I have ran the same production studio for a dozen years. 10 years ago we booted our unreliable 2" 3M machine and replaced it with a RADAR. We will have to move on soon due to the lack of efficient back-up and reliability. The new RADARs have better back-up systems, use wav files for DAW combatability, and dual record drives to take care of these issues. We are also considering Pro-Tools.
When we first went Digital we were amazed by the continued warmth of our recordings. The RADAR sounds great! No one could tell the switch. Some gear heads attributed the digital color others were getting to the DAW mix bus, which we don't use. I now hear that the newer TDM systems have worked this issue out.
We are a moddest studio... we have good microphones, preamps , pcm 90,60,alex,lxp Lexicon reverbs, dbx & TL audio compressors. Weak on outboard EQ. Mix on a Soundcraft Spirit with no automation!
I would love to have a RADAR V and a full Pro Tools desk but can't afford both. My question is mostly about Pro Tools and the possible configurations. If I had a RADAR V I wouldnt need the converters. I would like to be able to pull up the files on pro tools for pitch correction, EQ, and amplitude adjustments (to make my mix easier ie. no automation). Then return the files to RADAR for outboard mix. What is the most scaled down pro tools setup to do this without compromising quality. Do I need accelerator cards if I am rendering and not real time proccessing?
I am also considering just going to pro tools but have some concerns.
Reliability. I have only lost one session in 10 yrs. due to equiptment
Sound quality. don't want to take a step back
Old dog, new tricks. I have about 20 hrs. on an LE system
Just looking for some feedback from engineers with more experience in these matters.
Thanks!,
John