editing features on the AW16G

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mario b

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What kind of editing does the aw16 have? I use to own a Roland VS 1680 and thinking of purchasing the aw16!!

Can you separate the stereo tracks so that you can record different instruments on track 13 and 14? and 15 and 16? Or do you have to keep them as stereo tracks and waste 2 tracks for one instrument.

Thanks,

Mario
 
Well, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14 and 15-16 work as stero tracks. They are seperate as far as recording goes but stereo as far as mixing goes.

Let's take the example of input 5 goes to 15 and input 8 goes to 16. Now this gets a little tricky, so read carefully.

When you record you can have seperate effects on 5 and 8. You can run seperate insturments but you do need to decide on efects when recording the tracks.

When you do your mixdown however, 15 and 16 are together, so your eq and other effects will act on both tracks. You do have balancing options but you only have 2 effects for both tracks instead of 2 for each.


I hope that helps
 
thanks for the help. Do you see that as a potentional isse. I really don't but I'm a rookie.
 
It's not really an issue for me, but I only really record 7 tracks at the most before mixing down.
 
You do need to consider this issue before deciding on the AW16G.

If you're looking to record the maximum number of individual channels, then this "feature" will cause you problems. For example, if you were tracking large ensembles in a live stage situation, you might be better off with a Fostex VF-160. Armed with an external Audio-to-ADAT interface, the Fostex can record 16 channels simultaneously, with a dedicated fader for each channel.

In a typical project studio evironment, this shouldn't be an issue. In that application, you're likely to want at least three or four stereo channels for keyboards and other stereo sources...

Although I do a fair amount of live work, I mostly work with small groups and choirs, so I went with the Yamaha.

Steve Rolfe.
 
As the VF160 was already metioned here I'd like to add that if you're planning on using the recorder together with your computer thanks to the ADAT interface of VF160 you can use it as a recording mixer while tracking on computer with a soundcard with ADAT interface and naturally as a standalone unit while tracking away from computer. This might not sound as a big issue but try to imagine that you need to input 8 tracks at a time in realtime to computer and with AW16g that's just not gonna happen. And dumping tracks to computer is much more straight forward if you don't need to burn them as wav files on CD first and then upload them into sequencer software.

As mentioned earlier thru the ADAT interface you can also connect an external multichannel preamp with DA converters like the Presonus Digimax to VF160 to gain extra analog inputs or if the VF's own mic pres are not up to your standard. With AW16G you're pretty much stuck with what you get when you open the package but with Fostex you have better options to upgrade your system if needed and to connect to other equipment you might have.

One other thing, AW16G uses the laptop size hard disks which are something like 4 times more expensive than normal size 3,5" HDs that Fostex uses. The 3,5" HDs are so cheap nowadays that it makes more sense to pop in a fresh HD when the previous fills up than to start dumping data on CDR to free some space on the HD. Not to mention how much easier it is to swap in a HD to work on an old project than to download the data from a CDR onto recorder's HD.
 
4x more for a laptop drive?

Prices at newegg.com are:

IBM 40GB 4200rpm 2.5" drive: $123

IBM 40GB 7200rpm 3.5" drive: $82

Not even twice as much. These prices are similar everywhere. Laptop drives aren't that expensive anymore.

-Dinsdale
 
Sorry, the laptop drive's must have gotten cheaper lately. Local price here in Finland for a 40GB 3,5" is around 90 euros and 2,5" is around 240 euros. For 60 GB disks the difference is even greater 559e vs. 104e. BTW You're comparing 4200 rpm drive to a 7200 rpm drive which is not fare comparition. Looks like the least expensice 5400 rpm 3,5" drives costs $60 in US and that's still half of the price of a 4200rpm 2,5" drive.
 
Okay, the cost of a 5400rpm 2.5" IBM drive at newegg.com is $139.00. The cost of a 5400rpm 3.5" Maxtor (IBM doesnt have a 5400 listed) drive at newegg.com is $78.00

The price difference between a 40GB 5400 rpm and a 7200 rpm 3.5" drive at newegg.com is $1.00.
 
Actually, I never thought the HD was an issue, at least not for me. When I am done with a project, I just back it up to a CD. Then I have a permanent record. I cannot see changing the drives out just so I don't have to back up to CD. 20 gig is pleanty of room for most any project. Besides, every time you connect and reconnect a hard drive you do chance damaging it.

In my opinion, it is easier to backup and clean up the hard drive then it is to change it out. And if you think about it, it probably takes the same time to do so.

The real issue is the fact that I don't believe the AW16 can be expanded to a larger drive. But 20 gig is pleanty for my use. I currently have 15 songs (90 min) and I still have room for many more. As I finish them up, I cut the stero track to CD then backup the raw tracks to thier own CD and get rid of the song on the drive.

The AW16 is a great machine, it makes wonderful recordings and is easy to use. You do need to evaluate it against all others and make your own decision. The number of tracks you need, what you want to tie in and how much room you need should all be considered. For instance if you want to use it for a stage recording and you want to tie in more than 2 mics at a time through XLR then it won't do, it only has 2 XLR inputs).
 
Backing up 20GB takes 30 CDs and burning those CDs takes at least few hours. Storing those CDs and keeping track where you've put them takes some space and effort too. Changing HDs takes a minute or two. IMHO a HD is a much safer place to keep your data than a CD that are easily scratched if not handled carefully.
 
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