AudioChainsDB
Tascam

Model 12

interface_dac

$699

Used market: $420*

Manufacturer datasheet

Specifications

7 of 13 values have a recorded source
Type
Audio Interface·
Ein dBu
-128
Bus Powered
no·
Max Gain dB
50
Analog Inputs
8x XLR (Mic, CH1-6 + 7/8 + 9/10), 10x 1/4" TRS (Line), 8x 1/4" TS (Instrument), 1x 1/8" TRRS (MUSIC/TALK)·
Analog Outputs
2x XLR (Main, balanced), 4x 1/4" TRS (Sub / Aux), 2x 1/4" TRS (Headphones)·
Digital Inputs
USB-C·
Min Usb Power W
0
Headphone Output
Max Power mW: 45 · Max Voltage Vrms: 1.2 · At Impedance ohms: 32·
Max Input Level dBu
10
Max Sample Rate kHz
48·
Phantom Power Provided
yes
Release Year
2020·

Expert Audio Engineering Commentary

Gain Staging Advice

A mixer that is also a 12-in/10-out interface and a 12-track recorder. Read the preamp figure, not the headline: 50 dB before the fader is modest, and a Shure SM7B on speech will need most of it plus fader make-up, which is exactly the arrangement that makes hiss audible.

What the datasheet actually says

Quoted verbatim from the manufacturer’s own page, with the date we checked it. We state what is printed, not what anyone intended by it.

Measurement conditions
«Maximum Gain 74dB (MIC to MAIN OUT) 54dB (MIC to INSERT OUT) 74dB (MIC to SUB OUT) 75dB (MIC to AUX 1/2 OUT) 24dB (USB/SD to MAIN OUT) (EQ flatten, PAN fully counter clockwise / fully clockwise)»

These are path gains — preamp plus channel fader plus master fader, measured from the microphone jack to a given output — not the gain of the microphone preamp. The same page states the preamp separately: 'Gain Adjustable Range 0 to 50dB'. The 74 dB figure is the one retail listings quote as preamp gain; a microphone plugged into Model 12 sees 50 dB before the fader, and the rest is level made up downstream, after the preamp's own noise has already been added.

checked 8/5/2026

* Estimated with the depreciation fallback (~60% retained value). · checked on 8/5/2026