home recording equipment

Subject: home recording equipment
From: GUEST,Sarah
Date: 01 Jan 03 - 02:54 PM

I've decided to buy home audio-recording equipment.
Having looked around at what is avaiilable in the UK, the two likely contenders are the Fostex X-12 & the Tascam PortaStudio 2 mkII.
As they seem to be pretty much the same price, I'd like to know how the two compare, particularly in terms of ease of use & quality of recording.
This will be for personal home use only - to develop vocal/guitar/performing skills. So I reckon a 4-track will be good enough for the job !
Has anybody used these lately ?
Thank you, and happy new year.

Subject: RE: home recording equipment
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 01 Jan 03 - 03:25 PM

Hi, Sarah:

I have a four track Fostex (pretty old) and a four track Tascam (new.)
The Fostex stood me in good stead for many years, and is still fine for home recording in the way that you're talking about using it. The four track Tascam I bought only runs at high speed, which uses a lot of tape, so when I found another one used that had the regular cassette speed as a second option, I picked it up. Now, if I'm recording for my own pleasure, I use the regular speed. I'm recording my gospel quartet for a CD, and for that, I'm using he high spped and the top quality casettes. Fostex has improved a great deal since I bought my model, and I looked at both of them. I went with the Tascam on reputation, as much as anything, as the prices were comparable to the Fostex models. I've very happy with the Tascam, and find it very easy to us. You probably cna't go wrong with either one, but if you can buy a machine that has two speeds, you'll probably appreciate it.

Jerry

Subject: RE: home recording equipment
From: mooman
Date: 01 Jan 03 - 03:34 PM

I still use a venerable Fostex X-15 multitracker which I have had for a very long time and which still produces excellent results. I tend to be of the school that prefers to record analogue onto tape (better depth and dynamics) and then digitize onto computer later.

As Jerry says, the technology has certainly improved since then but this setup still works well for me.

All the best

moo

Subject: RE: home recording equipment
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 01 Jan 03 - 06:23 PM

I am very happy with analog recording too, Mooman... my first four albums were all done analog, and the quality of the sound is warm and fine to my ears. My next step is to start burning a CD from the songs I've taped...

Jerry

Subject: RE: home recording equipment
From: Thomas the Rhymer
Date: 02 Jan 03 - 01:44 AM

Boy, I sure would like to know how to make cds from tapes! Is this a regular practice? Could I make cds with my tapes by taking them to a studio pro and having them converted? I like recording at home or durring gigs so much more than hanging out in studios while money tick-tocks away... they call me Mr. Natural! *BG* ttr

Subject: RE: home recording equipment
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Jan 03 - 02:12 AM

You can have tapes transferred to CD easily enough at professional studio, or you can get a good PCI sound card and do the job at home with as good or better results--same with recording--I see no reason on earth to buy tape and tape equipment when you can record digitally on the computer(or a stand alone unit) with better sound quality and infinitely better editing possibilities--and it is so much faster, easier and cheaper to burn a CD than to copy a tape--

Subject: RE: home recording equipment
From: GUEST,Audiotape YUK !!!
Date: 02 Jan 03 - 03:22 AM

It took me qiute some time to persuade an electronic composer pal of mine to move away from audio cassete with all its inherent hiss or theexpense if using DAT...I have been recording audio things since 1968 and i'd say the greatest advance in audio recording during my lifetime is the minidisc recorder which is such a simple clean way of recording and editing your music which you can then easily copy onto a stand alone CD recorder via an optical cable which will produce a near perfect reproduction of the original....Direct recording onto a PC has its problems partly because PC's are such darn noisy devices you have to record out of the room the PC is situated which will involve at least two accesible but sound proofed rooms but also complex and expensive long cable set ups...So a full size minidisc recorder and a stand alone CD recorder are two devices i'd say are a good way of producing passable if not professional quality CD's..i've produced over 30 CD's using these devices myself...Lastly I'll just mention dont ever be tempted to throw away your original audio tape recordings in favour of digital copies...the one thing audio tape has over the digital recording is its proven longevity of life and durability...

Subject: RE: home recording equipment
From: mooman
Date: 02 Jan 03 - 03:51 AM

No doubt about it that digital recording equipment as mentioned above is very convenient and of very high quality, e.g. no hiss or noise. However, digital recording, at least to my ears, has a more "sterile" sound than tape and you cannot saturate or get the same dynamics and "warmth" as with good quality tape gear. All of this IMHO of course and digital equipment has other major pluses like convenience, ease of use and in editing etc.

moo

Subject: RE: home recording equipment
From: GUEST,sarah
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 02:11 PM

Much thanks folks.

Turns out the Fostex is easier to get hold of the Tascam - so it's been ordered.

I think 4-track is right for me. Can't afford a PC (and everybody I know who uses a PC hates the process!) A friend runs a studo - so if I get to the point of needing high quality recording I can book in there.

At the moment I need to be be able to listen what I'm singing/playing, to see what works. .... Am I actually in tune, which chord sequence / rhythm is best. Pretty basic stuff really. Hopefully .... I can build up confidence prior to performing that a song is ready.

Thank you !

Subject: RE: home recording equipment
From: Deckman
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 07:26 PM

All of you might get a chuckle out of this story: when I started singing and trying to build my repetoire back in the 50's (that's NINETEEN FIFTIES, not eighteen fifties) I resorted to a trick that was populiar at the time. I'd host a hoot, and before hand I would hide a tape recorder under a daveno. Then I'd snake the mike out to where it could pick up stuff but hopefully no one would spot it. This was such a populiar pastime that we actually gave it a name: "GLEEPING!" My memory says that it was Don Firth that named it. By the way, I would NEVER suggest that Don resorted to such low down and dirty practices ... he only named it! We used to have long and passionate dissusions regarding the ethics of this behavior, but as I recall, none of us gave it up. And all this worked fine until you listened to the tape. Mostly, you would hear the pounding of feet on the floor, the scraping of chairs, and the occasional guy hitting on the girl that was sitting close to the hidden mike. I rarely got a good enough recording to actually be able to learn any songs. As you say ... equipment, and tecnique I must say, has come a long way. CHEERS to all! Bob(deckman)Nelson

Subject: RE: home recording equipment
From: Don Firth
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 08:01 PM

Actually, I think it was Jim Wilhelm or Jerry Murry (two of the Pamir House regulars) who came up with the word "gleeping."
But, I would never do anything like that!

Now, I might to a little unobtrusive urban-environment song-collecting.

But "gleep?" Never!!

Don Firth

Subject: RE: home recording equipment
From: GUEST,Al
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 08:48 PM

If you have an audio tape or minidisc, find somebody with an Alesis Masterlink. Just play the audio into the masterlink, do your editing on the machine, add compression, limiting, and eq if desired, normalize to max volume, and burn your CD. Works like a charm. Al