Tascam Studio Bridge

Tascam break out their Model range’s recording facilities into a standalone device that you can hook up to any mixer.

As I was dotting the ‘i’s and crossing the ‘t’s of last month’s Tascam Model 2400 review, in came the news that Tascam had exploited all of its recording and DAW‑control features to create a standalone device called the Studio Bridge. Primarily, it’s for those with a console who want to benefit from the Model‑series technology without having to choose a Model mixer, but there are plenty of other potential applications. The ‘Studio’ in the name isn’t just for show, by the way: as a multitracker, it boasts the sort of studio‑friendly features that the live‑oriented products of the last decade or so haven’t, making it more a modern take on my Alesis HD24 than like a Cymatic uTrack 24 or JoeCo BlackBox Recorder.

Overview

The Studio Bridge might remind those of a certain vintage of the Alesis BRC remote control — but this time the recording facilities are built in!

The Studio Bridge is a multitrack digital recorder whose 24 analogue line inputs and outputs are presented on six Tascam‑format DB25 D‑Sub connectors on the rear. Alongside these are quarter‑inch jacks for a click output and a (not included) tap‑tempo footswitch. There are also five‑pin DIN MIDI in and MIDI out sockets, a USB‑B socket for USB2 audio interfacing, and a 100‑240 Volt mains IEC inlet with on/off rocker switch.

The analogue I/O can be routed to/fed from either an integrated SDXC card recorder or a USB‑connected Mac, Windows, iOS or iPadOS device. As well as delivering most of the functions of my ageing HD24, the Studio Bridge also loosely resembles the Alesis BRC, a remote control unit intended for multiple sync’ed ADAT machines that could, with some setting up, perform a similar role for an HD24. I’ve included a picture of the two units so you can see what I mean: the Studio Bridge just a shade smaller, but it comes in a similar desktop format and there are physical record‑arm buttons for every track, while a master section handles transport and other functions. Of course, things have moved on in the intervening years, so that’s pretty much where that comparison ends, and not least because the converters and recording are built into the Studio Bridge rather than being in separate rackmount recorders.

The record arm buttons, which flash red when armed, have smoothed edges that make it really easy to swipe to (dis)arm multiple tracks quickly, though there’s also a menu option to arm all tracks at once. Those buttons have additional functions too. First, as with the Model mixers, the Studio Bridge can be set to run as a DAW control surface (HUI for Pro Tools, MCU for other DAWs), and in that mode they record arm your DAW tracks. A third function is accessed using a Shift button: hold Shift and press a record arm button, and you solo that track in the headphone monitor mix. While we’re on that subject, there’s a built in screen‑driven digital mixer that allows you to select and set the level of each channel in that monitor mix (potentially very handy if you’re recording from the direct outs of someone else’s console!).

Above these buttons, each track has its own input source and Mon buttons. The former decides whether the track receives its input signal from the analogue or the USB input. The latter decides whether you hear the analogue input or multitrack playback signal in the headphone monitor mix.

The top panel has dedicated source selection, monitor and record arm buttons for every track, and those record buttons have hidden functions too.

The single headphone output has its own level control and proved perfectly capable of driving my Audeze LCD‑X and Sennheiser HD650 headphones to a decent volume. Beneath that is a click section, with a knob to set the click level in the headphones, and a separate button to switch the click on/off, or (when in the appropriate page on screen) to tap in the project tempo.

To the right, the SD card slot accepts full‑size cards up to 512GB, though you must provide your own....