Analog verses Digital

  • Thread starter Thread starter Danny B
  • Start date Start date
Um, like 6,... I think. Anyway the 788's the fancy new digital 8-track Portastudio.

[optional cd burner].

The 788's a very capable, all-digital, 8-track Portastudio, w/onboard all-digital mixer & efx. Digital all the way, end to end, and yet, it's still a real Portastudio. Depending on how you compare specs, the 788 is one of the more capable standalone digital recorder/mixer units out there. 788's still available as new, but probably nearing the end of it's production run.

On the other hand, I took delivery of a mint 488mkII, [off Ebay], and I'm very happy with it's all-analog design, 8-tracks to cassette Portastudio recording.

There's more than one way to skin the home recording cat.;)
 
488

I use the 488mkII and have been getting some good results. There are the problems of the effects blleding into other tracks occasionally when mixing down, cause on some tracks I use a lot of delay and/or reverb during the final mix
Its a great macj=hine, very easy to use, and the stereo inputs sound great with almost any source, like a pod or drum machine.
I am seriously considering getting a reel to reel recorder, but I have few concerns, one being adding effects when mixing down, and also what kinda options are there as far as inputs are concerned
BTW< the 424 rocks a lamas ass
 
rocks a lamas ass
Click to expand...

That's a new term to my ears.

It puts a disturbing picture in my mind of a Lama's ass swaying to and fro.:eek:

Is that a good thing?

Cheers! :)
 
The real question when starting to record is if you want to use a computer or if you want to use hardware. That's the BIG difference. Analog or digital is a question that is dwarfed in comparison.

I'd recommend any newbie to start with a cheap digital HD porta. That's gonna give you the most bang for the buck.
 
danny - welcome !

as you have discovered - this is one of the more user friendly spots on the web - though we do tend to get sidetracked now and then, or go off on tangents...

anyways, hope you are still going after that 424, as it appeared you decided above

the recording bit opens many more doors to explore - to me one of the great things about the tascam portas, like the 424, is the full analog mixer section built in - if I had had to learn on a virtual mixer like many of the digitals use, with features buried in layer on layer of menus, I'd have been dead meat - there's alot to learn, even from the easiest perspective, and an analog mixer is so much easier

also on the digital units, there is only so much storage, and then you have to download it somewhere, to make room for doing more - this can be a problem, cassettes are cheap, and readily available.

flexibility - when I had a band going, I would use my Tascam 414 simply as a mixer, feeding into a hi-fi stereo VCR, and get 2 hours of continuous recording on our practices

as someone else mentioned, on many of the digitals, features or aspects of performance may be somewhat hidden - like hi resolution decreasing the number of tracks, or the amount of available recording time. Also, the Tascam 414 and 424 are capable of 4track simultaneous recording, laying down 4 tracks at once... many of the lower end digitals offer 8, 12, and 16 tracks, but only have 2 inputs - you can actually only record 2 tracks at once, and have to build up from there.

computers - ugh, I won't go there. I've built my own machines in the past, I'm not about to again, and I think to realize the needs for computer recording, you would have to specialize one

anyways - I started on a Tascam 414, added a Fostex Dmt8-vl to try out the digital world (nice because of a full analog mixer front end) and now run reel to reel (tascam 38 with a tascam 320B mix desk) and drop my mixes onto CD via a standalone CD recorder - I work on damn computers all day long, I refuse to when I'm having fun !!

all the best - if you go with the 424 you will enjoy it and learn a lot

b-h
 
Gosh, WTG- blues-hacker!

Folks, this man echoes all my previous thoughts, and speaks from his own personal experience. He's worked up from the simple 4-track cassette Portastudio, up to the hefty, industrial strength 38/M320B, which is a super-dee-duper recording setup!

IMO, A guy like this has his head screwed on straight, and never mind me, but blues-hacker is the man-off-the-street opinion you were looking for, and should be regarded as a mentor in the Analog forum.

He's apparently not all bedazzled by the word "digital", like so many others are. Digital, fancy editing & all that, are cool little gimmicks, but it's not the be-all and end-all of recording. Digital brings with it many concerns, hang ups, and operational headaches that analog doesn't have. You heard it here, first.

Of course, everyone knows my slant on analog recording, but to me, it's refreshing to hear an unsolicited and parallel view to my own,... blues-hacker's.;) Thanx!
 
Re: Gosh, WTG- blues-hacker!

A Reel Person said:
He's apparently not all bedazzled by the word "digital", like so many others are. Digital, fancy editing & all that, are cool little gimmicks, but it's not the be-all and end-all of recording. Digital brings with it many concerns, hang ups, and operational headaches that analog doesn't have. You heard it here, first.
Click to expand...

And of course, it's quite possible to be bedazzled by the word "analog" too, and analog brings with it it's sets of concerns hangups and operational headaches. :)

There's no better or worse. Just different.
 
great reply

Made me really wanna stick wiht analog. More and more I ma realizing its the eway to go, especially for my music, which sounds better the deeper and fatter it gets. (reggae/ska/metal/punk/blues hybrid) I am intersted to know if you think I cxan use my 488 effectivey as a mixer and to make final mixes from a reel to reel while using it as amjixer only.
 
Sure, it's doable, but will require lots of repatching.

The 488's mixer is an 12-input/4-buss mixer, so that would give you a fair amount of flexibility when working with an 8-track reel.

... Given that you accept you'll have to repatch for every situation: basic tracks, overdub/cue & mixdown,...sure, it's doable.;)

The 488 as mixer to a reel-8-track is a crude, but workable solution. REMEMBER, by virtue of the 488 being a 4-buss mixer, it would max out the recording scenario at 4-simul-max,... as limited by the mixer, not the tape deck,... unless you're talking about a Fostex A8, which only records 4-simul-max anyway. All other reel 8-tracks I can think of will record 8-simul-max, but the 488 would effectively limit you to 4-simul-max-record.;)

As with any mixer or repatch scenario, you'd also have to be careful to avoid inadvertent feedback loops in the signal chain.:eek:
 
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