Home recording
im looking to invest in a 4 or 8 track soon. can anyone recommend a decent one? i quite fancy an analogue Tascam effort but ive heard its a pain getting tapes\ aligning it - so im not averse to a digital one.
fanx
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any reason...
you don't want to just buy an audio interface and dl a copy of Reaper?
I thought about getting a 4-track a few years ago cause I like tape, but I love editing shit too much...
no reason apart from
me being oblivious to it. that could be an option though, do you need an external soundcard?
Reaper is a great start
It's free if you want it to be (i.e. they let you try it for free, but then never take it away from you if you don't pay up), easy to use, has good native FX and provides a solid introduction to the world of digital audio. Highly recommended.
tascam 424
or pretty much anything
i bought a binatone tape player the other day. it has a built in mic. i intend to start using that for demos this week
life is boring
but death is nothing
what?
Lucy_Faringold is right.
Especially if you already have a laptop with Firewire or USB 2.0.
You can get an audio interface box that will give you the inputs you need and your laptop can record the tracks on Reaper. A netbook is probably too slow to do a great job but I don't know for sure: a lot of seriously underpowered laptops can easily record 4 or 8 tracks simultaneously because it's the audio unit that does most of the work.
Reaper can be used for free for home use: http://reaper.fm
The main upshot of this is you can take your laptop and box to a rehearsal studio and pay for a few hours there using their mics, drums and amps if you don't have much of your own, while also being able to kick off and be LOUD while not disturbing neighbours or being self conscious (and being able to invite a few mates in to help out if needs be).
what is this, 1960?
An 8 track in 1960 would have been a wonderful thing
it is now for that matter
To those guys using Reaper
what do you suggest using as an audio interface?
any suggestions?
I've successfully used a Focusrite Sapphire LE
but it's an old firewire only unit and most laptops don't do firewire so I'd guess something more modern would work on USB 2.0+ Focusrite seem a good brande, though.
cheers ;-)
brande being the feminine version of brand, obviously.
JFC.
I use an old tascam USB interface
that has served me well. I use a separate external soundcard for playback but I'm pretty sure you can get lots now that do both.
I remember seeing this recommended by a few folk for peeps on a budget but I can't vouch for it myself:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lexicon-Alpha-Studio-Audio-Interface/dp/B000HVXMNE
looks interesting, will check it out thanks
go with what suits your needs
some kinda DAW/soundcard rig is a lot more versatile but if a 4 track suits you then go for it. sometimes limitations are good. plus you don't have to piss about with latency and it's kind of the case that a low cost DAW rig is a bit shit. better to spend some money on a decent one.
Get this it's ace and simple
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tascam-DP-008-Portable-8-Track-Recorder/dp/B003SQ7NKI
You can mix in the unit or export to a audio package. Really simple, really clearcut and the sound quality is good. Literally, if you're looking for simple and compact but really useful, fuck everything else.
this looks ideal
I've got one of those.
It does exactly what I want it to do. Dead easy to use. I like it a lot.
You could get a Zoom H4N
http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/h4n/
It has pretty good mics on it so you can start recording straight away, two inputs for external mics/guitar etc (and phantom power, ie you can plug condenser mics into it), it has a four track recorder mode but you can also use it as a USB interface- it actually has cubase bundled with it. Very portable so great for getting ideas down quickly.