best rack mount digital hard disc recorder

S

steelguitargary

New member
hi i have a roland vs2480 and wanted to know what would be the best rack mount digital hard disc recorder to use
i've looked at some tascam da-88 and the mackie 24/96 and alesis mx2424
what else is out there i'am new to this and building a small home studio
thanks gary;)
 
The Alesis is the HD24 and the MX-2424 is a Tascam. The DA-88/38/78/98 use Hi8 tapes.

I generally like Tascam stuff but I bought the Alesis because it was cheaper, smaller and didn't need the extra cards to get all the analog inputs I wanted. But realize that they use serial ATA drives which are getting hard to find. There was someone making disk caddies that would accept parallel drives but I think even that's pretty much history now.
 
How much do you want to spend, the Tascam X-48 gets a good rap from the pro live concert recoding guys I have talked to. There is also a mark 2 version recently released. The X-48 MkII is a current model so support is around. The X-48 also has on board mixing and plugin support, you don't need an external computer. Don't forget that when pricing that you need to allow for the analog cards, there is 1 card for each set of 24 tracks, so if you want 48 tracks you need 2 cards. There are also cards for adat and spdif interfaces.

If I did not already own 2 x MX2424's I would buy one.

Cheers

Alan.
 
I have the HD24. It's a dandy. True the drives are getting harder to find but I back up everything to CD-R and reformat the drive. I've been real happy with the unit.
 
hi guy's thanks for the info on the recorders are these recorders digital? and compatabale with the roland digital 24bit sound board?
 
Just curious - maybe some can enlighten me as to why anyone would use anything but their DAW? Why get a separate device to record to a HDD instead of your computer?
 
arcadeko said:
Just curious - maybe some can enlighten me as to why anyone would use anything but their DAW? Why get a separate device to record to a HDD instead of your computer?
Click to expand...

I like my HD24 for live recording. It beats taking a laptop and interface. I transfer it all to the computer for mixdown.
 
arcadeko said:
Just curious - maybe some can enlighten me as to why anyone would use anything but their DAW? Why get a separate device to record to a HDD instead of your computer?
Click to expand...

So you don't need a computer. A rack mount stand alone recorder that won't crash and be a solid as a rock, so you can get on with recording. A stand alone recorder is like having a tape machine but with the ability to transfer the files later into other software or to carry out internal mixing and editing at a later date. Most stand alone gear also come with the ability to record 24 tracks or more without latency issues.

Cheers

Alan.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
I like my HD24 for live recording. It beats taking a laptop and interface. I transfer it all to the computer for mixdown.
Click to expand...

Well that makes sense

:facepalm:


didn't even occur to me since I pretty much only play in my studio.. :o


witzendoz said:
So you don't need a computer. A rack mount stand alone recorder that won't crash and be a solid as a rock, so you can get on with recording. A stand alone recorder is like having a tape machine but with the ability to transfer the files later into other software or to carry out internal mixing and editing at a later date. Most stand alone gear also come with the ability to record 24 tracks or more without latency issues.

Cheers

Alan.
Click to expand...

Good to know! Crashing in the middle of a recording does suck...
 
In fact, I can hardly do anything more complicated on it than create a project, create a song, arm tracks and press record because that's all I ever have to do. It starts up faster than a computer, can be in a rack stacked with other stuff so no table space is needed and there are no USB, Firewire or mouse cables to worry about, just power and line inputs. Oh, yeah, it doesn't get viruses and the drive never gets fragmented.
 
The reason I keep my studio based around a MX2424 with an analog card (well 2 x MX2424's) is that it is very reliable and easy to use. I also have a hybrid studio in that I track and mix in the analog domain by playing back the MX's through the desk (automated) and use lots of outboard rack gear. It's just the way I like to work. However the MX can do basic editing, volume automation and mutes on board. If there is a more problematic fix needed, like de-noising, I export the track file into my PC and use more powerful software, then put it back in the MX.

I do sometimes export all the recorded files and mix on other software but this depends on the type of project. I also track for bands that are taking the files away to work at home or another studio, then I just export the files and they take them away.

My younger offsider likes protools, so he uses the 2 x MX's as 25 track in/out interfaces and connects via the Adat cards and an M-audio light bridge to firewire and uses his laptop, I am sticking with the MX's thanks LOL. I keep eyeing up the Tascam X-48, but can't justify the expense at the moment as I would need the X-48 and the 2 x 24 track analog cards and 2 x adat card options to replace what the 2 x MX's are doing.

Alan.
 
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