Stand Alone Hard Disk Recorder:

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gpaai

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Ok, being a newbie here I may not have looked in the right topic area.

I notice you have no topic areas for Korg products, (I saw Fostex, etc.).

I currently have a Korg D1200 hard disk recorder on lay-a-way and was wondering if this is a bad choice in stand alone recording units?

Any ideas as to a better unit for the cost?

Thanks!

Gary
 
The Korg is a solid unit for the price, don't let anyone tell you different.... but I think it's a waste of money in todays world of Computer Recording.

You probably payed eight or nine hundred for the Kord 12 track... well, for the same price you could get an E-Machine Tower and monitor with well over 800 mghz Intel processor, upgrade to 512 mb of SDRAM, with a 40 gig HD... that would cost you about $700.00 for the PC.

Since you're buying a Hard Disk recorder, it's safe to assume you have a mic. All you need is Multi Track Recording software... like Cool Edit or Cubase. You can get Cool Edit Pro for around $250.00 and it's a 128 multi track recorder with effects...

I don't think it gets easier than PC recording nowadays...

But some people like the HD recorders.. I used to have a Roland VS1880 and I loved it, but I'll never go back to HD recording.
 
Wooooooo, stop the press!

Ok, I have a PC running an Intel P4 - 2 ghz processor and a Western Digital 80 gig - 7200 rpm hard drive. My sound card is a Sound Blaster value card. I do use this PC for some graphic work (photoshop, dreamweaver, flash 5, etc.). Can I still run recording programs without conflicts as long as I am not running my graphic programs at the same time? And if so, what do I need to put a decent demo studio together?

A mixer and Cool Edit or Cubase? What else? (I know the mic(s))

You have my brain going a million miles an hour now.

Of the two programs, is Cool Edit or Cubase better?

What are my next steps to setting up a PC situation?

Thanks,
Gary
 
The reason I have a standalone is pretty much because my computer is in the same room as I record (smaller room). When doing vocals or recording acoustic guitar my mic will pick up my computer fan. The standalone unit is much quieter and sneaks under the mics radar. But there are some great products out there for recording on the computer. Definitely worth a look I'd say.
 
Change of POETS said:
I don't think it gets easier than PC recording nowadays... [/B]
Click to expand...

Or more frustrating.

When the computer is down your entire studio is down. I prefer HDR's for tracking and mixing. DAW's are cool for editing but why put all your eggs in one basket?
 
gpaai said:
Wooooooo, stop the press!

Ok, I have a PC running an Intel P4 - 2 ghz processor and a Western Digital 80 gig - 7200 rpm hard drive. My sound card is a Sound Blaster value card. I do use this PC for some graphic work (photoshop, dreamweaver, flash 5, etc.). Can I still run recording programs without conflicts as long as I am not running my graphic programs at the same time? And if so, what do I need to put a decent demo studio together?

A mixer and Cool Edit or Cubase? What else? (I know the mic(s))

You have my brain going a million miles an hour now.

Of the two programs, is Cool Edit or Cubase better?

What are my next steps to setting up a PC situation?

Thanks,
Gary
Click to expand...
Ok to start with you are not going to want to plug your microphone into the mic outlet of the sound card. The mic preamps on sound cards are universally awfull. You will want a mic preamp so you can go in the line input of the sound card. if you get a condenser mic it will also need something called phantom power. Many mic preamps include phantom power. Some mixer boards also contain mic preamps and phantom power. Now depending on how picky you are the analog-digital converter on the SB value will not give you satisfactory performance so you will want to get an upgraded sound card.

Now the approach I took in setting up my beginning project studio is to get all of that...the preamp, the phantom power, and the upgraded sound card, all in one little box that then communicates digitally with the PC via the USB port. It was a nice one stop purchase and it allows me to move the whole recording setup between any of my computers, even if need be a mac. The one I got was the Edirol UA-5 but other similar units are the M-Audio Duo, the M-Audio Mobile Pre, and the Mbox. It is not the perfect solution for everybody, but since I will rarely if ever tracking more than two mics at once perfect for me.

As for the recording software either of those are fine. I am also using the shareware program n-track, which is well regarded.

