What should I buy do you think?

[erre]

Hi Forumites - I hope all enjoyed the Easter break.
Please spare a mor' tohelp out a baffled newbie! Thanks.

I have read a lot of reviews and I am still undecided about which hardware multitrack to buy. Please peruse my usage intentions and budget an let me have your views.

I want to stay hardware based just now. It is an environment I feel more comfortable. I am UK based and my budget is £550 (At stretch I could squeeze another £100).
I have a mix of synths, sound modules and acoustic instruments. I will usually only record 3 or 4 inputs at a time but would like the versatility of being able to record smallish bands using more more inputs. I have been using a Yamaha MD8 but this has been very restricting as I often need to record more than 8 tracks and although I could bounce down, I would like to retain all tracks independently until final mix-down.
I also reckon it is time to go CD based.
I would really appreciate being able to hook up a monitor so that I can avoid trying to peer at a tiny unreadable screen!
USB/Firewire or mLan capability to talk to a PC woudl be a bonus as a colleague uses Cubase and it may be good to be able to hook up with that on rare occasions.
Amongst my collection of synths I have a Yamaha S90ES (thus the mLan - Firewire thought)

So, what current UK available machines do you feel I should have on my shortlist? What compromises might I have to consider?

I would sincerely welcome you guys and girls sharing your experience. Thank you for your considerations.

 

[The Green Hornet]

"To Erre or not to err?" That is the question!

You should check out the Yam AW1600. The other big 3 put out similar machines. However, the Yam has mastering algorithms and excellent sound reproduction, and CD.

I used a Yam 2816 for a long time and it began to show signs of age; I opted for the 1600 because I was familiar with it's platform/program. The 1600 does have a smaller LCD screen but it's no big problem.

I can burn a full CD on the 1600 in 9/10 minutes. It used to take over an hour on the 2816--guess that technology progress. You can do 100 songs on the 1600's HD; then you have to save and clear or just delete songs.

For the price, which is just under 1k here in the Colonies, you are getting a decent machine and it has a FORUM dedicated to help--nice folks on the forum and it has video tutorials, in addition to much fine information from very bright folks.

I guess Korg would do, or Roland, or some other hardware; so, stop at a vendor and check out the box; go to the DijohnStock site and check that out too.

Cheers,
Green Hornet

 

[erre]

Phew- speedy reply - thanks!

Thanks very much for that and for the pointer to the website. I hadn't seen it before.
Yes, the Yammy is one that keeps coming up and is very much in my top three thoughts just now. Thanks for sharing yoru experience of that. In what respects might you be critical of it (if any)?

I am in the Scottish Highlands so the nearest vendor that might stock these would be over 6 hours drive away! Thank goodness for online shopping and Forums for advice.

Any other folk like to comment please?

 

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Erre:

Scotish Highlands, eh? I'll have a Laphroig neat!

Criticisms of the Yam AW1600: Hard drive is limited to 100 mixed songs, or stereo tracks. After that, you have to dump some or save to a CD which means the song is fixed. You might be able to transfer the tracks as I recall in the manual.

Also, there are some odd set-ups and do's/don'ts you have to learn. But, the help at the site is excellent, as are the videos and other instructional items.

To negate the reverb, you need to click an "ON" which means the "bypass" is ON. All the other yeas and nays are yes/no, which can be a tad confusing to a newcomer to the unit.

Getting to only "hear" reverb and not record it is kind of a mystery; it can be done but I have a small problem with that; thus, I add the reverb, if needed, when mixing the tracks. Gal singers like to hear the reverb while they dry run a track. Since my drum box and keyboard synth are newer, the patchs ALL have enough reverb and dynamics; so care in mixing is needed not to over-power the track . Also, you have to be "very" aware of whether you have punched in "INSERT" or "TRACK." Each one has a function.

SOUND quality is very good considering the price of the unit. But, it takes a bit for a new person to the system to get a feel for the box.

That's about all I can think of now.

Cheers from the Colonies,
Green Hornet