Could you advise an Adat user on how to best upgrade his studio?

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werewolf831

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I thought some of you Adat experienced guys could help. I'd like some suggestions on an upgrade in my studio. Here's what I have now:
Adat LX20
Mackie 1604VLZ (tracking and monitoring)
Audiophile 2496 (my pc is used for stereo mixdown)
Cool Edit 2K (wave editor)
RNC compressor
Alesis midiverb 4 (2)
Alsesis M1 Active monitors
sm57, 57, MXL 2001

Pretty simple I think. I'm not sure where to go as far as making an upgrade. I'd like to keep using the adat and mixer, basically since I've alreadt sunk alot of money in them. Budget wise , I could spend about a grand right now, but I'm also thinking long term, so I may have considerably more to spend later.
I'd sure appreciate the advice!
werewolf
 
You're gonna hate this.....but I'd look at a different recorder. You can use the same board and get a stand-alone type harddrive recorder.
I had an ADAT and I loved it......but I bought a Fostex HD1624 at a close-out price of $900 and it's a revelation. No more rewinding......no more head-cleaning.......screw up a track you've done? Just hit undo! 16 tracks and 8 virtual tracks......the ability to move things in time which makes it easy to do collaborations with people around the world......and on and on.

FTR......I use a 1604VLZ board also and I like it.
So I would say......look at a standalone Hard drive recorder and get all those many extra features.
 
I guess the question that needs to be asked is where you want to go from where you are. Do you need more tracks? If so, what is reasonable? Do you need better equalization control or is the EQ on the 1604 adequate for what you're doing? Do you need a larger variety of available effects? Are you having problems with any of the gear you currently have that could be resolved by changing the type of gear you use (ie. like what Lt. Bob suggested)?

And, finally if you just need 8 more tracks I've got a blackface ADAT I'll sell cheap, and even deliver the next time I come up to KC to see my father-in-law.

Darryl.....
 
I had a feeling the first person to reply would suggest a hardrive recorder! I guess I'll start researching the HD24.
Ddev, you bring up some good ponts. I'm relatively happy with what features I have, although 8 extra tracks would be nice. Primarily I'd like to get away from making analog mixdowns as I do now, and capture better resolution. But I'm not too clear on how this can be done. I think I'll pass on the blackface, If I get another adat it will probably be an lx20, but thanks for the offer!
 
I have a couple of ADATs and an HD24. I definately dig the the HD BUT, if you want an upgrade that'll drop into your system, how about an ADAT I/O for the computer? Then you could fly your tracks into the computer for editing plus the bonus of being able to use the ADAT like a sound card for the computer.
 
Hey Track Rat,
Is that the same thing as lightpipe? Are you referring to the Alesis Adat edit card? I probably would have tried that a long time ago but I've heardnothing but horror stories about that thing! Would I still be able to mix using the Mackie? I'll look into it more later, It's almost midnight and I need to get some sleep!
 
Something like an ADAT Edit card but not that one, I went through two of them and they never functioned as advertised. I now use a MOTU 2408 mkII to get ADAT Lightpipe data in and out of a computer. This might be a little more than you need though. There are some affordable cards out there that will do the job.
 
I haven't personally used any of these, but less costly alternatives for ADAT-to-PC interface cards are available from RME and Frontier Designs.

Darryl.....
 
"I now use a MOTU 2408 mkII to get ADAT Lightpipe data in and out of a computer. " -Track Rat

I've read a lot of MOTU adds and looked through their websites, and I'm still not absolutely clear what they do. With a card like that, can I send individual tracks into the computer, edit them, them send back to the ADAT? Would I then do my mixing in the computer, sans the Mackie?
Basically, I don't want my final mixdown to lose any of it's shimmering 20 bit quality along the way from the adat and mixer to the computer.
Oh yes, I will find a way...
 
The 2408 has 3 banks of ADAT Lightpipe in and out, 3 banks of Tascam digital TDIF in and out, S/PDIF in and out plus 8 analog ins and outs. What that allows me to do is transfer up 24 tracks of ADAT in and out of the computer (preserving the 20 bits easily). You could mix down inside the computer using software if you wish or after your individual tracks are tweaked to your satisfaction, send them back to your ADAT to mix through an analog mixer (what I prefer). You don't have to record it back to the ADATs either, you can route tracks from the computer to play back through the ADATs using them in conjunction with whatever ADAT compatible card you use (in my case the 2408) like a big multi in/out sound card. I like it. It's a very powerful setup.
 
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