On the Zoom P8 there is a "noise gate" on all channels (not the individual channels) it is actually called "auto mix" or something, which turns down any channel that isn't talking automatically. That sounds more natural that a hard noise gate. And saves you a ton of time in post-production. (This again is a feature that neither the Rødecaster Pro nor the Tascam Mixcast 4 have.)
Yes, auto mix is nice but it only works with multiple mic's active. It's not a noise suppressor so if you're running a solo podcast it does nothing (as opposed to a gate). The Tascam Mixcast 4 does indeed have the auto-mix feature!
Nice. The only thing I was hoping to hear you address was the incredibly loud bleep button. I’ve not been able to lower its level. Very ear piercing if several sound effects are planned to be used. Did you notice the same?
lol yeah, it's a bit loud. You can just dial back the soundpad fader when you anticipate using the beep or you could potentially just make your own bleep sound and assign it to a pad?
Here's some advice you didn't ask for... I think you're overdoing it a bit with the deep tone on the mixcast 4. Sounds a bit too boomy to my ears. The audio quality sounds much nicer on the mixcast 4 when you choose the manual option under tone, and then adjust the high and low shelves individually. Lastly, you have a very nice, but strong voice, prone to plosives. I suggest using the fatter windshield with the sm7b. I mean no disrespect. Peace ✌
Thanks for the feedback. I'm not much of an audio person so I tend to just pick what sounds good out of the box. The deep tone does sound a little boomy with the SM7B but makes the Podmic sound a bit better!
After having the Mixcast 4 for about a year now I could not be happier. You can bring in 4 outside callers via USB Voip call, TRRS on back, TRRS on front right corner that uses channel 1 and Bluetooth all with mix minus. Yes! the pads and they have text letting you know what sounds are assigned to which pad and that's HUGE compared to other products. 4:47 that's a headphone/mic jack in front, TRRS.
The USB power adapter for the rodecaster pro works with the mixcast 4. I have it and tried it. Works like a charm. You have to use the correct powerbank though, just like with the rodecaster pro.
@@arriagatwo777 You need at least 2.4 amp output. Some Anker and Ravpower power banks work. When you purchase the Rode USB power cable, they give you the required specifications of the power bank.
Fantastic comparison video, thank you so much! The Mixcast sounds better to my ears. And it seems superior in so many other ways as well. 24-bit 48k, and a true multitrack interface... that's a no-brainer
i'd really like to have a quick feedback if possible; i'm about to buy this product and my question is: i have logic pro x; is it possible to record directly on my software 4 simultaneous microphones and each input separately? how to setup this; thanks
Really useful review Dave. I have a Mixcast 4 arriving this week so I appreciate you taking the time to run through all the different settings. I have a Rodecaster Pro but it had an encounter with a large glass of gin and tonic! I was undecided whether to go for the Zoom or the Tascam, most people are leaning towards the Tascam having the edge over the zoom.
What you call quirky key sound being recorded, is due to your microphone is not suspended. You need a good microphone suspension. In my case it doesn't happen. It happens with all Zoom recorder, which got auto actuator; when there is no sound, mic is suspended by relay. This relay click are always recorded by all Zoom recorders; is very much annoying. I am leaving Zoom forever, except for the time-code generator-recorders for cameras.
Lol not quite! Curtis is the GOAT! This was literally a test I did for myself to see what these two sounded like side by side… but it seemed like it was worth sharing… I think 🤔 thanks for being the first comment 😂
all nice functions, but one necessary functions stopped me from get it. That is the Auto mute monitor (when engage mic fader) function. We all have speakers/monitors in our setup. when we are not talking to the mic, we all enjoy use the speaker monitor to monitoring on the program. But how many time did you forget to turn off your speaker monitor before you engage the mic fader, and then get a crazy whistle. that will jam up your recording. I know you can post edit that, but how much trouble you have to go though. When you can just have this simple little function turned on like the old time radio station analogue mixing table. I thought Tascam should understand the importance of this functions from the radio work flow. But yet this function is missed. On the other side, Rode Caster pro has this function, which is critically needed by pod casters, and Rode listens. I have talked to the Tascam rap, they said they will look into it, but never got any feedback. I am not sure if my though has gone anywhere. but a month and a new firmware upgrade later, this function still hasn't been added. I am not sure about you, but I can't use this fancy thing with out this auto mute function. it will make my pod cast workflow so messy, because every time I open faders, I need to check the monitor volume. ( think about how many time do you turn on/off your fader during a show) You will what I mean! I guess If Tascam doesn't add this functions, Tascam is really pushing me to Rode caster pro. If you are getting the same concern, please support me, Let's help Tascam develop the best Pod cast mixer together!
