Recommend a digital multitrack recorder.?

Question

I'm looking for a quality 8 or 16 track recorder that has a hard drive and can record at least 8 tracks simultaneously.

Answer 1

I use the Alesis ADAT HD-24 and it works great. You can even set it to record only 8 or 16 tracks to save on hard drive space.

Answer 2

I am assuming you don't have an infinite cash supply, so here is a list of some "middle of the road" units.

Roland VS-2400CD, 24 track, $2295, VS-2000CD, 20 track, $1495, VS2480CD, Flagship 24 track, $3295, Korg D3200, 32 track, $1295, Alesis HD24XR, 24 track, $1999, Yamaha AW-1600, 16 track, $1099, Tascam 2488, $1199.

Any of these should do the trick. For some other suggestions for mics, IM me, I'll try to help. Don't make the mistake of thinking you only need 16 tracks, when more are available for a reasonable price. A standard five piece drum kit, miked properly, is going to chew up eight channels, Kick, snare, Hat, T-1, T-2, T-3, LOH and ROH.

Answer 3

If you are planning on using a laptop you have to find out what interfaces you have available to you...USB2 or firewire? Each has their advantages and disadvanges...USB2 is very slightly faster but upon connecting additional devices the bandwidth is shared unlike firewire. High end audio interfaces are mainly firewire anyway.

Next you need to think about how many channels you will need. If you plan on recording drums you will need a minimum of 4 mic inputs (2 overheads, bass and snare). If you go down the close micing route then you could need more like 8-10 channels. To do this you can either use a stand alone mixer which will include all your mic preamps mixed down to a stereo track which you can then feed into the computer via a stereo USB interface such as the Tascam US122. This is by far the cheapest way to record multiple mics but with a major downside. The mix you do is live and you will have no control in post production over individual mic levels/effects etc. The more expensive alternative which gives you full control (ie record each mic to a separate track simultaneously) is to use an interface with multiple mic channels. (or multiple line inputs with external mic preamps eg from a mixer) . Check out MOTU or Presonus. The Presonus FIREPOD would give you 8 mic preamps interfaced to your laptop via firewire.

Now microphones. The main contenders are dynamic and condenser mics. Dynamic tend to be a lot more rugged but lack the detail and treble of condenser mics. You will need a high SPL (Sound Pressure Level) mic for the bass drum which will be dynamic. The AKG D112 is one of the best for this job (also for bass amps). Overheads/guitars/snare/toms are preferably condenser mics although the Sure SM57, which is dynamic, works quite well too although not really for overheads. Something like the AKG C1000 is a good mic to have for guitar cabs and works well on the hihat will the hypercardioid insert (makes the mic more directional so spill from other intruments (snare etc) is minimised).

As for monitor speakers they can get very expensive! Ideally you want an amplifier/speaker setup with a flat response so no frequencies are accentuated or attenuated for mixing. They aren't necessarily gonna be the most pleasing to the ear as most hifi speakers have accentuated mid bass to sound 'warmer' as with the old valve amps. I would stick with a good pair of headphones for mixing and then burn it to cd when your happy with the mix and play it on as many different systems you can to get an idea of what it really sounds like on most systems and then adjust if necessary.

Software. The easiest to use for simple multitrack recording is probably Adobe Audition 2 as you will need the ASIO drivers to support multiple simultaneous recording or tracks. Cubase is good too. If your using a mac Digital Performer 5 or Logic Pro 7 are the ultimate but not cheap. If you buy a motu interface you get AudioDesk2 bundled with it which is basically Digital Performer but with less midi/sequencing capability.

And that all takes a lot of cash...

In summary it depends how serious you are about recording. You can get away with using a stereo USB interface and a 8 channel mixer but you have limited control in post production. Or you can be skint.

Answer 4

Boss Micro BR-80 is amazingly cool. 8 tracks onto a SD card, that ought to nicely be upgraded. $299 at maximum all music shops... The Tascam DP008 is okay, not as many good factors because the BOSS, notwithstanding it does have a CD author equipped in... $199