oh man i dont know what to get.

blackbassist · #1 08-15-2006, 02:13 PM

Ok so my birthday's coming up, and my dad seems to be looking into buying me something for recording. So he and i have been looking, and saw two things that seem alright for a beginner.

here they are...
1)TASCAM DP-01FX Digital 8-Track Portastudio
This one is a portastudio and i currently have an analog version, but i want a digital one. I was leaning towards this at first because it seems easy to use; but i dont want a separate mixer to record drums with, so i changed my mind

2)Behringer Xenyx 2442FX
This one is a 24 track mixer which i think would be awesome for recording straight onto the computer. It uses usb, but i've heard that it can cause latency which i guess is a minor setback.

I'm leaning towards the behringer, now, and using it to record onto audacity (or adobe audition which i'm planning to get). I do have one question though. Would the USB interface be able to work with audacity?

any help appreciated,
matt.

lillitnn92 · #2 08-15-2006, 02:54 PM

how many tracks for recording at one time do you really need? if it's just you recording one time, then both are way overkill. if your recording more than yourself at one given time (ie like a band) then go ahead with the Tasacm (although it's only 2-track simultaneous recording).

i would evaluate what you are actually going to be doing with it because if it's just you, then you can save yourself a lot of money by getting a smaller mixer.

lillitnn92 · #3 08-15-2006, 03:08 PM

just to add..

if your just using Audacity, the you'd be better off to spend money on a smaller mixer and a sound card. a M-Audio Audiophile 2496 and a Behringer Eurorack UB1002 mixer will cost you only $150. you still have room to expand with 10 channels on the mixer. you can still record into Audacity this way and for-go the USB route which (depending on you computer specs) will cut down on latency.

blackbassist · #4 08-15-2006, 03:11 PM

hmm..i'm planning to get a band together, so i'd be recording a bunch.

lillitnn92 · #5 08-15-2006, 03:16 PM

well then. my suggestion is this. a 8-10 channel mixer and a sound card like i suggested above. you'll still be saving money. you might to take that money saved and buy a software program. nothing against Audacity, i use it for editing wav, mp3 files, but you'll want something a bit better.

blackbassist · #6 08-15-2006, 03:43 PM

now i'm thinking of changing my choice.
so if i got the UB1002, and a usb interface would i be able to record drums as seperate tracks so i could like compress them and what not?

niftydog · #7 08-15-2006, 05:24 PM

You can't completely avoid latency when recording to a PC. All you can do is minimise it. Plus, it only becomes an issue when you're live monitoring. Even then, it's a pretty easy fix and you should only have to fix it once for each PC you use.

more mic input channels = better!

lillitnn92 · #8 08-15-2006, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackbassist

now i'm thinking of changing my choice.
so if i got the UB1002, and a usb interface would i be able to record drums as seperate tracks so i could like compress them and what not?

if you want to record separate tracks at the same time you're going to need more that just a mixer and usb interface.

my suggestion to you is to get a something to record on your own, gain some experience. when you get a band, pool together money and buy some good gear. sounds like your jumping the gun. don't buy something just because. Audacity isn't going to cut it either for that. you really need to look into software along with it all.

what do yo want to do, now? what do you want to do later? figure it all out and go from there.