my shopping list for first home studio

[wannaknow]

I'm putting together a hobby project studio for me and my sons. I have imac 24" 2.66ghz dualcore 4g ram 540g hd 7200rom I want to buy yamaha aw1600 recorder krk5 orkrk8 monitors yamaha mo8 synth. or mo6. and a couple of good mics. can I get the same results with some less expensive gear? If so what and why? I'm not familiar with other brands of studio gear any help will be greatly appreciated. also my sons are 13 and 11 yr. old & love music

[garageband]

This is already fairly inexpensive. I wouldn't go any cheaper. Sounds like an excellent set-up to start out with.

[String7th]

This Yamaha is a stand-alone recorder. It only has USB for data backup to a computer. This is not a computer interface.

I googled prices and it sells for $1000. There are waaaaaaay cheper interfaces for computer recording. 2-channel interfaces start as low as $150 new. 8-channel start about $300 for the Presonus FP10. Look a little more into what an interface does and if you want to go stand-alone recorder or computer recording

[wannaknow]

Originally Posted by String7th

This Yamaha is a stand-alone recorder. It only has USB for data backup to a computer. This is not a computer interface.

I googled prices and it sells for $1000. There are waaaaaaay cheper interfaces for computer recording. 2-channel interfaces start as low as $150 new. 8-channel start about $300 for the Presonus FP10. Look a little more into what an interface does and if you want to go stand-alone recorder or computer recording

I think I prefer a stand alone recorder for mobility. can I mix on the aw1600?

[String7th]

Originally Posted by wannaknow

can I mix on the aw1600?

Yep, that's what stand-alones do. Aside from mics and cables, This is the only hardware you need to record, mix and burn to CD. (assuming it's got the CD burner option installed)

Before you decide mobility is the deciding factor, here's a list of pros and cons to stand-alones:


Cons:
limited number of simultaneous inputs, no add-on options.
Same limitations on outputs.
Limited number of mixing tracks, bouncing required for more than 8 channels.
Very complicated or non existant editing functions like undo, copy/paste, move, etc.
Very limited effect processing without external hardware.
Tiny screen.

Pro:
mobility
. . . .

Wow, I used one for 3 years before moving to computer recording and I seriously can;t think of any other pro feature. I could go on forever on the cons.

[Gold Sputtered]

Don't let String7th scare you. Use the AW1600 for laying the tracks. It is a lot easier to get your ideas down quickly with a multitrack than a computer. Then move the tracks to the computer for editing, mixing and mastering. Best way to do it.

[garageband]

Damn! My post from earlier didn't stick!

I agree with some of what string says. I had the predecessor of the 1600 and loved it. However:

Very limited effect processing without external hardware.

Isn't quite true. The DSP in the Yamaha is excellent. I had one for about a year and never found it wanting for quality or depth of processing. I have bunches of plugs now but that is actually a notch on the "pro" standalone side.

More Pros:
More stable platform. When was the last time a standalone crashed? Gave you some hexadecimal gibberish about why it didn't want to work?
Fast fast fast operation. Switch it on. You are hitting Record in just under a minute. Never happen on a computer.
Portability. (somewhat different form mobility) It's small and wraps up fast.
No external cabling.
One box, not three or more. Don't forget; to record and work on your laptop, you'll also need an external HD in addition to your external interface. This brings it back to portability.
Same sound quality. Have all the cool stuff of the standalone and dump it into the computer for editing. Or not.

Welcome GS, Love the avatar & the screenname.

[Husky Band]

I own a multi-track (Fostex VF16) and I now use a Firestudio and a laptop. As for portability I've got 2 pieces to my recorder as apposed to 1 piece. Here is how efficient my little rig is. I have a Firestudio, 2 Digimax's, 2 Behringer 4 channel headphone amps and a power conditioner/strip all in a 6 space short rack. You plug the power strip into the wall, plug the computer into the power strip and plug the firewire into the computer. That's 24 track with mic pre's with 8 headphone mixes you can carry in one trip. Recording with a portastudio isn't any easier than with a computer. Punching in is much easier with a DAW. Editing with a portastudio is a nightmare compared to a DAW. I don't know about the YAMAHA but my Fostex is limited to 16 tracks and 8 virtual tracks. My DAW is only limited by the power of my computer. So you can have as many tracks as you really need. So you can see, I'm no too big on the stand alone recorder compared to a good DAW. (jmho)

[wannaknow]

Thanks everyone! you all have been very helpful. sorry about the delay in responding. I live in Perth West Australia so I didn't go to sleep until almost 6am. Sat. morning my time. I will always respond since you take the time to try and help me. Again Thanks heaps

[wannaknow]

Originally Posted by Husky Band

I own a multi-track (Fostex VF16) and I now use a Firestudio and a laptop. As for portability I've got 2 pieces to my recorder as apposed to 1 piece. Here is how efficient my little rig is. I have a Firestudio, 2 Digimax's, 2 Behringer 4 channel headphone amps and a power conditioner/strip all in a 6 space short rack. You plug the power strip into the wall, plug the computer into the power strip and plug the firewire into the computer. That's 24 track with mic pre's with 8 headphone mixes you can carry in one trip. Recording with a portastudio isn't any easier than with a computer. Punching in is much easier with a DAW. Editing with a portastudio is a nightmare compared to a DAW. I don't know about the YAMAHA but my Fostex is limited to 16 tracks and 8 virtual tracks. My DAW is only limited by the power of my computer. So you can have as many tracks as you really need. So you can see, I'm no too big on the stand alone recorder compared to a good DAW. (jmho)

About how much did your recording rig cost? price/value is a consideration. My computer is a desktop. I'm just learning how to operate one. My sons are my tech. team.