# multitrack



## imbackagain2

what would be a good multitrack recorder that is affordable to start out with. IM not interested in using my computer cause it sucks and im only lookin to spend about 300 bucks if possible. Let me know thatnks.


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## Mahogany Martin

The DP-01 or 01FX are in your price range if you have a cd burner on your pc (using usb cable) (or you could use the rca line out to a tape deck or other recording device you have).

For a little more money, look at the DP01FXCD (with it's own cd burner). May be twice as much as what you want to pay though.

There's always the 4-track casssette recorders. You could most likely find something used at a good price.

http://www.tascam.com/PersonalCreativity.html#PocketStudio


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## Mahogany Martin

Don't know if you do already but you'll need some mics too. Your 300$ might need to be raised to get mics, cables etc or you could look at cheaper unit for now. Check this one out:

http://www.buysell.com/root/detail/...48807245/TASCAM_PORTA_STUDIO_424_4_track.aspx

Or a mini disc recorder for 250$:

http://www.buysell.com/root/detail/...99/YAMAHA_MD4_4_TRACK_mini_disc_recorder.aspx

here's the md4 from Yamaha's site:

http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA...00%26VNM%3DLIVE%26AFLG%3DY%26LGFL%3DY,00.html

here's the link to the buy&sell under musical instruments and pa, stage & recording:

http://www.buysell.com/root/search/Ontario/551/825/1/False/PA_Stage_amp_Recording_Equipment.aspx

There's ebay too. This might get you started


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## Sparks

How about this?

Line 6 Toneport

http://www.line6.com/toneport/index...edium=Banner&utm_campaign=TonePort+Version+II


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## Mahogany Martin

imbackagain2 said:


> What was that first link to?
> 
> Obviously im checking ebay daily.


Are you asking about the first link I gave you (to Tascam)? If so, that links should have taken you to the Tascam's Personal Creativity page. The 1st block shows cassette (4-track) recorders.

The next block shows the Digital Portastudios. You record on an internal hard drive (the DP 01 has 40GB). You can record 2 tracks at a time. The DP01 (new) would be in your price range.


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## Mahogany Martin

imbackagain2 said:


> http://www.axemusic.com/product.asp?numPageStartPosition=1&PT_ID=294&P_ID=4828
> 
> Is this any good?>


I don't know if it's "any good". But for the price, it sounds really good. 4 tracks enough for what you want to do? You can bounce tracks "without any sonic degradation" but that *limits* your control over the final mix. It has effects built in, punch in/out capabilities which are good features for a device this price range.

Memory card included is 32MB but "is compatible with 64MB and 128MB cards for extended storage capabilities". And it's "DAW" *compatible* if you want to go there (convert your files to WAV or AIFF files). Let's hope that someone who owns one sees this post and gives feedback. Here's a link to zzounds with a very detailed product description. The only thing (from this link) is that 97 people say "6.5 out of 10" for rating it.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--ZOMMRS4B


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## Mahogany Martin

imbackagain2 said:


> I was on harmony central and most of the people there rate 10. What is the deal with "bouncing tracks"?


If you'd need more tracks to record (and that in this case all 4 tracks have something on them) then you could let's say *bounce* all 4 tracks on track #1 which would leave you 3 more free tracks to record.

Depending on what you bounced to track #1, let's say drums and bass, then you could do so much at the final editing with track #1; you couldn't separate the level or other characteristics of the bass alone 'cos drums and bass would be one track.


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## flashPUNK

I got a Fostex MR-8 recorder for 275 at L&M used


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## Mahogany Martin

imbackagain2, I think that you may have to first think about and define what it is that you want to do. I assume that you want to record yourself playing guitar. Do you sing as well? Do you want to record guitar and vocal only? Do you play and have a bass? What about drums? Do you have a set of drums? You don't have them yet but you want to get real instruments eventually (bass, drums). Do you have microphone(s)? Would you like to record your band live? Does your drummer have a 30-piece kit?  

I know it's a lot of questions but I think that you should analyse your needs and intentions first and where you want to take this. This will help you determine what you should buy and the steps to get there. Spending $300 on a device is not going to be the end of your search (and spending).

