Simple first time digital questions

J

Jim Marquard

New member
If you have a SCSI out (which I think the Akai does have)then you can use a multitude of external memory storage units, from the aforementioned Zip drives to huge hard drives. I think that a 16 track recording will end up eating a ton of space if you plan on sending the data of all 16 tracks so a Zip may not hold more then one or two songs. The Orb drive (2.2 gb) would probably suit you better or a large capicity Syjet (multi sizes) or Jaz drive (1 or 2 gb). I think anything under a gigabyte of memory will be a waste of money.

Peace, Jim
 
I'm geting rid of my reel to reel in order to buy a digital multitrack recorder. Here are some questions-

1) Say I max out the space on the hard drive and wish to store it someplace else (ie. not on the multitrack hard drive). What do I do next? I have no computer at home, what will I need to store songs in their original multitrack mode (like I would on reel to reel tape)? Will there be any compression in storing it?

2) Is there any sound quality advantage to recording in 24 bit and playing back in 16 bit? On some of the machines I've been looking at you can't playback all of the tracks in 24 bit. If you want to playback all sixteen tracks you have to do it in 16 bit. Is there an advantage in this?

Thanks!

steve

Ps If these questions have been answered someplace else please point me in the right direction.
 
I am not sure how to answer question one because you have not listed any examples of the piece of equipment you are considering.

About 24 bit vs. 16 bit. It depends on how you are going to process the audio. If you are going to use digital processing, 24 bit will produce much better end results. If you are going to use analog mixing/processing, then 16 bit will be okay, but 24 bit would still be better.

Ed
 
Specifically I'm looking at the Akai dps-16.
It touts itself as 24 bit 96 mhz but it will playback only six tracks at 24/96. It will playback all 16 tracks at 16 bit. So what happens? Do I record in 24 bit and playback at 16 bit? Or do I have to record in 16 bit and playback in 16 bit (in order to playback all 16 tracks)? I'm probably confusing the issue (I'm a complete digital illiterate). Sorry if I'm not being clear, but thanks for the quick reply.

steve
 
hey man,

Maybe look at a unit with a Zip Disk for storage. With my FD-8 and the external 250 Zip Disk I can record four or five songs on a single disk and then just pull it out and slap another blank disk in. The songs are stored in multi-track form, just not mixed.
 
Yeah, you will have to playback at 24 bit if you record at 24 bit. I am not sure if the unit has a dithering algorythm to knock down 24 bit files to 16. Even if it did, you wouldn't really gain all that much recording to 24 bits, then dithering to 16.

Maybe buy two units.... :)

Ed
 
Wow, thanks for the prompt replies. For the sake of argument lets say I buy the Akai-dps16 or one with similar features. It has a 10gig hard drive. It amounts (if you use all the tracks) to about one hour of recording time. Can I then store what I've recorded onto a zip disk (if I was to buy a zip drive) or is this not possible? What gadgetry on the multitrack is required for external storage? Can CD's be used for storage (not mixed down stuff, that's a whole 'nother can of worms)?

I suppose this is Digital 101 all over again but I appreciate your replies and patience.

steve
 
G'day Pastel,

The Akai has CD mastering software built in.
Copy and/or Back-up your stuff to CD!!!
Get yourself a standalone CD recorder.
There are lots of 'Pro' & 'Prosumer' makes & models around. Tascam, Phillips, Marantz, etc.
You can use it to do your mixdowns AND you can use it to back-up in 12, 16 track format, or whatever. AND blank CD's are a heck of a lot cheaper than Zip discs or optical discs, etc.
Look for a recorder with the same compliment of in's & out's as your recorder, (s/pdif, optical, co-ax, scsi, etc.)
Happy hunting.

Pete Mac.

[This message has been edited by Macca (edited 06-20-2000).]
 
The Akai DPS-16 is the best all-around 16 track unit you can buy right now... for the money.
There will probably be something better within a year or so, but the DPS-16 is "it" right now.
I'm going to sell my Korg D8 and buy one as soon as possible. :)
 
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