AW16G to 24bit 2-track?

[Chip Hitchens]

I've been recording the live concerts of a regional classical choir. It's my only paying recording gig.

I've been using a Yamaha AW16G HD recorder, but I don't use 10% of its potential. I only record with a single stereo pair so the multitrack capability is useless, I use outboard pres, and I "master" (meaning edit for time, fade out applause, etc.) on my PC in Sonar. The other thing is that it's only 16bit/44.1

I've been considering getting something 24-bit, like a rack mount hard disk recorder or something. Less bells and whistles/better bit depth, sampling rate, and A/D converters.

Do you think something like an Alesis Masterlink ML9600 would do the trick? I think if I can get the going rate on eBay for my Yamaha, it would be an almost even trade. Any other ideas?

Thanks!

[stonepiano]

What are you going to use for mic pres?

otherwise,



For live recording, there's nothing better - record entire performances in stunning 24-bit/96kHz clarity without ever stopping to change tapes or CDs.

yeah, if you're only doing stereo recording, it'd be pretty cool.

[Garry Sharp]

There's a lot of info on the masterlink in the Alesis forum (sorry if you have looked already). Would it not be worth keeping the Yammie in case you have a need for multitrack? I like mine very much, and feel it makes the cleanest recordings in its price class.

[Chip Hitchens]

My gear is kind of low budget...not exactly ideal for a recording this demanding. I'm currently using Oktava 012's into two dbx286A's.

I'd love to keep the Yamaha, but if I had that much money to blow on gear, I'd probably upgrade my mics.

Which I suppose brings up the question: is going 24 bit going to be of much advantage with my relatively cheap mics and pres?

[Chip Hitchens]

Sorry to bring this up again, but I was really hoping to get some more feedback. Is it a dumb idea to use a Masterlink as a live recorder? And will it make much of a difference going to 24bit with my mics and pre's?

[Jeff_D]

Consider a laptop w/ a firewire or USB interface- May be a time saver in that you wont have to transfer from recording device to editing device. - For quick jobs you could even mix it down on site and burn to cd. Just a thought

[Chip Hitchens]

Yeah, I've thought about that, but at this point buying a laptop would be way more expensive, and I also fear the stability issues. If I was a Mac user and already had a laptop, I would jump on that in a second...