What is your prime tracking tool these days?

[jedblue]

A poll to see who uses what as their prime tracking tool these days.

I've deliberately not put in a combination option. If you do, please indicate the primary one and maybe give us an explaination of how you interface it to your other options.



Jed

[Treeline]

Still the AKAI DPS16.

I do almost all of my recording in the field - live stuff. The Deeps can handle 8 tracks simultaneously and has the best preamps I've heard yet, apart from boutique stuff.

The other I/O I use is a Mackie Onyx 1640 with a firewire card. I can dump that into a laptop, but unless I'm working on a large project I like the DPS better. I've used it pretty hard for about five or six years and it has never failed me once.

I track on the deeps at 24 / 48 and then move tracks in real time to the computer via an M-Audio Delta66 interface - four analog and two digital lines in. I record to Reaper without any problems. The Deeps can burn to a CD but I lose the 24 bit depth if I do that. I usually mix and render in Reaper, but any real fancy work (like spectral reconstruction and all that good stuff) and final mastering I usually end up doing with Adobe Audition v. 2.0.

[mixsit]

Most often used chain- 7602, Ted Fletcher P38 > ADI-8 > Sonar.
'Standalone DAW' is one-box combo' I presume.. I put 'Computor linked DAW'?

[jedblue]

Originally Posted by mixsit

Most often used chain- 7602, Ted Fletcher P38 > ADI-8 > Sonar.
'Standalone DAW' is one-box combo' I presume.. I put 'Computor linked DAW'?

Yep, sorry, a bit confusing in afterthought, "computer linked DAW" is any kind of pre-A/D setup to a computer running Cubase etc, USB or firewire.

Standalone DAW is your digital multitracker portastudio scenario.

[marshman]

MCI JH16 16 track 2". amazing.

mm

[Dr ZEE]

Can't answer the question as asked.
In my case selection of a tool (be it a prime or an auxiliary one) is a task dependent procedure.
So it depends. Depends on the task, the goal, the situation, the momentary sense of reasoning or simply on the mode

[jpmorris]

I record and edit voice-work digitally using a computer since it's generally intended to be used in a digital production and mixed with other digitally-sourced voices.

Music is always tracked onto 8-track RTR, or as is often the case, two 8-track machines. In the latter case I track the two tapes separately (usually with a guide track on track 1) and sync them up later for mixing.

[HomeGos]

Originally Posted by jpmorris

I record and edit voice-work digitally using a computer since it's generally intended to be used in a digital production and mixed with other digitally-sourced voices.

Music is always tracked onto 8-track RTR, or as is often the case, two 8-track machines. In the latter case I track the two tapes separately (usually with a guide track on track 1) and sync them up later for mixing.

you mean u allways track music in analog and then bounce to a daw , and then record voices directly in the daw ( tracking and editing in difital )... that would be an interesting aproach for my setup

[jpmorris]

Originally Posted by HomeGos

you mean u allways track music in analog and then bounce to a daw

No. For music, only the final 2-track mix reaches the DAW.

However, I also do a sort of online radio series where voice actors send me .WAV and .MP3 files with their lines. Since they come in digitally and since assembling the play requires an enormous amount of editing, the radio programs are done entirely with the DAW. (Though I will often do the final assembly of pre-edited segments on tape as well)

[hilltop studios]

I love my Tascam MS-16

[poor_boy_record]

Still using an old Teac A-3340S 4 track right now as I am still learning the in's and out's but am planning on upgrading to at least an 8 track unit soon.

[Norris Shepherd]

I'm surprised the largest number of answers are using 'reel' based technology. I would have guessed the vast majority would be using computer based DAW's. Just goes to show ya what i know.. lol

[nate_dennis]

Originally Posted by Norris Shepherd

I'm surprised the largest number of answers are using 'reel' based technology. I would have guessed the vast majority would be using computer based DAW's. Just goes to show ya what i know.. lol

Had this been posted in "recording techniques" it would have been . . . but since it's posted in the "analog only" forum. . . .most people here love their tape!

I use a bit of a bastardized rig right now, just because it's all i can do. I track to a portastudio, then I basically use a USB interface as a mixdown deck. not ideal, but it works. If I have enough tracks to bounce to stereo I do, then just output those, but I will probably end up mixing to digital more often than not.

[Dr ZEE]

Originally Posted by Norris Shepherd

I would have guessed the vast majority would be using computer based DAW's.

I would have guessed everyone is using computer based DAW (of a sort )

but in this House, "Prime-wise", we have it our "way"

[jasonbmerrill]

Originally Posted by Dr ZEE

I would have guessed everyone is using computer based DAW (of a sort )

but in this House, "Prime-wise", we have it our "way"

that pic really sums it up

[Treeline]

I'm about 2 1/2 feet away from a 1/2" OTARI deck loaded with Ampex 456. I still use digital because most of my stuff is recorded in the field. I'm hoping to learn the OTARI well enough to use it during mixdown though.