For instance, if you want to eventually be able to make demos with let's say basic drums, bass, guitar and vocal, then ask yourself now, where am I going to get the drums from? The bass? You might want a track for rhythm guitar and one track for guitar solo. How about some backing vocals and harmonies? So far, that's drums, bass, 2 tracks for guitar and 2 tracks for vocals = 6 tracks. That is assuming that your drums are going to come from a drum machine and utilize one track.

I know that you said that you want to stay away from using a pc right now. Nowadays, this would be the way to go both from a price standpoint and features that you can get. Look at the large picture first. Ideally, you'd want a whole bunch of tracks at your disposal. You could use 6 or 8 tracks for drums alone, then maybe 3 or 4 tracks for bass so that you could pick the best one for your final mix, etc.

But that might be in the future. For now, if you want a basic recording device, I'd say stick with a digital 8-track and look at the best option for memory (hard disk space, expandable, memory cards, ..). You would need a drum machine but then you might also need either a bass or a way to get bass sounds. You could get a very basic keyboard that already has drums and bass sounds in it and link that to your recorder. There are sound modules that you can link to a keyboard. Then you'd use the keyboard as your playing tool utilizing sounds from the sound module and recording it on your recorder.

This is how a pc becomes so handy. So before you go investing any kind of money, let's keep talking and see what you have, what you want to do and we'll hopefully help you narrow it down to the best possible scenario for you.


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## Mahogany Martin

Check this one out!! It's tiny but packed with features and in your price range!!

It's 4 tracks digital (you can bounce tracks if needed) but it's got a built-in drum and bass module AND 93 effects including vintage amp modeling.

Here's a link to same day music site:

http://www.samedaymusic.com/product--ZOMPS04

Here's the link to download the pdf owner's manual. Check page 7, 9 and 10 of the pdf.

http://www.samsontech.com/products/relatedDocs/PS04.pdf


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## Mahogany Martin

ofender said:


> Check this one out!! It's tiny but packed with features and in your price range!!
> 
> It's 4 tracks digital (you can bounce tracks if needed) but it's got a built-in drum and bass module AND 93 effects including vintage amp modeling.
> 
> Here's a link to same day music site:
> 
> http://www.samedaymusic.com/product--ZOMPS04
> 
> Here's the link to download the pdf owner's manual. Check page 7, 9 and 10 of the pdf.
> 
> http://www.samsontech.com/products/relatedDocs/PS04.pdf


I'm tempted to get one one just to toy around with it. It seems incredible for the price. It's called Zoom PS04 Palmtop Studio (by Samsontech).

"Rhythm Machine
346 preset patterns, seven drum kits and five bass sounds
The PS-04 features the same high-quality PCM drum sounds made famous by the ZOOM RhythmTrak drum machines series. Seven drum kits and five bass sounds are built-in. The drum kits range from rock/jazz drums with an acoustic feel to vintage rhythm machine type sounds. Bass sound sources are finger, pick, and slap. The 346 preset patterns run the gamut from Rock and Pop, Jazz, Blues to Dance with a groove, world music and more. Choose phrase variations such as intro, fill and ending to create incredibly professional sounding songs.

Create your original patterns
The PS-04 lets you program up to 511 custom rhythm patterns. Using the status keys on the faders as a drum pad, you can record patterns in real time or use step input for complex programming tasks. To create your original bass lines, the bass sound sources can be assigned in a major or minor scale or in other popular patterns such as Root / 3rd / 5th / 6th or Root / 3rd / 5th / Oct. Fader controlled velocity input is also supported, resulting in a rhythm song that is entirely your own creation."

evilGuitar:


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## imbackagain2

Well I have and play drums,bass and guitar. Im also interested in putting vocals in. IM recording my album jeesh. haha I want to be able to record myself playing all intstruments at once like any normal band would. I want quality recording seperate from the pc because my pc isn't the greatest and Im not sure how good the sound card is . I have dinked around with pc recording with free programs like audacity and didn't like it at all. I will build a studio one day in a house that I do not own. But I figure I should buy something of quality rather then crap. So is that akai dps 12 digital recorder worth 300 bucks used? Im also getting a cd writer with it. 

