Tascam DR-05 Review With Audio Recording 

I would just like people reading this to know, you can multitrack with this device. You have to enable the feature first. You go into the menu - settings - recording settings and scroll down to turn auto rec off. This will allow you to hit record, play some guitar for instance.. then when you hit stop it becomes a file. The next time you hit record it will say overdub yes/no and if youre wearing headphones itll help a lot but then it will start a new file with this new track you are doing over the previous one

I'm a songwriter and keyboard player, i just bought one of those a few months ago and I'm very happy with this recorder, the sound is very impressive,very clear too,really its a great device!

As fine an overview as I've seen in the time taken in quite awhile. Thanks for the help in making a decision.

I'm so excited about this product. A guy in a drum/rock shop recommended it and I pick it up tomorrow. I'll be using it to record group time with about 10 3-4year olds and their teachers having a discussion. As it's for research I have to have a clean, clear recording so I can transcribe easily. I was beginning to think there was no easy solution. This might be it though.

Also realistically if you want to multi-track and dont feel like spending a lot, you could buy this tascam unit and simply buy a 4-8 channel mixer and play around with what youve got as far as turning the 'auto rec' feature off I had mentioned.

NICE job! My brain goes at 90 miles an hour and reading the manual isn't done until years later usually. I knew I was on the right track of learning this device when you said don't bother. Your audio and speech were very clear and especially no rustling noise that so many have when unboxing. Again Great job!

there are enough videos reviewing or unboxing this device but this review-video is the best by any means. Nice work and very usefull information, good close-ups on the device. You helped me very much!

Mercy, thank you so much for walking me through using the Tascam DR-05! I was a little put off when you started by saying, "don't bother to read the manual." What? I read the manual and was really confused and became more and more frustrated. Your program was concise, to the point, easy to watch i.e. well focused, and of course, with clear audio. So again, thank you so much for walking me through using this recorder. I would nominate you to make instructional videos for all my electronics! My Canon camera, for example. Happy New Year! Claire S

Hey man - good review. Really clean and precise.

I just got my Tascam DR-05. My old guitar player bought one last summer and I knew I wanted one. I still did a lot of researching and reading reviews and hands down I was going to get this one. I Thank You very much your review and showing of the basic of use. It sent me light years into my future. It's gonna come in handy this weekend. Thank you for the info.

That Tuner is a VERY nice feature for guitar sessions. I had no idea it was in there

I lost my H1 but also hated the tiny hard to press buttons. I had to use my fingernail to dig down on them. The tiny card door also did not work having to glue it in place. This unit looks like winner, Thanks for the great review.

I just bought one and was baffled a bit by the manual. There should be a simple "How to record" section, and I couldn't find one. I enjoyed your video. It gave me easy tips to do what I want with it, so now I can put it to use!! Thanks again. Nice job.

i just wanted to say this unit is freaking incredible. great battery life. i turn the mic gain all the way off and have a separate 8 channel mixer. great for recording studio work and podcasting. 24 bit recording is nice cause you can go back and edit the audio nicely in a daw. happy as heck about this thing. get a 32 gb micro sdhc

You sir, have just sold another dr-05! Thank you for this amazing review.

The audio quality of the voiceover is really good! Thanks for a helpful review.

I have mine dr05 for yrs Great tool for band practices

I'd like to get either this unit or the DR-40 for digitizing vinyl and other analog sources. Audiophile soundcards usually don't have RCA inputs and have much more background noise in general than this unit would. With the DR-40, you can connect with balanced line-level inputs. Most importantly, with a Tascam you're getting pro-spec A/D converters for about half the price of an audiophile or gaming soundcard (which will have nowhere near as good A/D converters and be much noisier). Amazon currently has the 05 for $80. Of course, the DR-40 is more.

Nice review. Just what I needed in learning about the Tascam Dr-05.

Thank you for this review, it helped me choose the Tascam and I love it! It's definitely my favourite toy and I use it for all sorts of purposes - recording song ideas, live gigs, recording, dictation and it handles all these jobs brilliantly! It's easily the best recording sound quality for a portable recorder I've found since my old beloved mini-disc recorder years ago. Thanks again, a very straightforward and useful review of a very straightforward and useful device!

This device is very simple and easy to use! I have had consistent success picking up great quality recordings. Sure there are lots of really fancy recorders out there with loads of advanced features, but as for me, I will likely stay with this great, simple little workhorse. 🤓

Thank you. I was having trouble with the mic-in volume, and this video showed how to fix it. Thanks for the help!

