Topic: Need a cheap harddisk recorder for playback of 8 tracks.

[Church-Audio]

I am working with this new band www.fairchildrocks.com and I need a 8 track playback of tracks for the live show they do I dont really want tape. I would prefer hard disk what do you guys recommend that I can find cheap in the used market that will be reliable? or should I just get a Tascam d88 and call it a day? I dont need to record only playback of 8 tracks in mono. 44.1 16Bit is ok.

Chris

[Kevin T]

Zoom R16? $400

[Church-Audio]

Zoom R16? $400

Cheap as in $200 - $300 USED  dont really want to spend alot of money and I dont really want to use Zoom not a huge fan of the designs they come up with. But I have never used it so I will check it out.

[illconditioned]

This is playback (not recording) during the live show, right?  If so, why do you need more than two tracks?

Just curious.

  Richard

[Church-Audio]

This is playback (not recording) during the live show, right?  If so, why do you need more than two tracks?

Just curious.

  Richard

I want to be able to mix the tracks. What I am mixing changes from time to time and from room to room. Sometimes I might want more backup vocals sometimes less or guitar ect. With 8 tracks I can have 1 for click and 7 for backing tracks.

[illconditioned]

This is playback (not recording) during the live show, right?  If so, why do you need more than two tracks?

Just curious.

  Richard

I want to be able to mix the tracks. What I am mixing changes from time to time and from room to room. Sometimes I might want more backup vocals sometimes less or guitar ect. With 8 tracks I can have 1 for click and 7 for backing tracks.

Right.  Got it.

Good luck with the gig...

  Richard

[Kevin T]

ADATs are cheap!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Alesis-ADAT-DAT-Digital-AUdio-Tape-Recorder_W0QQitemZ200401913620QQcmdZViewItem?rvr_id=&itemid=200401913620

[SparkE!]

How about an Edirol FA-101?  I know it's not a recorder, but it does give you 8 line level in/outs and 2 mic level inputs with a firewire interface to a computer.  You can record 10 channels simultaneously.  Edirol made this model specifically for the type of application you are describing.

[SparkE!]

Better yet, a Roland M-10DX or a Roland M-16DX.  They are digital mixers that can be configured to act as a multichannel input to your computer or other DAW via USB2.  That way, the interface feels like a mixer, something that is familiar to you as a soundman.  After recording the channels, you can send them back to the mixer and try mixing them different ways.  At least that's the way it looks to me from what I'm reading elsewhere.  (I don't have one of these and have never used one.)  Here's a review that seems to be unbiased in that it tells good and bad points:

http://www.amazon.com/review/RJ89PS3GUTGO1

[dogmusic]

Did you say 8-track?

[digifish_music]

I am working with this new band www.fairchildrocks.com and I need a 8 track playback of tracks for the live show they do I dont really want tape. I would prefer hard disk what do you guys recommend that I can find cheap in the used market that will be reliable? or should I just get a Tascam d88 and call it a day? I dont need to record only playback of 8 tracks in mono. 44.1 16Bit is ok.

Chris

Do you have a laptop? I assume you only need a stereo mix at the end of the day? Why not use a DAW...

http://www.cockos.com/reaper/

You can use the free 4 Meg demo.



or simpler, Audacity...

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

digifish