Whether he is performing, working on sound design, or hunkered down in the recording studio, the ability to quickly and easily capture performances, experiment with musical ideas, or record instruments and more for inclusion on a recording is essential. Having a compact, intuitive recording tool to capture all that comes to mind is vital to these activities, and for bassist / recording engineer Roland Guerin, the solution is the Portacapture X8 8-channel 32-bit float Portable Audio Field Recorder from TASCAM.
Guerin has a wide range of musical and creative experience. From 2008 to 2015, he was the bassist for musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer Allen Toussaint. During this time, Mr. Toussaint served as an important mentor to Guerin. Later, Guerin served as Musical Director to singer / songwriter Dr. John, who also greatly influenced his approach to music. Currently, Guerin has his own band called the ‘Roland Guerin Band’, and they will be releasing an album in early 2025—segments of which can be heard on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/album/0xCUCfIOf7a6HQyiBuSCRR) or his BandCamp page (https://rolandguerin.bandcamp.com/album/prog-funk). Further, Guerin’s work as a photographer will soon be released on a historic publication titled Seeing Black (https://www.seeingblack.org/publication). He discussed his fondness for the TASCAM Portacapture X8.
“My Portacapture is my personal audio stenographer,” Guerin reports. “At any time throughout the day and whenever inspiration hits, I capture voice memo clips of me singing or playing my bass. Having this capability lets me feel good about not missing a moment of inspiration. These moments are like gold nuggets to me! I can take these ideas and add to them, drop them in software on my computer, drop them into a sampler/drum machine, and more.”
“I’ve been actively recording all of my live shows for many years now,” Guerin added. “From back in the day of using cassette tapes, MiniDisk, and other recording formats, capturing my live shows lets me evaluate what actually happened, as opposed to my perception of what took place. This form of documentation has helped me to learn and grow. To this day, I still have my first TASCAM recorder, the DR1. Now, my Portacapture X8 takes matters to a whole new Ievel. The audio from some of my shows is definitely worthy of a live album release and I’m about to be in a position to start using multiple mics in my live show capture. This is exciting. And outside of live shows, I’ve used my Portacapture X8 to record a final mix from my DAW and I’ve used it several times as an audio interface while on tour.”
When queried about the Portacapture X8’s key features he finds most appealing, Guerin offered the following, “I love how it boots up so quickly. I can have it in my hand while walking on stage, turn it on, and by the time I get into position, all I have to do is set it down and hit record—all in one easy motion. Another plus for me is having the record level adjustment right there on screen. This makes it super easy for me to have a crystal clear visual of my recording signal. I’m also a big fan of the Portacapture’s presets. They are a tremendous advantage when recording in different environments. From time to time, I use them all because I’m always working on multiple projects and doing a variety of things throughout the day. The presets provide a quick and easy setting for multiple types of recording situations.”
Guerin is equally enthusiastic about the Portacapture X8’s Manual mode. “With manual mode, I can adjust the record settings to match the recording environment, and for me, this is so important. Between the presets and Manual mode, the Portacapture offers a terrific way to capture sound accurately.”
With many types of musical electronics, questions inevitably arise. For this reason, capable and responsive customer / technical support services are crucial. Here too, Guerin is very enthusiastic about his experience with TASCAM. “For me, TASCAM support has been nothing short of world class! In my experience, I have always found the TASCAM staff to be both personable and helpful. It makes you feel like they really do care.”
Since getting his Portacapture X8 in May of 2022, Guerin has used the recorder for a wide range of projects. When asked to summarize his experience with the recorder, he offered these closing thoughts, “For me, my Portacapture X8 is a close nit tool that I really can’t see being without. It captures my ideas, it feeds my samplers, it fuels my songs, and it interfaces with my computers. Further, it also records audio into my Fuji cameras, it records my rehearsals and records my performances. The Portacapture X8 also provides me with great wireless control capability by using the Portacapture Control app with my Android Galaxy S24 Ultra. No matter what type of recording task you might encounter, the Portacapture X8 can help you get it done.”
To learn more about Roland Guerin, visit him online at https://www.rolandguerin.com/home.