I just gotta say, as an owner of one of these for years one of the things that really ruins it for me is the fact that it loses the date and time when the battery runs out - doesn't seem like the biggest deal but it's beyond annoying when you have a recording and you have no idea when it was made.

Thanks for that great review, it helped me big time deciding between the Tascam and Zoom. I appreciate it!

I have one of this model . I use it to record most of external devices such as radio, cassette, cd and vinyl

I found the review to be very helpful. Excellent overview and introduction for my new DR 05. Also like the comparison with the H1. Covers basic operations very quickly. Very useful video!!

I ordered a Tascam DR-05 from SweatWater. Thanks to this video, I was able to use the Tascam right when It got here, a few minutes ago. Thanks, AibalReview!

Btw, in this video you didn't show it actually, "Powering up for the first time." The first time ever powered up, it shows a time set screen which did not appear like it should have. Great video!!! I recommend this product!

Nice review. I own this unit and I like it as well. Your mono tip for voice over recording was key for me. Most appreciated.

Very good review. I picked up a Tascam myself. And I agree, I would get the Tascam over the zoom just because of build quality.

Fantastic Review! I just got mine and enjoyed learning the basics with YOU! Many Heartfelt Thanks for a great video!

From what I found its best to do a test song first to adjust levels or have the band or you sing the loudest one, cause if you do it during the main song you will get clicking noises from the buttons....

Do you think this can handle louder sounds in the 100+ db range? I know it's strange, but I would like to use it to record the audio from tornado sirens.

Man, great review! I've been searching for a portable recorder that could produce a good-quality tracks for professional voice recording to set up a home studio .. you actually wasted none of my time and gave a great feedback on the device! I really appreciate that, keep it going! Greetings from Russia ;)

Mine came in and I watched this and other videos plus scanned over the manual. All of the "set-up" info was pretty straightforward. Recorded two sets of a live band last night plus their sound check. Came home thinking I had 3 files. The sound check, the first set, and the second set with all 33 songs. Nope, I have 151 files of the music. Some of the songs are made up five, sometimes, six separate files. Obviously, I have something set wrong for music. I thought I was buying a device that recorded when I turned it on and kept recording until I turned it off. No such luck... This Tascam DR-05 has only one question on their website's FAQ support page. To add insult to injury, the video on the DR-05's page is not even for the 05! More research and phone calls in my future...

Forgot to mention the tripod mount on the back(Screw hole) a useful feature, and one that might not be immediately obvious to a lot of people.

Thanks a lot! Sorry for the delay in answering!

Nice review - even better you didn't say "Hey, guys" every 8 seconds!

Great review!! I just received mine (before I looked at your video). Well packaged and I just love the feel and the ease of setup. Menu is great-now all I have to do is record and playback to see for myself how good the machine is. Thanks for sharing~~

WXCELENT review. One of the best of any product I've seen on youtube. Many thanks for posting.

Excellent tutorial, concise, straight to the point.

Sold ! Tascam owes you a commission for probably two units. Nice review. Very helpful.

You jumped over the record functions of 'Low Cut', 'Pre Rec' & 'Auto Tone'.

Thanks for the review, next to your brilliant video quality, the Tascam makes a good impression. Think I'm gonna get one.

Super in-depth, I really appreciate this!

Thanks for this review. It was thorough, and gave a good overview of the recorder. You saved me some time leafing through the manual.

Great vid, I will buy this one, but I'm not very shure about the line in feature, because I read that the line level from this is very high so almost everything you plug in will create distortion, for ex. the stereo rca out from a mixer,

Thank you sir, this video is great. I will maybe check a vid on the zoom but i saw a picture of it, and on top of everything else, the DR-05 looks more like the device for me.

Hi! Why does my screen keep turning off after about 10 seconds? The device stays on and I can see it in a non-lit black characters. It's just the screen keeps turning off. Thanks for having this tutorial!

It isn't really a helpful review as the most important aspect would be the audio-recording quality under various conditions. It is shoehorned in at the end in the last few seconds and doesn't tell me how it will record in large rooms, hallways, crowds, how well it will filter out the background noise, how sensitive the microphone is to wind and other environmental effect as rain (I live in Holland: a very windy and rainy place) and how it will react when carried around.

Wow thanks for the review! Mostly instructive and shows how great the Tascam-05 is!

@leefuji Yes. You don't need batteries in the unit at all if you're connected via USB.

Thank you for the great information about this product. I am ordering one today.

Very nice, simple, straight- forward.....just what I wanted!

when you're in recording mode (but not recording, just in standby), use the fast forward button and move it up to about 50

Great job on the video.. I just bought one.. Thank you!

