Following recent updates by Cakewalk, MOTU, Steinberg and Emagic, the incredibly successful FW-1884 Audio/ MIDI interface and Control Surface is becoming universally supported by the best professional DAW applications available. Co-designed by TASCAM and Frontier Design Group, the FW-1884 turns any Mac or PC from an office machine to a professional audio workstation with one FireWire cable. With an 18-channel audio interface, 8 mic pres, 4x4 MIDI interface and flexible editing and mixing control surface, the FW-1884 is the ultimate front end for DAW recording workstations.

"For the first time, a musician can purchase one box that turns their home computer into a professional recording, editing and mixing workstation," says Jim Mack, Division Manager for TASCAM. "Instead of configuring disparate mic pres, computer interfaces, monitor mixers, control surfaces and MIDI interfaces, someone can plug in one FireWire cable and get everything you need to craft professional-sounding audio productions. And with this latest batch of support from some of the top workstation software developers, connecting the FW-1884 to their DAW application just got a lot smoother."

Steinberg® is the latest manufacturer to rev their audio applications to better support the FW-1884. Their new support of Mackie Control™ control surfaces in Cubase™ and Nuendo™ allows the FW-1884 to control those applications. MOTU recently released an updater for Digital Performer™ that allows it to be used in 18-channel mode. Emagic updated their Logic™ application for better compatibility with the control surface, and Cakewalk has updated Sonar™ for better compatibility. And TASCAM continues to add features to the FW-1884, like the new 1.21 software update that allows our SoftLCD application to be used with the FE-8 fader expander.

The FW-1884 uses the high-speed FireWire computer communication interface, a much more advanced technology than USB. Here's what that extra bandwidth delivers:

• 18-channel audio input and output: eight analog, eight ADAT digital and two S/PDIF coaxial or optical
• 24-bit/96kHz recording resolution with surround monitoring control
• Comprehensive mixing, automation, editing and navigation controls for almost any DAW application
• Mackie HUI™ and Mackie Control™ emulation
• Nine 100mm motorized touch-sensitive faders
• Dedicated controls for pan, solo, mute and select per channel, tactile control over four bands of EQ
• Eight balanced XLR mic/line inputs with high-quality mic preamps and phantom power
• Four MIDI inputs and outputs
• Available FE-8 fader expander adds an additional eight control channels and faders, up to 129 channel control