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Capturing Multi-Track Raw Audio?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the garage-band-applications dept.

afex asks: "I've been in and out of bands, and my current one is ready to sit down and put out a nice sounding Promo CD. In the past, I've used a horrible mess of equipment to get this job done. I won't go into detail on what all the microphones were for, but I had 4 going into an analog mixer, mixed down to 2 channels - as well as four other microphones that were unmixed. This left me with 6 separate tracks, which I am now outgrowing. I'd now like to start capturing 8 (or more) channels of raw (delivered via XLR cables from mics) audio. As for quality: 44.1K/16bit is fine. The editing can be done later via software, but my main quest is to get a single piece of hardware (either for my PC or a standalone box) that will ONLY capture the audio - no EQ's, no FX, no mixing, nothing, since that is all done later, on the PC. Got any ideas, Slashdot?" "I used to record it all using 2 stereo USB capture devices (Edirol UA-1A & M-Audio MobilePre USB), as well as the PC's soundcard (left and right). I recorded and mixed with Cool Edit Pro, which is now Adobe Audition. This method has been very buggy, and its time for a change. I don't want to add more USB/FireWire capture cards to the mix, and I don't want to pay a heap for a digital 8-track recorder such as Yamaha's AW16G. What can I do?"

5 of 119 comments (clear)

  1. I suggest M-Audio or MOTU by b00m3rang · · Score: 3, Informative

    They both make good multichannel audio interfaces at a good value for the price. I've gone with Echo Audio in the past, and not been entirely happy with the drivers, stability, and support. Interfaces are available as either PCI cards with connectors/cables, pci cards with a breakout box, or (my recommendation) an external box with firewire connectivity. It's the most flexible, you can position the unit away from the PC to avoid RF interference, and in my experience works at least as well as those with dedicated PCI cards.

  2. Sorry dude by illuminatedwax · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The problem is that either you have to buy a new USB/Firewire box or you have to get a multitrack recorder unless you want to pay thousands of dollars for a multitrack DAT.

    Listen to everyone else and get an MOTU (or equivalent from Behringer if you're broke ;).

    --
    Did you ever notice that *nix doesn't even cover Linux?
  3. Why Slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    Why are you asking a question about digital recording on Slashdot when there are so many better places to ask?

    Just a few links:

    http://messageboard.tapeop.com/ (my favorite)
    http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/
    http://gearslutz.com/
    http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/index.p hp

    1. Re:Why Slashdot? by afex · · Score: 3, Funny

      basically it was a scheme to get those links from you. thx

  4. ADAT by TekieB · · Score: 3, Informative

    A lot of the various sound cards come with an adat interface (or multiple) that you can use, what you need to do is get a preamp, the first one that comes to mind is http://mackie.com/products/800r/index.html this, you can get them cheaper, but with audio gear a lot of times you get what you pay for, and mackie is good stuff, so you get a soundcard (your choice of interface) with many adat inputs, and add preamps as needed