Confused

[Judge]

I dont know if this is the place to post this question but here goes nuthing.

i've got a vs880ex and want to upgrade to 16 tracks.

i hate pc recording so thats not an option

now i will only use max 3-4 tracks simulataneos recording but i need the 16 tracks.

now i was looking at the usual yamaha roland akai recorders but i see alot of problems with the preamps and i dont really use all there effects.

wat i am confused about is how u would set up a hard disk recorder like those mackie hdr ones, and i've only ever seen 24 track ones are there any 16 track ones?.

do i need a mackie type mixer or can i can i directly record to it with a joemeek pre amp


so wats the deal

if this should be in another forum tell me i'l,l post it there

 

[regebro]

Well, they have been out-competed by the DAW's I guess. But there are still second hand 16-tracks hard disk recorders to get. Fostex used to have one I think.

Yes, you need a mixer. Not for recording, but for, well, mixing. And mixers aren't cheap either, if you want quality. Especially new ones.

You can get a Yamaha AW16G for $1100. It can record 8 tracks at one time, and sure, you might want some extra preamps (but you can save that for later), and you won't get any automation, but it's still a good price for 16 tracks of recording.

A Mackie SDR2496 costs for $1300. That not muchmore, and gives you 24 tracks of 24/96 as opposed to 16 tracks of 16/44, but, you then need some kind of backup I think (the $1100 Yamaha comes with CD-R) and you need a mixer, and you need an effects box, and that all adds up to at least $3000, and more likely $4000. Of course you'd then have a 24-track studio sounding better than the aw16g, but honestly, what you produce won't sound much better anyway, becuase with todays cheap digital technology, most of the sounds sits in the engineers fingers.

 

[TexRoadkill]

what you produce won't sound much better anyway, becuase with todays cheap digital technology, most of the sounds sits in the engineers fingers.

I'd agree with everything but that last statement. Sure the engineer is the most important thing but a I would bet that the same engineer would sound better on the HDR/Mixer setup.

It is more expensive once you go with seperate components but it is also more flexible, easier to upgrade and trade out stuff and you have the ability to put your money into the components that are most important for what you want to do. Just make sure to budget in all the cables you will need to connect everthing.

 

[regebro]

I'd agree with everything but that last statement. Sure the engineer is the most important thing but a I would bet that the same engineer would sound better on the HDR/Mixer setup.

That depends on the engineer, don't it?

I sure as hell wouldn't have sounded much better on a HDR/mixer setup than on the 4-track cassette recorder I used doing my first recordings in the mid-80's. I didn't have a noise problem, and the rest of the equipment as well as my musical talent sucked totally. Anything above a 4-track casette would have been a waste on me.