Hey, i have a stupid question too...

[halljams]

I couldn't sleep and i was thinking about gear, or is that, "i couldn't sleep cause i was thinkin about gear"... either way; I will be needing a new system of A/D conversion for recording into my computer in the next year. Something with more channels. I get all excited when i hear folks talking about the sony's. Unfortunatley, that ain't gonna happen! What i'm digging though, is giving digital boards another year to smooth out and maby come down in price a bit and toying with the idea of a DA7 or something of that nature. I ask that you forgive my lack of research on this one cause i'm usually all over that, but i just need a knowlege booster here. ????How would i get the digital signal into the computer from the digital board if i were to get one. Does it have it's own pci interface? do i Need to buy something like the Hammerfall? What sort of unexpected "needs" will pop up if i were to go that route? i'm speaking in terms of recording directly into the computer from a digital board into a multitrack program. This whole area is new to me. Any and all smaterings of knowlege appreciated. Thanks

[Philip OKeefe]

Yup, using a digital mixer as a "front end" for a computer DAW has a lot of advantages. I use two Yamaha AW4416's. Besides having 8 preamps and A/D converters (stock), they also offer real, live, honest to goodness hardware faders that can be used to send out MIDI CC data - which can control all sorts of things in the DAW program - not the least of which is the onscreen faders. In addition, the AW has the onboard 16 track (128 virtual track) hard disk recorder, and like most digital mixers, the onboard 4 band parametric EQ, dynamics processors on every channel (44 mixer channels) and effects processors can take a considerable load off of your computer's CPU. As far as PCI audio cards go, the RME Hammerfall and Frontier Design Dakota are the ones to beat for this sort of application - I use the Dakota and the Montana expansion card. This gives me 32 channels of lightpipe I/O, which connects perfectly to two (optional) MY8-AT lightpipe cards in each AW4416 (I also have a Waves Y56K card, which also has lightpipe I/O, and while you can only use one of these cards per AW4416 at a time, it includes all the yummy Waves effects, which can further reduce the load on your computer and greatly increases the AW's horsepower). You can route directly out of the AW4416 and into the computer via the lightpipes and PCI card in "real time" if you want, or track with the AW and transfer to the computer as needed for editing. The portability of the AW is a big advantage for a lot of people - take it to gigs for live recording, or to pratice or to a place with great acoustics... moving the AW is a lot easier than moving a computer DAW setup around... or than moving a piano from your friend's living room over to your studio... The computer can be used for the mixing or you can use the AW's mixer, which is what I usually do, with the computer doing supplementary mixing and processing tasks, but either way is easily possible and really just a matter of personal choice. In either case, a single AW with dual lightpipe cards interfaced to a computer with a RME or Frontier Design card can give you 32 discrete tracks, each on its own fader, each with 4 band EQ, dynamics, blah blah blah... pretty impressive power! Unexpected needs? A MIDI interface (the Dakota has a 2x2 - expandable to 8x8 as an option) for MTC sync between the AW and the computer, and maybe a master word clock generator like the Lucid GENx6 for increased stability and accuracy in the Word Clock department. If you can deal with a single option card slot and "only" a 28 channel mixer, the AW2816 has many of the same capabilities and costs significantly less. AW4416's are going for about $2,500 new these days, while AW2816's run about $2K. The MY8-AT cards go for about $300 each and a RME or Frontier Dakota will set you back about $450 or so, and a GENx6 costs about $350. Oh, and the Waves Y56K is about $800 or so on the street - I think. I dunno - I bought mine directly from Waves as a beta tester, so I'm not really sure on that one... Anyway, IMO, the DAW with a hardware digital mixer or upscale SIAB (studio in a box - hardware DAW) is a very powerful combo. Phil O'Keefe Sound Sanctuary Recording Riverside CA http://www.ssrstudio.com pokeefe777@ssrstudio.com [ 11-28-2001: Message edited by: pokeefe777@msn.com ]

[dansouth]

If your computer is Firewire equiped (Macs, some PC's) the MOTU 828 is an inexpensive, easy to use audio interface for your computer. You can run signals out of the board and into the 828 with an ADAT lightpipe cable (very inexpensive).

[Philip OKeefe]

Another good choice - Dan's absolutely correct (and another happy AW4416 owner...) :) Oh, and if you're interested in more info on the AW series machines, check out: [url=http://www.aw4416.com]www.aw4416.com[/url] [url=http://www.aw2816.com]www.aw2816.com[/url] Phil O'Keefe Sound Sanctuary Recording Riverside CA http://www.ssrstudio.com pokeefe777@ssrstudio.com

[halljams]

Thanks for the ideas. Phil, you are one detailed Muthafucka! Always so full of great info.Thanks for takin the time. I hadn't considered that unit because i have a roland vs stand alone unit already. But i checked out the links and it is an interesting idea.And a pretty cheap way to go. Although i think i would rather put as much money toward getting the highest quality converters possible. I don't think want to pay for something i don't want or need like onboard storage.Do I?