Name: TASCAM GT-R1
Category: portable digital recorder
Price: about JPY35,000
Release date in Japan: August 26, 2008

Here's one for the musicians. TEAC, the Tama city-based maker of recording gear, offers the new 208-gram GT-R1 IC recorder and effects box for music makers on the go.

While aimed primarily at recording guitar and bass via direct line input, the GT-R1's stereo microphones will capture acoustic guitar - or your whole band - at better-than-CD 48kHz/24bit quality. (Or capture your sales meeting instead, should you want to request such mundane tasks of the device.) Record your riffs for later output to another device, or lay a new track on top of a saved recording. Also built in are a 55-effect multi effector, which you can add either during recording or during playback; rhythm presets to give your session a beat; and a chromatic tuner. Playback options include such niceties as speed control and interval looping.

The GT-R1 saves to WAV or MP3 format on SD/SDHC external memory. The included 1GB SD card will record about 100 minutes of audio in WAV format, or over 18 hours in MP3 format.  

Look for the device at music and electronic shops throughout Japan from late August.

More info: http://www.tascam.jp/list.php?mode=99&mm=9&c2code=01&c3code=02&scode=091... (Japanese)

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