I made a recording and though the volume was turned on to the max, it barely came through on my speakers. It's recorded in stereo and and the tone volume is -24 dB and low cut 80 Hz.

@TIRanald Nope. It's not a USB mic. The cord is only for charging or file transfer.

What settings did u use while recording? it sounds very clear. Did u edit it at all?

I think when you use the hold button is to avoid to accidentally erase what you already recorded. But I am not 100% sure

I bought one for recording live music. It gets loud sometimes, do you recommend any settings for high volume? Thanks and good review.

Very cool man. I had one of the original portable Tascam 4 track recorders. They make really good audio equipment.

this is way better then that old zoom I had.

May be i WAS just unlucky with this and should have sent it back but on play back it plays slow so I BOUGHT A PROFESSIONAL DIGITAL VOICE RECORDER FROM CHINA FOR £30 LESS THAN THE DR5 AND IT BLOWS IT OUT THE WATER IT ALSO CAME WITH A 4GB MEMORY AND MUSIC SAMPLES

that was the best review ive seen of this. thank you!

Very well done. I might get this Audio Recorder if the Line in works well.

That's exactly what I'm experiencing! I have the same settings as shown above but when I record on mono the playback is too low. If I have on stereo I hear a lot of hiss!

I just got my dr-05 (version 2) bundle delivered, and I know it has the auto record option in the menu. I looked through the manual and couldn't see if auto is their definition of voice activated.

What about when you have it on your computer? can you hear the footage?

Great review, I want to use it with my GoPro Hero 5 black attached to my Karma Grip aa the sound recorded on the Gopro is pretty bad, I like the inclusion on a tripod mount underneath so I can attach to the Grip.

BumBumBand from Germany who is a very popular band these days (although they don't sell that much stuff) record only with tascam @

mine is on the way from amazon, going to get a good mic for recording concerts as well as a batt box to power my mics..

mk2 has a nice loud speaker, excellent walkthrough

Very nice review. I like your smooth way of talking and explaining. Just one short question: What about battery life? How long can you record with a set of two AA-batteries?

It uses a micro SD card and you usually need a card reader such as a "Targus All in one card reader" and it connects with USB to your computer. the micro sd is included in the package

Distance not mentioned i was to know if i am in a room 20 feet from the sound or more mabe a flute playing how well will it record it thanks!

Good , clear & informative review. Also , the camera is excellent. What r u using? Thanx.

ive broken the screen on my dr05, i can still use it but i cant transfer files via usb anymore as I dont how to select storage on the USB screen. would really appreciate if some could let me know what buttons to push once ive plugged in and turned on the device

thank you so much for the review and i think im going to order one now!

More importing think is do this recorder can lock all buttons while recording?

I would like to know, can you use this recorder without batteries if you plug it in to a computer with usb?

Thanks for the info, it was helpful

one thing the h1 has from what I've heard I really wish tascam would have implimented is use as a usb mic. I owned a dr-07 and then it got either lost or stolen, and I'm thinking about going dr-05 (I didn't even really need X/Y for what I use it for honestly)

Great in-depth review. Thank you!

Could we use this to record our band for promo cd's and for recording acoustic sessions?

Well done. I'm persuaded.

Spot on and very clear! Thank you! Can't wait to start using it! :)

calm down, the video was really helpful and well made.

thanks man, is it a great idea to sell this one to record the lecture from 10 meters far from the doctor without moving from my chair ??

Is it possible to connect the tascam Dr 05 to a mixer??

Is it possible to continue previously recorded file after turning off the device?

is there any facility to charge the battery just by connecting to pc by usb cable?

so i just plug it in the computer and it will work not intalling cd or driver?

Does the USB port also supply power if we don't want to use batteries?

Hi, nice review. 2 questions if may I: Did you use an external microphone connected to the Tascan DR-05 to record the audio of this video or just talking directly to the bare unit? Did you post-processed this audio before publishing? I mean noise removal, filters, etc Thanks in advance.

for voice recording Olympus recorders ... Tascam (wav) has problems with loud input and the voice is not bright and crystal... Olympus DS30 (wma) has perfect auto limiter - peak reduction ..... OLYMPUS No1 . used it the last 10 years...

I got the dr-07mkii for christmas. I was expecting the 05 so I'm a little intimidated. So you just snap in front of the recorder to check if you will peak? I'm a little lost on how to adjust my levels.

Very Good Review, I enjoyed it. Thank you. Very informative and very PRO.

i have bought this one to a few days ago, but i still don't understand what the hold button does.

Very well done!