very possibly a stupid simultaneous multitracking question.

[yeahboye]

i'm considering buying a motu 828 mkii because of its inputs.
please tell me if i've got this straight.
i can record many different tracks simultaneously onto my DAW via this machine (like multi mic drum tracking)? right?
it has always puzzled me how this is acheived.
will the firewire send separate tracks to my DAW?
to be honest i'm confused on this matter.
thanks for the patience.

 

[jdier]

There are no dumb questions, just dumb people.

Yes, you have it right. I cannot explain how it works, but yes, you will be recording a number of separate sound files all at one time.

 

[yeahboye]

thanks

 

[Strryder]

You will need to use external mic pre's to get more than 2 mic signals into the 828MKII, it has 2 built in pre's, and 8 line inputs with AD converters, as well as an ADAT lightpipe I/O that'll let you run another 8 I/O.

I have one that I bought about a month ago, I also got a Behringer ADA-8000 for 200 bucks, this gives me 8 mic pre's/line inputs into the 828's ADAT input, plus the 2 built in pre's for a total of 10 mic inputs and 8 line inputs on the back of the MOTU, I can also add another 8 more pre's if I need to by using the MOTU's line inputs.

To use something like the ADA-8000 you will need at least one lightpipe cable, and a wordclock cable (BNC) for sync. these are about 30 bucks each.

 

[yeahboye]

thank you strrryder
that was very helpful
i have my mind set on it
do you enjoy yours?

 

[Strryder]

So far, the 828MKII sounds good, and does just what it's supposed to do..

I use it with an H/P laptop, I haven't done more than 4 to 6 tracks in at once yet, but have played back 18 tracks, while tracking a 19th "live", straight into the laptop, monitoring through the software with reverb, delay, and chorus on 3 auxes so I could monitor wet while tracking dry, no hardware mixer needed.. this is on a 1.8 ghz Athlon XP with 512 ram laptop, using the "slow" internal HD, CPU usage at 20% and no problems, I'm sure I'll get 24 track performance from this machine without needing an external HD.

In a few weeks I'll be recording a friend's band live at a bar gig, I've figured on needing to track 12 tracks at once.. it should be a good test for my little portable setup.

I think it's a great interface, but if you don't have a mixer with either direct outs or inserts on each mic channel (so you can use the pre's), or a bunch of outboard pre's, it's gonna cost you a bit more to get those things and the cables to hook them up.

 

[yeahboye]

which daw do you use?
i use digital performer 4.12
glad to hear things are going well with it.

 

[jcnoernberg]

i have the motu 828, and though it only has two mic preamps, you have gain adjustment for the remaining 6 inputs. I have 2 mics for vocal, 2 on cabinets, and 4 mics on a drum kit. They all sound fine if you crank up the gain. If you use software that supports ASIO drivers (i use n-track) you can record simultaneously and they all come up as their own WAV tracks. I was confused as you were about 6 months ago until i bought mine.

 

[yeahboye]

cool, berg.