Depending on your point of view, Korg’s new D888 is either an easy-to-use, analog-style mixer with a record button, or it’s a highly-portable front end for capturing live tracks to use in your computer-based recording software. Best of all, it’s both.

Park yourself in front of the D888, and you’ll instantly feel at home. Eight channel strips each feature XLR and 1/4” balanced inputs, a trim pot, a three band EQ, an effect send, a pan knob, and of course, a solid 60mm fader. Phantom power is available to the XLR jacks, allowing you to use a variety of microphone types. This convenient design assures lightning-fast set up and immediate results. Plus, a quick glance is all it takes to see the settings for every channel. The 40-bit digital effect processor offers eleven editable effect programs. Individual Send knobs, a Master Return knob, and an effect On/Off switch provide complete effect control.

In addition to eight inputs, the D888 is also equipped with eight configurable outputs. In normal operation outputs 1 & 2 are the Monitor Outputs, outputs 3 & 4 are the Main Outputs, and outputs 5-8 mirror the input signal of those channels. With a single button press, all of the outputs will now provide the pre-fader input signal of their respective channels. Why? This arrangement allows the D888 to effectively function as eight mic splitters, recording the inputs and then passing the signal along unaffected to the house sound system. Speaking of outputs, the D888 is also equipped with a S/P DIF digital out (optical) and two headphone outputs – each with its own volume control. A built-in metronome can send a click to the monitor outs, and MIDI clock/MTC can drive drum machines, sequencers, etc. from the internal clock.

Under the hood of the D888 lurks a powerful eight track digital recorder. Like the mixer section, the recorder is intuitive and easy-to-use, with illuminated transport controls, track status buttons, and a backlit LCD showing full metering and other pertinent information. All eight channels can be recorded at once. And best of all, each track – and each of the eight virtual tracks per track - is recorded to the 40GB internal hard drive as a separate 16-bit, 44.1 kHz WAV file. WAV files are compatible with nearly every computer-based recording program.
A USB 2.0 connection allows you to quickly transfer recorded tracks to your computer, with the entire D888 hard drive showing up as a mounted drive on your computer. The D888 also has its own complement of editing tools. Locate points make it easy to copy, swap, and erase track data – and the handy Undo/Redo feature lets you check the results before you finalize any edit. Punch In/Out recording lets you quickly fix any sour notes, and 8 virtual tracks per track let you try take after take to get that killer solo down. Internal mixing lets you bounce tracks to free up more tracks for overdubbing, or to create a final stereo mix of your song.