What should I buy?

[ultrajosh]

Okay, here's the deal:

I have a budget of about $1500-$2000, and I want to record some songs, and I have SOME experience (e.g. I've been in the studio recording my bands and have used a Tascam 424 a few times with varying success).

I don't know whether to buy one of those digital 8-track all-in-one gizmos (I hear the new Akai one is really nice), or whether I should buy a separate board and a Tascam DA 38, then add compressors and pre-amps gradually, or if I should walk down to the vintage gear guy and buy an old Tascam 388 reel-to-reel studio.

The 388 is the cheapest option and will get me up and running with a pretty cool analog setup, but will I get better results with my limited know-how on one of the new digital options? I'm concerned that without knowing a lot I'll get noisy tapes from the 388, and wonder if the digital option will be more forgiving...

Any ideas?

 

[AlChuck]

ultrajosh,

There's an excellent article in the May issue of Recording magazine on this very question.

-AlChuck

 

[Dougie Johnson]

Ultrajosh,
Since you already have a computer, you might want to check out some computer recording gear, like the MOTU line. These are excellent, and within your budget...
If you want a separate, stand-alone unit, look into the Roland VS-880 loaded, which includes internal effects. You can get a CD burner with it too, all within your budget.
The Akai is a cool little unit also.
But if do not have any outboard gear (Compressors, Pre-Amps, Effects, etc.) I'd personally go with the Roland or Akai for stand-alone, and the MOTU if you decide to record from your computer.