Any help on this one appreciated, folks. Not a big deal (either way)...but I'm just thinking that from a visual standpoint the metering (mono vs stereo) per track might make monitoring levels a little easier (at least for me) if I were to change a few stereo pairs to mono. Cheers.
When you change the assignment of a stereo track to mono, the output is shown as a single bar in the display, however the numbering at the bottom of the screen doesn't change.
Altering any track assignments from default, is only relevant to the current song and not a global change.
If you convert a stereo track to mono before recording, you will still have the same functionality such as panning etc.
While the manual states that you can't record two instruments on a stereo track, that is not actually entirely true. I use PC Drummer Pro for most of my percussion work in the home studio. In this program, I can export every part of the kit as a separate wav file. Once I copy the files to the Audio Depot, I then assign each wav file to a track, so I end up with say the Ride cymbal on track 9 and the Bell on track 10. Also track 11 is a Splash Cymbal and track 12 is a Crash Cymbal. You could for instance record a mono guitar track on track 1 and a mono keyboard on track 2, then by connecting the unit to your computer, you could copy these out, rename each and load them back to the Audio Depot and then assign them to a stereo track pair left and right.
I have had my DP-32 for about 2 months and am very impressed with the results I am getting. I managed to get the unit with the CD burner and with the midi ports on the back and would advise that you shop carefully to ensure you get this version. While midi might not be important, it is handy for connecting a drum machine and the burner makes things a lot easier when it comes copying or importing files.
I suggest you read the user manual over and over as you start to see the strengths once it sinks in. The Pro Audio DVD is currently listed at $29.95 which is good value and going by the shorts of this on the Tube and feedback, appears to be very helpful. I was contemplating purchasing a copy, however, if you have previous experience with physical multi-track units and understand the general concepts, it only takes a month or so to become very familiar with all functionality, so save the money and enjoy the learning process.
You will get great results with this unit, but like everything, it's all about pre-planning and taking your time to do everything correctly on the way in.
Alex