LiveMusic Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 My head is swimming. So, I will have some extra money this week. I need a way to produce demos. What I've done through my p.c. so far is poor quality. Mostly due to crappy hardware. I've read till I'm blue in the face. I also need a new laptop. I can limp along, I don't have to have it but I do need one for business and music, as well. And money is an issue. What do you think of Zoom MRS802 ? I can get it for $550 without the CD or $700 with. The CD can be bought later for $300. Yikes. How important is an internal burner? Is this going to be a pain in the butt NOT having an internal CD burner? I was pretty settled on getting a $300 something (stand-alone digital recorder) from Zoom, Boss, Fostex, Tascam, etc. And it WOULD work. But people started saying "You MUST have this or that... get a nicer recorder." So, now I'm up to $550 with the Zoom MRS802B. Or, I could apply the $550 to a laptop. I might could buy a used laptop for that. And then get recording software. I wonder if I would have to upgrade the sound card? Bonus is that I could learn how to use the laptop in live gigging. I don't want to produce crappy demos. As good as I can get them. But running down to a studio every time, I can't keep doing that. I have 200 songs to demo. No lie. (The best ones have to be done really well and the others, just archived in case something happens to me.) I would be recording acoustic guitar, arranger keyboard and singing. Heck, I wish I was rich. It's so confusing. If nothing else, do you have an opinion on that Zoom MRS802B or does another model strike your fancy? > > > [ Live! ] < < < Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 The computer route will give you the most power, but it will also cost more than a stand-alone. Even if you are to find a budget laptop at around $1000 you still have to factor in anywhere from $200+ for an interface plus software. Have you checked out e-bay for some used stand-alones? I'd imagine you could get an older Roland VS-880 or similiar unit for dirt cheap these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rog Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 I'd recommend an iBook. You get Garageband free which can be a very powerful program. There are plenty of interfaces around but something like a Metric Halo ULN-2 would suit you very well. Good interfaces aren't cheap though they are well worth it. "That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." - Banky Edwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 <> Good answer. When Tascam came out with the 2488 (with 24 tracks, CD burner, effects, etc.) for $1500, that kind of started depressing the prices of older gear a bit more. Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super 8 Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 Originally posted by LiveMusic: Heck, I wish I was rich. It's so confusing. No. Because then you would buy something really nice and expensive, and it would be so full-blown that you would have no clue how to operate it. I liked the used Roland VS-880 idea. You've got 8 discrete tracks, plus virtual tracks, which should be plenty for anything you are looking at doing. I have a couple of the rackmount versions, and they do a fine job. You'll want to get familiar with the manual if you get one. They are fairly straight forward in most areas, but some things require a few buttons to be pressed, and it takes a little getting used to. At least that's how it is with the rackmount VSR's. The laptop based route, I think, will end up costing you a fortune. There will always be some 'bottleneck' that needs to be upgraded. And then there may be compatibility or latency issues to deal with. For what you are doing, you don't need all of that. Actually, people were doing just fine with their little cassette 4-trackers for many years. So, you should have no problem finding something that will meet your needs for a good price. Check Ebay. Super 8 Hear my stuff here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 Here\'s just one cheap VS-880's that I found on e-bay with a buy it now price of $350! If you can, buy one with with a built-in burner, otherwise, you can pick up a cheap pro audio soundcard with digital input like an M-Audio Audiophile for $150 and use your computer's CD burner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveMusic Posted June 21, 2004 Author Share Posted June 21, 2004 Originally posted by Dylan PDX: VS-880 What does V-Expanded mean for this unit? If you can, buy one with with a built-in burner, otherwise, you can pick up a cheap pro audio soundcard with digital input like an M-Audio Audiophile for $150 and use your computer's CD burner.Probably a stupid question... what does having a good soundcard have to do with this... if you have a standalone recorder, you will be creating audio files. Then you can import to computer and burn a CD or make an mp3, right? I mean, you wouldn't play the file through the soundcard like you have to do with a minidisc file and THEN burn. Right? I don't understand. > > > [ Live! ] < < < Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbach1 Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Originally posted by LiveMusic: Originally posted by Dylan PDX: VS-880 What does V-Expanded mean for this unit? If you can, buy one with with a built-in burner, otherwise, you can pick up a cheap pro audio soundcard with digital input like an M-Audio Audiophile for $150 and use your computer's CD burner.Probably a stupid question... what does having a good soundcard have to do with this... if you have a standalone recorder, you will be creating audio files. Then you can import to computer and burn a CD or make an mp3, right? I mean, you wouldn't play the file through the soundcard like you have to do with a minidisc file and THEN burn. Right? I don't understand.The thing is you can purchase a decent digital sound card for you computer and use the computer hardrive and cd burner. The sound card will have the input-output interphase either built in or (better) with a remote interphase so you don't have to have access to the back of the computer. I'm only about 10 months into guitar playing but I've been a computer buff since back in the commodore 64 days. I'm not an expert but I can usually get far enough into a computer problem to really screw it up. I bought an Echo-Darla 24 sound card. It won't be here until tomorrow, but I intend on running my mixer outs into the Darla. With some good software, I should be able to have a lot of fun. I do not know just yet what kind of quality I will be able to achieve, but I'm looking forward to