Multitrack recording - with or without a PC?

Martin Pauly · September 10th, 2007, 08:44 AM

Quick update: I received all the equipment on Friday. I was pleasantly surprised that the HD24 now ships with an 80GB harddrive instead of the 10GB that they advertise. I still need to get rack rails/ears for the mixer to put everything into a rack, as Seth suggested, then it'll be complete!

So far everything looks (and sounds) great - I can't wait to try it out at the next real event!

- Martin

John C. Plunkett · September 10th, 2007, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Pauly

Interesting. I would have thought that Ethernet shouldn't be too far behind FireWire. Well, as it happens, Alesis has a promotion going on right now where they give you a free FireWire interface with any new HD24 purchase.

The Firewire interface definitely is a must. I don't know why Alesis put a 10BaseT Ethernet port in the HD24 when 100BaseT was available at the time, but they did.

Martin Pauly · October 9th, 2007, 11:53 AM

I just wanted to tell you about my experience with the HD24 recorder and FX16 mixer, now that I have completed the first job with my new gear. It was a recording (video and audio) of a stand-up comedy show, recording six channels of audio (two from the stage and four from mics placed in the audience), and I just finished a 5.1 audio mix.

Everything worked great. There was noticably less hiss/noise in the recording compared with the Tascam FW-1082 FireWire mixer that I had used in the past, which speeds up the audio clean-up/processing quite a bit. As Seth had suggested, I mounted the recorder and mixer (plus a power conditioner) in a rack, so that the mixer and recorder can stay connected internally. Works great, with only two (minor) complaints: First, the mixer's connection panel can be rotated to be either on the back (i.e. outside of my rack) or bottom (i.e. inside the rack). I have chosen the former, which is ideal for the internal connections, while the latter allows easy access to plug in mics, outputs, etc. So it's a little tricky to connect anything to the mixer because the connectors are "hidden" inside the rack. Second, the whole thing is so heavy that I can barely carry it alone anymore. About half the weight is the rack itself. So while the setup time is much shorter now than what it used to be (FW-1082 and laptop), it's a two-person job to get everything in place.

I did submit the paperwork for the FireWire interface (free with purchase of a new HD24, due to a promotion) but am still waiting for that. However, the file transfer using Ethernet worked out alright. Yes, it took a while, but it's not like I need to sit next to it and wait for it to be done. I can see how that would be different in other recording scenarios, though, for example if multiple takes need to be recorded and loaded into the computer right away before work can continue.

All in all, this mixer/recorder combo has worked out great for me on its first big job. Thanks again to everyone who provided suggestions!

- Martin

Martin Pauly · February 4th, 2008, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John C. Plunkett

The Firewire interface definitely is a must. I don't know why Alesis put a 10BaseT Ethernet port in the HD24 when 100BaseT was available at the time, but they did.

I had long given up on the free FireWire interface - it had been nearly five months since I submitted the coupon - when all of a sudden, it arrived last week. It not just accelerates the transfer tremendously, it also hooks up directly to an individual hard drive, so there's no need for me anymore to physically move the entire HD24 unit (in the heavy rack that holds it along with a recording mixer) close to my computer.

I continue to be impressed with how well this setup works, how reliable it is, and how much cleaner the recordings are compared with my previous solution.

- Martin

Seth Bloombaum · February 4th, 2008, 01:52 PM

Martin, I'm very glad this has worked out so well for you. I just completed another project with my 16-channel setup, and very pleased once again with performance and fidelity.

September 10th, 2007, 08:44 AM	#16
Martin Pauly Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Cedar Rapids, IA Posts: 563	Quick update: I received all the equipment on Friday. I was pleasantly surprised that the HD24 now ships with an 80GB harddrive instead of the 10GB that they advertise. I still need to get rack rails/ears for the mixer to put everything into a rack, as Seth suggested, then it'll be complete! So far everything looks (and sounds) great - I can't wait to try it out at the next real event! - Martin __________________ Martin Pauly

October 9th, 2007, 11:53 AM	#18
Martin Pauly Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Cedar Rapids, IA Posts: 563	I just wanted to tell you about my experience with the HD24 recorder and FX16 mixer, now that I have completed the first job with my new gear. It was a recording (video and audio) of a stand-up comedy show, recording six channels of audio (two from the stage and four from mics placed in the audience), and I just finished a 5.1 audio mix. Everything worked great. There was noticably less hiss/noise in the recording compared with the Tascam FW-1082 FireWire mixer that I had used in the past, which speeds up the audio clean-up/processing quite a bit. As Seth had suggested, I mounted the recorder and mixer (plus a power conditioner) in a rack, so that the mixer and recorder can stay connected internally. Works great, with only two (minor) complaints: First, the mixer's connection panel can be rotated to be either on the back (i.e. outside of my rack) or bottom (i.e. inside the rack). I have chosen the former, which is ideal for the internal connections, while the latter allows easy access to plug in mics, outputs, etc. So it's a little tricky to connect anything to the mixer because the connectors are "hidden" inside the rack. Second, the whole thing is so heavy that I can barely carry it alone anymore. About half the weight is the rack itself. So while the setup time is much shorter now than what it used to be (FW-1082 and laptop), it's a two-person job to get everything in place. I did submit the paperwork for the FireWire interface (free with purchase of a new HD24, due to a promotion) but am still waiting for that. However, the file transfer using Ethernet worked out alright. Yes, it took a while, but it's not like I need to sit next to it and wait for it to be done. I can see how that would be different in other recording scenarios, though, for example if multiple takes need to be recorded and loaded into the computer right away before work can continue. All in all, this mixer/recorder combo has worked out great for me on its first big job. Thanks again to everyone who provided suggestions! - Martin __________________ Martin Pauly

February 4th, 2008, 01:52 PM	#20
Seth Bloombaum Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,420	Martin, I'm very glad this has worked out so well for you. I just completed another project with my 16-channel setup, and very pleased once again with performance and fidelity.