any advice on hard disk recorders?

A

adhok

New member
Does anyone have any advice on buying a portable hard disk recorder, such as the Roland VS880EX. I need at least 6-8 tracks of simultaneous recording and would like effects. Brands? Models? Prices? Where to buy? Thanks-----
 
I've got a 1680 I bought for a bit over 2k. That along with the 880's are very good. The 880 goes for around 1700. There is also a new rackmount 880, and Mackie and someone else are comming out with a 24 track system. I would definatily stick with the Roland over all other hard disk computers. THe only oter alternitive would be a computer, but unless you get a laptop, you loose protability.
 
Okay, one of the better units for the money that will record 8 tracks simultaneously is the Yamaha MD8 Mini Disc Digital recorder. Lots of great features for just under a thousand bucks. The Korg D16 (digital) does just about everything the Roland VS-1680HD does, for only $1,700... about $400 less than the 1680. I'm not knocking Roland, they're great machines, but do you really want to buy a machine who's company charges you $30 for an instructional video to learn how to operate it? Also, you gotta use thier CD burner and accessories. Once you get "locked in" to the world of Roland, get ready to spend lots of $$$ on more Roland products. The Fostex FD-8 is another good unit for the money (about $650 or $700), but you'll need to spend an extra couple of hundred for a Jaz drive (forget zip... not enough space). As far as a place to buy the equipment, I usually go back and forth between Sam Ash and Guitar center and work them both down until one of them can't (or won't) beat the other's price. Any larger music store should be able to drop it's price a significant amount, if they won't... walk! There's a mark-up of approximately 60 to 85 percent on musical equipment, so there's room for bargaining. You want to get the dealers profit margin between the 20 to 30 percent range... that's a good deal. Between Sam Ash and Guitar Center, thier computers don't allow them to go below the 20 percent mark without an over-ride/approval by the manager. That rarely ever happens unless you're waving more than 2 or 3 grand in cash under thier nose and are ready to buy right there on the spot. Happy hunting!
 
Hey Buck62

I am the average "Joe". Well not really, at least I don't want to be. Any way I have had my Fostex FD-8 w/250 Zip for about three weeks now and I love it. I tried the Roland out and sat through the video of that english guy explaining the use of the machine. I had never recoreded anything before so I needed something easy to use, yes the Roland has more features, but come on Im not going to give up three months of my life learning how to use it. The Yamaha would have been my next choice.

Also maybe you could try what I did. My fostex with the 250 Zip was $899 in musicians friend. After shipping it would have been $925. I went my local music store and asked if they would sell the unit to me for $925. they gladly agreed.

Keep your stick on the ice
 
Hey Buckeroo62! Thanks for the information on Roland. I'm using the MD-8 by Yamaha and still can't figure out some things via the manual.

And, ADHOK committee man:

Try giving Amy a call at FULL COMPASS
1-800-356-5844.

I call all the 800 numbers but Full Compass has always been the best price.

Sweetwater Sound and I had a few words. I wrote a letter once and got the President to call me and ok a deal the rep backed off from and since that day, the rep hates me.

I wrote to Sweetwater's management again and asked for a new rep and the neoteny that answered me told me NO. So, you can imagine what I told him.

NO MO of my dinero.

As the man said above, it pays to shop around and so did Tennile and the Captain in a cool vocal.

Green Hornet
 
You've got a nice machine, GH. I know what you mean about trying to figure out exactly what they mean in the instruction booklet. But, if you read it over a second or third time, you kinda get a knack for deciphering what they're trying to tell you. Most of these units are complicated to the average Joe, so you have to relax and not get overwhelmed by them... otherwise, they'll drive ya nuts.
 
Just a quick Question for you guys- I have a minidisk studio also, but, after reading some reveiws, have felt that it was not as good as the rolands and fostex because of recording quality and compression. i got depressed because I thought I had something that could compete. Are these machines all on the same level as far as basic sound recording quality. I think that I heard that the rolands are 20 bit, but I have never heard anything about minidisk recording except for the quality cutting compression. Do I need to upgrade?
 
The Roland is actually 24 bit, the converters are 20 bit. If you are happy with what you got, then no need to upgrade. If your not, I think that the Roland are a bit better than minidisks, but you're gonna pay more for them. Go check them out.
 
Hey---The rolands are great, but what about other brands? the Akai DPS12 is a lot cheaper,with the same power and most of the same features, and with Roland, you need to buy their particular cd burner, which is more expensive too. Anybody have thoughts on other brands? I'm thinking of buying the akai to save a bit of money.
 
My VS88OEX was $1428 plus tax with instructional video included. It's easy to get going with the EZ routing function templates. A monkey could do it. It's almost worth it for the effects alone. Upgrades are downloadable for free on the Roland website when they happen. You can make digital copies to Cakewalk or whatever if you have the right card. Datasonics has VS Pro which lets you edit the VS880EX similar to Cakewalk on your computer screen. It's portable and it may be the coolest thing I've ever had. There's over 200 effects presets which are totally editable with 100 user save patches. Some of the effects have maybe 30 or so parameters within the settings which are totally adjustable. The midi connections allow synching with whatever. It probably sounds like I work for Roland but not so. I even use the effects on my analog 8 track. All kinds of mic simulators, cabinet sims, amp sims, distortion, mastering, etc. The list goes on and on. Go to the Roland website and download or read some of the specs. I actually bought the 1680 but took it back since I already had Cakewalk and really only needed and wanted the 880. Oh ya, it also has 128 virtual tracks. Check it out.
 
Hi yaall
I have a vs880 (not ex). It sounds great but
I can only do 4 tracks at a time. I have a
seperate studio outside my house and have
everything from drums to synths. I will be
upgrading to computer based. But even with
the upgrade I know I will have to take time
from my music to learn this stuff. Whats my
point.
A few years ago back in the 60s there were
4 guys from england (I forget their names)
that had a bunch of songs recorded on 4 tracks and did pretty good. (In 1996 they
grossed $1.2 Billion Dollars) Just remember
not only does audio quality count but also
what your playing. Take time to learn what
your doing but also take the time for what
this stuff is intended for. Playing good music and having fun doing it,like those
guys from england did. ( I wish I could
remember their names.) I know I cant be that
old.
DuckHead
 
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