[gg.gamble]

I'm considering a digital 8 track but before i commit i have a little dout in the back of my mind,
-If i was to record 8 tracks 'live', could i then export them out individually onto my comp to edit in a program like Audition/Cool Edit?
i'm just worried that i could only export it as a merged Master track.

I'm presuming an 8-track is going to give me much better quality than a generic pc mic input and no, unintentional, distortion.
-Is this right?

Any help is apprecaited
Cheers,
Gavin Gamble

[igorski]

Hello and welcome to the boards!

An 8-track isn't giving you better quality than a generic mic input per se (but is a bazillion times better obviously as the inputs are engineered towards more specific recordings), as it boils down to what devices you use to capture signal to begin with.

You could bounce the tracks individually by playing them individually while recording them one by one on your PC, but to be honest, sending the tracks to a computer makes the 8-track idea obsolete as the device is meant to operate on it's own.

If you really wish to use the computer environment for production you're better off with a device similar to The MOTU Ultralite which I use for live performances with a laptop to handle computer controlled / processed stuff. It allows you to plug in phantom powered microphones, has several 1/4" inputs and yes, these can be recorded simultaneously onto your computer and land on their own track in the software environment, all at once.

[gg.gamble]

Right, i understand. Thanks alot
Theres so much to learn in these forums its awesome

That looks like an intense piece of kit. Do think starting out it would be better to go for something abit cheaper like the Presonus FP10 or to pay the extra?

This post has been edited by gg.gamble: 07 September 2008 - 07:20 AM

[igorski]

Depends on what you want, if you just record one instrument at a time and maybe a vocal track, a Roland Edirol type interface might be better, having only one two inputs (both XLR / TRS (1/4 ") compatible and with optional phantom power). This will still require a computer environment for the recording of multiple tracks.

I've heard good things about Presonus interfaces, but have never used one. Ideally you'd want a interface that is

A ) an ASIO(2) compatible soundcard for fast low latency processing, let the computer only record, let the interface be the processing beast
B ) has all the inputs you want, with phantom power switch for mics
C ) as big and bulky or portable as you want it to be (they range from 19" to something similar to half a laptop, depends if you're on the move)
D ) comes with software, most higher end boards ship with a variant of Ableton Live, an ideal sequencing environment compatible with all the features
of the interfaces and more (great MIDI accessibilty)

There are plenty out there. You can look up user comments regarding the products on several audio related sites.

Once more, it's all in the ear of the beholder too, I'm a tad spoilt with high end gear, but most people have no problem recording one track at a time, or even through the computers line-in port of a standard soundcard, it's all about how much you're willing to spend.

[gg.gamble]

Great, Thanks alot for the reply i really apprecaite your advice