Computer recording or stand alone recorder like Tascam dp 32?

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Wiffleball

New member
I just want to record our band with a minimum of 8 track simultaneous recording. Between the 4 of us we have quality instruments and mics, various Strats, Teles, Gretsch, Martin, Shures, Sennheizers, tube amps, a couple of decent condensers, etc. I've recorded a bit over the years with 4 track tape recording, 8 track adat etc. Not knowledgeable by any means but I've made some good quality recordings by just making sure each instrument/vocal sounds good on it's own with a minimum amount of processing, compressor, reverb, eq. I don't have much money to spend, kids in college etc. so I'm just looking for a basic answer which would be my best option. Also don't want to deal with a steep learning curve. I don't want to buy a new computer, I have a basic Toshiba L675 laptop, which may not be capable of recording this many tracks? What would be my best option for the money, doing computer recording or buying something like the stand alone Tascam dp32, Zoom R16, other? or buying equipment and software for my laptop? Would like to stay under $500. Any idea of what the minimum cost would be for 8 track simultaneous recording and at least 12 tracks total. Thanks.
 
The main limiting factor for the number of tracks recorded/played on a computer is the bus and hard drive speeds. Processing power isn't a major factor so older computers generally work fine for tracking.

While I prefer a standalone recorder (like my HD24, not an all-in-one DAW) for live recording, I do not want to mix the old way so I transfer to a computer. In your case it may be more affordable to keep it all on one platform, computer or all-in-one DAW. I would lean toward the computer as it is infinitely more versatile. Tascam's US-1800 seems to be a good way to get it done.
 
You could use Reaper [free] for your software (DAW) with something like the Tascam US-1800 (there's a newer model available, but you might find the US-1800 for cheaper) as your interface over USB. You could just keep the Tascam in the jam/recording room and take the laptop with you home to mix the tracks. Although 8 tracks isn't a lot, you might want to get a 7200RPM or reasonably priced SSD (solid state) drive for the laptop. You should have about 4GB of system memory in the laptop a well. It will be a bit slow without an upgrade. You can get 240GB+ SSD drives for $100 now on sale, memory upgrades for $20-50, and the Tascam for under $250 [last time I looked]. That's well below your budget. Reaper is free, but they do 'ask' for support in buying the product if you like it [think it's $50].

The learning curve isn't that bad, assuming you're willing to learn some new things. It may even be your entry point into using a full digital workstation from herein, certainly something I would support as a tape/standalone equipment guy many years ago. Recording quality stuff today is the best its ever been thanks to computers. It's definitely the place to be.
 
For about the price of a portastudio, I was able to get a laptop, a Tascam 1800 and Reaper for about the same price. Much more flexibility and lots of future potential.

I use a low end HP laptop with a 5200 RPM HD, I am just tracking and this has not been an issue. I am able to do 16 tracks at once and had no drops. But I am going to upgrade to an SSD (240GB of $84, won't hurt for sure). I also purchased a Gator case (4 rack) which kicks up the price above a Porta so I could mount power strip, some preamps (not needed in most cases), and a compressor (maybe for drum input or Bass input, I had it so I mounted it) and I carry it all together (about 25 pounds). I plug power in one place, work off the Gator case, open a Reaper Live Recording template session (makes everything hot) and I am all set. Biggest problem is stringing 16 connections. Make sure the levels are set, do a "save as" between songs, mix when I get home on another computer.

The whole rig cost me about (minus preamps and compressor) about $650 including Reaper, plus you can install Reaper on up to three computers. Not everyone's bag, but it is an option.

My 1.5 cents.
 
The zoom r16 the OP mentions might actually be the best option for him.

It can be used as either a standalone HD recorder (records wav to SD card) or as a soundcard for his laptop (and a basic DAW controller) ... The thing is pretty adaptable...

I don't know off hand how many phantom powered ins it has (or how selectable they are) but it could be worth looking into further...
 
Reaper is not free, but it's inexpensive. A non-commercial license is $60 and the best money you'll ever spend on home recording. For me, computer is the way to go. I've got two old standalone recorders in my basement, both outmoded, neither worth anything. Never going down that road again. Assuming you have the capabilities on your current computer, your biggest expense will be the AD/DA converter. I'm not sure what a box with eight audio inputs would cost, but several hundred dollars I guess.
 
If I get the tascam us-1800 or the new version us-16x08 will I need a mixer? or will software like reaper or the included cubase LE5 work as a mixer? Is it a pain to mix on the computer or would it be easier on a "hands on" mixer? Total number of tracks is dependent on the software? Are there any advantages of the Zoom r16 over the tascam us-1800 other than manual mixing and actual recording? Less or more glitches, ease of use? I'm not too computer savvy. Would I need to get the memory and SSD upgrades on my L675 laptop? and is it difficult to to add to my computer? Sorry about all the questions, I'm not very bright in this realm. Thanks for the help.
 
I'll answer what I can....

