution. It can record audio, you can connect it with your DAW and use it as an audio interface, edit your work, and get it ready to publish. That’s hard to beat!”