Tascam FW1082

The Tascam comes with several software packages:

• Ableton Live Lite 5 (with a free upgrade to Live Lite 6)
• ASIO Drivers
• Cubase LE
• Cakewalk Sonar
• GigaStudio LE 3.0 (gave me the Blue Screen of Death each time I used it; Nuendo also gave the same result until GigaStudio was uninstalled)

I downloaded the Tascam FW1082 Windows XP Updater, installed it and rebooted. Didn't see the Tascam ASIO driver in Cubase. Turned out that the rear FireWire port (directly connected to the motherboard) didn't work. I connected the FireWire cable to the front of the case and things started to happen. When I attempted to update the firmware the Windows Blue Screen of Death appeared. I rebooted and the firmware updated just fine.

Next time I started Cubase I found the new ASIO FW-1082 driver, as shown in the image on the right.

I followed the Setup instruction on page 2 of the v1.50 Release Notes in order to get Nuendo to work with the FW1082. Those instructions are a bit brief, and were written for Cubase SX; Nuendo is just a bit different, so here they are for Nuendo, with pictures added and somewhat better organized than the manual.

I've provided a complete set of screen shots for Device Setup and VST Connections.

1. Push the button marked "Control Panel" on the Tascam FW-1082; the FW1082 Control Panel applet will appear on the computer monitor. This control panel applet is also accessible via the Windows Control Panel.  Select Cubase SX / Nuendo under Control Protocol, as shown below, then click on Close. Warning: if Audio Latency is set too low you will not hear any sound; the setting of 32 below did not produce sound.
   
   
2. In Cubase or Nuendo, select Devices | Device Setup.
1. If using Cubase SX 2.2 or Nuendo 2.2:
1. Click on the Add/Remove tab.
2. Add one Mackie Control device.
3. Click on the Setup tab and assign the Mackie Control device’s MIDI In and Out to the FW1082’s control port. Press Apply.
2. If using Cubase SX 3 or Nuendo 3:
1. Click on the + sign in the upper left of the Device Setup window and add one Mackie Control device.
2. Click on the newly created Mackie Control device and assign its MIDI In and Out to the FW1082’s control port. Press Apply.
3. Note whether Enable Auto Select is checked. When checked, this automatically selects the channel in the DAW corresponding to the touch sensitive fader when the fader cap is touched. The Device Setup dialog should now look like the following image (note that the cursor was hovering over the plus symbol at the upper left hand corner, which causes the Add Device tooltop to appear):
   
   
4. To avoid confusion, Tascam also recommends going to File/Preferences/Editing and unchecking ?Enable Record on Selected Track?. In Nuendo, this checkbox is found as the second checkbox on the File/Editing/Project & Mixer panel, as shown:
   
   

The Release Notes then say: "Note: If your Project includes MIDI tracks you should select something other than “All MIDI Inputs” as each tracks input option. Not changing this default will result in an armed MIDI track trying to record all control surface data." Not sure what program menu this comment pertains to.

Classical Guitar

My classical guitar ("Sanchez") has a Fishman pickup under the bridge; it works best when plugged into the Line in of the Tascam.

M-Audio Keystation 88es

I connected the MIDI out of the keyboard controller to MIDI in 1 of the FW-1082, and the USB cable to the computer. The USB cable provides power. The manual states that although an external power supply can be used with the 88es, not to leave one plugged in for extended periods of time. I am not usre if the USB cable will be used for anything except providing power, since the FW-1082 will handle everything.

I noticed that C2 on the M-Audio Keystation 88es goes "thunk" - definitely unmusical. Gonna exchange that unit. I'd like to play it like a piano. Not sure how just yet.