using it. This now completes my little home studio, except that my hard drive is going to have to be seriously upgraded to handle the size of the files. I paid $141 for the Echo Darla used. I am going to do a search for some free or low priced software for now. I don't know what comes with the Echo Darla but I think nothing but the drivers. I also have a Tascom 4 track tape recorder. I don't know if that will come into play here or not. bbach Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak Lander Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Originally posted by cwfno: I am going to do a search for some free or low priced software for now. I don't know what comes with the Echo Darla but I think nothing but the drivers. I also have a Tascom 4 track tape recorder. I don't know if that will come into play here or not.Two nice little multi-track recording programs to try. Audacity Kristal Both are reasonably easy to learn and work pretty well. Our Joint "When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it." The Duke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super 8 Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Originally posted by LiveMusic: What does V-Expanded mean for this unit? It's probably some memory expansion or something. Whatever it is, you want it. Probably a stupid question... what does having a good soundcard have to do with this... if you have a standalone recorder, you will be creating audio files. Then you can import to computer and burn a CD or make an mp3, right? I mean, you wouldn't play the file through the soundcard like you have to do with a minidisc file and THEN burn. Right? I don't understand.If you plan on getting audio into your computer, you will need some kind of interface. Or, you can use the 'Audio In' jacks on your soundcard, which will work fine, but the quality won't be optimal. Based on what the rackmount version has, the VS-880 should have coaxial digital outputs, as well as optical, and an R-Bus interface (which is a powerful way to transfer audio, but would require a special card for your computer). It will also have standard analog outputs, and a SCSI interface for you to connect a CD burner. You'll need a soundcard that can either connect digitally or via analog if you plan on transfering audio to your computer. Or You can just go with the CD burner, make a CD, and stick the CD into your computer if you want to mess with the audio and turn it into MP3 or whatever. Super 8 Hear my stuff here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveMusic Posted June 21, 2004 Author Share Posted June 21, 2004 The VS-880 says "Built-in SCSI port offers storage/interface with a variety of drives, computer peripherals, etc." I have an old portable Phillips CDRW, hardly ever used it. I bought this in 1999 I think. 400 Series CDRW is what is says on it. Whatever that means. It connected by USB. It also has one red and one white female 1/8" jack in the back. So, is there any way I could use this portable CDRW? That would be nice, it's hardly used. Another stupid question. If that burner is usable... uh... HOW? I can't remember but I assume I hooked it up to my laptop and used some software to burn. Does the Roland VS-880 have a menu or dedicated button to prompt you to burn or... confused again. > > > [ Live! ] < < < Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super 8 Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Probably not. The RCA jacks on the back may be left and right outputs. Also, the VS-880 doesn't use USB. USB was either not around, or in it's infancy when the VS came out. SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) works quite well. It's old, but it's very fast. So, unfortunately your CDr probably won't work with both USB and SCSI. Here's one on Ebay that should fit the bill. $145.00 *CLICK ME* As a sidenote: there is an FX card that can be plugged into the VS-880 which is well worth having. You should be able to find a VS with the card included if you look a bit. Even if you didn't keep the card, you could sell it on Ebay for about $200, which would certainly help you recoup your expenses for the VS or the CDr. But if it were me, I'd keep the card, 'cause it sounds really good... Here's one with the card and a case, plus a video manual. *CLICK ME* The seller is new though, so be careful. Also, another thought: Our good brother Phil O'Keefe had a couple of nice Yamaha recorders that he was talking about getting rid of. Definitely worth a look! Hope this is helping... Super 8 Hear my stuff here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbach1 Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 From what I understand, Super 8 has it right when talking about optical interphase. To achieve true digital sound you have to have complete digital interphase including a cable capable of transferring digital. My setup, using rca cables, is actuall analog as I understand things. Correct me if I'm wrong. bbach Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Originally posted by LiveMusic: Probably a stupid question... what does having a good soundcard have to do with this... if you have a standalone recorder, you will be creating audio files. Then you can import to computer and burn a CD or make an mp3, right? I mean, you wouldn't play the file through the soundcard like you have to do with a minidisc file and THEN burn. Right? I don't understand.In order to mix down the stereo mix from the VS-880 to your PC AND keep it in its true digital format, you will need a soundcard with digital inputs like the Audiophile or Echo MIA. Otherwise, you're going digital to analog from the VS and analog to digital on the PC. If you go with the Roland VS-880 then you will most definitely want to get one of the compatible burners to archive your projects. If my memory serves me correctly, the VS series came with relatively small hard drives by todays standards and the only way to backup was either with a compatible SCSI burner or DAT backup (yikes!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super 8 Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Originally posted by Dylan PDX: the only way to backup was either with a compatible SCSI burner or DAT backup (yikes!).It works with those little IO Mega Jaz mini-disks too. Super 8 Hear my stuff here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted June 22, 2004 Share Posted June 22, 2004 Oh yeah, I forgot about Iomega. Just about every Iomega drive I have used has gone tits up eventually, so I'd avoid them like the plague if at all possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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