On the Zoom P8: You can tap the soundpads channel on the screen to see the names of your jingles. Not as easy as on the Tascam, but at least it is visible somewhere, not like on the Rodecaster Pro where you don't see names of jingles ever.
The on-board editing of the Zoom is nice but not something I use often. I've found the Tascam to be more feature rich in most departments including 24 bit / 48K audio, true multi-channel over USB, USB-Delay settings, voice effects, on-board processing for noise gate and more granular control of the EQ/Compressor. They're both quite good though!
The Zoom sounds a tad stronger with all settings turned off for sure. Great video guy! I'm going to plunk down though in the Mixcast 4 just for the cell phone mix minus connectors and the addressable affects pad. Great review sir. The Mixcast 4 requires 12.5 watts maximum and that's is beyond the spec of all USB except 3.2 which isn't even close to being "saturated" out there yet so not realistic to power it over USB. The Rodecaster P.S. is 5V and 1 Amp totaling 5 Watts and that's USB'able. I'd prefer an audio device that uses higher voltages as audio with higher voltages require less amps to get the same wattage and will usually have less hummmm.
What XLR cables do you use? And also I wanted the mixcast 4 but I ended up getting the tascam US42 because I only do a podcast slash stream with one extra person. One day I'll get one of these bad boys.
I'm trying to find a sample of the poly wav file produced by the Mixcast 4. Specifically, I would like to determine if I am able to open the multitrack file in Audacity. I know there is a Tascam podcast editor, but I would like to migrate to a new board without impacting pre-existing production workflow. Thanks.
Mixcast 4 sounds softer and better but that's an opinion. I use Rodecaster Pro and I'm thinking of adding Mixcast 4 now... BTW, I can't have my Rodecaster Pro serviced (seems impediance problem with channel 4 mic) since I had it shipped over to Japan. With Tascam, I can buy it in Japan with full warranty.
I would love to see a master out on these units so u can route the main audio to a fm transmitter. Then it can also be used as a main mixer in a radio station. That would kill all those expensive broadcast mixers out there.
Did you end up keeping the Mixcast 4? Could you test your unit and listen for a noise floor/hiss on the headphone outputs? (no mics, nothing else, just headphones in the monitor ports and listen if the unit can actually emit "zero" sound) I've had to RMA a half dozen Rodecaster Pro units until I was eventually given a refund. They all had this terrible hiss/buzzing or noise floor when everything was set to 'off' and the unit was factory reset.
*great rundown* *!* How are the knobs and faders mounted? I bought a Zoom mixer once and sent it back the same day, because their knobs and faders were obviously *only held by the solder joints* *!* Build quality was dismal. So I'm suspicious about plastic built small consoles, no matter what the specific flavor is... *No USB power* option does kinda suck.
I use the Mixcast to livestream sports for our local high school. I was thinking of getting the Zoom as a backup , but after your review helped me chose against it. The new firmware update on the Mixcast allows for some of the one touch features you mentioned. The sound pads are a big this for me, because I use them for commercials. It has multiple banks that the Zoom doesn't seem to have. I use the noise gate suppression to filter out background noise when I'm not talking.
Great comparison. I really appreciated the way you demonstrated the sound output with and without effects turned on. Do you have any experience with Zoom L-8 mixers or thoughts on how they might compare to the Mixcast? Seems like it would be more comparable to the Mixcast than the P8.
The L8 is more designed for live music/music recording while the P8 is designed for podcasting so thats why I compared these two. I don't have first hand experience with the L8 but one nice benefit is that it supports 24 bit/48K recording while the P8 is limited to 16 bit/44.1K. The P8 has a much nicer screen/interface and built in editing which is a bit of an advantage as well.
