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[Music/tech geek warning...]
I’ve been frustrated trying to get multitrack recording software to work with my HP laptop. I finally came to the conclusion that the “Beats Audio” internal sound card simply isn’t up to the task. So this morning while I was checking out the Black Friday sales at the local music stores, I found this used multitrack recorder:
I paid about $1200 for a Fostex FD-8 8-track back in the late '90s. The Fostex has a 2 GB hard drive and a SCSI port if you need more storage space. (Can you even buy a SCSI drive anymore?) It only has RCA or optical digital outputs for dumping the mastered song onto a CD recorder...no direct computer interface. Plus, it's in LA, where it's doing me no good.
This $100 Tascam has a 40 GB hard drive, with RCA, digital optical, and USB outputs on the back. Should make backing up and dumping the mix onto a computer much easier. Ain't technology great?
Now I'll be able to finally record some examples of the new purple/black guitar for Dave Hawksford.
Oh, and for the non-music/tech geeks out there, an "8 track" recorder refers to the number of separate recordings you can mix together into one song, not the 8-track cartridge tape player you had in your '72 Nova. (Actually, you can have more than 8 sounds at once by manipulating things...it's pretty easy to do but complicated to describe.) As a point of comparison, the Beatles recorded the entire Abbey Road album on a 4 track recorder. But then again, they had George Martin turning the knobs, so they had a distinct advantage.
I’ve been frustrated trying to get multitrack recording software to work with my HP laptop. I finally came to the conclusion that the “Beats Audio” internal sound card simply isn’t up to the task. So this morning while I was checking out the Black Friday sales at the local music stores, I found this used multitrack recorder:
I paid about $1200 for a Fostex FD-8 8-track back in the late '90s. The Fostex has a 2 GB hard drive and a SCSI port if you need more storage space. (Can you even buy a SCSI drive anymore?) It only has RCA or optical digital outputs for dumping the mastered song onto a CD recorder...no direct computer interface. Plus, it's in LA, where it's doing me no good.
This $100 Tascam has a 40 GB hard drive, with RCA, digital optical, and USB outputs on the back. Should make backing up and dumping the mix onto a computer much easier. Ain't technology great?
Now I'll be able to finally record some examples of the new purple/black guitar for Dave Hawksford.
Oh, and for the non-music/tech geeks out there, an "8 track" recorder refers to the number of separate recordings you can mix together into one song, not the 8-track cartridge tape player you had in your '72 Nova. (Actually, you can have more than 8 sounds at once by manipulating things...it's pretty easy to do but complicated to describe.) As a point of comparison, the Beatles recorded the entire Abbey Road album on a 4 track recorder. But then again, they had George Martin turning the knobs, so they had a distinct advantage.