You might want to consider the Tascam MX2424 or the Mackie HDR2496. They are more than an ADAT, unless you bought a blackface when they were new. If you had one you could then do live 24 track instead of 8.

If you were looking for something with replaceable media (like ADAT's) Look at the Tascam Da series. Good machines that will last forever, they also can record 24 bit

Thanks for the reply guys. The 24 channel hard disk recorders would be useless at this time since I don't have the console to make it work and usually don't record groups that need more than six or seven mics anyway (I record mostly Bluegrass bands). I have thought about the Tascam recorders also, but they are a little spendy. I'm also looking at a Fostex 8 track digital recorder which will give 1500 minutes of uncompressed 44.1 track time. That should be sufficient and it costs under a grand. Thanks for the input.

I'm setting up a Fostex for a client now. Be forewarned it takes 5 1/2 hours to format a hard disk before you can use it. I've had this thing formatting disks all week now. We are using 40 GB drives though. I don't know how many hours of music you can put on one. The Tascam DA78HR is nice for the price too.

Keep me posted about how the Fostex works, it seems to be a good deal for the money. What kind of 40 gig drive are you using? Are you just using a single internal drive or are you hooking up external drives also. I would think a 20 gig drive would give me enough space for my needs. I usually wipe the drive after the project is mixed and mastered anyway since I back up to CD-R. I need to be able to record up to five hours of 8 track uncompressed audio in a single session. Format time is not an issue since I can do it overnight.

Thanks..

What would you all recommend as a replacement with a reasonable cost? I need to record up to five hours of music and ADAT tapes make a very cost effective method.

When I need something like that, I use a friend's Otari MX-5050 1/2" 8-track, and fill up my portable 8-space rack with mic pres, maybe a limiter or two, and a little Mackie 1202 for monitoring. The tape costs a bit more (I get 1/2" GP9 or 900 for about $40/reel), and it won't do five hours at a time, but it works for me (recording loud rock bands). As a plus, I don't have to worry about digital storage.

But that's just me. If I were you, I would suck it up and get the DA-78, as backing up to CD-R drives me crazy, and you'll be dealing with a higher caliber of machine than the Fostex. You're still dealing with a mechanical transport, but for me, having ready-to-use masters makes up for the difference.

Since I've started dealing with Pro Tools and other non-linear stuff, I've spent countless hours backing up and restoring files, when I could have just loaded up a reel or popped in a video tape. And no, all of the automation,plug-ins lack of rewind time, et al, don't make up for it.

mb
mb@theecholab.com