Portable Home Recording Studios

[johnto]

Hi folks

I want to try doing some home recording and am looking at buying an easy-to-use portable home recording studio. I'm pretty thick as far as using these sort of things goes so the more basic it is the better!

Basically I just want to put down guitars, bass, keyboards, vocals and perhaps my mate's electronic drum kit.
I'm hoping someone can give me some advise on where to start.

I've seen the Zoom R8 Portable 8-Track Digital Recorder for sale at a few places for under £200 and was wondering if anybody here has used one of these and if you think a dummy like me would be able to get to grips with it!

Any suggestions and advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance
John

[JimN]

Have you thought of using a multi-track recording programme on your computer?

Adobe Audition (which used to be Syntrillion Cool Edit Pro) can do the job, or, better still (because it's a free download), Audacity.

JN

[johnto]

Hi Jim

Thanks for your quick reply. I did buy an Aviv M-Audio computer based recording interface c/w software about a year ago (I'm not sure if this is similar to what you're suggesting?) but really struggled to use it. I even had a couple of mates come around to try to help me but we gave up. I really wanted something that I could use independently of the computer. Any ideas?
Thanks

[des mcneill]

Hi Johnto,
I share your reservations but purchased a Zoom R16 multitrack recorder and find it very easy to use,unlike some of the other ones I have tried. Unfortunately I have no knowledge of the R8 so can't comment on it.

Des.

[Didier]

Jean-Claude who run the French Shadows forum with me has a Zoom R16 and has done excellent recordings with it. The only thing to take care of is the size limit for recording files.

Didier

[johnto]

Hi Jim / Des / Didier

Thanks for your replies. I'll take a close look at the Zoom R16.
Much appreciated - cheers!

[roger bayliss]

I have used a Zoom MRS 8 and got good results with it.

The main downsides are only 2 recorded inputs at once ( R16 and R24 models do more)
The EQ sections are limited (as they are on most cheap multi tracks)
No external send or return bus so cannot use external effects or EQs etc.

However if you want to you can pass a wav file between the Zoom and a software studio on your computer and have best of both worlds. That way you can use vst plugins for eq etc to shape up the file.

I am toying with the idea of upgrading to a Tascam DP24 which has an external send and return bus so I can use external effects.

Whether software or hardware they both have their pluses and minuses. Software is not cheap and is computer and operating system specific and need a good computer to run it. Beware of latency issues and get a good interface to get the guitar connected to the computer.

If you want the cheap option and a reasonable job the Zoom is at less than £200 a good choice and you could say use free Audacity software for vst eq models to shape the sound a bit by making a wav file and manipulating in Audacity before returning to Zoom to finalise and master (Mastering effects are good on Zoom).

Bear in mind if recording drums you might need about 8 inputs to record and a unit recording only 2 inputs at a time is no good !

[johnto]

Thanks so much for that information Roger - very helpful!

[mojolomjl]

Like you I had a hard time with PC based recording and gave it up before insanity took over
I now have a Boss BR900CD which even I found fairly simple to use once you get some practice
with the controls. The best thing about the BR900CD is that you can import your BTs direct from
a CD and when your recording is complete you can mix, master and burn to a CD without going
near a PC. There is also a full range of effects, a rhythm section and loads of drum patterns.
Boss do a range of BR recorders so you could do some research to see if there is one
that fits your requirements. I should add that you can also connect to your PC DAW for finer
mixing and editing then back to recorder for burning to CD.

[roger bayliss]

I have tried both methods and yes the software is very confusing.
I have found it best to look at it from two angles

1. Wav style editing - simpler like Audacity
2. Multi track mixing and mastering. More complex !

Some have video and MIDI editing views as well depending on software.

I find it best to record in wav style editing and to apply effects eq etc to shape the sound. Only problem is you do not get the rest of the mix around the single tone you are editing so multi track view is better then.

Most have a view switch button to change between wav and multi track views.

A multi-track track can hold any number of wav files (and other types like MIDI) So you have to bring the wav into a track to use it. Each track usually has eq/effects sections and the last one is usually the Master track.

The multi track section is therefore for mixing, mix downs and mastering but also for eq and effects on tracks. The wav section is for manipulation of a single intended track and effects and eq and manipulation of a single file can be done in this view.

Never easy is it but I find thinking in those two main modes helps me use the software and I got hold of Audition and that was a great tool I found overall. I found Reaper a bit harder (but free to try and evaluate) .

Audacity is really a wave editor a limited multi-track studio.