[Instroverb]

I track to my 38 and mixdown to otari MX5050 at 15ips and make copies to cassette or Tascam stand alone CD recorder. Sounds great!!

[Talldog]

MS16 or Otari mx70 then MCI jh110 1/4 inch, then cd. Thinking about selling the jh110. Its kind of big for my room.

[dodgeaspen]

Just wondering how people would post now. I know it's only been a few months since this has been posted but things do change quickly in the realm of audio. I'm using my Tascam 38 RTR and doing a mixdown on a Teac X-7R until I get money to buy and service the Tascam 32 I've had an eye on. Eventually I'd love to buy a 16 or 24 track 2 inch machine.

[Victory Pete]

Originally Posted by dodgeaspen

Just wondering how people would post now. I know it's only been a few months since this has been posted but things do change quickly in the realm of audio. I'm using my Tascam 38 RTR and doing a mixdown on a Teac X-7R until I get money to buy and service the Tascam 32 I've had an eye on. Eventually I'd love to buy a 16 or 24 track 2 inch machine.

I looked at an ATR80-24 a month ago. First time I was ever near one. It was 3 hours away in NYC. I was immediately dissapointed when the seller opened a packed garage and found this machine covered with junk. It was a complete mess. The ironic part was that the heads were like brand new. I couldnt believe what I was seeing with my LED magnifying glass. I offered him $500 and he laughed. It was a long ride home.
VP

[jjones1700]

Originally Posted by Victory Pete

I looked at an ATR80-24 a month ago. First time I was ever near one. It was 3 hours away in NYC. I was immediately dissapointed when the seller opened a packed garage and found this machine covered with junk. It was a complete mess. The ironic part was that the heads were like brand new. I couldnt believe what I was seeing with my LED magnifying glass. I offered him $500 and he laughed. It was a long ride home.
VP

I think I would have told him best of luck and call me when he can't unload it for what he "thinks" he could get for it.

Once I get things set up, I think I'll be tracking to my TSR-8 and then running that down to the 122b cassette. Well, until I get a 22-2. Then again, I could run it to my RT-909, but it only runs at 7 1/2ips. Still better than cassette I suppose. Still a project in the works, damn it!

[ofajen]

I'm pretty much where Dr. Zee is, in that it depends.

I have a DAW type program (Live) on this machine, and I tried it out for a bit, but I'm really not into recording stuff into a computer, and this one is not even portable, which rules it out for recording elsewhere. Even recording the piano upstairs is far enough away to require a portable machine.

I have a Teac 4-track, and I've used it mostly lately, but it doesn't work well in some instances, such as tracking my bass drum. Tons of modulation noise (and not much signal!) when the drum is tuned low, and that after I set bias to minimize modulation noise.

So, at the moment the portable stuff and some projects that are better suited for it are done on the Yamaha AW1600, a digital standalone unit.

Anyway, I'm probably going to help out a friend and go pick up an MCI 8 track next spring. I'm also considering a Stephens machine that I can repackage in portable modules. That one would cost me a bit of cash. If that happens, that will probably be about all I track with, and I won't try to squeeze the MCI machine in here, too.

Cheers,

Otto

[lonewhitefly]

teac 80-8 > teac 5 board > tube compressor/spring reverb/tape delay > teac 3300SX-2T > end format

[shedshrine]

[sweetbeats]

Otto, those Yamaha AW digital all-in-one units are pretty neat...they share some components with my 01X mixer and it has performed flawlessly with considerable use...like most Yamaha stuff it is tops for design, build quality and features for price.

I can't remember what I voted on this poll way back when, but I'm still tracking direct to disk but longing to be tracking to open reel...getting there but the desire was reaffirmed with the completeion of a small demo project and the DAW sucks all the fun out it...really. I'm to the point (and its just emotional at the moment and I'll get over it) right now that I'd be okay if I never got another outside client because I wanted to go analog. The door is always open for bells and whistles with digital and I feel like the bells and whistles get used because I'm trying to get the vibe that is missing and it always falls short...it happens every time..."there's that brick wall again". Arg...I'm getting anxious again just thinking about it.

The guy that bought my Tascam M-520 has a Studer A80 2" transport that was originally setup for 24-track...he got it for free, along with the unused 16-track headblock assembly. THAT is the sickest deal I have yet to encounter...I got to see it when I went down to pick up a parts 388...The Studer was really need to see in person. He has a DAW that he uses...tracks through a Digi 002...that is his budget option for clients but he is considering just telling people that if they don't want to pay more to track to analog he can't help them. Not everybody can afford to do that. He mostly earns a living off of album sales so the studio is not his bread and butter and recording is just a moonlight venture for me, so its easy to say "analog only", but I'm there again as I was after the last full album project I did a couple-three years ago that sent me venturing into the analog pond...

Urg...gotta go out to the tiny studio workshop, get the mess cleaned up from the demo project and get the rest of the caps in the 58...its waiting.