Digital Workstation or not?

[freddylang]

I am leaning towards buying a digital workstation/multitrack recorder. I have used a pc in the past but I was always frustrated trying to decide on one software to use, the mobility of the thing, plugging into it, etc. I am really looking to move away from the pc for recording but still have a pc-like piece of equipment that I can use hand in hand with the pc when I need to. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for this. So far I have looked at the Tascam 2488, Korg D1600 & also the KORG 1200 to a lesser extent, AKAI DPS24, BOSS BR-1600, Roland 2480, and the MOTU software a little bit. My goal is to create a studio that can grow. I am looking to spend around $900-1500 for the recording unit but can extend myself and move up if that's what it really takes to get high quality.

Thanks,

Fred

 

[Petebass]

Why did get de-ja-vous reading this?

Freddy asked me the same question via email earlier this week and I couldn't really help him, so I asked him to post here where the real experts hang out. Don't let me down guys..............

 

[MrFortuneCookie]

To be honest with you, I've never been incredibly impressed with these units as a whole. I feel that they run lesser mic preamps which will compromise your signal and I feel that mixing on one of these units is a nightmare. Please bare in mind this my personal opinion.

I looked at units like these extensively in the past. If I were to have to get one, I would probably get the VS2000CD and I would make sure it has the VGA connection to allow me to mix on a monitor. I would go with this unit considering how long Roland has been in the game of making these pieces of hardware and I feel they have come as good as they get for the time being.

 

[genderblind]

My Yamaha AW 2816 boasts fat-sounding mic pre's, intuitive operation, and has not frozen once in two years. Reliable and sounds absolutely great, it's no toy!
I had a Roland VS 1880 before this that froze constantly and emitted digital pops during tracking and mixing that rendered it useless. A really counter-intuitive system as well when compared to the Yamaha.