OK Opus, I think I found the forum that you told me about from the Tascam site.
Just to refresh your memory I was asking about products that could record 8 or more tracks into Cubase at the same time.
I have been using Cubase for about 3 years with a Creative SB Live! Platinum soundcard. I've simply been writing songs myself and recording by adding guitars and bass, vocals etc etc one at a time and using the drum tracks in Cubase for percussion.
So as far as Cubase's audio capabilities go, I know my way around.
Now I'm in a band I'd obviously like to stay using my familiar Cubase. Unfortunately the SB Live! Platinum won't really let me record drums too well, or record us when we play live, as it only permits 1 track record at once.
My computer is a PII 400Mhz with 128Mb 100Mhz RAM, Win 98.
but that is very soon to be upgraded to a Fast Pentium 4 or AthlonXP processor with an enormous harddrive and lots of RAM, a Firewire port and WinXP.
So here's my problem, I know nothing about the pro's and cons of the systems out there that allow 8 or more discreet tracks to be put into Cubase at the same time. I'd like someone to help me.
It's important that at the moment, I want to stay within Cubase, bacause it's familiar to me. Here's some devices that I think would work
Tascam US-4228 (USB, but it only does 4 tracks)
Moto 828 (firewire solution, it looks good on paper)
Tascam PCI-822 & TDM-1000 combo (T/DIF solution)
and I'm sure there are many more that I don't know of...and maybe I'm a little confused. so could somebody advise me of which products I should investigate, bearing in mind my proposed new computer's set up.
thanks
Philip
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Hey thanks buddy, that's loads of help. I'm going to be build
Hey thanks buddy, that's loads of help.
I'm going to be building the computer myself...so I'll get only the components that I need. I'd planned on
AMD AthlonXP 1.53Ghz (1800+)
VIA KT266A Chipset
512Mb DDR RAM
High capacity UDMA 100 or UDMA 133 Hard drive
Windows XP Professional
The Layla24 looks like the best set up from those that you suggested. I might well add an external mixer too, rather than directly plugging everything in.
Anyway thanks for the advice, when I get it all set up I'll tell you....although that might not be til February!
Oh and one question, if I recorded some songs in a studio, would the Layla permit me to transfer those tracks home into Cubase via ADAT? Of course I'd need a device capable of reading a ADAT and interfacing with the Layla.
hope you can help :)
well..first...AFAIK...there is no UDMA 133 drives..I could be wr
well..first...AFAIK...there is no UDMA 133 drives..I could be wrong tho...havent been paying attention to those things lately!
look at the Layla24 again...it has an Optical input..plug Adat light pipe into Layla..set clock to optical input..set cubase to record from optical inputs...transfer in!!! easy as 1 2 3!!!
Have fun my friend....
One quick thing...Avoid overclocking your cpu if all possible..you dont want to overheat your processor..it's really not reccomended and in fact no need to these days with such fast processors..
Opus
Well UDMA 133 is just coming out now, but all motherboards are s
Well UDMA 133 is just coming out now, but all motherboards are still UDMA 100, the way around this is getting a PCI UDMA 133 controller, these are being bundled with the first set of UDMA 133 drives.
Maxtor are doing one at 160 Gb! That should be large enough for most audio things :)
once again, thanks for your help
Hey Phil As one of the regulars at the Tascam I hope you didnt
Hey Phil
As one of the regulars at the Tascam I hope you didnt mind me redirecting you to a better site to discuss this option..as there really isnt any Tascam device that would really work well for 8 tracks at once..the TMD is a great concept especially bundled with the PCI822 but there are cons that would come with it...no direct monitoring and a really wierd interface!
Now..there are several possibilities here..
Echoaudio.com
They make the Layla, Mona and a few other devices that might be in your interest..the Layla has 8 ins and outs..very nice interface...analog or optical digital both at the same time if need be.
MOTU.com
they make some great stuff but a little more pricey..the 2408 has 8 analog ins and outs plus 24 in and out of TDIF and Optical..probably more than you need but if you plan on using lots o digital that would be your choice. 1224 is nice..all analog inputs and outputs..both have great dynamic range and headroom availability..the 828 really isnt that great to be honest..you have to be carefull of what firewire chipset you have and also the dynamic range and headroom on that device is pretty low so you cant get the good loud input recording without it distorting. I would advice not to go that route. Great idea but lacking in certain areas...it's made for that portable on the fly scratch recording situation. My opinion anyways..
Aardvark-pro.com
Direct Pro..pretty nice..has on board DSP and some nice features..
Q10..lots o XLR ins! great for one without an external mixer..right into the computer...
Midiman.com
Delta1010..and other devices..
you see there's a TON of possibilities to go for..it all depends on how you plan on getting the signal into the computer..are you going to use a mixer to bring the mics into first or do you want to go directly into the computer? I would really reccomend getting an external mixer..makes life a hell of a lot easier to deal with IMHO.
Cubase is a great application and can handle 8 in at once easily..the system is more the factor than anything really..A PII 400 is a little slow and 128MB RAM needs to be definately boosted! that's what I started out with and I noticed at 24 tracks it started to bog down big time!!
If you're going for a new system just try and not get a Dell or Compaq..they add way too much garbage and may not have the correct chipset for everything to cooperate properly or function properly! This site here has a TON of info and amazingly smart people(me being one of them of course! lol :D :p )
Also on the DAWworld there has been discussions about that as well so take a peruse thru some of the threads and see if there's something we've discussed you can look into. Dont forget I make custom PC's for audio applications and whatnot..ask more questions if you need to man..we're here to make sure you are comfortable and happy with the knowledge before you go and do it!!
Peace and Welcome to RO land
Opus