24-track digital multitrack

[bryceyaworsky]

Along with the 8-bus console(see other post) I'm looking for a 24-track hard disk recorder. I've seen the Mackies MDR/HDR/SDR24/96, and I'm thinking about the MRD24/96.
What can you tell about these? Any recommendations?

[resistor man]

Having fun with my Alesis HD24.

[bryceyaworsky]

how exactly does the ADAT hard disk work, as opposed to the hard disk only?

[bryceyaworsky]

the reason why I ask is that I looked at the Alesis page and saw the HD24. It had all the standard cut, paste, etc. along with removable drives, so I can do waveform editing on my computer. For $2000 this might be the way for me to go. What else can it do?

[Bill DerryBerry]

bryceyaworsky,
I do not own one and do not know how well they are doing, but www.tascam.com (http://www.tascam.com) has the MX-2424 harddisk recorder. They have a 24 channel mixer/recorder package but the price is way up there. It is proably using the TDIF-1 interface.

You might check it out.
BDB

[resistor man]

Originally posted by bryceyaworsky:
the reason why I ask is that I looked at the Alesis page and saw the HD24. It had all the standard cut, paste, etc. along with removable drives, so I can do waveform editing on my computer. For $2000 this might be the way for me to go. What else can it do?

Well, I like the fact you can use cheap 5400rpm drives. It's really fast, responsive, good sounding, and intuitive to work with. One of the great features that is not immediately apparent is that it loads the punch in and out points into location memory as you punch manually. Combine this with the 5 second rewind tap-the-button feature and you can punch in and out, locate to the in, and bump back 5 seconds, hit play and check it or repunch in the blink of an eye. I can work as fast as the talent can think. Since I'm real old-school about punching manually, the lack of an undo to the punch doesn't bug me, since it translates to really fast response. If you're not sure, back the track up.

The only gripe I have is the use of ftp for file transfer to your computer instead of a regular network protocol. It is slow. I'd rather have speed than the ability to turn the thing into an internet server, but who knows... someday it may come in handy. And maybe a future upgrade will allow different protocols.

[leel]

Joining this discussion a little late but a couple of comments. It is important to figure out how you are going to use the HDR.

One of the problems between the Prosumer gear is a lot more than just features. One of the most compelling reasons to go with an HDR is reliablity.

I do a lot of live recording and when you hit record you want to make sure it actually gets recorded. The words "Take 2" don't go over well when recording a concert. http://www.audioforums.com/forums/frown.gif

When that happens that money you thought you were saving just cost you the whole gig.

Lee

[resistor man]

Not sure if you're dissing the HD24, but mine is giving great service. As far as reliability goes, the 2 hot swap hd bays and instant swapping between the 2 make for great emergency drive replacement. In fact, that makes it more than twice as reliable as a unit with one fixed drive inside where you can't get at it.

[diminished]

i know i am late on this,but can u guys tell if those 24 tracks hd s can be monitored on pc and the screen?and can u use multitrack software with them simultaniously on the pc while acting as an external recorder combined with the pc software?
a few of u owned it.what would u say is the sound quality like?good?very good?thanks guys.

[diminished]

oh btw,dont u get the load off of the pc processor too?
i am realy considering getting the hd if it does those things that i mentioned above,its like having your otari 24 tracks on the side but without the analog hiss and with lot,lot less money.
and finally guys please steer me towards the best that u can think of on those hd's which to go with for what reason etc.thanks again.

[This message has been edited by diminished (edited 05-12-2002).]

[leel]

Originally posted by diminished:
i know i am late on this,but can u guys tell if those 24 tracks hd s can be monitored on pc and the screen?.

Diminished I think you are missing the point of using an HDR. The biggest advantage of an HDR is it is NOT a computer.

I am not going to get into hdr vs daw because each has its role and I use both BUT my main machine is the hdr. Daw's are prone to the same problems of all PC/Macs when compared to an HDR.

One of the advantages of an hdr is the fact that is works (or should) like a tape machine. When you are doing live recording or in the middle of a tracking session with a group of talented musicians, the last thing you want to do is be staring at a stuid computer monitor.

diminished, I would caution you about trying to have one machine that does it ALL. This never works and never will. There are trucks and there are sports car, there are sm-57's and there are U-87's and there computers and there are daws.

Each does it what it does for a reason.

[diminished]

hi Leel,what are you mixing on with the hd btw?are you taking mixer to the location for monitoring and mixing purposes?
well live is ok ,but the main concern is in my case studio recording for now.why not pe say having an hd with a daw if money is not an issue comparing to a 2" 24 track,say for example an (otari)thats worth from $30,000 to $500,000 sony.i dont think for a decent home pro setup a $2000 hd add on with a combined daw would be bad.it remains to be seen on my purchase day.the important thing is to get your initial recordings (inputs)as clean as possible in this case on hd and mix and edit on the daw,wehether you choose an external mixer or internal well,thats a discussion for preference and if its ecceptable to stay without an external mixer,than why not.one less table and one less noise out of the chain.
i guess your point is well taken , again knowledge is power and u have to keep up with it everyday. specialy, in the fast moving digital world of ours.
after some research on hd and pc based recording,i came to my own conclusion
and that is:with hd you have stability and consistancy as far as recording just like tape machines and with pc you could go eitherway eccept when it crashes that will make your day.
ia m an old dog yes,but this dog has already
learned new tricks and keep it coming see how high i can jump.lol

[This message has been edited by diminished (edited 05-20-2002).]

[kokemohr]

I think You're missing one important difference between the Alesis HD24 and the Mackie HDRs: The Alesis is using the Disk like a tape while the Mackie recorder works non-linear, which enables it to do tricks like recording several (up to 8) Takes of the same Track. If You want to do this on the HD24 You will have to erase the first take.

A question to all of You using the HD24: Assuming that I am recording just 2 Tracks leaving the remaining 22 tracks blank, will I have 12 times as much time to record or will the recorder use up disk space to save 22 empty tracks? This may sound a little strange, but that's what the reviews suggest.

[GZsound]

I'm considering replacing my ADAT deck with a Foxtex D2424LV unit. 24 tracks and 48 channels of ADAT. All for less than $2,400.

I do all my track editing in the computer so I don't need any editing functions I just want to replace the tape system. I use the ADAT for live recording and the Fostex looks like a bargain.

[f3]

Kokemohr -

When you can begin a new song on the HD24 you initialize it with any of the following track configurations: 2, 6, 8, 16, or 24.

If you set a song to 24 tracks and only record 2 tracks, then yes you do essentially use up the space for the remaining 22 blank tracks. However, if you set up that song as just 2 tracks, then no -- it only takes up the space for those two tracks.

It's also pretty easy to expand to more tracks if you need to. If you start with a 2 track recording, but then decide later you need 8, you create a new song with 8 tracks and do a simple copy to place the 2 from the original song into the new 8 track song. You can then delete that original 2 track song to recover the space if you need it.

Also, I've posted before that my major gripe with the HD24 was that it was limited to recording either all dital inputs or all analog inputs. They have just released an OS upgrade that now let's you usevdigital and analog inputs simultaneously during the same recording. I'm happy.

Frank