@@thedavedillon For me, the P8's focus is on padcasters who want to get a "good enough" audio mix recorded, minimally post processed, and published. The sound pads are big and obvious and easy to use. The L8's longer faders are geared toward people who are fussier about adjusting the mix of their live sound. The higher bit rate and ability to record individual channels instead of just the final mix provides much more options during post processing for improving sound, separating crosstalk, and repurposing content by slicing long form podcasts into short snippets. If my only focus was getting a podcast out the door, the P8 would make much more sense. To get flexibility to do more requires using the L8. Sounds to me like the Mixcast 4 combines the best of both.
Great video & super detailed! Could you do a video comparing the sound bank features from the p8 Vs mixcast. As a podcast / love streamer that flexibility of sounds banks & how many sound fx we have is important.
Do you know if i can use Track 6 to get sound from my PC via the Podtrak from my PA? I want to have the PA Monitors connected to the Podtrak. Thansk for response!
Very similar. I think the Mixcast 4 has cleaner pre-amps and about 10db more gain so it's easier to drive mics like the SM7B. The Mixcast also has a few advantages like the sound-pads have indicators on screen to show what the buttons do and the built in voice changer/reverb. Both are great units though!
The Tascam looks much robust. The biggest drawback: you cannot talkback to remote calls! I don't like the fact you have a bunch of xlr you will never use on the podtrak... they could have included the bluetooth in built. For those and other reasons the best piece of equipment is still the Rodercaster pro I think.
So on the mixcast, you can take a call and get the audio but you cannot hold a conversation correct? What about zoom, the conversation app, is that the same kind of deal?
@@Hdthevoice hi! You can surely hold a conversation and recorder and all bells and whistles... what you cannot do is prepping your host over the bluetooth nor by the tcr or "mobil" cable... prepping means you can talk with your guests over the phone without being recorded.
I have no reason to be biased. I bought both with my own money. I just think the Tascam is a bit more advanced in a lot of areas. The zoom is great, and I like the fact that it can run off USB bus power but the Tascam has a lot of benefits including proper 24 bit recording.
HINT: They both terrible on stereo audio (Music)... they will tell you they aren't designed for this... while a cheaper device that cost fraction of these device's price do everything perfectly.
What the!? Why would this thing not be able to handle music? Are you talking about using the 1/4" input jacks? I'm thinking I could use USB out from the computer to the Mixcast and send all audio to my receiver (and on to external speakers). Bad idea?
@@adamesq I did not say it can't handle music, I am saying the audio quality is not good enough... Most people (probably such as yourself) don't even know what's a good sound quality... they mostly press play and starts nodding their heads. All I am saying here... the audio quality on an audio source such as mastered audio music is BAD... This unit is perfect for VOCAL PODCAST and possibly instrument... but NOT AUDIO MUSIC.
@@webandbe Welllll...if it's "terrible," for my purposes, it's not handled. Anyway, I have had my share of experience with album production and studio mastering. Unless you're talking about audio aficionado snobbery (respect, but not my thing), I have a decent idea of good quality audio and when equipment is not cutting it (I've had my battles with 1khz USB issues, Moog vocoder carrier waves bleeding through, S/N ratios that didn't cut it, lifting grounds back in the day, etc). Bottom line...I have an unopened Mixcast 4 here, so before I jump in, I was trying to figure out if there's a major drawback here. I was hoping to figure out what exactly where the unit is falling short. My first guess was that the DA converters are not handling audio input on the 1/4" jacks properly...or if there's simply a software issue. I'm not planning on mastering an album on this thing (supposedly, that can be done on the RCP 2), but if it's screwing up playback...that's an issue. Do you think this is a software or hardware issue? (I was hoping Tascam would be far more active on marketing the Tascam, FAR more active on social media and much more proactive on updating this thing.) Thanx for any insight.
@@adamesq Fair enough, I have to add that I owned the unit in its early days... Maybe things have been improved since via Firmwares and softwares etc... Tascam is and will always be a great brand, I currently use X8 Multi-Track Recorder to record my DJ sets and it's the best recorder around (to me at least) and I tried few... everything for its purpose.
First of all, GREAT QUALITY!!!! Secondly, I own the Rodecaster Pro but I've been trying to find an excuse to get the Mixcast 4. I want a travel unit and I'm debating whether or not to just buy another RCP. I love the way the Mixcast looks, though!!!!
