Jumping the CPU ship

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tjsmithmusic

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So, after dumping my AKAI dps 16 (from 1999-2010) and hopping onboard the "USS Computer glitch-lockup-crash-shut down-freeze up", I decided to cut loose an orange inflatable raft and start rowing. I didn't stop rowing until I reach Tascam sd24 Island. And I love it here! Comfortable, warm, relaxing, remote. Just flip a switch, hit Record and Play at the same time and start making music! Awww.

I know most will claim I had a crappy computer which couldn't handle the cpu load. Maybe. Some might say that software I downloaded off Piratebay didn't help either. Hey, could be. But it crashed before I uploaded any software and this stand-alone never crashes or slows down.

I'm just wondering who else has jumped ship and returned to the good-old days of Press and Play? It's wonderful not having to learn 50 menus, researching endless reviews, upgrading parts and software just to stay up to speed.

I was hesitant to go SD card but it's totally silent. No fan humming in the background. I have a dozen 32 gig cards to use, record in 24 bit, have enough effects and compression to do the job. If I decide to dump any finished projects into a computer, I can always finish with Steve Slate mastering or fill-in-the-blank. (or send it to Terra Nova Mastering in Austin Texas (cheap plug) I did a track using the normalize and mastering and it was very impressive.

Look, I understand wanting the best gear, but come on, NO ONE on this site will EVER get a record deal from the gear you are using. I chased that unicorn for decades (remember Tascam 234?) I've owned the Tascam 80-8, 24 track reel to reel, fostex 8 track digital, ADAT, and recorded on every gear known to man. Recorded in every studio in Dallas and several in Nashville. Not a rookie.

Anyone remember Brandon Drury at recordingreview? Yeah, followed that guy and he confirmed what I already suspected: gear is over-hyped. Let's start with a great song, sing it well, and play it well and you have something to be proud of. Which kick you select is not a deal breaker. Compressing a bass on the way or out, or using that one plug-in won't matter if the track sucks and the notes don't line up with the kick. Using your nifty Pro-tools to quantize the soul of your recording is just a fricking sin! STOP THAT!

So, anyone else feel this way or did I post this on the wrong page and I'm a musical heretic?
 
I've still got my Zoom R24, and it works great for recording. But when I get to mixing/editing, nothing beats Reaper on my PC. Clip/snip/paste/tweak. Its SO easy, and I don't get computer crashes.

Why give up one when you can have 2?
 
Well, I'm still an Akai DPS 12i man. I love it. I'm on the lookout for a couple of units to store away as reserves, just in case my current two decide to take voluntary retirement.
But, we all utilize what we like. I personally don't see any unit or medium or machine or method as being better than any other. The goal is a song or set of songs that can be listened to and enjoyed. How one gets there is how one gets there regardless of ease or difficulty. What I enjoy in a recording forum is hearing how each person gets there and swapping tales.
 
Yes but, the sd24 is STILL a computer! I have 4 computers that I use for various audio purposes and I and my son have been doing computer audio for over 15 years and the incidence of crashings have been minimal. (this Lenovo T510 goes BSOD about once a month but that is down to some glitch in the machine I think or W10 playing silly buggers as Ms tell me they have to close down and I am back in less than a minute. Only ever done it whilst online)

The Asus MOBO, AMD 3G 6core Black runs like a train, never a blip. I have a 7yr old HP i3 laptop, have run 20 tracks of Cubase, plays back perfectly. A few years ago I took the HP to the Labour club in town and, with a KA6, recorded the bands. Well over 4 hours continuous recording without a glitch.

I have a really old W7 tower in my living room that run a printer/scanner but also sends Radio 3 to a hi fi system. I put that on about 6am most mornings and it often does not go off until past 1am (yes, 'I' crash in the chair!) I can flip to the PC at any time in the day and there is R3 clear as a bell. I have recorded it for hours, no problem...But!

I also have a 42"JVC 'smart' TV and 4 Freeview HDD recorders (all with 'puters in them see?) and I rarely go more than 3 months without having to do a 'hard reset' on one of the devices.

So, for me, computers are way more reliable than other 'digital' kit!

Dave.
 
