Hi there,
I'm sure the HD-24 is a capable machine, but I've never used one. I have a RADAR V, and if you don't mind spending the money, those machines are all still supported by IZ Corp.
I prefer recording on analog. But, with my digital 24 track, I record almost every band practice I do simply because I can - it's quick, no tape to worry about (in regards to costs and squeezing long sessions onto a reel) and I can quickly archive to DVD or a USB thumb drive. When it's time for us to do a serious recording, it goes on my 1" 16 track Tascam MS-16.
If you are in need of more tracks you may want to consider synchronizing with a smaller HD that supports slaving to MIDI Time Code. Just another option to consider in order to stay mostly analog, and regardless of which path you ultimately take, the flexibility is nice to have, especially in light of how cheap a JL Cooper sync box can be had.
On the other hand, if you want to spend cheap money on an easy to use Portastudio with better than average availability for connections, check out the Tascam 788. It can be picked up for dirt cheap, and although it isn't a straight hard drive an only has 8 tracks, it can easily be synced up to any reel gear as it has a MIDI input and the proper hardware to do so. With the latest Tascam 788, individual tracks can be outputted to CD-R if you really want to do any editing later on a computer, and with the proper sync gear and virtual tracks, that can amount to a lot of tracks (much greater than 8) per song.
Just some thoughts that I don't believe were expressed yet in this thread.
I only make these suggestions if you have to go for the digital route. Personally, if it's just a matter of needing more tracks, I'd stick with analog and get a 16 track, like the MSR-16 or a 1" MSR-24 (as Beck previously suggested).
-MD
I'm sure the HD-24 is a capable machine, but I've never used one. I have a RADAR V, and if you don't mind spending the money, those machines are all still supported by IZ Corp.
I prefer recording on analog. But, with my digital 24 track, I record almost every band practice I do simply because I can - it's quick, no tape to worry about (in regards to costs and squeezing long sessions onto a reel) and I can quickly archive to DVD or a USB thumb drive. When it's time for us to do a serious recording, it goes on my 1" 16 track Tascam MS-16.
If you are in need of more tracks you may want to consider synchronizing with a smaller HD that supports slaving to MIDI Time Code. Just another option to consider in order to stay mostly analog, and regardless of which path you ultimately take, the flexibility is nice to have, especially in light of how cheap a JL Cooper sync box can be had.
On the other hand, if you want to spend cheap money on an easy to use Portastudio with better than average availability for connections, check out the Tascam 788. It can be picked up for dirt cheap, and although it isn't a straight hard drive an only has 8 tracks, it can easily be synced up to any reel gear as it has a MIDI input and the proper hardware to do so. With the latest Tascam 788, individual tracks can be outputted to CD-R if you really want to do any editing later on a computer, and with the proper sync gear and virtual tracks, that can amount to a lot of tracks (much greater than 8) per song.
Just some thoughts that I don't believe were expressed yet in this thread.
I only make these suggestions if you have to go for the digital route. Personally, if it's just a matter of needing more tracks, I'd stick with analog and get a 16 track, like the MSR-16 or a 1" MSR-24 (as Beck previously suggested).
-MD