HR24 XR Vs. DigiOO2, DigiMaxLT combo

[bileshake]

Ok, you guys here it is. I need some pros and cons.

Say you had to start over. I want to record full band sessions on location (jam room, laundry mat, pool hall.) and I want atleast 16tracks track to track. I'm trying to decide between buying a HD24 XR and a board or buying a powerbook, a digi002rack and a lightpipe pre to bring the track count upto 16.
Keep in mind I with the HD24 I will still eventually run protools at home and sometimes import the raw tracks for mix and editing. I'm also getting a little tired of the file management of recording everything right onto a computer.

Any advice will be apreciated.

 

[frankieballsss]

Personally id go with the digi 002 config. Keep in mind though that powerbooks are still a bit wee underpowered to do heavy recording in, if you plan to be running 8 tracks at the same time in pro tools. I would take an Imac g5 any day over a powerbook, Imacs are not hard to lug around.

 

[Adam P]

I'd go with an HD24 (XR or otherwise) and the 16 channel Allen & Heath MixWizard, and dump the files from the HD24 into your computer for mixing. In fact, I was strongly considering just that before I got my current setup, which is an HD24 with a 24x8x2 Allen & Heath board.

 

[frankieballsss]

I'd go with an HD24 (XR or otherwise) and the 16 channel Allen & Heath MixWizard, and dump the files from the HD24 into your computer for mixing.

Sounds like a tedious and unnecessary method of recording to me. More tech work means less productivity making music. Recording direct from a digi 002 straight to a computer is much more efficient.

 

[michaelst]

I run the direct outs(modified to pre-fader, pre-EQ) from my Midas Venice 320 into an Alesis HD24. I can record my bands(2) while I do the FOH mix without affecting the house mix at all.

Later, I dump the tracks onto my PC and remix, using N-Tracks, tho you can use any software that will accept .wav files.
I have a hardware back up of the tracks - the hard drive used in the Alesis.
I don't clutter or fill up my PC's hard drive with huge .wav files.
If there needs to be a re-take on any track, I can easily record it at home or create a mix without the offending track and ship it off to the appropriate musician to re-do (most of the guys have some form of home recording set-up).

 

[bileshake]

*Well, if I go dedicated, I'll need a board, the HD24, and some cans.
*If I go Mac I'll need, computer, digi002, and lightpipe pre.

I think the cost difference could balance between the two, considering if I go HD I'll eventually upgrade my home Mac and spend the difference.

I still like the idea of not filling your computer up with multiple takes and it would be nice to mix through a board now and then. I'm gonna look up the Allen and Heath boards and see what's available.

thanks guys

 

[Gilliland]

Say you had to start over. I want to record full band sessions on location (jam room, laundry mat, pool hall.) and I want atleast 16tracks track to track. I'm trying to decide between buying a HD24 XR and a board or buying a powerbook...

I do live on location recordings all the time. I use an HD24XR and three Studio Projects SP828 8-channel mic pres. The SP828s are a recent addition - prior to that, I used my Spirit 328 as my input device.

To mix, I transfer the tracks to my computer, then mix in Vegas. If I need to mix through a board, I route everything back to my Spirit 328 and mix with that.

The HD24XR is the heart of the whole system, and it is a perfect device for it. It's cost effective, great sounding, plenty of capacity, and 100% reliable.

One critical reminder - be sure to include a UPS in your budget.

I posted a link to a track recorded and mixed with this system up in the "Rack" section. Here's a link to the track:

It was recorded at a live festival performance a few weeks ago.

 

[frankieballsss]

I still like the idea of not filling your computer up with multiple takes and it would be nice to mix through a board now and then. I'm gonna look up the Allen and Heath boards and see what's available.

thanks guys

I really don't see hard drive space as a justification for choosing one option over another. These days hard drives cost close to nothing.

 

[bileshake]

Sure hard drives are cheap but when every track of every take of every song is kept on your computer's hard disk, it calls for extra organization. I don't want to spend all my time geeked out. I will when I have to but I would like to shut the computer off and rock out, capture some tone, capture a certain vibe not stare at it's waveform pondering if it looks like it'll hold up in the mix. I'm not gonna sever my ties with the computer DAW world but I would like to spend less time with V-this and V-that and make music.

 

[frankieballsss]

Sure hard drives are cheap but when every track of every take of every song is kept on your computer's hard disk, it calls for extra organization..

I disagree. These days its so easy to keep track of your projects on hard drive, especially with a program like pro tools. I would rather have my projects on hard drive over any other format any day of the week, but suit yourself.

 

[Adam P]

Sounds like a tedious and unnecessary method of recording to me. More tech work means less productivity making music. Recording direct from a digi 002 straight to a computer is much more efficient.

Its not tedious. It takes about a minute to dump the files onto the computer, and another minute to import them into your software of choice. Plus, you automatically have a backup copy on your HD24's drive. Or you can just mix through the board and not have to waste any time with file storage and organization, or worry about accidentally deleting a file.

 

[bileshake]

Thanks Adam,

I'm very interested in the HD24XR and I think that's where I'll be headed unless an affordable Radar24 comes out. If I'm recording someone on location the track count will be between 12 and 16 and with a laptop setup I'm gonna need a little rack for the interface and pre's anyway.

 

[Adam P]

If you go with the HD24, I'd really recommend investing in the FirePort for it as well. You can upload the files to the computer via Ethernet, but its pretty slow. The FirePort is damn near drag-and-drop, and also allows you to name Projects and Songs on the drive without having to use the arrow keys on the HD24.

 

[Chris Shaeffer]

Keep in mind though that powerbooks are still a bit wee underpowered to do heavy recording in, if you plan to be running 8 tracks at the same time in pro tools.

I have to disagree. I run 16 into my Powerbook 15" 1.25 (002 w/ ADAT LX-20) all the time with no hiccups. Even on the internal drive. 1.25g ram, as well.

In principle, yes, the G4 PB's ARE lagging well behind the competition- but they still handle this task with ease.

Take care,
Chris

 

[RecTech]

If you go with the HD24, I'd really recommend investing in the FirePort for it as well. You can upload the files to the computer via Ethernet, but its pretty slow. The FirePort is damn near drag-and-drop, and also allows you to name Projects and Songs on the drive without having to use the arrow keys on the HD24.

But you wouldn't need this if you already have some sort of digital interface such as a MOTU 828, would you?

 

[xstatic]

Fireport allows drag and drop at much faster speeds than realtime. Because it's technically data it allows for a certain amount of error correction as well.

 

[aspirin]

But you wouldn't need this if you already have some sort of digital interface such as a MOTU 828, would you?

I don't think that would work, not sure how the interface/PC would deal with Alesis' proprietary format on disk. The Fireport comes with a software to access the disk.

 

[Gilliland]

But you wouldn't need this if you already have some sort of digital interface such as a MOTU 828, would you?

You can certainly transfer the tracks via lightpipe (basically playing them on the HD24 while recording them into the computer), and you can do it in real time. But there's no error correction (not that errors are overly likely), and you have to be there when it ends to press "Stop" on whatever program is doing the recording.

The Fireport is a much simpler solution.

 

[xstatic]

Errors are not that uncommon (hard drive stutters, program access etc...) when you are transfering long segments of multiple tracks in real time.

 

[RecTech]

You can certainly transfer the tracks via lightpipe (basically playing them on the HD24 while recording them into the computer), and you can do it in real time. But there's no error correction (not that errors are overly likely), and you have to be there when it ends to press "Stop" on whatever program is doing the recording.

The Fireport is a much simpler solution.

Gotcha.....thanks for the help. Looking at one of these for the studio at school....