OK! I'm going Digital!?

Joe Tessmer

New member
Ok, after alot of thought and the fact thatTascam quit making the 488, I get the hint! I'll buy a digital recorder. Now, I can get a Yamaha MD8 used for about $850 and A new Fostex F8 with the 250MB Zip drive for $899, also the Roland VS840 is a option but I've played with one before and found it confusing. I'd rather turn knobs then fool with all that internal crap.

Here's the deal, all have basically the same idea but small differences. Like the Yamaha apparently compresses the sound, but storing music on minidiscs sound like a good idea, and Iv'e heard it's easy to use. The Fostex is less expensinve but this whole Zip drive thing confuses me. Why do I have to add the 250 Zip Drive? What are my master recordings going to be stored on? Would it not be easier to buy the mini disc unit and then store each song on its own disc?

Once again I thnk this site is the best on the Web. If any one can enlighten me I would really appreciate it

Joe
 
I struggled with this myself not too long ago...I was really torn between upgrading from 4-track analog to 8-track analog, or just going digital and getting it over with. I ultimately decided to stay analog and bought a new TASCAM 488. They are still available although I think you're right that TASCAM has discontinued these. I'm happy with it but it's old technology. I was pretty much sold on the Yamaha MD8 except for two things...I understand they do not have digital outs, and the minidiscs cost from $14-19 apiece. I decided to wait awhile and stick with analog until the prices on hard disk-based units come down a bit. Good luck with your decision!
 
hey joe..i have the fd-8 and i like it alot..its true...minidisk recorders compress...but so do roland...my friend has the roland 1680...and it sound great but your right...the controls are burried in menus,,,and i didnt wanna deal with that...the downside the fostex can only record two tracks at a time...as far as the 250 zip drive...it acts as your "minidisk"...but its not compressed..its a piece a cake to use..and ya just mix down to a cd...a dat or even a tape...dont let the zip scare ya..its really user friendly...i suggest ya give it a try...ok my hands hurt...hope i helped

spin
 
Joe, I bought the Korg D-8 digital 8~track and a 2 gig Jaz drive to store my songs. At first it was intmidating and I made some boo~boo's here and there, but now I've got a handle on the thing and my recordings have been nothing short of phenomenol. I probably know less about computer~type stuff than the average person, but everything you need to know is in the manual and becomes second nature after a month or so. The Korg unit has a 1.4 gig internal hard~drive and a huge list of goodies that blows away the competition for it's price. I paid $550 bucks (new) for it about 7 months ago. That price was negotiated, but if you haggle enough at a larger music store, you should be able to get in that ballpark. The Korg has built~in effects that the other units don't have, and it STILL costs less. The Jaz drive was less than $200 bucks. Between the two, there's 3.4 gigs of space to hold songs. That should give you enough room to hold twelve to fifteen 3~minute songs, assuming that you're using all 8 tracks on each song. The sound quality blows away analog machines. I'm doing a 10 song cd of original music on my D~8 and it sounds like it was recorded at a top~notch studio. Need I say more???
 
Thanks for the comments guys. I did it! I ordered the Fostex and it should be here in a couple of days. I can't wait. I'm getting it with the 250mb Zip drive. I have a pretty good relationship with my local music store and they are selling it to me for the same price as Musicians Friend. The salesman was trying to talk me into the Roland and let me take home the video manual to watch. He thought it would convince me to buy the Roland but it did just the opposite! I don't want to spend my time learn the machine for two months. After I took it back he admitted that they get a better deal from Roland and thats what they push, but he admitted the Fostex was a great machine thats easy to use.
I'll be back here again , this site rocks
Joe
 
Congratulations on your new machine, Joe! Your gonna have a lot of fun with it. I do, however, have one important point I'd like to stress to you. Forget the zip drive... I gaurantee it will be too small for your needs after just a song or two. I've maxxed out on my Korg with only 3 songs on it, and that has a 1.4 gig hard~drive! I initially bought a zip drive, but promptly returned it because it could'nt even store one song on it. 250 megs just does'nt cut it, it's too small. I would go for the jaz drive instead. 2 gigs holds a lot more data (songs) and it's not that much more in cost. Getting a zip drive will just be your first lesson in frustration and you'll end up having to waste time and gas returning it. Trust me... I've been there.
 
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