Advice on portable digital multitracking...

[rafspielman]

Been an analog guy my whole life and know next to nothing about digital recording... I'm wondering if there's a digital equavalent to a prosumer rack mount cassette 4 or 8 track? What I'm looking for is something with a multiple inputs and outputs so that I could keep using my rack pres and etc. but that WOULD NOT involve a computer, so I could continue mixing out of the box. Hopefully something really simple and straightforward like a rackmount cassette multitrack (i.e. no cheap EQs etc.)

Is this Tascam DR680 my best bet, or is there other stuff out there like it?
http://www.bswusa.com/Digital-Multitrac ... P5701.aspx

(...or do I actually want a cheap old adat recorder? How bad are they?)

Thanks!

[bluesman]

I have been using an Alesis HD24 hard disc recorder with great success since 2009. Its more than you are asking for with 24 tracks, but they can be had for little money these days. I recently bought a backup unit in excellent condition with an SKB 4U case for $150.00. I do location live recording exclusively & the HD24 has always been the best solution for me. 24 in's & out's with decent sounding converters, multiple sample rates, little remote for punching when necessary, fits in a 3U rack space & it has never let me down.

[Jeff White]

I have been using an Alesis HD24 hard disc recorder with great success since 2009. Its more than you are asking for with 24 tracks, but they can be had for little money these days. I recently bought a backup unit in excellent condition with an SKB 4U case for $150.00. I do location live recording exclusively & the HD24 has always been the best solution for me. 24 in's & out's with decent sounding converters, multiple sample rates, little remote for punching when necessary, fits in a 3U rack space & it has never let me down.

I used to own one of these and it is a great recorder. For that price ($150) I may need to pick one up!

Jeff

[kslight]

I have been using an Alesis HD24 hard disc recorder with great success since 2009. Its more than you are asking for with 24 tracks, but they can be had for little money these days. I recently bought a backup unit in excellent condition with an SKB 4U case for $150.00. I do location live recording exclusively & the HD24 has always been the best solution for me. 24 in's & out's with decent sounding converters, multiple sample rates, little remote for punching when necessary, fits in a 3U rack space & it has never let me down.

I used to own one of these and it is a great recorder. For that price ($150) I may need to pick one up!

Jeff

I would definitely buy a second unit for $150, but my experience has shown that that is an uncommonly good deal, I wouldn't get your hopes up to find that again!

I bought an HD24XR a few years back for around $600, and it has paid for itself several times over. I use it to make digital transfers from 2" at a studio that is computerless, as well as transfers from my own tape machines, I use it for concert recordings, and I also use it as A/D and D/A for my home studio rig. Quite handy, really.

[vvv]

I love my Zoom R16 what is by no means perfect, but sounds good and is easy to use, altho' I confess I haven't tried the onboard effects, just used it like a tape machine, about US$400 new, but shop around for extras (I got eight XLR cords and some decent Samson cans thrown in for free), and quite a bit cheaper used on the E-bog.

[mrb]

The Akai DPS-24, was in my opinion the most pro of the digital multi tracks: 24 tracks of simultaneous recording, up to 96khz, etc.
It was quite expensive. It is long discontinued so you should be able to find a second hand one for a decent price.
What I really liked the most was that it was designed with an "analogue feel". For example you could use groups, it had a digital patchbay (everything was routable) or even adjust the compressors or eq using real pots.

[mrb]

The Akai DPS-24, was in my opinion the Rolls of the digital multi tracks: 24 tracks of simultaneous recording, up to 96khz, Neutrix connectors, etc.
It was quite expensive. It is long discontinued so you should be able to find a second hand one for a decent price.
What I really liked the most was that it was designed with an "analogue feel". For example you could use groups, it had a digital patchbay (everything was routable) or even adjust the compressors or eq using real pots.

[digitaldrummer]

cost a bit more, but the RME UFX is a 1U rackmount with lots of inputs and outputs and claims it can record to a USB flash disk (i.e. usb stick). sounds very convenient, but a bit pricey.

I personally use a Digi 002r with a Behringer ADA8000 (for 16 channels input) and an old laptop with a firewire port running Windows XP and Pro Tools 7 (or 8? - can't remember). Then I just transfer the sessions to my main rig for mixing/editing.

