Digital Workstation advice please

  • Thread starter Thread starter cjacek
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cjacek

cjacek

Analogue Enthusiast
Hello to all :)

I think I'm done with my 414 TASCAM :( I'm kinda tired of hooking up the effects box, compressor and the dozens of cables ! :eek: :eek: Truthfully, I would love to have an all-in-one Digital Workstation (DW), as they are called. It'll save space and preferably increase the quality of my recordings. Anyway, I REALLY need your advice which DW you would recommend. I don't really play any instruments and all I really do is record to pre-made backing tracks (karaoke). Thus I don't really require more than 4 tracks. However, I must be able to simultaneously record at LEAST 2 of these tracks, for my stereo backing. I can overdub the vocals later on track 3 for example. Anyway, I would like to record UNCOMPRESSED for a clean, warm, full signal (get that "analog" sound). Would 16 bit be enough to get this or would 24 bit be a lot better ? "Virtual Tracks" are not required. Would a DW which records to hard disc be best ? I would also like to have a built in CDRW. See, recording to compact flash or smart media cards may not yield good results as these use compression and a zip drive would be a problem for me as I don't have one on my pc and zip drives may not be the future of recording. What do you guys think ? Basically, the MOST important factor is sound quality and how accurate it is. But yes, I would like to have all the effects that are usually included in these Digital Workstations. As I'm relying on mostly pre-recorded backing tracks then all I really need is vocal enhancing effects such as a compressor-limiter, reverb etc .. I was thinking POCKETSTUDIO 5 from TASCAM but the compression worries me. The 788 (TASCAM) might be too much product for me and would get very expensive with an additional purchase of their CD recorder. Is FOSTEX good ? What about BOSS, ROLAND, Yamaha etc .. ?? Which product would you recommend for my purpose ?? Thanks in advance for your replies and help :) :)

Daniel
 
I wanted to add that perhaps you could give me some general tips on what I should look for in a Digital Workstation as per my above needs. Thanks again.

Daniel
 
The first thing I can recommend is to figure out just what features you need, then buy something with a few more bells and whistles. That is to help keep you from running into the "If only I had bought........." Myself, I own the Zoom MRS-1044CD and for what I do, it really handles everything. The effects sound awesome and they can all be edited to suit your fancy, also it has the 2 inputs you are looking for. Hope that helps a bit. If you have any questions about it, feel free to ask me.

KenL1
 
Yo CJ:

I would suggest you preview and interview and cross-view and down-view and up view as many units as possible. Oh, I can tell you that I use the Yamaha 2816 and that it does a very good job right down to CD burning. Others will tell you KORG is a the DAW to get; and there are countless other PC programs and DAW units.

What kind of sound do you want to get? How much do you know about recording? How much time are you willing to spend reading ambiguous Yamaha manuals, as welll as Korg, etc. & et. al.

When I got my Yamaha 2816, I didn't turn it on for a month; I'm glad I waited and read the manual and asked questions from folks on this site, etc.

So, get tracking and cracking, and ranting and raving. Join the DAW club and have fun.

Green Hornet:p :p :p :p :cool: :cool: :D
 
Yo CJ:

I would suggest you preview and interview and cross-view and down-view and up view as many units as possible. Oh, I can tell you that I use the Yamaha 2816 and that it does a very good job right down to CD burning. Others will tell you KORG is the DAW to get; and there are countless other PC programs and DAW units.

What kind of sound do you want to get? How much do you know about recording? How much time are you willing to spend reading ambiguous Yamaha manuals, as welll as Korg, etc. & et. al.

When I got my Yamaha 2816, I didn't turn it on for a month; I'm glad I waited and read the manual and asked questions from folks on this site, etc.

So, get tracking and cracking, and ranting and raving. Join the DAW club and have fun.

Green Hornet:p :p :p :p :cool: :cool: :D :p :p
 
Thank you guys for the suggestions and help. I really appreciate it. I decided to get the BOSS BR-1180CD :cool: I'm picking up mine for $1300 + tax (Canadian funds) which seems a very good deal for a total digital workstation with a CD burner - especially for someone with only a TASCAM 414 experience ;) :D Anyway, thanks again for the advice :) :)

Daniel
 
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