LDS
New member
I've been playing around recording at home for the last 10 years or so. Started with a MOTU 2408MKII (still use it and love it) an Alesis Studio 32 mixer (still use it and love it) and Cool Edit Pro (probably the best $400 I spent at the time). I still suck at it, but it's at least a higher grade of suckage. 
Recently I bit the bullet and upgraded to Audition 3.0. It's really nice. A lot more stable than Cool Edit and a lot more idiot-proof.
Audition has the ability to integrate with an outboard control surface. Having cut my teeth mixing live sound and on analog multitracks, I'm a lot more comfortable mixing with sliders than a mouse. I can run 8 channels at a time out of the MOTU into the Studio 32 and run a stereo mix back into Audition, but the re-patching and cable swapping gets tiresome plus it's a one-shot deal. I kind of like tweaking the volume envelopes on the individual tracks, and would like to use sliders to effect the changes.
Now, to continue making a short story long, I've been looking at some sort of control surface. Audition is compatible with Mackie Control Surfaces, and I've been looking around and found quite a few units which comply with that "standard."
One of the units that's caught my eye is the Zoom R16. At around four hundred bucks, it's just at the top end of my budget, and has the added plus of being able to be used as a mobile recording rig, and is much more portable than my current Tascam US1641 and laptop.
OK, all that being said, does anyone have any experience they'd be willing to share with low-cost control surfaces, and the R16 in particular? Any suggestions for alternate units in the same price range? The remote recording capability would be a plus, but not an absolute necessity.
Recently I bit the bullet and upgraded to Audition 3.0. It's really nice. A lot more stable than Cool Edit and a lot more idiot-proof.
Audition has the ability to integrate with an outboard control surface. Having cut my teeth mixing live sound and on analog multitracks, I'm a lot more comfortable mixing with sliders than a mouse. I can run 8 channels at a time out of the MOTU into the Studio 32 and run a stereo mix back into Audition, but the re-patching and cable swapping gets tiresome plus it's a one-shot deal. I kind of like tweaking the volume envelopes on the individual tracks, and would like to use sliders to effect the changes.
Now, to continue making a short story long, I've been looking at some sort of control surface. Audition is compatible with Mackie Control Surfaces, and I've been looking around and found quite a few units which comply with that "standard."
One of the units that's caught my eye is the Zoom R16. At around four hundred bucks, it's just at the top end of my budget, and has the added plus of being able to be used as a mobile recording rig, and is much more portable than my current Tascam US1641 and laptop.
OK, all that being said, does anyone have any experience they'd be willing to share with low-cost control surfaces, and the R16 in particular? Any suggestions for alternate units in the same price range? The remote recording capability would be a plus, but not an absolute necessity.
