I need the advice of the pro's

  • Thread starter Thread starter Orange
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Orange

New member
I have never used a multi-track recorder and I'd like to know which one would be the best one to start out with. I would like to go as cheap as possible since this will be my first foray into the world of recording. The reason for this is that my bandmates now live in 3 different states leaving me and my drummer/keyboardist on our own for now, but we'd like to make our own music without the need for seeking other musicians. With just the 2 of us a
4-track would probably do the trick.

Is there any particular 4-track recorder that would allow me to record all the instruments on different tracks one at a time and then do a final mixdown to CD? We are using a Yamaha 1642 mixer to run everything through the P.A. (in case that makes a difference)

I have been looking around on this site and this seems to be the place to go for Quality Advice!
All help is greatly appreciated in advance!
 
Im assuming your looking for software recording programs since you want to mix to CD. Sonar seems to be a reasonably priced program that would give sufficient results.
 
You want the help of pros, most of us here are ametuers, youll have to wait for Blue Bear Sound or Sonusman, not to demean you stelthtech, you may be a pro also.
 
I just find it funny that he wants the opinion of a "pro" when a pro might well be the least qualified to answer this question!

Orange, one thing you will learn in recording is that it is not safe to assume stuff....:)

If you have never used a multitrack before, well, you have a BUNCH of stuff you need to look into. The cheapest unit might not be your best bet. You may outgrow it's features far too soon for you to feel you got your money's worth out of it, and then you are selling it for 40% of what you paid for it 60 days after you just bought it!!!

You need to access your needs for tracks, mixing channels, effects, mic preamps, and monitoring options before you can find the unit that will fill all those needs perfectly for you.

Do assume this. If you get 4 tracks now, you will want 8 REALLY soon. Once you have 8, well, you just gotta have 16. With 16, it almost seems silly to not have 24 tracks right?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Once you have done a few big productions on 24, well, wouldn't 32 be a nice way to get that "other" stuff you would have liked to track to tape...:) It goes on and on. I have done several 32 track recordings and wound up having to have 2 instruments share a track. I once had a mix where I would have needed 36 tracks to cover everything! 40 would have been nice so I could double stuff up too!!!

Anyway. If you are just looking to lay down a sequence and sing something over it, then the cheapest 4 track cassette you can get your hands on will suffice. If you are looking to sequence tracks and sync it to recorded tracks, you will need more features, such as extra mixing channels and you also lose a track for the smpte tone you will need for syncing.

Also, you may not like the quality of the built in mic preamps at all! So might need a mic preamp. Need effects? Some units have them onboard, but if they don't, you will need an effects processor too!

See, there are a lot of considerations, and what you HAVEN'T done yet is access your needs, because if you did, you wouldn't be asking what to buy really. You would already know what you need in features and would have looked over several units and settled on one of two that fit your needs, then would have asked on here which unit people thought might be a better "bang for the buck".

Again, don't underestimate what you will need. It get's frustrating very quickly when you have little capabilities on your recorder/mixer unit. It blocks the flow of creativity. But, more features also means having a bigger learning curve ahead of you, and that will hold you back from creativity too until you learn how to use the unit well.

Good luck! :)

Ed
 
If you want 4 get 8. 8 track hard discs are going for blowout prices right now.
 
If he goes for a 8 track get a Br-8!
Alot of people use them!
They are quite easy to grow out of tho!
maybe a computer based system would be better as u can keep upgrading and adding??
Just a thought!
C ya

C_R_A_Z_Y
 
-------------SONUSMAN------------------


Spoken like a true PRO!!! KUDOS!!!:cool:
 
First let me THANK everyone for their help!

I have been considering the Boss BR-8

Now let's say hypothetically that I have the BR-8
What would I need to use in conjunction with a Yamaha MR1642 (analog mixing console)? Compression,DI box, etc..

I have all the instruments,mics,amps, effects pedals for guitars etc.....

Will an analog mixer be a drawback to a digital recorder?

Would I be better off buying a real basic multitrack and then send a mix to Cakewalk9 for editing purposes? (keep in mind that I REALLY want to stay away from pc based recording, except where Cakewalk editing comes into play. I only use cakewalk as an example because I already have it and I'm familiar with it. Not that I think it is better than any other pc based programs...
 
A BR-8 has its own built-in mixer and such, and it's rather low end. If you already have a decent mixer, why get a BR-8? FOr the same money you can get a better recorder without a built-in mixer.
 
AlChuck said:
A BR-8 has its own built-in mixer and such, and it's rather low end. If you already have a decent mixer, why get a BR-8? FOr the same money you can get a better recorder without a built-in mixer.
Click to expand...

ok, what would you suggest using, that doesn't have the mixer but has the ability to uplink to pc for CD burning?
I haven't made a choice yet. The BR-8 just looked to be a popular model and had most if not all of the options I needed.

