Masterlink any good?

C

crgman

New member
I know I might be asking the choir here, but I was just introduced to the Masterlink tonight and don't know much about its performance. Are you all generally satisfied with it? What do you think of it? I tried to find other reviews in this board, but could not find one. Sorry if this is a redundant question.
I am looking for a CD recorder that will allow my clients to make as many duplicates as needed from what I give to them. Will this cover that?

Thanks,
-c
 
I've found it to be really reliable -- a post-er at Tape Op had said that stand-alone CD-R burners make more coasters on average than computer burners; if that's true, the Masterlink is an exception. It's never made a single bad disc. Super easy to use, though the EQ can be a bit time consuming if you try to isolate frequencies. But for dup'ing, it's superb.

--Chandler
 
And it has great sound. Even Stereophile, which usually hates pro-audio stuff, raved about the sound quality.
 
I take it back....

...they're all crap -- and since I probably led you astray by recommending it, I'll tell you what -- To make it up to ya, I'll take your off your hands, no charge, and I'll make sure it gets used... er, disposed of... properly! :p ;)

:D :D
 
Masterlink

Well here's a few thoughts.

1. Best CD recorder out there due to it's Hard Drive storage and
pretty good DSPs.
2. For duplication: I am mixed which is why I am looking at a dedicated duplicator.

The hard drive makes it easy for running copies independent of the mixer etc. It also helps with moving song order around and other DSP features.

But, it is a slow duplicator and for a few hundred more, one could purchase a 50CD hands free duplicator.

As a recorder, it is awesome. FYI: Yamaha has released a competetive product. Good luck.
 
It's one of the only stereo recorders (Tascam DA45 DAT is the other) that will do 24 bit recordings. What's really cool is you can write your stereo file to the hard drive at 24 bit/96k and save it that way to a disc. The disc can be played only in the Masterlink or transfered to a computer that reads 24 bit AIFF files (mostly Macs).

Then later you can burn a regular redbook audio cd from the 24 bit hard drive file without first having to rewrite it as a 16 bit file. The Masterlink automatically dithers the file down to 16/44.1. Seriously cool feature.
 
Since street price is now hovering 'round $16-&1700 ( and sometimes less 4 a used 1) and my brutha', Cuzzin' Brucie Blue Bear always swearing by it, me thinks I will invest in 1 also in the near future!
 
It's a great box

The only problem with the Masterlink is that if you don't know how to apply compression/limiting etc, there's nothing available that's gonna teach you. You just have to stab your way around in the dark.

If you KNOW what you're doing, it's a very simple matter to dial things in. I'd give the interface a "B" grade.

If you're a rank amateur like me, you won't have a clue what to dial in in the way of DSP. And the vast amount of granularity in the settings that you can choose from makes trial and error quite impractical to "try every setting." Forget it.


My biggest complaint is that it doesn't give the beginner any preset "do no harm" DSP algorythms for getting started.

I would have found that VERY helpful as a starting point.
 
Proud to say it's one of the best purchases i've ever made!you won't be sorry,a cd burner/two-track recorder/mastering/dithering,hell the masterlink is a classic.
 
I second that! I don't really rely on it for much more than normalizing for dsp, and it does a hell of a job with that. I can't believe the quality my cd's are getting with the ML. Everything that I've used previously; cheaper burners, the computer- pales in comparison. The hd recordings are a perfect replication of what's inputted. For instance- I use an Akai dps24 to track (this time at 24/16), and then record the mix into the ML. I took Blue Bears advice and went in through the anologe inputs so the ML can show off what I invested in- it's great converters. It sounds unreal, awesome! The red book cd's are nothing short of spectacular. I will try some of the other dsp functions, but I tend to do dsp on the dps24, before it ever hits the ML. Also, I honestly just screw with it not knowing too much about what I'm doing, so lately I've taken to try out dsp and if it sounds BETTER, than I keep it. More often than not, I'm actually making matters worse, so I leave well enough alone. I have found that by resisting eq and dsp temptation, I'm getting better results. Far better to record great sounding tracks to begin with.

So, I'm one of those guys who don't really have a handle yet on how powerful dsp can be if used right, but I still get tremendous benefits from the ML. Outside of my Akai dps24, it's the best thing I could have ever gotten to give my mixes the best shot they can get. I HIGHLY recommend it, even to those who just need a pro level burner and know nothing about it's dsp functions.

Check out my latest song done with the Akai dps24, mastered over to the ML. The best results I've gotten so far!

http://www.songramp.com/view.ez?sampleid=1953

Dan
 
For what it's worth, I got a Masterlink about 2 months ago, and I don't know how I got along without it. As far as the DSP goes, in addition to normalzing, you might want to try the look-ahead limiter set around -1.5 to -2.5; the "punch" it adds to a mix is incredible. And once you set it, you can easily switch between "On" and "Off" to hear the difference and/or make adjustments. This is one great machine!
 
$899 at 8th Street Music

I haven't popped for one yet, but 8th Street Music has the best price I've found so far on the Alesis MasterLink 9600 at $899 with free shipping. My hero Skippy was the first person here to inform me of the MasterLink's many virtues. I'm glad to read so many of you have also had great experiences with it.

http://www.8thstreet.com/

Just FYI, the CD-duplicator company called Microboards has recently come out with the CopyWriter Live, a two-well continuous CD recorder aimed primarily at the church market for $699. No hard-drive or DSP, and undoubtedly limited to 16/44, but it's on-the-fly finalizing and continuous recording capability make it a tempting alternative to cassette taping. It also works as a CD duplicator as well (that's Microboard's main market niche).

For home recordists (and for only $200 more), the MasterLink 9600 offers so much more; however, there will be those who'll gladly give up features for the dual-recording tape-deck-like ease of the CopyWriter Live. I'd love to hear from anyone who has had a chance to try it.

http://music123.com/Item/?itemno=73094

With kind regards,

Mark H.
 
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