Multi-track Recorders

[ReCycled]

I've had home recording studios in the past - from a basic 4 track Teac reel-to-reel back in the late 70's to a Fostex 8 track in the late 80's which used 1/4 inch tape. Lately I've dabbled in computer based studios (Cool Edit Pro) but I don't like all the mouse click/drag interface. I prefer using dedicated recording hardware to make music. Using faders, knob eq's, buttons for track assignment etc is more intuitive and natural for me.

So I'm going to set up a new studio which will have at least 12 tracks. Today's recording equipment offers fantastic value compared to what I used to use. Digital quality, no noise, huge range of features and great prices. I'm looking at the Zoom HD16 which seems to be around $700 and has 16 tracks as well as 8 which can be used at one time for 'live' recording of a band at a club, rehearsals or whatever.

Is anybody else into home studios and what do you use?
Thanx...

[lidz]

I still use an old Fostex RX-7 - which uses tape cassettes.  Been meaning to upgrade, but not sure to what. 

[|iR|Focalor]

I'm using my old tried and true Sonic Foundry ACID Music 2.0. Sonic Foundry sold out to Sony, so if you've lost the activation codes to permanently unlock the software AND all the plug-ins for effects and MP3 coding, you are pretty much shit out of luck if you want to install it another machine or something happens and your hard drive shits itself. I'd highly recommend such loop based software. I'm not sure how other software programs work, but this one... the number of tracks is only limited by the amount of RAM you have. This particular program doesn't give you the option of EQing each track individually, but you can use a seperate editor or the included EQ effect to edit the track, save it, and then use that new track in the project. It does have the ability to set the volume of each track, fade it in or out, or pan it left or right. It would be nice to have individual real-time peak level monitors for each track, but it has a master volume peak monitor. Finding which track is too loud can be a little tedious because of this, which is why some of my own stuff sounds kinda crappy, I never took the time to tweak the volumes perfectly. A program like this won't work for recording seperate instruments simultaneously to independant tracks, for bands using such software I'd assume they'd make a looped click track to record the drums first, then have the guitars match their riffs to that track once it's finished.

[ReCycled]

There's a bunch here

[quadz]

I'm using my old tried and true Sonic Foundry ACID Music 2.0. Sonic Foundry sold out to Sony, so if you've lost the activation codes to permanently unlock the software AND all the plug-ins for effects and MP3 coding, you are pretty much shit out of luck if you want to install it another machine or something happens and your hard drive shits itself.

Sony has been good to me in that regard.  They transferred Sonic Foundry's customer database over... When I upgraded to new hardware and reinstalled the OS, my old Sonic Foundry Sound Forge 5.0 wouldn't register anymore.  I called up sony and gave them my registration code, and they found my info in their database quickly. 

I was thinking of hacking the registry to make it work, but I'm glad I called.  They said, yeah a technical issue prevents Sound Forge 5.0 from being registered anymore, so how about we upgrade you to 7.0?

So I got a free Sound Forge upgrade, which made me happy.

Currently I use:

  ACID Pro 6.0
  Sound Forge 7.0

In the 80's / 90's I used to use a Tascam 4-track, then a Tascam 8-track.  (both cassette-based)

P.S. newer versions of ACID allow you to chain all sorts of F/X on each track in realtime.  It also lets you create various F/X, volume, and pan envelopes which in effect become a kind of automated fader style mixing - except you're drawing curves rather than moving faders...


Regards,

quadz

[|iR|Focalor]

I'm using my old tried and true Sonic Foundry ACID Music 2.0. Sonic Foundry sold out to Sony, so if you've lost the activation codes to permanently unlock the software AND all the plug-ins for effects and MP3 coding, you are pretty much shit out of luck if you want to install it another machine or something happens and your hard drive shits itself.

Sony has been good to me in that regard.  They transferred Sonic Foundry's customer database over... When I upgraded to new hardware and reinstalled the OS, my old Sonic Foundry Sound Forge 5.0 wouldn't register anymore.  I called up sony and gave them my registration code, and they found my info in their database quickly. 

