please help with portable hardware options

[Nicole_Rose]

i may have an opportunity. in any case i will be creating a portable studio for "on sight" recordings. i need to know what some of the best portable hardware recording unit options are. good pre's, lot's of drive space, easy to use hopefully, or at least a quick learning curve. at minimum 8 mic inputs though i'd prefer 12, with at least 6 phantom powered xlr inputs. good visual interface visible under crappy conditions, like dark bars. and solid performance which means no equipment failure due to sound vibrations. if it needs a little shock mounting i can understand that, but to have to build a condensor mic type shock mount for hte rig would be ridiculous lol.

thanks a lot in advance

 

[G-Jay]

i may have an opportunity. in any case i will be creating a portable studio for "on sight" recordings. i need to know what some of the best portable hardware recording unit options are. good pre's, lot's of drive space, easy to use hopefully, or at least a quick learning curve. at minimum 8 mic inputs though i'd prefer 12, with at least 6 phantom powered xlr inputs. good visual interface visible under crappy conditions, like dark bars. and solid performance which means no equipment failure due to sound vibrations. if it needs a little shock mounting i can understand that, but to have to build a condensor mic type shock mount for hte rig would be ridiculous lol.

thanks a lot in advance

Only currently readily available 'prosumer' portable mutli tracker with 12 inputs ( 8 mic preamps, 4 line levels) I know of is the Korg D3200, phantom power, decent pres etc. Maybe $600-$700 used on ebay, around $1000 new.

Other 8 simultaneous input machines with phantom power: Zoom HD16, Yamaha AW1600....

There are others.

I have the Zoom HD16. It's phenomenal for working with live recordings in low lit areas cause it has a rather nice meterbridge. I like it but if I was starting again I'd go for the Korg D3200.

There is the new Zoom R16 which records to memory cards instead of hard drive but I think only 2 of the 8 mic inputs can supply phantom power.

If I had proper money I'd take an Alesis HD24 and a decent mixing board and build them into a portable rack unit. But that would be $2500+

 

[Nicole_Rose]

Only currently readily available 'prosumer' portable mutli tracker with 12 inputs ( 8 mic preamps, 4 line levels) I know of is the Korg D3200, phantom power, decent pres etc. Maybe $600-$700 used on ebay, around $1000 new.

Other 8 simultaneous input machines with phantom power: Zoom HD16, Yamaha AW1600....

There are others.

I have the Zoom HD16. It's phenomenal for working with live recordings in low lit areas cause it has a rather nice meterbridge. I like it but if I was starting again I'd go for the Korg D3200.

There is the new Zoom R16 which records to memory cards instead of hard drive but I think only 2 of the 8 mic inputs can supply phantom power.

If I had proper money I'd take an Alesis HD24 and a decent mixing board and build them into a portable rack unit. But that would be $2500+

thanks a lot. i found the korg unit yesterday after making this post. it seems like a good job for what i need and for my technical skill level. the alesis, and also the tascam rackmountable unit are really good, but i'd need a mixer as well, and i'd really prefer the standalone unit. and i've been thinking that 8 ins simply isn't enough. i'd like 16, but the korg has 12 and that will work for most stuff i will want to do

do you have any experience with it, or do you know someone who has? the reviews are decent, but reviews can be faked.

 

[G-Jay]

thanks a lot. i found the korg unit yesterday after making this post. it seems like a good job for what i need and for my technical skill level. the alesis, and also the tascam rackmountable unit are really good, but i'd need a mixer as well, and i'd really prefer the standalone unit. and i've been thinking that 8 ins simply isn't enough. i'd like 16, but the korg has 12 and that will work for most stuff i will want to do

do you have any experience with it, or do you know someone who has? the reviews are decent, but reviews can be faked.

No personal experience but i do have serious gear lust for it. Lots of good reviews, seems like a well put together unit.

Good luck!