A solution would be a laptop with an ADAT to firewire interface. However....If you're doing a LOT of live shows, there isnt a more stable platform than the Alesis. The LAST thing you need is a crashing hard drive in the middle of a show. There are several engineers on this site that use the Alesis as a live recorder and I dont think they'll disagree. The interface and laptop will run you roughly the same number as an Alesis for the same quality.

The [[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.joeco.co…"]JoeCo Blackbox Recorders[/]="http://www.joeco.co…"]JoeCo Blackbox Recorders[/] look like an interesting alternative with 24 tracks @ up to 96k - but not cheaper. But they rely on a standard external hard drive [not included, naturally]. But the good news is, when plug that drive into your DAW you're ready to go - no importing tracks, no converting formats.

Although you could sell off the Alesis.

Keep working and getting paid, save up for something bulletproof.
I can't think of anything cheaper than finding another HD24 either.

facethewolf, post: 365275 wrote: I work with bands that regularly require over a dozen channels. Of course the usual multitrack recorder has only 8 simultaneous channels--ARRGHH!!. For me the Alesis HD24 is the GOLD standard. but it's a big leap budget-wise to go from a Boss to an Alesis.

I have a Mackie TT24 with 3 Adat fiberoptic outs. I do not need the A/D converters that the Alesis has.

Is it possible/economically feasible to get a PC Card with fiberoptic inputs and cheapER software that can record 16-24 channels simultaneously? I'm aiming for a solution 1/3 of the price of an Alesis.
Thank You in advance.
Sincerely, Sean

You could go for a multiple-ADAT interface to your computer. Either the Presonus FireStudio Lightpipe or the M-Audio Profire Lightbridge can accept the 3 lightpipes from your Mackie and plug into a PC Card FireWire interface (needs TI chipset) on your computer. You are reliant on the computer being able to handle the channel load and route it off to (an external) data disk. Low cost audio software such as Reaper can handle the data from these interfaces.

If you went for an HD24, you would absolve the computer from having to handle that data load at the critical time (during the gig). To get the recorded tracks off the HD24, you could plug into the ADAT interfaces as described, or you could get an external Vipower USB drive into which you plug the caddy from the HD24 at mixdown time. You would need the HDTools software from [[url=http://[/URL]="http://ringbreak.dn…"]Marc Breevoort's site[/]="http://ringbreak.dn…"]Marc Breevoort's site[/] to read the HD24 drive, as the format used is not one that is recognized by standard PC operating systems.

Thank you for the responses. At least now I know what brands to investigate. Although, I guess nothing will ever compare to an Alesis no matter what. Thank you.
Sean

The Presonus Firestudio Lightbridge comes bundled with the DAW Studio One Artist. How well does that function for recording purposes?