Noob recording question

[jorri]

The DAC and preamp i assume on the zoom to be of cheaper quality. Certainaly not something i'd notice though....that's an assumption certainly, there aren't any side by side comparisons, and just as it has more packed in there's nothing saying that's of lower quality than a 2 channel interface...zoom is consistently good in that regard of value, its handheld h2n and h4 are really cheap but always get top recommendations too.....
the only other 8-track ones with mic pres on each are a lot more, so there's not so much side-by side comparison.
I used an AW1600 before and the zoom is definitely better sound quality, mostly as it has more gain for low output ribbons, yet you certainly couldn't pick out that the songs i recorded on the AW1600 are made on cheaper sounding preamps at all...fact is people can't really tell the difference as shown in various blind tests, especially when tube saturation is out of the equation and you are just going through completely clean.

anyway: 8 tracks= possible to record drums. or a band...it was really the only option for me! without a big preamp rack costing >£500.

[Shadoweclipse13]

The DAC and preamp i assume on the zoom to be of cheaper quality. Certainaly not something i'd notice though....that's an assumption certainly, there aren't any side by side comparisons, and just as it has more packed in there's nothing saying that's of lower quality than a 2 channel interface...zoom is consistently good in that regard of value, its handheld h2n and h4 are really cheap but always get top recommendations too.....
the only other 8-track ones with mic pres on each are a lot more, so there's not so much side-by side comparison.
I used an AW1600 before and the zoom is definitely better sound quality, mostly as it has more gain for low output ribbons, yet you certainly couldn't pick out that the songs i recorded on the AW1600 are made on cheaper sounding preamps at all...fact is people can't really tell the difference as shown in various blind tests, especially when tube saturation is out of the equation and you are just going through completely clean.

anyway: 8 tracks= possible to record drums. or a band...it was really the only option for me! without a big preamp rack costing >£500.

I don't know if I mentioned that earlier, but I don't ever plan on recording a band on separate tracks simultaneously. Partially because it'll only ever mostly be just me playing, but I prefer recording one instrument at a time anywho. As for drums, I'd probably just get a little 4 XLR mixing board to record drums (I like recording drums simple, i.e., bass drum and two overheads, or bass drum, snare, and one or two overheads), so I'm not too worried about that either. Simple is the word of the day when it comes to Jason and recording.

[soggy mittens]

Screw the mixing board for drum recording xP you'd end up with just a stereo drum bus, minimal EQ/comp adjustments. Very limited. Maybe the Zoom r16 is just a better option? ..to monitor/record to then SD data copy into your laptop for mixing etc. Quick, cheap, easy.

As far as presonus XMAX Class A pre-amps go.. they're really reeallllyyy good, can confirm, they blow my motu pre-amps out of the water and they are in a higher price bracket.

[Shadoweclipse13]

The more I read about it (and the more I wonder about how well my laptop could really handle direct recording), the more I keep thinking a standalone recorder may be the way to for me. I'm glad you pointed me in the direction of the R16, Mittens. I've read a few reviews and it sounds awesome. The simpler, the better, in my eyes. I'm thinking that maybe that with a better outboard preamp (like your Presonus) might be perfect for me...

[Bothand Nether]

The newer portable Digital Recording Studios are quite useful and sound great,I always like Tascam stuff, but the boss layout seems more user friendly.

-you can get financing at sweetwater that breaks it up into 3 payments,fwiw.

a user interface that works best/quickest for You is almost the most important feature,imo.
Someting that has at least 2 mic pres, and the best a to d conversion rate possible.

You also can get old roland VS 880 for cheap on ebay,
it'll do the job quite well, despite it's age & lower sampling rate.

[Shadoweclipse13]

What do you guys think about this?
https://reverb.com/item/2312380-zoom-r1 ... =pricedrop

I kind of want to get a new recorder, but this is a good price and the two issues don't seem to be a big deal...

[Shadoweclipse13]

I'm probably gonna try both Pro Tools First (since it's free, though with limitations apparently) and Reaper (also free, though no limitations), but before I download either I need a preamp. Soggy Mittens, I like your suggestion earlier about the Presonus 1818VSL, but it's a bit more than I both need (XLR/combo jack-wise) and want to spend at the moment.

I found that Presonus also makes a 44VSL (looks to be similar, just smaller with 4 XLR/combo jacks), but I've also read online that some people hold the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 in pretty high regard.

Any experience with either of these two specifically?

[GunnerWatson]

If you want to stick with using your iPad and GarageBand, the Shure MV88 or MV5 microphones plug right into the lightning port. Great sound and super easy to use. There's also the Apogee Mic 96k which is the same concept as the Shure.

[marqueemoon]

Digital recording gear is essentially disposable. That's not to say it's bad. Technology just moves quickly.

Computer recording will give you more flexibility, but most recent standalone recorders will let you extract your tracks as separate files for mixing elsewhere.

Go with what you're comfortable with and what will be easy enough to use to be artist and engineer at the same time.

I think having a ton of inputs is a bit overrated, and having a simple and portable setup can have some definite advantages.

[Larry Mal]

Reaper isn't free.

[MuckleRoe]

Is a standalone recorder an option? You can get stuff like a yamaha aw4416 for cheap now. I traded a cheap telecaster for one yesterday; these things were over 4k when new. Not as intuitive as most mac or pc programs, but it gets the job done.

[mackerelmint]

Screw the mixing board for drum recording xP you'd end up with just a stereo drum bus, minimal EQ/comp adjustments. Very limited. Maybe the Zoom r16 is just a better option? ..to monitor/record to then SD data copy into your laptop for mixing etc. Quick, cheap, easy.

As far as presonus XMAX Class A pre-amps go.. they're really reeallllyyy good, can confirm, they blow my motu pre-amps out of the water and they are in a higher price bracket.

For reals, those XMAX pres are pretty amazing. There was a site I saw a while back where someone recorded some things with xmax pres, a rented neve, and a rented API. They had WAV files of the recordings to listen to. The rentals sounded better, sure, but not by very much at all. It took years to get my firestudio to work properly, though, because presonus is about as inclined to fix windows drivers as they are to go step on worms in their bare feet. Which sucks. Their customer service told me to just go buy a mac.

Now that it works, though, it's the best thing since sliced bread.