Recording Devices

[Spin 2513]

what kind of 4 or 8 TRK recorders is everone using out there?

i'm thinking of buying ,and have my eye on the Zoom Recorder and Drum machine , and Johnson Effects Direct recorder.

All three would total at $500 where as back in the day a 4track cassette recorder would cost the same ,

what do you think?

[DDTonFire]

i have a Tascam 256 4-track (which back in the day, cost $1000!) its really really nice even for its age

the faders feel as if they were oiled yesterday...

[szulc]

Roland VS880 (2200$ in 1996)and VSR-880.
I got the vsr used for 250$, 8 track of digital bliss.

[Bizarro]

Hard disk recording on my PC... I run from a Johnson J-station to a Behringer mixer into my soundcard. It's ok, but a standalone unit would probably be better. Less SW headaches and setup mess.
The J-station and mixer were only $170 for both. I already had a computer. :)

[Spin 2513]

hey Bizzaro , that sounds like a pritty effective set up. What do you use for software , is this some high tech , sound card , we're talking about , here?

[Bizarro]

I have a Soundblaster Live MP3+, which is about $40. It came with Cakewalk Express which I used for awhile. It limited me to 4 audio tracks, but I could have loads of MIDI tracks.

The J-station came with Cakewalk Guitar Tracks, which is nearly the same as Express. I use that now since it is geared towards guitar players.

I'd like to get something else one of these days, like Sonar or the Adobe program. I figure the cheapest way to get those things would be to take a class at a community college so I'll get the student price! ;) I'd also like the full version of Sound Forge. I have the lame version which came with my soundcard.

[RandyEllefson]

Not sure what ProTools is selling for these days, but two years ago I bought it for $800. I cannot overstate how valueable this is. Right now it has 32 tracks, and is loaded with editing and midi features. Knowing how to use this is a major step in your life.

I ended up spending another $800 on Waves Gold Bundle for better effects, and some other items detailed here: http://www.randyellefson.com/#Gear, but those are optional.

I highly recommened checking it out at www.Digidesign.com (http://www.digidesign.com/). Also read the user conference there, with tons of great tips: http://duc.digidesign.com/.

I just recorded my debut album with this thing. And the sound quality is pro.

[Bizarro]

Randy, that's a lot of $$$.

p.s. Cool website. I didn't see any sound clips and I wasn't too sure what the mp3.com stuff was about. Welcome to ibreathemusic!

[Bongo Boy]

I use a Tascam PocketStudio 4-track. I like it because I can throw it in my travel bag and take it with each week when I'm out of town, A lot of features for something so small, but obviously nothing like an outboard audio interface and a PC with software.