I have a little USB FAST TRACK thing that I'm planning on replacing.
Yah. Good idea IMHO.
I just have not read the manual to Logic Pro 8 and don't know how to clock to the SMPTE or MTC or whatever... YET.
Good news (possibly). I believe Logic will sync to SMPTE, so if that is the case (if you have the manual in a .pdf you can just do a search for "SMPTE" in Acrobat), you won't need an external sync box, just run the output of track 4 of the 424 to an input on your interface and tell Logic to slave to SMPTE and to look for the incoming timecode on to whatever input you have the track 4 output connected. This is all assuming that Logic can
generate the timecode to stripe onto track 4 of the 424. You'll have to look into it with Logic.
Why do I want to do this on tape? Because I get so sick of recording on my computer, like it takes forever for me to find a sound that i like enough to record, and it just like STALLs the creative process for me as a songwriter who wants to demo songs and record nice little things, like I'll sit and sit and try to get a decent sound, and that will take forever and then i'll just be like "to hell with this, I don't want to record it if it won't sound good", and that's why I don't touch logic anymore.
Right on...I get you.
Listen, the other option is to try to get what you want on 4 tracks, or get a 488 or a 238 and a mixer and try and get your sound on that and then mixdown to the computer. Something to think about. I've really grappled with that y'know?
I run a Cubase DAW with
a Yamaha 01X/i88x/Presonus Digimax FS setup...outboard processors..tons of I/O options blah blah blah. Its too much...not that I haven't utilized it pretty well and I have it running really stable at up to 20 tracks at 24-bit 96kHz, but there's so much opportunity to dicker. That's one reason I
got back into analog; for the sound and simplicity...the better sounds that can come
from the simplicity. I have a Tascam 58 and an ES-50 syncronizer...I originally thought of doing what you are talking about...syncing the deck and DAW, tracking to the deck and dumping to the DAW and then tracking more to the deck and building the project in the DAW with the project sync'ed...then my friend cjacek told me in a post one day basically "don't mean to burst your goal but why don't you just do [the upcoming project] all on the deck? Skip the whole sync thing altogether? Try to get it all on 8 tracks." I was having problems getting the syncronizer to control the deck properly (see, to complicate things I'm operating the 58 as the slave in the sync relationship, which it can do unlike the 424...that way my Digimax's Jet PLL clock is still the clock master), so that was his "huh!" advice to keep it simple. So food for thought, but I relate to and appreciate what you are trying to do and why, and respect that you are not jumping to getting a "better" analog deck...I have seriously heard some incredible stuff done on a 424 as well as a 246 on this forum, by people with a clear pursuit of "recording things right". Humbling. My latest idea is, for bigger projects, to use the syncronizer to sync my 48 (got it as a pair with the 58) with the 58...that will give me 14 tracks of audio (8 tracks x2 minus one track on each deck for SMPTE code). We'll see.
BTW here's a
thread and
another thread that will give you some insight into the hills and valleys in my latest station on my journey...you'll get a better sense of my anal retentiveness and obsessive compulsivity too!
if you have any recommendations on what interface I could get with the midi / 8 xlr inputs it would be great.
I don't know what your budget is, but I'm really comfortable recommending the
Presonus FP10, formerly known as the Firepod. I think they are phasing it out but as you see by the link it is on sale at MF for $400 with a bunch of plugins. It doesn't have the Jet PLL clock like my Digimax, or the direct outs or inserts x8, but I believe the rest of the input section is the same and I have been
really pleased with my Digimax. The pre's are discreet...Did some spectral analysis of the XMAX pre's compared to the pre's on
my Yamaha i88x (which are very well reputed) and the Presonus pre's were
much quieter (keep in mind this is hair-splitting) on the analyzer, and they
sound good too. The hi-Z inputs are now my favorite for my electric bass...so there you go. It
does have inserts on channels 1 and 2 as well so you have
some options for patching outboard gear later on if you get into that, or for using it as a direct box pre 424 or even as an outboard mic preamp pre 424 (using the inserts as a direct out...need a special cable to do this), and it has S/PDIF and MIDI I/O as well. Neat little box for really a great price. If you've got more or less in your budget I can recommend other options, but you're not going to find more features necessarily than the FP10 until you get over $600 or so.
So keep the questions coming and I want to encourage you to follow your interests...you seem to have a good head on your shoulders at a relatively young age...one of the best things you can do is as you are doing, ask questions, and
try stuff! Experiment...get to know your gear by pushing it and finding those limitations and thn seek that next level. Another though: see if you can shadow operations at a local studio...see if you can even volunteer at a local studio...be a gopher, wind cables, dust, do windows...who cares what...just get around some professionals and learn by watching and demonstrating that genuine interest. What you can gain in direct observation will give you a leg-up if you pursue a technical school program. You may even be able to get some part-time work that way. Anyway, check it out and let your passion drive you. If you are truly that interested at this stage you probably don't care about getting paid especially if you are indirectly getting edumacated while shadowing. Be a volunteer help and what you give will come back someday somehow...references, a job, contacts and networking...good stuff.
BTW, your Macbook should be able to handle things just fine...It depends on how you configure things, but hardware-wise it is up to the task.
You've already got Logic, which is an excellent package and well integrated with MacOS...Why on Earth would you want to drop the money for yet another DAW?