What about something like this if you suggest using cpu. I think I plug mics etc into this then it connects through usb to computer. Then I would use an editing program like cakewalk right? I think im getting in over my head but I can get the Alesis Multimix 8 USB Mixer/Sound Interface. IT works as a sound card. I can get it used working condition 100$ Heres a link http://www.alesis.com/products/multimix8usb/


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## EleKtra`

I have used "CoolEditPro" It is a great program for recording and it gives you Great sounding recordings/songs, But it is very expensive up to 600$ I think.


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## Mahogany Martin

See imbackagain2, we’re trying to give you ideas here for you to explore. And you’re probably checking other forums as well and that’s good. But like I said in a previous post, you have to assess where you are NOW, what you HAVE and determine where you WANT TO BE (and what you could do in the meantime).

You may want to invest that $300 now on a device that’ll provide you with the ability to build decent recordings, experiment and have fun right away. If you go this way, you’re looking at a 4 or 8-track standalone device. I thought that something like the Zoom PS04 would be good for you since that it has built-in drum and bass sounds. No need to go and get a bunch of mics to record live drums or buy a drum machine (to get your drum tracks). No need to buy a bassguitar or sound module, keyboards, etc. You build a rhythm track (drum and bass) right from the PS04 and then go to town layering guitar and vocal tracks on top of it. In addition to your $300 or so, you might want to buy a good mic and cable (for you vocal) and that’d be it for now.

You can’t go wrong with Fostex. Something like flashPUNK picked up is great and will be good for a long time. Even if eventually you have recording equipment at home (at your studio), you could take something like this to a band practice and record your band. And it could be a great tool for you right now.

I’m thinking that buying one of these for now would give you some times to get recording experience and find out about features that you’d like and save money to buy yourself a good pc. You may already have a good pc, I don’t know. You said that you toyed around with a downloaded free recording program. Often you get what you pay for right? So if you do have a *good* pc (cpu as you call it), then don’t bother wasting your money and go for something like the Line6 Toneport that Sparks recommended, or something that was recommended to me and that I may get, the Tascam US-122.

They are affordable *firewire* devices; they connect your guitars, mics, etc to your pc and they come with software. I think that the US-122 is in the price range that you are looking at spending anyways. And what happens is that you are getting recording programs that allows you to have a lot more than 4 or 8 tracks to record with (US-122 comes with Cubase LE 48-track recording software).

That Akai recorder, I’m not too sure about it. I’ll leave it to a pro to chime in and give you their feedback. Just think about it though, you’re buying a used cd writer; how long before it starts skipping and having problems with it?

:rockon: 

http://www.tascam.com/Products/US-122.html


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## zao_89

Sparks said:


> How about this?
> 
> Line 6 Toneport
> 
> http://www.line6.com/toneport/index...edium=Banner&utm_campaign=TonePort+Version+II


The Line 6 products look pretty intimidating..


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## imbackagain2

I want a multi track to record everything I want it cheap I want at least a digital 8 track.


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## Baba Rumraisin

*Cheap multitrack*

The Alesis Multimix 8 is on sale right now at a music store in Brantford Ontario for under 200 dollars. This is probably the same deal all over the place.


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## imbackagain2

what store man?


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## Mahogany Martin

Hi guys, you might want to have a look at this post from Cubase forum talking about miltimix 8.

http://forum.cubase.net/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=44273


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## Baba Rumraisin

Yeah, it is after all, a two track, but you could do the tweak mentioned. The Alesis is at LA Music on Charing Cross, if you're interested.
I'm thinking of returning mine and exchanging it for something else. I want midi for one thing, I've decided.


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## imbackagain2

yeah I dont want that. Im currently stalking ebay.


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## Mahogany Martin

Hi imbackagain2, you're kinda in the area. I came across this Mississauga business. They have a listing of used equipment on their website and they can get you new stuff if you want. They look like they could be very useful in helping setting up a decent studio. I keep checking their used listing but I'll most likely drop by to check out their store.

http://www.revolutionaudio.ca/

Edit: I'm actually thinking about taking their Recording 101 class. 8 sessions for $120, that's not bad at all. I took recording classes before but it'd be good to get a refresher and tips with the newer technology that's out there today. It starts next Wednesday (April 12th, 2006).


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## imbackagain2

Cool site but still not what im looking for thanks though.


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