Hi there,
I'm looking to get back into recording my own stuff again and was wondering if anyone had any advice on which home recording studio to get. I started off years ago with fostex 4 channel tape studios and my last one was a 4 channel MD recording studio however I have certain requirements now that Id like to meet and was looking for some guidance or advice.
I will mainly be recording a stereo vocal track from CD and overlaying 2-6 vocal tracks.
My requirements are listed below
8/12/16 channels (8 will suffice)
USB in and out (I wish to upload tracks straight from an external HD)
Onboard Effects
Decent preamps
A decent EQ on potentiometers
Hands on controls (I prefer the basic pot and slider layout to the cluttered 20 sub menu options)
I dont need a drum machine inbuilt, I also dont need a metronome, loops facility or midi
The format of the studio would have to be hard drive, not minidisc or other
A CD burning facility might be useful but not essential
An external screen monitoring facility would be nice to use a full size vga monitor but Im guessing this is a luxury I will have to do without
I was looking to spend under £500 and the Tascam DP 02 caught my eye as it seems to be more hands on than menu laden unlike the Yamaha AW16G which I have tried and found unnessasarily complex. I have researched the Tascam DP 02 unit and there are mixed reviews some saying how good the unit is and some saying the preamps are poor and the hard drive access noise is annoying when recording
I guess basically Im looking for an easy to use, hands on 8 track recorder for very basic use, I dont mind second hand or new either.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated,
many thanks,
Steve.
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I think that the OP was speaking of a stand alone recorder (port
I think that the OP was speaking of a stand alone recorder (portable studio.) here
There seem to be a rash of questions regarding Tascam operations which leads me to believe their manuals suc.. I have never been the least bit impressed with the sound quality or the effects (reverb, delay, etc.) If you had firewire I would suggest getting a good two channel interface and learn to mix in the box (computer) there are sliders and or knobs on the screens, the pro recording programs and plugins you get offer a huge step up in quality, though they require a fair amount of learning to use well. I guess the big question is budget and what your standards are for quality.
You are likely correct about the stand alone units. I have neve
You are likely correct about the stand alone units. I have never liked the Tascam units so didn't want to muddy things with my poor opinions of them. And the Alesis HD24XR is an outstanding piece of gear 8-)
Ignore the Edirol and Fostex comments and get a good firewire interface or the HD24 (all other Alesis units are crap IMHO). Mix in the box or through a good quality summing mixer. Either way you'll need a computer.
Thanks everybody for the advice, I was trying to avoid mixing on
Thanks everybody for the advice, I was trying to avoid mixing on computer as I spend all my working day as it is selecting menus, sub menus, sub menus and fancied something a little more traditional.
I have googled the models mentioned in your replies and will do a little more research before committing.
Many thanks to everyone.
If you are looking to record 8/12/16 channels then scrap your US
If you are looking to record 8/12/16 channels then scrap your USB idea. USB is for hard drives not real recording interfaces unless they are complete stand alone units with built in hard drives.
You will need a firewire interface. This could be a firewire mixer like the Mackie Onyx series or the Allen and Heath Zed R16 or Presonus Studio Live. It might also be a good solid mixer of your choice running into a separate 8-16 channel firewire interface. It might be a couple of sets of very good preamps running into an 8-16 channel firewire interface directly-no mixer.
If you want stand alone units then you are back with Fostex and Edirol (R4 Pro). I don't think from your "want" list that this is going to cut it for you.
If you just want a stand alone recorder then nothing is really better than the Alesis HD24XR. But you'll still need sets of preamps. The Mackie HDR24 is good too but it's bigger and the I/O is not as flexible.