fd-8

[bluish]

hello. what i need to know is: is the fd-8 and its digital bretheren truly a self-contained recording device? that is, do i have to hook this machine up to my laptop and use some kind of workstation software in conjunction with the recorder, or can i simply utilize the "onboard" controls and copy beautiful and auspicious songs onto an external harddisk (a zip drive in my case)?

[silksmoov]

as with it's little brother the fd-4, the 8 is a totally independent recording device. just format your zip disk and record away. however, i do recommend you use a 250mb zip drive if you don't already have one. i have the fd-4 and found that the 100mb zip does it no justice at all as far as recording time goes so i switched to the 250mb. big difference.

silk

[bluish]

thankyou very much for replying. this is good news for me. now, here's the follow up: before i go an buy one of these fantastic machines, i was wondering if anyone had any comparative consumer advice regarding other self-contained digital recorders (hard disk) of at least 6 tracks. i saw the fd-8 listed at $699 at sam ash. so, a) is there something better out there i should know about (or, are there any bugs or limitations with the fd-8)? and b) is there something cheaper? thanks again. yours in analog: bluish.

[Mojo]

Bluish

My partner in crime and I recently purchased an FD-8 from Musician's Friend and got a pretty good deal. I think it is the same now at $699, but then you have to spring for the zip drive, and that will put you back about 250 bucks. It is possible and I would recommend and internal IDE drive for your PC. It's not very portable, but you do have the convenience on using inboard programs.

Love, Peace, and Hairgrease

Mojo

[silksmoov]

hey bluish,

i'm still smacking myself in the head for not waiting and getting the fd-8 instead of an fd-4. i think that for $600-$700, the eight tracks of uncompressed recording that this thing gives you is a steal. you're only limited to the amount of space on that zip disk. depending on the type of recording you do, it would also help to invest in some type of processing gear to go with the fd-8 such as (Digitech S-100, simple effects for a low price ($129) and a compressor of some sort.) all together you can come out with a decent home studio with less than $1000.

Silk

[bluish]

...thankyou for all of your replies...they have been very helpful...as soon as i begin this project i'm sure i'll be posting new topics...especially concerning uploading files into mp3 or like condensed file formats...peace...