maybe even back on topic: Re: [sdiy] Should I repair my Fostex, or should I go HD recording?

[JH.]

>
> the *GOOD* quality convertors will cost more, there's no doubt of that.
> the converters I have sound stunning, but worth *EVERY* penny. When I
first
> heard I was gobsmacked, everything was suddely so clear. You havn't lived
> until you've heard a track recorded and played back through 24bit
convertors
> at 192Khz!

Hi Paul - so which one do you use / would you recommend?


> Don't be so sure about not wanting virtual stuff, there are some great
> sounding FX and synths out there.

No doubt about that. But I have pretty much all the synths I ever wanted.
What I don't have is a Mellotron, B3, Grand piano - that would be nice
in software. But that would only be Step 2 (obviously costing extra
Dollars).
Step 1 is going Digital recording, if possible with a free Software and -as
I see it now - 400 ... 500 Dollars Hardware.


> > Ease of use is important, and low price. No need for anything more than
> > making a pre-mix of n HD tracks to 8 outputs.
>
> stick with the fostex then, but its a shame to limit yourself to only 8
> tracks.

No, this is a misunderstanding: I would *embrace* more tracks (probably
the main argument for going digital!), I just don't want to go back to less
than
8 channels of *simultanous* recording and 8-bus playback. So i need
a 8in/8out card and a smaller one will not be enough. OTOH having *more*
I/O channels is not supported by my mixing desk. Unless - well I could start
to use the direct channel outputs instead of the busses. Now that would be
great, 16 analogue inputs for the PC! (Even more expensive I suppose ..)

Thinking about it even further, I might even come back on topic: I could
just use my Tascam desk for *monitoring*. I could build a box with16 tube
preamps myself, each channel with two outputs (PC and th eold desk),
so for recording I wouldn't even have the Tascam desk in the audio path.
This starts to look more and more interesting (and diy-related) now!

JH.