Anybody doing alot of live recording out there? How about HDR's or DAW's?

  • Thread starter Thread starter mixsit
  • Start date Start date
M

mixsit

Well-known member
Looks like i signed on to another 6 hour-six band-athon live remote. It's not my fave thing to be doing, I'm not set up for it, and the thought of something going 'not quite right' is a bigie.
(Last time was with ADATS, rented, went fine..)
I'm wondering about the reliability of stand alone HDR's (-or a DAW?), and long continuous recordings (45-60 min. chuncks).
Would it be any better (or worse) than tape? And would it be stupid to not have a second running in parallel?
Please help if you're able.:)
Wayne
 
Well, my experience is with the Mackie MDR 24/96 recorder. I record 2 - 30 minute sets every weekend for my church and this thing is working like a champ. My old ADATs did the job but I needed more tracks, and I have to say I do not miss the tapes at all.

If I hadn't gotten such a good deal on my unit I probably would have gone with the Alesis HD24 because of 2 advantages (in my opinion) over the Mackie: 1) You can use standard TRS-TRS cables (instead of the DB25-TRS snakes); and 2) The Alesis doesn't have a hard drive limitation like the Mackie does (32 Gb). For the kind of sets you are talking about you could stuff the Alesis unit with a couple of 80Gb drives and have everything you need. Of course, redundancy is good but from what I've heard, it doesn't seem to be an issue with the new HD recorders (ie. I haven't seen anyone complaining about units locking up during long sets).

Hope this helps.
Darryl.....
 
The main thing with any HDR would be to use a UPS to power it. That way if something happens to your power you don't risk losing the current session.
 
A very good point. Unlike tape, a recording may or may not 'exist' untill a save function is done.
 
Yup. I've done quite a bit of location recording lately with a Fostex D1624, and years before that with a variety of analog rigs. The single most important thing for location work is reliability: generally, you get one shot, and if the recorder dies mid-take you're screwed. HDRs with an outboard UPS are the hot setup here.

I know that there are people with DAWs who work remotely with good success, but I couldn't do it. I couldn't stand worrying about the thing locking up or going BSOD and needing to be rebooted mid-take. It has to be stone reliable or I won't take it into a room. In the couple of years that I have been working with my D1624s, they have never once hiccuped. That's one less thing to occupy my dwindling collection of brain cells.

Even so, I'm a belt-and-suspenders guy. My road rack also has a Masterlink in it, and I'll always set that guy up with a stereo mix and print it as well as the multitrack, just as a safety copy. This has two real benefits: you have a safety in case anything goes wrong with the main recorder, and you can quickly and easily burn a check CD or two to send off with the talent at the end of the session so that they have a rough idea of what they put down, right away.

That;s what works for me, anyway- but your mileage may vary...
 
I would never trust a computer DAW for a live rig. I don't even like to track with them period.

Interestingly enough the Radar can handle a complete power loss without losing the current recording. If you can rent one of those it would be well worth it.
 
If you do get a hard disc recorded, then I would also sudgest a ups. Uninterrupted Power Supply. They are fairly expensive but I dont trust power outlets in a public place with idiots running around and you cant save the file in mid song when the power suddenly goes out.
 
I recorded a show last weekend on my Protools LE rig. I recorded 16 tracks simulaneously for 3 hours. Went very smooth. No problems at all--and that was with a regular 7200 rpm hard drive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top