Breakin' the DAW, breakin' the DAW...multitrack recorders without computers

[Biff Maloy]

I use a Laptop, Reaper, EZDrummer and Helix.

I get the point of this thread. I dreaded getting into the digital thing but I found out it wasn't as bad or as hard as i thought it would be. It's way less stressful and seem less to work with.

It's all in how deep you want to go. I've had the Tascam recorders mentioned. No offense to anybody using them but they're a bit of a dinosaur. I wouldn't want to go back to one of them. I hit one power switch, everything boots up and it's ready to go. Simple and neat.

 

[Marshall Stack]

What happened to analog clocks in cars? Did they ever work anyway?

 

[Marshall Stack]

Try Hydrogen a free software drum tracking machine to go with Audacity.

Do you use both of those items?

 

[BanditPanda]

I would recommend the TASCAM 24 as Anitoli has mentioned. I continue to use their DPFX 01 which is an 8 track which has been around forever and it really does a nice job.
Take a look around here at Sweetwater
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DP24SD--tascam-dp-24sd-24-track-digital-portastudio
BP

 

[paul-e-mann]

Do you use both of those items?

Yes they both work well and are free.

 

[shredless]

Im kinda wanting that zoom

 

[tallcoolone]

I have the R24 and used it in the past to make some halfway decent recordings but I uploaded those tracks to Cubase. No avoiding a computer if you are doing home recording imo.

“CD burner” lol!

 

[EL 34]

I found my mac SD card slot fucker

 

[Sapient]

What happened to analog clocks in cars? Did they ever work anyway?

Twice a day!

 

[What?]

I have a Zoom H4N portable recorder that I picked up for capturing songwriting ideas, band practice, and for generally making quick hassle-free recordings. I'm not a fan of the interface at all (hardware controls and software), as in the thing has been shelved since shortly after I bought it. It's pretty terrible to use and is slow to boot up. Recording quality is ok, but the monitoring quality is not very good (bright and crunchy), which makes it difficult to judge mic placements when in use. Tascam has been doing recorders for a long time, and they likely have usability and other issues better nailed down. I would look for some past user discussion on interested units and long format videos of the things being used, not just quick overviews. Or just order one of each to compare them in person and send the other back.

Keep in mind that editing and effects on any of these multi-track hardware devices is going to be abysmal compared to a daw. And definitely do keep an eye out for usability issues. If the thing is a pain to use, you won't use it.

 

[ibmorjamn]

The Daw is your friend . Tascam had a good recorder, I think it was cassette. (I never had one)
I guess it depends what you are doing with the recordings. If you are sharing you might need to edit the track. For instant recordings most people just use their phone but if you want to edit and or mix you need a daw.
https://www.zzounds.com/item--FOCSCARSOLOV3

 

[shredless]

I made my first and only album on a 4 track tape gizmo...was a yamaha or tascam. I learned it and made it work. I switched to a computer daw and only made 1 song in 20 years. I need to quit playing with myself for one...but the pc doesnt inspire me like that tape thingy did. I like the sound of the zoom...sorta tape like in operation, but can connect and control a daw as well? Ill still prolly choose the other thing as a way to waste time, but l can dream, right.

 

[tallcoolone]

I switched to a computer daw and only made 1 song in 20 years. I need to quit playing with myself

 

[Dogs of Doom]

I have a Zoom H4N portable recorder that I picked up for capturing songwriting ideas, band practice, and for generally making quick hassle-free recordings. I'm not a fan of the interface at all (hardware controls and software), as in the thing has been shelved since shortly after I bought it. It's pretty terrible to use and is slow to boot up. Recording quality is ok, but the monitoring quality is not very good (bright and crunchy), which makes it difficult to judge mic placements when in use. Tascam has been doing recorders for a long time, and they likely have usability and other issues better nailed down. I would look for some past user discussion on interested units and long format videos of the things being used, not just quick overviews. Or just order one of each to compare them in person and send the other back.

Keep in mind that editing and effects on any of these multi-track hardware devices is going to be abysmal compared to a daw. And definitely do keep an eye out for usability issues. If the thing is a pain to use, you won't use it.

Tascam, used to be one of the industry standards, as a studio brand.

Then Gibson Brands™ bought them out & made them suck. They became a lifestyle product of Gibson Brands™, kind of like the headphones, polo shirt, bowling shoes, etc...

 

[What?]

Tascam, used to be one of the industry standards, as a studio brand.

Then Gibson Brands™ bought them out & made them suck. They became a lifestyle product of Gibson Brands™, kind of like the headphones, polo shirt, bowling shoes, etc...

Seems to be the way of business these days. Sad it is.

Honestly, I think no one makes a really good hardware 'daw' today. I had a hard look at them a couple of years ago and decided to go with a portable recorder, which also turned out to suck as much. My thinking was that a simple device would at least have decent usability for just straight up stereo and 4-track type recording for songwriting. Nope. Everything involves menu diving and switching between special modes to do anything. It is a pain in the ass to use. A good hardware daw should essentially be a full-featured digital mixer with a good hands-on hardware interface, married to the plugin and editing capabilities of a pc daw without the need of a keyboard / mouse / monitor interface and without the registration / update / DRM / bugginess hoops. A standalone appliance that people can just get on with, from recording to final mix, whether that be a 4-track or 24-track. The current crop have kludgy interfaces, non-existent to poor editing, and pretty mediocre effects. If I were going to buy one today, it would be as a multi-track field recorder only, not for any other features. From that perspective, it should have enough inputs, decent amount of mic preamp gain (good luck with that) for handling low volume sources cleanly, and be easy to transfer projects to a pc.

 

[shredless]

Please dont say the P word...

 

[shredless]

I use a Laptop, Reaper, EZDrummer and Helix.

I get the point of this thread. I dreaded getting into the digital thing but I found out it wasn't as bad or as hard as i thought it would be. It's way less stressful and seem less to work with.

It's all in how deep you want to go. I've had the Tascam recorders mentioned. No offense to anybody using them but they're a bit of a dinosaur. I wouldn't want to go back to one of them. I hit one power switch, everything boots up and it's ready to go. Simple and neat.

Same here but have EZDrummer, l use an Eleven Rack as my interface. Id love a control surface that also was interface and ins/ outs.

 

[ibmorjamn]

To bad Roland discontinued the V20 :
https://www.roland.com/us/products/v-studio_20/

 

[Marshall Stack]

To bad Roland discontinued the V20 :
https://www.roland.com/us/products/v-studio_20/

Yeah, that had Cakewalk Guitar Tracks which was really easy to use. I had a Johnson J-Station, an M-Audio FireWire and a mixer.

 

[anitoli]

Please dont say the P word...

pineapple?