Multitrack Recorder *or* Laptop w/ Mixer

[ianda]

I'm just starting to price different setups and I've got a question for everyone:

Would you recomment an affordable digital multitrack recorder (used price under $500) or a digital mixer into laptop with upgraded sound cards? What are the benefits of each? Are there any limitations to either setup?

At most, I'll be recording eight channels at a time ... but that would be very rare.

Any help you can provide will be GREATLY appreciated. (If you can't tell, I'm a little "wet behind the ears" when it comes to this stuff!)

-ianda

[TexRoadkill]

Do you need a portable setup? It would be pretty expensive to get 8 track simultaneous recording out of a laptop.

Tell us more about what you plan on doing and we can give you a better recomendation.

[SPINSTERWUN]

Originally posted by TexRoadkill
....It would be pretty expensive to get 8 track simultaneous recording out of a laptop....

I agree totally with TexRoadkill.

[SPINSTERWUN]

Try to give us some more info.


p.s. Welcome to this BBS.

[ianda]

I'll be doing recordnigs on location. For the most part, they'll be in enclosed college recital halls, not music studios. This means that I'll need to supply and set up microphones, cables, etc., which isn't a problem. The problem comes when I try to decide how to record the program.

My fear is that, if I'm using a digital or analog mixer into my laptop, I only get one chance at getting it right. I know that I can get better sound cards (24-bit) that go into the PCMCIA slot, but they don't seem to be cost effective right now.

-ianda

[Freudian Slip]

It would have to be one hell of a lap top to pull off much at all IMHO. Even if you get a 1Ghz laptop with a huge hard drive it a lot of them have a celeron processor or something that kills the performance. My old aptiva 1.3Mhz p1 was as fast or faster than my 400mhz celeron laptop.

Later

F.S.