FD8 to master recorder

[lindas]

I am nearing completion of a recording and am trying to decide how to do the master. In a previous post, it was suggested to master to a DAT or CD burner.

Does anyone have a preference as to whether DAT or CD is better?

Any suggestions on brands? I noticed that Fostex has a relatively new CD burner and also has a DAT recorder which is a bit cheaper ($899 vs 699).

Also, I currently have each song as a separate program. When I master do I do these individually or do I have to put them all in one program? I am guessing that I can keep them individually for a DAT but I may need to put them all together for a CD burner.

In a previous thread, several of you suggested a stand alone CD recorder rather than going through a computer. Any further suggestions on this? A friend says that you can do more editing on a computer but it seems that one needs a card to hook into the computer, software and then the CD burner as well as a learning curve to figure out how to uses it.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[kmar]

If you have enough money for only one unit, I would go with the CD burner. That way, you can make a mix and stick it in your home sound system, or car, or whatever. The problem is if you screw up the mix, you can't erase it on the cd.

With a DAT recorder, you can start over till you get it right. Peace, kmar

 

[Logik]

With a stand-alone CD-recorder you can just hook it up to your FD-8 and start mastering. With a computer based unit, you need a soundcard and software to capture the sound and to burn it onto CD. If you have a relativly new PC it is most likely already fitted with a card. Macs have audio in/out minijacks. With computers you have plenty of opportunity to edit your recordings in ways that are impossible to achieve with your FD-8, and the hardware is a lot cheaper than a stand-alone unit. But it all comes down to how you like to work. For a real hands-on approach a stand-alone is unbeatable, but if you're willing to spend some time "fine-tuning" your recordings a computer set-up is likely to give you a better sounding result.

And don't worry about having your songs on different programs. Do one song at a time. You're CD-burner doesn't write the table of contents until you tell it to.