I was thinking of hacking the registry to make it work, but I'm glad I called.  They said, yeah a technical issue prevents Sound Forge 5.0 from being registered anymore, so how about we upgrade you to 7.0?

So I got a free Sound Forge upgrade, which made me happy.

Currently I use:

  ACID Pro 6.0
  Sound Forge 7.0

In the 80's / 90's I used to use a Tascam 4-track, then a Tascam 8-track.  (both cassette-based)

P.S. newer versions of ACID allow you to chain all sorts of F/X on each track in realtime.  It also lets you create various F/X, volume, and pan envelopes which in effect become a kind of automated fader style mixing - except you're drawing curves rather than moving faders...


Regards,

quadz

The problem I face is that the computer I have it loaded on is a P3 500mhz with a 9gig HD (OS: Win98). Of course, 9gigs is a pathetic excuse for a hard disk these days. I had all the loops and demo loops that came with the software stored in a folder on the HD itself to save load time, as well as other loops and samples I had collected online, AND tracks that I had recorded myself... which took up 3 gigs in and of itself. Do the math, the OS takes up in the ballpark of 1 gig, which leaves only 4 or 5 gigs for other things. Of course I'm a gamer too, and it's quite a pain in the butt having to delete one game and install another one when I get tired of playing one. That system is probably 10 years old now, and I have another one, so it wouldn't bother me at all to use that system for recording/music creation and this one for everything else. But eventually I would like to get a brand new larger hard disk for that machine, loaded with Win98 and not ever connected to internet to prevent installation of malware and other disk consuming junk. While it would be easier to just copy everything from one drive to another, I'd like to prevent the existence of whatever other crap lurking in the shadows (as well as frivolous unused junk files) might be contained on that drive after 10 years of usage without virus protection. To start from a basic OS with the music software, nothing else.

I scoured the web and found instructions on how to deal with the issue, but alas, like a bonehead again, I think I lost the piece of paper I had that URL written on. Ya, perhaps one of these days I'll give Sony a ring and ask them what to do about it.

ACID Music 2.0 features volume and panning envelopes like you described, but doesn't allow you to fade the applied effects volume in the track, which kinda sucks. What really sucks is the fact that you can only use ONE of the plug-in effects at a time in the project. I've found that the best thing to do is to save that track with the effect applied to it, but sometimes a glitch involving the EQ plug-in in either the software or my computer itself causes the newly created tracks with EQ to be of a reduced sampling rate/quality than the original.  I suppose it would be nice to be able to chain the effects individually per track. The only ones I'd find use for would be used for vocal tracks. I do the ghetto thang and use a crappy old computer mic to record vocals. It helps to tweak the EQ of the track to thicken up the sound. Reverb and/or delay is nice too. The main thing I'd find use in is a compressor/limiter to regulate the volume of vocals being recorded, but then again, it wouldn't do much good without being applied to the recorded input signal before it hits the disk.

[Moving Shadow]

Tascam 424

[ReCycled]

Tascam 424

OMG......probably has a market value of 50 bucks these days. At least it has noise reduction.

I upgraded to a Tascam 80-8 in 1981 since I needed more than 4 tracks. 8 channels, 1/2 inch tape and a price of $4000. I couldn't afford the extra $1200 for Dolby noise reduction. Audio mixer was extra. In today's money that would probably be at least 15 Grand. So I'm blown away by today's stuff. 16 tracks with built in mixer, drum samples, effects and perfect CD quality for around $700. Amazing.

Still the Beatles recorded Sergeant Pepper on a 4 track that was well below today's standards. You would think with all this excellent equipment available to everyone these days, that there would be a huge offering of great new, creative music around. But I don't see it. That would probably make a good topic of discussion here.
 

[Disco Ditto]

I just use a sound blaster audigy 2 with cool edit. some loops. my fender cyberdeluxe has an amp simulated line out. and i record vocals on a webcam mic. that's my setup. lol.

My Music

or u can review my mixing and mastering by downloading my ep Disco Ditto - Into The Void ep.zip

Tell me how it sounds and what you guys think.

It'd be great if you guys post your works too so we can all learn from each other's portfolios or projects.