You don't mention what computer you had that crashed right away.
I don't like Win 10's interface, but overall it does seem reliable. NO more than a couple of crash-reboots in almost 2 years on this computer, and the only issues I have had on my studio recorder is an occasional Reaper crash when I add Nectar to a track.
 
so the new version is the TASCAM DP-24SD....it does look fun, and reminds me of the Porta-Studio world that got me into all this with the 144. Enjoy.... :thumbs up:

FWW..Ive got Windows 10 and Reaper, no problems
 

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CoolCat said:
so the new version is the TASCAM DP-24SD....it does look fun, and reminds me of the Porta-Studio world that got me into all this with the 144
Click to expand...
That's why I like the Akai. As I've said quite a few times down the years, it's the perfect halfway house for me between portastudio portastudioness and computer/digital advantage.
 
Well I sure appreciate simple....I have been farting around with Reaper for several years but to be honest I maybe have 100 hours of using it....so really a real newb I can get a multi track done on it..I can't remember it ever crashing on the late 2011 imac with an i5 processor and a boat load of Ram.....

That all said I just enjoy playing a ton more than recording but want recordings of what I do...For me as I sail off into the sunset years of my life me just playing the piano and singing is good enough for me..I totally dig playing with a band and just jammed with my old guitar player and drummer of 40+ years back a few weekends ago..total blast and we kicked ass...but damn to capture / record properly that would have required a few extra hours and a lot less jamming when it is hard for us to get together even once a year,,

I've been working on how to get a good live recording with just an iphone and it is totally possible...all the band into the mixer with a usb out to the iphone....monitor the mix and push record on your iphone video app.. you have stereo audio and a video of the performance ...back in the olden days a lot of performances were done live with full band...you just have to be on your best game performing...hope to do a bunch of one shot lives of just me doing a boatload of covers soon....
 
I agree. I actually have a hybrid setup a pretty eclectic one. I use analog boards, tape of different sizes, digital both stand alone stuff like dp24sd and tascam mx2424, and several daws.

I get paid to record bands, I use whatever I feel like using at the time unless they request something. I actually have young bands that are recording albums and insisted on going cassette tape start to finish, right now I’m using tascam 238’s I have several 4 tracks I can use but the 238’s sound nice. I enjoy using them, I enjoy rtr, I enjoy all of what I have.

If one way is better than the others I don’t know which one is the better one. I really dig em all even the daws.
I think the dp24sd is fast easy and sounds great. Like you I’ve come full circle 2” 16 been there done that. Even though I get paid to do this I’m at a point I insist on having fun and fully enjoy what I’m doing. I don’t care if the bands have fun, only me lol
I totally get it and have actually carefully selected all the gear I’m using. Sounds like you have too. ;-)
It’s liberating imho

You are not alone, there’s a lot of us that not only feel the same but think the same. No right or wrong, just whatever way a person likes to work.
 
Siberiaslim said:
I agree. I actually have a hybrid setup a pretty eclectic one. I use analog boards, tape of different sizes, digital both stand alone stuff like dp24sd and tascam mx2424, and several daws.

I get paid to record bands, I use whatever I feel like using at the time unless they request something. I actually have young bands that are recording albums and insisted on going cassette tape start to finish, right now I’m using tascam 238’s I have several 4 tracks I can use but the 238’s sound nice. I enjoy using them, I enjoy rtr, I enjoy all of what I have.

If one way is better than the others I don’t know which one is the better one. I really dig em all even the daws.
I think the dp24sd is fast easy and sounds great. Like you I’ve come full circle 2” 16 been there done that. Even though I get paid to do this I’m at a point I insist on having fun and fully enjoy what I’m doing. I don’t care if the bands have fun, only me lol
I totally get it and have actually carefully selected all the gear I’m using. Sounds like you have too. ;-)
It’s liberating imho

You are not alone, there’s a lot of us that not only feel the same but think the same. No right or wrong, just whatever way a person likes to work.
Click to expand...

Ah, but do you sometimes resort to 'practical' kit? I mean, if a band INSISTS they want it done on cassette do you secretly send a feed to an AI and lappy under the table?

I would. "Art for Art's sake" "Let's HEAR the fekker for F****s sake!"

