to adat? or not to adat?

1

1manband

New member
ok. so i bought an ADAT machine (alesis adat xt) and am planning to use this in conjunction with my pc, meaning, i wil run 8 tracks of material to adat, run them back to the board for effects, then send it all to pc as two tracs stereo to be burned to cd. does this sound doable so far? my question is this; if i am using my computer for the final dumping ground for the stero tracks before burning, should i just send all tracks to pc (with a suitable music program) and edit and mix and do all the other wonderfull things you can use the current software to accomplish, and cut out the whole adat step in the chain. the cost would be for an audio interface that would probably be quite costly right, especially for a 4 or more input one? does that mean that all the pricy outboard gear i have is useless) because the computer programs add the effects internally right?) or can you run the sound from the pc back into your board, add effects, then run it back into pc?. please see fit to throw out any comments you have, i have posted here before and after one or two replys, the question is lost in obscurity. sorry if it is boring to everyone, but this is the newbie section and what better place to ask a seamingly redundant question? (is there a section labeled; "Recording for dummies")?
 
OK, I'll take a shot at this, but I'm just starting out and still in the studio planning stage so don't act on my advice untill someone backs me up.

With the right software you can do all your editing and mixing on the PC using a vast array of plug-ins for effects etc. Basically you 'd need an interface and an array of mic pre's. There are interfaces available with pre's like the Aardvark Q10 for about 600 bucks or without like the Delta 1010 that can be had for about 350. Pre's can be picked up for about 60 bucks each.
(all prices for used gear). Many PC recording experts prefer to use outboard gear for mixing and adding effects before sending the signals to the interface. This is also where mic pre's commonly are as most quality mixers have them on at least half of their channels. Now we need to decide..... using the outboard gear allows more manipulation and you get to use all the toys you know and love, but any added circuitry also is another place for noise to be added to the signal.

From what I can tell you'd be best served to sell the ADAT and buy a PC interface, if you already have a decent board you've got the pre's covered.

Would someone who knows more than me please tell us if what I wrote makes sense?
 
I cant multitrack on my computer, i can only plug into my soundcard with a single 1/8 cable and can only record a single track at a time. The reason i even bought the adat was i figured this would accept my final mixed sounds from my adat that are sent back to my mixer, had effects put on them, then sent to the computer in the fashion i mentioned above. on the contrary, I could sell the adat, spend a fortune on a audio interface(i would need at least 4-8 inputs on it right?) and another fortune for a good software program like cakewalk, protools, steinberg, or one of many other good ones out there. that way i use the mixer to send ( via the inserts on the channels), the tracks to the pc, then do what? send them back to another group of channells to put effects on them? then send them back to the pc for mixdown? i am lost please help.
 
How much do you consider a fortune and how much is your music worth? If the soundcard you're using in your PC only has a mini jack it probably was not intended for quality recording. Most soundcards that come stock in a PC are only not suitable. The interfaces I mentioned both have eight ins and come with a host pci card. If you can get by with just 4 ins you can get an interface used on ebay for about $150 new for 200.

Even if you go with the Adat you'll still want to upgrade your card which is going to cost the same as a 4x4 interface with pci card.
 
so do you think i should just sell the adat and go with a 8in 8 out interface? and a good software. can i still add effects in the mixer with all my effects (outboard)? how would that work? send the track into pc dry, then playback through mixer, add effects, send effected track back to pc? also can you recommend a few 8x8 interfaces.
 
mics to mixer......out to effects...... back to mixer..... out to PC interface and phones. This will add efx b4 the pc. the only thing coming back from the PC would be previously recorded tracks for monitoring when overdubbing.

Once again wait till someone backs me up before you act on my advice, I'm a newbie too.

good luck
Peace-out

Dan
 
If your computer goes down so does your whole studio. I have am facing the same questions and have decided to stick with the outboard recorders and use the puter for editing and mixing only.
This way i dont rely on a pc to do my main work for me. I have found that I cant really rely on any pc.
With the price of adats down to around 250 dollars for a good condition used one they are basically throwaways.
 
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