Which recorder??

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generalsmut

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Hi,

I need some advice, i'm basically wanting to buya multi track recorder for our band to try and make some demos. We are a 4 piece and just have guitar, bass, drums, and vocals, as well as things like tambourine and occasionally piano etc. I am torn between the yamaha aw1600 and the tascam2488 and my proce limit is around about £700. any advice would be great thanks :)
 
Well, you asked which recorder. Does that mean you have a mixer already? The AW1600 may suit as you can record 8 tracks at once. The HD24 would be a nice recommendation if you had a 24 channel mixer already. If you've got a limited budget and have no mixer, go with the yamaha. Yamaha makes good gear and the reviews of the AW1600 are good of the ones I've read.

If you have a mixer, what do you have and I'll tell you whether to stick with it or still go with the AW1600.

Chris
 
Yeah we have a mixer, i'm not really sure what type it is though, i know it has 16 tracks and is behringer or something i think. The reason we were thinking of getting something like the yamaha or tascam is that we have very limited space...we're basically recording in a shed and so wanted something portable so we could take it away with us when done and bring it back and get up and running really quickly etc. Do you think it'd be best to stick with this or to pay a bit more and maybe try and use the mixer with something like the HD24?

Thanks a lot for everyones advice, as you can probably tell we don't really have much idea what we are doing when it comes to stuff like this.
 
One reason I bought the Yamaha is because it is made really tough with a steel case as opposed to flimsy plastic - something to consider. Ask a repairman and see which unit is more reliable.
 
portable IE field powering(battery) makes the edirol r4 a more desireable option, UNLESS you can always get mains power. no mixer needed with the r4 either..it is only 4 channels, but how many great albums were made on 4 channels?it honestly would be less of a PITA than the hd24...

;)
 
I'd go with Yamaha over Tascam. That's just a personal perference. Behringer mixer = not good. You will be better off with an all-in-one unit. I don't know about the edirol unit. you should read the manuals and any other documents you can about each unit and then try to rent one from somewhere so you can test it out before you sink a grand on one.
 
Mackie SDR 24/96

You may want to look at a used Mackie SDR. Cheaper than the HD24... not as many features but a great unit for location recording and bringing back into a DAW at the studio... (that is unless your recording in the studio, then why not go straight into the box?)

I wouldn't want to edit a lot in this box... you'd want an MDR or HDR for that... but then you're getting into the same price range as the HD24
 
I would stick with the all in one unit like the yamaha. I had a Roland 1680 and loved it. They have their limitations for sure, but for someone starting out they have almost infinite possibilities. Plus there is less startup costs. You can get effects cards for some of these and rather than buying lots of patch cable$ and $nake$, you just push a few buttons and everything is routed.
 
With the price for a used ADAT being so low these days, I still think that this is a good choice for people starting out. Especially if you have a board with lots of channels already. I had a Boss BR-8, one of the first all in one recorders, and the sound and detail of an ADAT is much better.
 
1. Another recomendation for the Yamaha but be forewarned that Yamaha manuals suck and most of your all in one recorders will have a decent learning curve just for the machine. I love my AW16G and it has performed reliably.

2. Since the Yamaha manuals suck you will need to sign up and join at www.dijonstock.com. We started as an AW16G site but have expanded with dedicated 4416, 1600 and 2400 specifics sections. The friendliest and most helpful forum I have been to but there is still a lot of good stuff here as well.

3. There are a number of sticky posts at dijonstock and Power User Guides on line at Yamaha's site that will speed things up a great deal and are more usefull than the manual to get started.

Regarding my forewarning.....I do not want to discourage you from getting the Yamaha but I just don't want you to expect to open the box and be tracking that night without running into some difficulties.
 
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