Dave.
 
i was messing with a recording and by the time I was done with my "low skilled mixing"....I saw the pile of plugins on every track, so many plugins I cant even recall what is where and why ....

and it was mind boggling to me...to think every track was that bad? that I needed so many plugins to sound better?

and Im not even talking about editing due to playing skills being cobwebs and dusty.
but this recent experience sure has me wondering about getting a better signal going in...you think?
maybe a tracking approach that doesnt need 10 plugins on each track....lipstik on the pig as they say?

the thought of simple EMI..BEatles to Mic > Desk> comps > Tape makes me wonder and they didnt have 80 plugins per song and the recordings sounded pretty decent.
 
It depends what those plugins were doing...Stating the obvious.
If you're stacking several eqs and gates and noise reduction plugins then, sure, there's stuff you can fix before the mic.
If it's maybe an eq and comp and some time-based effects, distortions/saturation and that kind of thing then I don't see a problem.
The Beatles may not have had 10 plugins on each track but I'm sure they were passed through hardware eqs, compressors, tape delays, plate reverbs, and who knows what else.
 
ecc83 said:
Ah, but do you sometimes resort to 'practical' kit? I mean, if a band INSISTS they want it done on cassette do you secretly send a feed to an AI and lappy under the table?

I would. "Art for Art's sake" "Let's HEAR the fekker for F****s sake!"

Dave.
Click to expand...

Lol No. No reason to do that. I might bu to hd or another copy of tape on tape but no secret agent stuff lol
 
They may not have had the luxury of "pluggins" back in the day but all I read tells me bands like Beatles, Queen, Floyd spent an INORDINATE amount of fekking around in the studios!

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
They may not have had the luxury of "pluggins" back in the day but all I read tells me bands like Beatles, Queen, Floyd spent an INORDINATE amount of fekking around in the studios!

Dave.
Click to expand...

Yes and lots of people to help!
 
LOL You got me thinking... I started probably 60 yrs ago experimenting with a mono cassette recorder. Traveled through analog tape and mixers till the work to record got in the way of the urge to just play. Sold everything and went simple with a portistudio. Time passed and the recording bug grew till I wound up building a dedicated recording space fitted with a Roland VS2000 supplemented with a computer based daw and MIDI. Still record occasionally when family matters don't interfere. I've been around long enough to see most formats come and go through so many changes. Never lost interest. That's the best part of a great hobby, always new stuff to soak into the brain tissue.
As an unusual coincidence, today I was tossing some old stuff out of the garage and found a box of cassettes. One was the only known copy of my original band performing (I was 16). It was recorded off a TV show we performed on. Recorded by my little mono cassette recorder sitting on the coffee table. Bad sound? Not to me! One of the sweetest sounds I've heard in a while. Brings back my youth. Tomorrow I'm dubbing it to CD and sending every one of my band mates a copy. That's what recording is all about.
 
tjsmithmusic said:
Look, I understand wanting the best gear, but come on, NO ONE on this site will EVER get a record deal from the gear you are using. I chased that unicorn for decades (remember Tascam 234?) I've owned the Tascam 80-8, 24 track reel to reel, fostex 8 track digital, ADAT, and recorded on every gear known to man. Recorded in every studio in Dallas and several in Nashville. Not a rookie.

Anyone remember Brandon Drury at recordingreview? Yeah, followed that guy and he confirmed what I already suspected: gear is over-hyped. Let's start with a great song, sing it well, and play it well and you have something to be proud of. Which kick you select is not a deal breaker. Compressing a bass on the way or out, or using that one plug-in won't matter if the track sucks and the notes don't line up with the kick. Using your nifty Pro-tools to quantize the soul of your recording is just a fricking sin! STOP THAT!
Click to expand...

I loved the Brandon-ness...the Disappointment Series and sht like that was so hilarious in a sobering way. And he dumped money for awhile $$$$ so it was pretty wild but almost always insanely honest and blindfold tests over and over from the viewers choosing the gear or not hearing a difference sent him on the disappointment path in top end gear.....the Martech vs Rane MS1 with no difference heard and no one online listening in their home studios or earbuds could hear a difference either... etc..etc..

and his mixes were top notch, he had done his 1000 recordings and wasnt a hobbyist like myself. but the brutal honesty...almost a dream buster that the $2000 mic and $1600 preamp wont make you sound like <enter famous fav artist>

the best studios in Dallas and Nashville is a interesting comment....were the results much better than the Akai Home Grown weed?
 
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