I've been recording to my Tascam 688 8-track cassette Portastudio for a while now. I always loved how everything is just packaged together right there in that unit. I've made some good sounding recordings with her. I've been loyal to the old school analog sound, and have been hesitant to go digital due to all the "digital cannot compare" talk that I've been hearing.
I have a confession, though: I've been cheating on her. Lately I've been recording quick demos of me and my acoustic to my MP3 player (which sound surprisingly good for what it is), then slapping the MP3 into a a multitrack audio program and recording quick and dirty vocal overdubs with an SM57 plugged into my Creative X-Fi Platinum. I must say, I love how easy everything is; just plug in and go. I love how I'm able to delete a take and re-record it on the spot, without having to worry about rewinding, fastforwarding, and stretching tape. I like how I can do multiple takes without wasting a full tape track. It's just so easy.
That leads me to my question. I've been looking at the Firepod and have been reading a lot of positive reviews. I'm still very hesitant about going digital. Is it really going to sound cold and lifeless? Or will there be some warmth? Will I notice an increase in sound quality over my Tascam 688?
For what it's worth, I record everything myself: guitar, vocals, keyboards, bass, drums, various noise making devices. I've got some good mics (SM57s, D6, Audix i5, NT-1, a pair of SM81's on the way from eBay) and decent equipment overall. I definitely have the computer power to handle it. The possibility of having more than 8 tracks brings joy to my heart (as I love being able to layer on vocals, guitar, various noise making devices). Guitar Center's 12 months no payments sounds very tempting...What should I do?
I have a confession, though: I've been cheating on her. Lately I've been recording quick demos of me and my acoustic to my MP3 player (which sound surprisingly good for what it is), then slapping the MP3 into a a multitrack audio program and recording quick and dirty vocal overdubs with an SM57 plugged into my Creative X-Fi Platinum. I must say, I love how easy everything is; just plug in and go. I love how I'm able to delete a take and re-record it on the spot, without having to worry about rewinding, fastforwarding, and stretching tape. I like how I can do multiple takes without wasting a full tape track. It's just so easy.
That leads me to my question. I've been looking at the Firepod and have been reading a lot of positive reviews. I'm still very hesitant about going digital. Is it really going to sound cold and lifeless? Or will there be some warmth? Will I notice an increase in sound quality over my Tascam 688?
For what it's worth, I record everything myself: guitar, vocals, keyboards, bass, drums, various noise making devices. I've got some good mics (SM57s, D6, Audix i5, NT-1, a pair of SM81's on the way from eBay) and decent equipment overall. I definitely have the computer power to handle it. The possibility of having more than 8 tracks brings joy to my heart (as I love being able to layer on vocals, guitar, various noise making devices). Guitar Center's 12 months no payments sounds very tempting...What should I do?