Recording everything yourself

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Scurvy

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I plan to record songs playing all the instruments and singing myself. I'll be recording one guitar track, one bass track, a vocal track and a drum track. I'm aware that I will need several mics for the drum kit (albeit not many - it is a small kit - I'm thinking 4 mics should do it).

Before I ask my questions, I do not have and do not intend to buy a computer at the moment and I have no recording equipment so far. My price range will be low to medium and I'm not after the highest possible quality - this is just for my own enjoyment.

So....can anyone recommend what the best item of recording equipment would be so that I can record each instrument myself over one another? If I get a digital 8-track, can I burn direct to CD without a computer? If not, what would be the best 4 or 8 track that records to cassette tape?

I don't need specific details on exact recording methods or particular brands of mic/cables just now, I just want to be pointed in the right direction before I start buying stuff. Thanks.
 
Yes, you can master to CD without needing a computer on many of the all-in-one home studio boxes nowadays.

My general recommendation? Tascam 788, for numerous reasons (for your needs: up to 6 track simultaneous recording, 8 track playback, 16 or 24 bit recording uncompressed, 250 tracks total, standard IDE drives (expandable up to 8x64GB (so, 512GB total recording space if you need it)), great community support, great OS. Street price of somewhere around $600. They sell the CDR separately for $300, which is ridiculous, but you can build it on your own for $150. So $750 investment for a great recorder and a SCSI CDR).

Not to sound like a gearpimp or anything, but for the 8-track home studio standards of today, I think the 788's the one (caveat: I'm a 788 user, but I'm not trying to praise my own selection here; I honestly think it's the best choice in the 8-track area for my needs. Which is why I got it. That is, I don't think it's the best choice because I have one, I have one because I think it's the best choice. OK, then). All the other 8-track digital recorders (the Bosses or Korgs) have significant restrictions that can be quite limiting (e.g. max 6-channel playback, virtual tracks that can only be substituted into one channel, 1/2 as many tracks @24bit, etc). By the same token some of them, such as the Fostex, have bonuses not found in the 788, like XLR inputs with phantom power.

If you need more than 6 tracks simultaneously, which I don't think you do, other solutions may be more appropriate. 16- or 24- track is another strata entirely. I'm not as well versed in the 4-track arena, but if you're doing it all yourself, you can't go wrong sticking with digital for ease of use. Cassettes... *shudder*
 
If you decide to go with a stand-alone recorder, consider the Roland machines, perhaps a used 1680 if you're on a budget. My friend has a Tascam and I have a Roland VS880 (which I use mostly for a mixer and portable recording, because I now have a computer-based rig for main recording). He says the Roland's on-board effects are way better than that in his Tascam, and that's just comparing my OLD VS880 to his Tascam. The 1680 has a better effects card yet, including some mastering tookit patches.

Of course, what you need to do is research Yamaha, Roland, and Tascam equipment's features. I only know of a place for Roland users, called VS Planet:

http://www.vsplanet.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi

You can also get better than the 1680's 20-bit converters (the mixer section is still 24-bit, the output is still 16-bit from what I understand) and go true 24-bit with newer machines by any of these manufacturers. BUT, if the onboard effects are important to you, I'd seriously consider Roland.

Roland users are using Plextor CD writers for burning CDs, and those cost a fraction of what Roland's burners do. However, it's still a slow process from what I understand.

The quickest way to burn CDs -- and easiest way to edit tracks and mix -- is on a computer. I ended up tranferring my VS tracks digitally into the computer, and then I ended up just going the computer route. I know you said you don't want the computer, but I suspect you'll end up using one. Just for reference, I'm running a Digi 001 on a PIII 550MHz with 192KB of RAM. What a DOG by today's standards, eh? But I have no problem playing back 14 tracks (I haven't recorded anything with more than that yet) running about as many plugins (several tracks take EQ, reverb, compression, and it adds up). So you don't need to spend a mint on a computer to get you going ... just keep that in mind for upgrade plans. For now, check into the stand-alone recorder manufacturers I mentioned above. They seem to be considered the best of the bunch (Boss is also Roland, FYI).

Good luck.
 
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