The 10 Best Multitrack Recorders

The Tascam DP-008EX 8-Track (appx. $199) is a great way for anyone new to recording audio to begin learning the ins and outs of the art. It's got enough channels that you can grow into more complicated sessions, and its phantom power increases the types of mic you can use with it.

Thanks to its male 1/4-20 mounting hardware, it's easy to secure the Marantz Professional PMD-706 (about $299) directly beneath your camera, whether that's a camcorder, a DSLR, or other piece of equipment with the appropriate female threads.

The Roland Digital HS-5 (around $630) is designed to sit atop a simple cymbal stand in the middle of your band's practice space, so you can experience a live mix of your rehearsal and lay down anything that you think is worth keeping for future reference.

The Zoom F4 (around $550) is a good model for the itinerant audio professional who spends a lot of time in the field and may not have many opportunities to upload their work to a computer. That's thanks to a pair of SD slots that can each support cards of up to 512 GB.

The primary inputs for each channel on the Zoom LiveTrak L-12 (around $600) are built right onto the top of the device, so you can make changes to your setup without having to fish around in the back of the console. With level indicators next to each fader, you can easily tame your mix.

With a total of 21 faders and a 3.5-inch color display, the Tascam DP 32-Track (appx. $596) provides a lot of opportunities for you to take control of your mix. The handy input dial makes it easy to navigate its various menus and settings.

The Zoom F8N Field (appx. $1000) boasts limiters on each channel that offer a nice amount of headroom while protecting the signal from clipping that could result in distortion. That's great when you're tracking from particularly dynamic sources.

The Tascam Model 24 (around $1000) is a superb option for anyone looking to set up a home studio who doesn't have the room to spare for much more than a high-quality console. This selection can utilize SD cards as large as 128 GB, so you can store a lot of audio data.

The Zoom H4N Pro (about $220) gives you the chance to get your hands on an incredibly high quality system for a relatively reasonable price. It even has a pair of stereo X/Y mics mounted on top, if you don't yet own anything to plug into it.

The Kashmir microphone preamps inside the Sound Devices MixPre-10T Portable (appx. $2167) offer up some of the cleanest signals on the market, making this a good choice for the kind of detailed audio work essential for the film industry.