You will indeed need to think about how to quiet the fan noise during recording. I do it by tracking using a laptop. Others use long cables to move the system unit to another room or throw a blanket over the system during takes.

Then comes microphones. Go to the mics forum and say what you want to record and what your budget is. If you are recording your own voice say what your vocal range and quality is. Trust me you will get a LOT of good opinions about what to buy :)
 
The feedback I'm getting here is awesome! I would have never taken the CPU fan noise into consideration.

Thanks everyone!
 
TexRoadkill said:
Or more frustrating.

When the computer is down your entire studio is down. I prefer HDR's for tracking and mixing. DAW's are cool for editing but why put all your eggs in one basket?
Click to expand...

Damn there are some days where I'd like to trade in my computer for one of these. It seems a lot of the time I spend more time troubleshooting and wasting valuable creative juices on how to fix my computer than actually getting that one track down I've come up with on the spot.

I've never had an HDR, but I'd love to have one just the same. Plus portability comes to mind bigtime.
 
I know the pro-PC people aren't likely to agree, but think long and hard before committing yourself to a DAW (PC) system..........when they have problems, they are more likely to be "terminal". Believe me, I know.

:cool:
 
If he were a complete computer novice I would agree with you. But he already has a computer and the skills to use complicated creative programs. Such folks are used to working out PC technical problems, not to mention the recorder that he was thinking about getting is not a cheap piece of gear.
 
What do you think?

This is great stuff, but I need some help. It just wont work for me to use my computer, I really must use something seperate. I want to do demo type stuff and I am thinking of one of the smaller Boss or Korg units. When, and if, I ever get to the publishing/album stage, I will go to a studio probably.
So, which one to choose. I am on a budget here, family to support, mortgage etc. so I have to make the right choice the first time.
The boss units seem best for me(guitar player) because of the COSM modeling. I tried cakewald guitar studio and hated it. I cant get the amp sound I want live. Every thing has to be recorded clean and then effects etc. added. Somebody please tell me this is not the case with hard disc recorders. I am rambling. Please let me know what you think.
 
TexRoadkill said:
Or more frustrating.

When the computer is down your entire studio is down. I prefer HDR's for tracking and mixing. DAW's are cool for editing but why put all your eggs in one basket?
Click to expand...

I couldn't disagree more. My PC isn't frustrating at all. I've never had it crash on me, and lose a session, or lose a track even. It has crashed before, but it was caused by a bug in Cool Edit, not my hardware.

I agree, one shouldn't place all their eggs in one basket, but when you're starting out, for a small home studio, you can't beat PC based recording. It's cheaper, and more efficient.

I understand where you're coming from but, regular PC maintainence will eliminate most problems.

gpaai, I too use graphic intense programs on my PC. Just don't run them concurrently. Why would you need to? I've converted a closet into a recording booth, so it's in a different room than My PC. I don't pic up extra noise that way.
 
Something was brought to my attention this past weekend while at a Guitar Center.

What is the portability of each when considering setting up in a remote situation. I guess it's obvious that home recording is no longer home recording when you decide to pack up and head out for a rehearsal studio somewhere.

None the less, if the situation arises that you want to record at a remote location, what's easier to lug around, a stand alone or a PC, (unless you are fortunate to own a laptop).

I also wondered about taking existing tracks into a professional studio. The fact is, there are studios set up to accomidate programs such as Sonar and Cubase, but wonder if you can feed tracks from a stand alone unit individually to a more professional atmosphere?

Gary
 
If you need to go portable then there's no alternative to Fostex VF160 in the sub-$1000 price range, other than it's predecessor the VF16 which is basically the same machine without the internal CDRW. It's the only recorder in that group that can record up to 16 tracks simultaneously although you need an external AD/DA converter like the new Behringer ADA8000 or a Fostex VC8 or some digital mixer to feed in the 8 additional tracks thru the ADAT-interface of the VF160. And thanks to the ADAT-interface it's no problem at all to transfer tracks from VF160 to a computer at home or to a pro system at a studio 8 tracks at a time for editing and mixdown. I'm starting to regret that I sold my VF16 when I got the AW4416 as it was so compact to carry around compared to this huge Yamaha I have now and for basic tracking it's very easy to use.
 
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