Remember I'm a NEWBIE! point me towards the light!
 
What do you have against computer recording? If you are going to spend money you can get a lot more mileage if you can use your computer as the main recording device.

Check out the Roland Studio Pack for $700. If you have a decent computer it will give you everything you need to get started right out of the box. You can get better quality with seperate components but to get the same quality you would spend over a grand easy.
 
How much money? LIke Ed said, there is alot of things you need to research before dropping dough on the bare minimum.

When my 4 track at home crashed I rushed to get the most number of tracks for the cheapest price. Guess what, Ive spent the last year trying to financially reposture myself to transition to something that meets my needs now with some growth options. There is also the Gear Slut Addiction, you don;t know you have it until you've gotten a good dosage of the "If I get that, Ill sound even better". I also tried to mix my live fx rig as my home studio fx, Im stuck now with 2 preset based fx units....dang! Find out what ya need, then see if you can afford it, start working it backwards until you reach a happy medium. Don't Rush into it..... I can't recommend anything I own personally...


Peace,
Dennis
 
TexRoadkill said:
What do you have against computer recording? If you are going to spend money you can get a lot more mileage if you can use your computer as the main recording device.

Check out the Roland Studio Pack for $700. If you have a decent computer it will give you everything you need to get started right out of the box. You can get better quality with seperate components but to get the same quality you would spend over a grand easy.
Click to expand...

The main problem with a computer based recording system is that the studio is at the drummers home. he has no P.C. and I don't want to sacrifice mine for the studio! I wish to be able to record in the studio and then bring the unit home to edit and burn CD's. I have no problem with packing the multitrack back and forth but if I had to do that with a Computer it would be too big of a hassle. If my house had an extra room available where I could setup a studio, then a computer based recording system would be fine. I also like the portabilty of a non-pc multi-track.
I realize that I'm limiting myself by going this route, but for now that is what I need to do. I am not kidding myself thinking I'll be happy in the future with a portable unit, But I think that for learning purposes it should be a good "Starter Kit" I will eventually (as everyone knows) grow out of it, and maybe then the budget will allow for the purchase of a dedicated P.C for recording purposes. Hope this makes sense........LOL
 
Orange,you still have not mentioned budget.Even at the low end of budget I would still go digital today.With the price of today's digital recorders starting at $230 (Zoom MRS4) I don't see the reason to use cassette.You have a computer running Cakewalk so what you could do is use the four track for portable recording then dump the tracks into your computer,sync them up,and add effects,mix and burn right in your computer.I don't know what version of Cakewalk you are running,but by dumping and mixing in your computer you are only limited to whatever number of tracks you have in Cakewalk.If you post your budget people will be able to point you in more specific directions.
 
Use the force Luke and go the PC way. More band for your buck and more flexebility (assuming your PC is up to it :D).

As for moving the PC around, why not just plug it into a monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers at your drummers house and just take the base unit - this will be little bigger than a multitrack anyway.

Seriously, PC recording is the way to go if you are on a budget but you want expandability.
 
Randy Yell said:
Orange,you still have not mentioned budget.Even at the low end of budget I would still go digital today.With the price of today's digital recorders starting at $230 (Zoom MRS4) I don't see the reason to use cassette.You have a computer running Cakewalk so what you could do is use the four track for portable recording then dump the tracks into your computer,sync them up,and add effects,mix and burn right in your computer.I don't know what version of Cakewalk you are running,but by dumping and mixing in your computer you are only limited to whatever number of tracks you have in Cakewalk.If you post your budget people will be able to point you in more specific directions.
Click to expand...

Bingo! That's what I want to do!
I'm running CakeWalk Pro Audio 9 (I also have Cakewalk Guitar Studio) I would like to find a stripped down digital recorder (little need for a mixer or effects) I DON'T want a cassette unit! And my budget is around $500...I want to go as inexpensive as possible for main fact that if I fall on my face the whole in my pocket (or the Wife) won't kill me!
So is it possible to find such a reliable digital multi-track that will be up to this task for under $500
 
There are a few digital recorders in your price range but different units have different limitation such as recording media,how many tracks you can record simultaneously,sample rates etc.Most units in the under $500 price range are limited to one or two simultaneous tracks.If you are working by yourself or with one other person this shouldn't be a problem.You mentioned that you have a mixer so you could submix drums to stereo tracks.The Boss BR532 that someone mentioned records at cd quality 44.1k sampling rate unlike some units in this price range.

Another option for you would be a used ADAT.I think they are within your price range and you said that you had a mixer(all the new digital four tracks in your price range have a intigrated mixer).Advantages to adat would be eight tracks instead of four but adats require maintenence and have moving parts that wear out.I use a discontinued Roland VSR-880 which would work well for you but I think almost everyone is out of stock.A few months ago everyone was blowing them out for $499 but now they are hard to find.
 
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