Are ADAT's that great?

F

Ford Prefect

New member
I have a good $3500 to spend on studio junk and I was eyeballing that Alesis Studio Package. Is there a better alternative for $1500? And also, what should I buy first, studio monitors, fx, compressors, condensor mic, or de-noiser? Thanx
 
ADATS are great for recording much better with the BRC also, as far as the other equipment spend your money on GOOD microphones,the better the mic the better the recording and the less you will have to rely on all the other equipment to fix the sound, ADAT's are easy to use and have lots of great features such as tape offset and the ability to digitaly bounce tracks.
 
I love my adat. I bought the pcr card and
download the tracks into my pc for further mixing but its just nice having all the controls right at my fingertips and the ability to record 8 tracks at once live, its
just convienant
 
MrSong I think only has a point about transport reliability. I am assuming that that is the only reason that can be givin for preferring the DA series over ADAT. I will concede the point, although, when I switched to Maxell Professional Series SVHS tapes, I quit having significant problems with the ADAT's.

I big consideration should be this. ADAT is a much more widely used format. Interfacing to a variety of other devices becomes paramount when you want to start editing tracks on a DAW. I don't know of any studios in Portland Oregon that offer DA 88 support for DAW, meaning, they can't get the tracks transferred digitally. So, in the event that you may want to edit later, you are going to be very limited in choices. This is not an opinion, just the fact of the matter.

Next. Even if you don't want to edit, but say, want to mix at a better facility, you are once again restricted to places that have DA 88's. These are few and far between for the price range that many can afford. So, once again, you are limited.

Essentially, there is no "quality" difference between the two formats, ADAT or Tascam DA series. Both are 16 bit, 48KHz sampling rate. Although, I do know that ADAT is up to 20 bit on the LX and XT units, I am not AWARE of Tascam providing a 20 bit machine in the DA line. So, ADAT is definately ahead in the 20 bit game.

Price is another issue. The DA series stuff run at least $1000 more per machine. This basically makes it unattractive to many home users.

Ford Perfect. I would avoid the Studio Pack. You will very quickly become frustrated with the quality of the Alesis console. Eventually, you will be posting stuff like "how do I get that Tool sound...etc..." :) Trust me, I see it way too often.

I have no advice really. Shop around. Don't rule out used consoles, effects processors, mics, etc.....But, you should probably consider a new recording machine mainly so that you are assured of a warranty in the case of a failure.

Good luck.

Ed Rei
Echo Star Studio www.echostarstudio.com

[This message has been edited by sonusman (edited 03-24-2000).]
 
Hey Ford- this isn't Zaphod but I've been told I'm just about as silly... and I only have one head :)
I know there are some die-hard fans of Alesis and I like a few of their products. But I prefer the Tascam DA-series. Every engineer friend that I know will not use the ADAT's. They say (this is not my experience here, but it did guide me in my own purchase)that there are problems after problems, starting with the format of VHS tapes for a medium. These friends, by the way, are experienced engineers- one with a Grammy to his credit. I take their advice with at least two grains of salt. Good Luck.
 
Maybe i'm not understand your saying Ed, but, what about the DA-78?

(from tascam.com)
"The DA-78HR (now shipping) and the DA-98HR (available in June) offer 8 tracks of 24-bit recording....up to one hour and 48 minutes on a standard Hi-8 tape."

wouldn't that be better quality than an adat which is 20 bit? not to mention the MX-2424, which isn't part of the DA series, but is a 24bit tascam recorder...

the DA-38 has 18 bit A/D and 20 bit D/A converters if that's relevant also...
 
I agree with sonusman on a few issues:
The ADATs are more widely used by far: almost every major studio can help you if you have ADATs. And I haven't seen that many DAs in the mid-sized studio, again, I agree, because of price, most likely. Most of the major studios I have been in do have the DAs as well. But- once again, they will have ADATs, too- probably for digital transfer with (help me here, sonusman, is it called the lightpipe?) a direct-to-PC digital connection of some kind. And if you've ever worked with a DAW, you know what a cool editing tool they can be. That might be a factor to really consider before buying an MDM.
I also agree about the Alesis Studio package. Shop a little more. You might pay a few dollars more but you might get a thousand headaches less. And the warranty- once again- is a major factor, whatever unit you decide to buy. Good luck.
 
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