[rafspielman]

The HD24 sounds pretty cool if had for a good price...
How is it working with the memory/hard-drive things it uses? Are you guys frequently backing sessions up to your computer or just have multiple hard drives to swap in and out? Is the HD24 pretty quick in mixing situations?

Anyone used the tascam DR-680? It seems like it's in the ballpark with the HD24 price-wise and I'm tempted by the fact that it's a more "modern" piece of gear (uses SD cards)...
I'm curious what you savvy skeptics out there would see as potential shortcomings of the DR-680. Any reason it would hang me up from making nice recordings, as long as I've got decent outboard gear?

[The Scum]

I have a DR-40 that sounds surprisingly great. I'd assume of the 680 is a bigger version.

You might consider how the you'd be hooking up the 680. It's not entirely obvious how you'd use it to record or play back 8 tracks all at once - it looks like it's got 6 input jacks, and 6 output jacks. It also looks like it would be pretty awkward to use in a studio situation - cables coming off 2 sides, and controls on 2 other sides.

[kslight]

The HD24 sounds pretty cool if had for a good price...
How is it working with the memory/hard-drive things it uses? Are you guys frequently backing sessions up to your computer or just have multiple hard drives to swap in and out? Is the HD24 pretty quick in mixing situations?

I transfer in realtime via ADAT to the computer, rather than getting a firewire caddy.

[rafspielman]

I have a DR-40 that sounds surprisingly great. I'd assume of the 680 is a bigger version.

You might consider how the you'd be hooking up the 680. It's not entirely obvious how you'd use it to record or play back 8 tracks all at once - it looks like it's got 6 input jacks, and 6 output jacks. It also looks like it would be pretty awkward to use in a studio situation - cables coming off 2 sides, and controls on 2 other sides.

Yeah, it looks like it's actually a 6 track, but I think the six ins and six outs are each on different sides, which might ease the cable madness.

Cool that the DR-40 sounds good, that's a good sign.

Any idea who/what the DR-680 was designed for? Tape-op reading semi-Luddites like me?

[The Scum]

Any idea who/what the DR-680 was designed for? Tape-op reading semi-Luddites like me?

It's intended for use on film & TV sets. That funny shape & control configuration is because it's meant to be worn on a shoulder strap by the boom mic operator.

It's either a modernization of a Nagra deck, or competition for the Sound Devices recorders.

[Snarl 12/8]

If it's for film, it probably doesn't support overdubbing. That's a dealbreaker for me.

[kayagum]

The HD24 is very reliable - that's why so many people use them for location recording. Plus virtually no latency.

The drive caddies that are stock use IDE drives- although you can still find them new and certainly used, it's probably worth getting extra SATA compatible caddies just to stay current with what's available new. I recently bought a pair from Sweetwater, but supplies are erratic since Alesis stopped production of those decks. Get them while you can. Figure roughly 20GB per hour of 24 track recording at 24/44 bit sample rate, proportionally more if you choose to record at a lower track count (2/4/8..) If you get the XR version and record at 24/88 or 24/96 then you're limited to 12 tracks.

The Fireport is awesome for not only transfers to and from a computer but very handy at housekeeping and renaming tracks. Obviously you can still do all that within the deck, but using a keyboard instead of a virtual flywheel to enter text is faster. Not a big deal- just a convenience factor.

People with the XR version swear by the improved A/D/A conversion (on cymbals forcexample), but I think the basic 24/44 sounds just fine. I actually use my ZED R16 for the conversion and that sounds great too.

Some people think the system fan can be a bit loud but it's very easy to swap it out with a quieter PC fan if you're willing to snip and resplice the wires. I did it to my unit- no problem.

Other peer options include the Mackie versions (haven't been made for even longer) and Tascam versions (there was a 24 track version, and until recently I think there was. 48 track version X48?). The true next step up is a RADAR system - which has a lot of love on this board- search on that.

I upgraded from a Tascam 238s to my HD24 to keep the outboard recording workflow but have the advantage of digital storage and access. Having 24 good to great A/D/A converters with no latency or laptop drive hiccups is a great bonus. I definitely recommend it.