Gasalcoholics anonymous? whoever said this was a help group?

[Seance]

What's your workflow like? How many tracks do you expect to need? Do you expect to be doing a lot of mixing or editing on the device? Do you want it to be able to give you a master bus mixdown, without ever needing to import into a DAW? Does it need to be convenient to travel with? Or another to approach it: what do you wish the H5 could do?

I wish the Zoom H5 had more on-the-surface controls for level/panning. But mostly I wish it could do overdubbing by simply pressing a button. Even with its 3 tracks (stereo for mic and Tracks 1 & 2), if I could arm tracks easily for overdubbing, then I could build tracks up by bouncing down existing ones and adding new ones as needed. I don't really need a lot of tracks.

I've thought about getting either a used Tascam DP-006 or DP-008EX or something similar because they seem straightforward and not too expensive. But they don't have as many surface controls as I'd like.

I have thought about getting a used Tascam DP-24SD. It seems to cover a lot of my requirements/wishes, but I'm not sure if spending 3 to 4x more and getting a Tascam Model 12 might not work better since it has more surface-controls for volume/panning/etc.

I'd probably prefer to mix down on the device without going to DAW because (although I've had a friend give me some pointers and rules of thumb about recording/mixing) my approach is pretty much in the hashy/improvised realm.

I've never liked the band KISS, but when it comes to certain sorts of technical things I'm stupid and need to keep it simple.

I don't need it to travel, although I did use the Zoom H5 a couple times to record a screening where I improvised the soundtrack or to record audio while shooting visuals.

Mostly I just want something similar to the workflow of an old Tascam Portastudio but without mechanical parts that can wear-down or that might need repairs so I can flail around within a limited sandbox.

I want to be able to just chunk things together via overdubs and find a stand-alone device that I don't have to hook up to my computer because I think that such a setup will help lower the mental barriers and hurdles that typically keep me from completing things. If the learning curve or the technical possibilities are too great, or if the workflow is too clunky, then I find it off-putting, lose momentum and drift off to other projects.

If a process makes sense to me, I can be driven. If not, then not.

Like with animation, I can hunker down and methodically scratch and/or paint a series of tiny images onto the surface of minuscule film frames (from 35mm to 16mm to Super8 film) for hours a day and for days at a time and for weeks on end.

But when it comes to animating things on my computer (even though I can easily "undo" "mistakes") I find that my enthusiasm is easily deflected, deflated, defeated.