Wiffleball said:
If I get the tascam us-1800 or the new version us-16x08 will I need a mixer? or will software like reaper or the included cubase LE5 work as a mixer?
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You will not need a mixer. REAPER or any other DAW IS your mixer.

Is it a pain to mix on the computer or would it be easier on a "hands on" mixer?
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No more a pain than any other kind of mixing. In fact, once you learn it, it becomes less of a pain because you don't need to mix in real time when you're mixing down a song. And don't listen to anyone that tells you they "can't mix with a mouse". That makes no sense for many reasons that I'm not going to de-rail the thread with.

Are there any advantages of the Zoom r16 over the tascam us-1800 other than manual mixing and actual recording? Less or more glitches, ease of use?
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As a former Porta-Studio user who was extremely reluctant to move to computer recording, I can tell you that the best thing I ever did was to finally take the plunge. The choice of plug-ins, un-limited number of tracks, ease of use, etc...all make it a no-brainer to go the computer recording route.

The only time I would say a Porta-Studio is better than computer is if you need portability, or for those rare times when your computer crashes and takes everything with it, which I've never experienced.
 
Thanks. Another concern I had is software/computer glitches? If I keep it simple with the tascam would the included software or reaper have problems?
 
A portastudio is a computer. It can have all of the same issues as a regular computer, but since it is all self contained, if something breaks, one is usually SOL.
 
The computer is the multitrack recorder and mixer and all your outboard processing like compressors and reverbs and your 2-track mixdown recorder.

Mixing in the computer is different so it may seem harder at first, but the benefits are huge. You will no longer need three people to do a complex mix as the computer can remember all your fader moves. You won't have to leave the board set up for a particular mix until you complete it, you can go back and forth between projects and the computer will remember how you had everything set. If you don't like using a mouse you can get a controller with faders. But I'll tell you as someone with 20 years experience mixing live on analog desks I don't feel the slightest need for real faders when using a DAW.

Track count is limited primarily by drive/bus speeds. Processing power will determine how many high quality reverbs and amp sims you can use at a time. I'm betting you can record at least 8 tracks at once and play back at least 16 with your computer, and have at least one good reverb. That should cover your needs for now. If you run into trouble try to determine what the bottleneck is, processing, drive or memory.
 
Wiffleball said:
Thanks. Another concern I had is software/computer glitches? If I keep it simple with the tascam would the included software or reaper have problems?
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My experience with the US-1800 has been mixed, I have to power cycle it every day or two (gets glitchy, starts to lag or create static). That said, it only takes 20 seconds to come back up and I've not yet had it fail while recording, only during heavy mixing sessions. I have no experience with Reaper but it's all the rage so must be stable.

You can experience issues with standalone units too, so I wouldn't scare too easily by the idea that computers are the only devices in recording that are glitchy.
 
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Not to be contrary, I realize everyone's experience is different. But in my case, I also have a TASCAM US-1800. I don't think I've turned it off in 6 months, if that. I've never had to re-start it or anything. The only time it's been turned off is when I've turned off my computer, which I think I've done a maximum of 3 times in the last year.
 
RAMI said:
Not to be contrary, I realize everyone's experience is different. But in my case, I also have a TASCAM US-1800. I don't think I've turned it off in 6 months, if that. I've never had to re-start it or anything. The only time it's been turned off is when I've turned off my computer, which I think I've done a maximum of 3 times in the last year.
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There's a lot of people like myself if you look around on google. I think David (DM60) has had some issues as well.

It's a great deal for what it does, which is why it didn't get sent back. Supposedly it's buggy drivers. I do IT work for a living and tried every single "fix" you can find, and it's still flakey. Different PC hardware/operating system/DAW combinations likely why some people don't have problems and others do.
 
Pinky said:
There's a lot of people like myself if you look around on google.
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No need to Google, I believe you. I was just stating my personal experience with it. Thought I made that clear. I certainly wasn't trying to contradict or throw doubt on your claim, mine just happens to be different. :cool:
 
RAMI said:
No need to Google, I believe you. I was just stating my personal experience with it. Thought I made that clear. I certainly wasn't trying to contradict or throw doubt on your claim, mine just happens to be different. :cool:
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I understand, we're all just posting our anecdotal experience with the hardware.
 
Wiffleball,
You seem kinda old school like me , I like using standalones they're quick and easy for laying down tracks,then mixing on my computer. my fav is the Boss BR1600 , very easy learning curve, however the trax need to be converted to wav files for mixing on your computer which is a bit time consuming,, so you may want to go with the Zoom R16 or R24, or one of the new Tascams that also record to an SD card. The Korg D3200 is also a good one to score used but it has a bit of a learning curve also.
 
slug said:
I like using standalones they're quick and easy for laying down tracks,then mixing on my computer.
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however the trax need to be converted to wav files for mixing on your computer which is a bit time consuming,
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So, which one is it? Quick and easy or time consuming? I'm an ex-stand alone user and I can tell you without hesitation that PC recording is way more quick and easy than standalone recording. There may be other reasons to use a stand alone (though I can't think of many), but time-saving isn't one of them.
 
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