What workstation for recording?

[Stratsky]

I'm thinking about buying a digital workstation for recording. I was reading about them in the November 2003 Guitar Player. It has an article where 6 workstations were reviewed. It included a Boss BR-864, Digitech RPx400, Korg D1200mkII, Tascam 788, Yamaha AW16G, and a Zoom MRS-802CD. I want something with multiple tracks and something that can be used to record drums. My son is a drummer and we want to start recording to see what we can come up with. Anybody have experience with any of the mentioned workstations or use another type which you like to recommend? Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated.

[y2stevo]

Re: What workstation for recording?

Well i have a Fostex VF-16, the earlier moel to the Current Fostex VF-160, I think that these things are fantastic,16 track with 8 inputs so up to 8 simutanious recording and 16 if you use an extenral ADAT recorder..I used it to record my drummers other bands demo and we used all 8 ins for drums and it give you so much control over the drum sound..His kit during recording didnt sound good at all because he decided to stick on new skins and although he is an unbelievable drummer he doesnt really have much experience tuning so he couldnt get them to sound very good but they were decent, but as they went down to track we did a little eq'ing and they turned out great..

So i'd highly recommend you look int the Fostex, The new ones have a 20gig harddrive, mine has 7gig and we still got 10 whole songs each consisting with 8tracks of drums and another 6-8 with guiars and such and thers still nearly 2 gig left..

So check it out..

[metal101]

Re: What workstation for recording?

To tell you the truth i use protools and i love it. not that there is anything wrong with workstations but i feel as though i can get a better end product but that could be because i have more control over the recording process

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: What workstation for recording?

I think this is the wrong room for this thread, but ...

I use a Yamaha AW16G, and mix/edit with Sonar.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: What workstation for recording?

To tell you the truth i use protools and i love it. not that there is anything wrong with workstations but i feel as though i can get a better end product but that could be because i have more control over the recording process

This is generally true, but you're missing out on an important point: portability!! I have to travel to my rehearsal space to record, so having something I can take back and forth is very important.

[MattPete]

Re: What workstation for recording?

For portability and versatility, try a Powrbook.

[Norman_T]

Re: What workstation for recording?

I recently got the Boss BR864 - which is an 8 track with 64 virtual tracks recorder. It has some good effects and also a drum machine with some fairly good patterns. It uses CompactFlash cards and you can go up to 1GB which apparently lets you record up to 520 minutes in hi quality. It also has USB ports and has inputs for various imstruments and other associated gear. It really is very portable and weighs no more than 4lbs in weight. It can only record 2 channels at once and is more for guitar/bass players who want to lay down tracks and then record more tracks. I have not really had the time to sit down and go through everything but I have used some of the facilities and it does sound good.

However it may not suit what you want and I suspect that what you need is a fair number of tracks for you and your son to record together. Recently there was a fairly good review of the Tascam 2488. This is a 24 track with 250 virtual tracks and has 12 mono and 6 stereo tracks. It also includes a CD-RW burner and has all the usual stuff. Apparently it can be used a self contained system and has the facilities for being at the heart of a larger recording system. It will not be outdated as the needs for more and more tracks go so could be the way to go. It does weigh 18lbs so could not be considered light weight but may be the way to go. Perhaps others may be able to chip in with the other ones that you have mentioned or even the Tascam 2488?

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: What workstation for recording?

For portability and versatility, try a Powrbook.

Not a bad idea.

What's cool about the Yamaha is that you can record on 8 tracks simultaneously .... which is great for recording drums.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: What workstation for recording?

I recently got the Boss BR864 - which is an 8 track with 64 virtual tracks recorder. It has some good effects and also a drum machine with some fairly good patterns. It uses CompactFlash cards and you can go up to 1GB which apparently lets you record up to 520 minutes in hi quality.

I'm not a fan of the Flash cards, and generally find them to be a pain in the butt. I like having an internal CD burner. What I do is export all of the tracks at once as wav files, and then import them into my PC with Sonar. Then I get rid of hum/noise, and do basic tightening/editing. I then re-import the files from a CDR into the Yamaha for mixing.

[metal101]

Re: What workstation for recording?

i use my powerbook [g4 17inch wide screen] to run my protools and as for portability if you get the Mbox its the size of medium computer speaker.

you can get an mbox for about 400.00 and i just got the powerbook for 2600. but youi can get the 12 inch screen powerbook for like 1300 or so. i know thats allot of cash but trust me you will have 10 times the control over your work. i have had this combo [i actually have the digi002 rack bundle] for a while now and i cant imagine using anything else.

as far as portible arent those desktop[i had a roland] huge and bulky at least they were a few years ago.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: What workstation for recording?

Right, but how many tracks can you cut at once with the $400 M Box?

[y2stevo]

Re: What workstation for recording?

But does the Mbox let you record each simutanious track seperatly so you have total control in situations with miking drums..?

[y2stevo]

Re: What workstation for recording?

Let me re-phrase, can you record say "X" number of tracks on to seperate tracks while recording all "X" number of tracks at the same time? i dont even think that was a good re-phrase..

[Wattage]

Re: What workstation for recording?

Haven't been sold on any portable situtaions with laptops yet. Mostly because of the price of the external gear. I have a 788, I like it a lot, went up to the new 2488 so now the 788 is for sale. 788 will get you a max of 6 tracks at a time using the Aux. inputs otherwise you've got 4 inputs. Tons of virtual tracks and the ability to bounce til the cows come home. Great unit but most of the new ones are pretty good. I find the Boss units have an odd compression so I don't really go for those and I definitely don't want to be stuck with memory cards, go hard disk to save your sanity.

All solutions have their own pluses and minuses, what you can live with is up to you.

Go to www.tascamforums.com plenty of info and insight there, it is an independent forum so you'll get pretty good info and het if you're interested in a 788 I'll make you a real good deal!

[Hellion]

Re: What workstation for recording?

I have a Roland VS1880. It replaced my Scully 8 track and Teac 4 track and 2 four foot racks of equipment. Totallyl amazing unit.