Digital or Analog Mixer?

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LTG

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I currently have a TASCAM MKII 24 PORTASTUDIO runnign through a good sound card into my computer. It seems to work great, but I am looking into buying condenser mics and it doesn't have phantom power. It also doesn't have many inputs, so I'm looking to upgrade. I was thinking of going with the Tascam TM-D1000, but I don't know if going completely digital is worth it. I could buy a bigger analog mixer for the same price. Should I go completely digital and get a digital mixer or get an even bigger analog mixer?
 
oh, wait. I suppose I should ask things like... what kind of sound card?.. can you sell it and get a TDIF card?... How many inputs do you need?... And do you really want to lower your noise floor, cuz it makes all your old projects and lesser recordings sound so not as good. :)

xoxox
cameron
 
I say get a digital board ... but for sure know what you're getting into first. At first glance it doesn't look like the TM-D1000 has any analog channel outputs, so you have to have another plan to get your signal into your PC if you have an multi input analog card now. You can get an optional TDIF card for more money (or lightpipe ... but I've heard rumors that Tascam digital mixers are problematic with this ADAT format ... just rumors though) ... As mentioned above, this would kinda force you to get a soundcard that would accept the same format.
Also, there's only 4 XLR inputs, which leads me to believe that only those would have phantom power (that's how it is on my board anyway) ... if you want to use more than 4 condensor mics you're looking at needing an outboard phantom power unit (or battery powered mics) and transformers anyway.

Bonuses of a digital board ... and some may argue with some of these ...
onboard effects, dynamic processing on every channel, ability to save a snapshot of your mix (really big timesaver), etc. I think while the effects and dynamic processors on these digital boards may not be as good as some outboard gear, having them inside your mixer with for sure save you some money ... if only for the short term.

I think I remember seeing this board on sale at musiciansfriend.com for around $500 ... which is a very attractive price ... but don't forget about the extras you may need.

Good Luck!
 
On the other hand ... if you only record one or two tracks at a time ... then you could possibly feed your current soundcard a stereo mix into your multitrack software (ie. Channel 1 panned hard left, Ch 2 panned hard right). That way you wouldn't need any of the add-ons. If that's they way you want to go, try to use either s/pdif or AES/EBU out to avoid another D/A conversion.
 
Thanks for all the great responses. I would like to have more XLR inputs, but at the moment my budget for a mixer is between 500-800. If I go digital that is the most ammount I can get. My sound card is a Sound Blaster Live Card with s/pdif inputs. I could go from the TM-d1000 with this. What do you think?
 
well, for the record.. the TMD-1000 has six seperate analog outs. and if you get the ma-ad8 expander for 300 or so, you get 8 additional XLR inputs, bringing your total to 12, along with 4 1/4" ins. So, for 800 youd get a mix of 16 channels, (12 XLR) sent via spidif to your computer. And in the future you could spend another few hundred, get a Tdif card, and keep those tracks seperate.


xoxox
bobby digital
 
A great digital set up that I have used is a Korg 168 RC digital mixer with the MOTU 2408 interface. This is such a good match because the Korg mixer has TWO sets of ADAT lightpipe I/O. That would give you 16 digital tracks. It also lets you have 8 analog inputs, two of which are XLR w/phantom power and inserts. The Korg also has two stereo digital effects units built in. If down the road you want to expand, you can buy a second Korg mixer and link it to the first one and have a total of 24 digital tracks. The eq on the Korg is very nice too. The Korg has a S/PDIF maser out for mixing down digitally. This mixer can only be found used now, and you should find them around $600 - $700. You can also buy the first version of the MOTU 2408 used for a resonable price too since the 2408 mkII came out under the same retail price.
 
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