Mini disk vs Harddisk

[griffd]

I have a Yamaha MD8 8 track minidisk recorder that I have been using for the last 5 years. I am very happy with this equipment and very comfortable with it. My question is this; Would a new hard disk recorder like a Yamaha AW1600, Roland VS2480 or Tascam 2488 provide a higher quality of sound?

I don't want to spend the money nor climb the learning curve unless I will get significantly higher quality in the end result.

I am a songwriter and us this equipment for creating demo CD's.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

Dan

 

[amra]

I found my minidisc player when I was straightening my home studio room in my house last week. I figured I should charge the battery on it since it has been sitting for a long time without being charged. While it was charging I popped in 'Ozzmosis', one of the only pre-recorded mini discs I still have stashed with it.

Listening to it through my AKG headphones, I could hear a BIG difference in sound between that and the CD version. The minidisc version sounded over compressed, the highs were brittle sounding, and the mids were seriously lacking. Maybe they remastered it for minidisc. Not sure, but I could damn sure hear a difference in quality on the minidisc recording....

 

[dementedchord]

while there's noparticular reason you cant get a good quality recording out of it... the changes in the industry since that was designed are enourmous and yes the others should blow the doors off your little yamama... higher sample rates... more bit depth... onboard effects.... YMMV...

at the same time why not go computer based???? one of the stories from the recent namm is that alot of these guy's (korg/roland in particular) are getting out of the self containeed thing...

 

[griffd]

Dementedchord,

I am sure your correct. I too expect that it will all be computer based very shortly. I am resisting the re-investment and the learning curve. I have about $5000 invested in rack equipment not counting my MD8. I would need to upgarde my computer, purchase Pro Tools or similar, and buy effects software.

A friend of mine bit the bullet and went computer baised in 2006. Like me, he has a day job. He said that he now spends all his time learning the system, patching software, and solving problems rather than being creative. He is a degreed engineer and has studied music production extensivley.

Moving to a computer based system is something I need to save for retirement. Which is only a few years away.

Thanks for your comments.

Dan

 

[CoolCat]

I have a Yamaha MD8 8 track minidisk recorder that I have been using for the last 5 years. I am very happy with this equipment and very comfortable with it. My question is this; Would a new hard disk recorder like a Yamaha AW1600, Roland VS2480 or Tascam 2488 provide a higher quality of sound?

I don't want to spend the money nor climb the learning curve unless I will get significantly higher quality in the end result.

I am a songwriter and us this equipment for creating demo CD's.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

Dan

I would vote yes that the new stuff "can provide" higher quality sound thru technical advancements, as its even more mirror like, no colorations, high sampling..technically much better than your MD8.

the songwriter side of things is tricky, you say your comfortable with the MD8. If your comfortable with the MD8 there maybe some awkward things to deal with for awhile especially going to pc. imo.

I think you'd do fine on the new standalones, probably not that hard to switch. Most all of them have gotten really good on the user friendliness topic as you've probably read.(a common concern for the songwriter/solo, HR stuff)

i went from a MD8, (a great frkn machine) especially for a songwriter setup.imo. The 2488 was a breeze, didn't hardly need the manual.

As I recall the benefits of having more tracks was the #1 reason to upgrade. for me. No more stopping in the middle of a groove to bounce, pingpong and pretend I was an mixing engineer...often ruining the entire thing

adding to the extra tracks & extra clarity, there's a frkn CD-R onboard which was really frkn nice!

the pc though is a different deal in my exp.
it has huge positives such as editing and sending posts or emails/attachments really cool stuff, again digital clarity and pretty frkn cheap just to get something to record a song at a time. Thats been my hobby gear lately.
but I do find the pc a lot different for some reason, in comparison to the standalone and MD8/Portastudio equipment, not sure why?

I can see why people want the digital mixing boards going into the pc for that familiar feel and ergonomics of a mixing board. Sliders, leaving stuff plugged in... I'd think thats the ultimate best deal. But then its not very portable?

Is portability a big issue?

 

[MickB]

MiniDisc uses ATRAC compression. Hard disk recorders don't.

Also, HDD machines these days also run at 24 bit 48/96/192 khz as well. Plus you can hook 'em up to your trusty PC in an instant to transfer, back up or mix your tracks. Franc-Tireurs, to coin a phrase!

It's quality and quantity these days guv!