Tracking on a Tascam 58 and Mixing on a DAW

  • Thread starter Thread starter sxjesus
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sxjesus

sxjesus

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Hello all! I have perused these forums off-and-on for years (lastly around 2007; and I think I only posted 4 times), but I have always admired the community here and the wisdom shared. I'll try to be brief and too-the-point with this question / set of questions.

I have just come into possession of a Tascam 58 8-track that is but one capstan motor away from being operational, and I would love to use the thing, but I have very little equipment. Mainly, I have just been recording through a two-track audio interface into a Macbook and doing mixing in a DAW for years. But having had a chance to record on a Tascam 38 years ago, and loving the sound, I have always wanted to get into at least tracking on an analog machine.

So I would like to find a way to track on the Tascam and then mix my tracks on the computer, and I'm looking for the path of reasonable expense, as I have never had much money to spend on recording gear. What I'm hoping is that you guys might have a suggestion or two on what pieces I'm missing in order to pull this off. I'm guessing I at least need an 8 xlr preamp with phantom power to record into the 8-track, and then an audio interface with at least 8 1/4 inch inputs to export those tracks into my DAW.

What I was wondering, however, was whether there was a single piece of equiptment out there that could do both those things: a usb or firewire audio interface with 8 xlr and 8 1/4 inch inputs, that also happens to be able to work, standalone, as an 8 channel preamp. I doubt this exists... Does it?


Thanks for reading and for any info you might be able to provide!
 
Ok, I think I've found an example of what I'm talking about, an item that can be both a standalone preamp to record through before a tape machine, and an audio interface when I want to take the tracks off:

PreSonus FireStudio Project 10x10
Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 Professional

Any thoughts? I guess I trust PreSonus. I bought one of their two-channel BlueTube Pre's before they went through this tacky visual makeover. Now the "plastic" look of their stuff makes me nervous. Any suggestion on a piece of gear that fits this description? And has anyone ever used an audio interface in this way, as a preamp for tracking and then later as an audio interface to transport those tracks to a DAW to mix individually? Is this a normal approach? Anybody know anyone who works like that, and are there any pitfalls to this approach?
 
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