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Multitrack Recorders

S

seanmoore

Anybody ever use one of those all-in-one multi-track "porta-studio" things for anything you do? I'm talking about those flash/hard drive deals with the faders and xlr/inputs already built-in - some with cut/paste and a jog wheel to do editing on using the tiny window?

I used to have a 4-track cassette version that I recorded really noisy, crappy, original punk-rock tunes on -- they are hours of fun -- but never used it for radio production.

I did work at a station that used a digital Roland multi-track something or other for production, but that was just a little before the software DAW takeover.

Anybody still using these things? Your thoughts/experiences appreciated.
 
seanmoore said:
Anybody still using these things? Your thoughts/experiences appreciated.
Click to expand...

In my previous life I sold hundreds of them from Tascam, Fostex and Akai. My advice is don't expect much. They were intended for hobby recording. That's it.

I used to get calls at 2:00 AM from purchasers who thought they could cut the next #1 album on them. They were disappointed. That was 15 years ago. It is not going to happen. They are the equivalent of having a note pad next to your bed to scribble down that brilliant thought you had at 3:45 AM. They were good at that. The march of technology has made them even less useful.
 
seanmoore said:
I did work at a station that used a digital Roland multi-track something or other for production, but that was just a little before the software DAW takeover.
Click to expand...

I also worked at a station that had a Roland DM80. They were great in their day, but not very useful now because of the lack of plug ins. However, they also had nice sounding converters for their time. and could be very useful for simpler things - plus, they're really cheap now, too.
 
These things do have a small niche in radio and that niche is field work. For that, they can be a good choice. Of course, a laptop is better, but the portastudio-type devices are fairly rugged and nicely suited for some kinds of work. I've heard of sportscasters using them to record interviews. Put each interview for the night on a track and solo it for playback at the best time. Sorta like having a 360 ShortCut on-location, but much cheaper and lighter.

In terms of commercial production and imaging, I can't see any good reason to spend the money on such a thing. If you're thinking it would be nice to get away from your mouse, look into control surfaces. From the top of my head, Mackie, M-Audio, Frontier, Tascam, Alesis and Behringer all have offerings in this category.

Emmett
 
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