Hi, could anybody advise me on this:
For the past years I've been mixing down 8 analog (Otari 1/2 inch) tape tracks to DAT then recorded to HD through my old SBLive-card and Sound Forge. (That's right, mine is an amateur set-up !)
I've just picked up a Fostex digital desk (VM88) and recorder (VR800) and would like to mix down on the PC using Cubase.
1. Can I expect a major improvement from this ? (I record on location and use all 8 tracks simultaneously.)
2. You can download 8 digital tracks 2 at a time, but an ADAT interface seems the way to go.
3. There's no great choice in ADAT-cards (here in Holland, that is): there's two RME-cards and the Terratec ews 88 D (which offers additional MIDI i/o).
Thanks for any help,
Adel (newbie in this newsgroup)
Comments
Hi Gary, thanks for your reply, I'm not expecting my Fostex dig
Hi Gary, thanks for your reply,
I'm not expecting my Fostex digital setup to actually sound better than my Otari analog one.
But I do expect it to be less of a hassle (I can't even lift the Otari into my car alone) and lower in running expenses.I've come to appreciate buying new tape, but you can't be serious about calibrating the deck after every recording session ? You mean cleaning, right ?
And then I expect mixing the tracks in Cubase to be a major improvement.
Before I got your advice, I had already run into a used Terratec ews 88D card at a price I couldn't resist.
As far as multi i/o is concerned, the interface only needs to be digital. The Fostex desk is supposed to convert the 8 analog tracks to digital. I've never come across the Frontier Design card you mentioned over here. But I'm sure your right that the RME would have been the best card.
The object of all this is: a quick & cheap digital set to take along for low-budget recordings and the analog one for clients who are willing to pay for the extra expense in tape and time & hassle. And all can then be mixed in Cubase. I also want to experiment with syncing the Otari and the Fostex recorder and getting 7 analog and 8 digital tracks.
Thanks again for thinking things through with me !
Adel
Of course you will see a major improvement from analog tape decs
Of course you will see a major improvement from analog tape decsk to digital MDM's...first you dont have to worry about calibrating the heads each time you record with an analog 8 track!! Plus your noise floor is totally different now! A lot cleaner!
The RME card has the best converters IMO..you could seek out a Frontier Design card..Dakota or Wavecenter PCI
Are you going to want analog as well in the future? Look at EchoAudio.com...the Layla or the Mona..
Not sure if you are just looking for Optical and SPDIF only or analog as well.
Opus