digital recording workstation

the funny thing about technology is how easy it is to get lost in marketing terms. i have been researching digital recording stations for months now and they really come down to a handful of things. at least that's what i am reducing them to. i am looking to purchase the Fostex MR-8HD for my home studio.

my current setup uses a 12 channel mixer, with 4 XLR inputs (phantom powered), that i connect to my Mac with a 2-to-1 rca cable. i am using the "tape out" to bus it to the laptop. all my mics are mixed into a single stereo track in my software. this setup is great for me to record in GarageBand with, but i still have the one track at a time issue. and while i really enjoy the simplicity of recording in GarageBand i am getting to the point where i want to work with multi-tracking. i have no problem admitting there is no real reason, other than my own interest in my recording hobby, for doing this.

my main studio in the house is fine for 95% of my recording needs. with the studio i am building in the back yard i will be able to take care of just about everything. but there is still that wonderful little hallway in the middle of my house. so all of these reasons are why i am going for a hybrid solution.

this is where it gets a little crazy. you can easily get lost in the recording station options. while i am going for a portable option you can get into a total computer based solution. the first issue i have here is that you have to look at the quality of the sound card. sound card cost alone is why i am going for a standalone unit. i can't justify spending the bucks to get multiple inputs for the computer before you take into account the software to handle everything. i also want to portability and i don't care to move my laptop around with the mic's, cables and mic stands.

granted i will still be moving the recording station, mic's, cables, and stands. for me that doesn't seem like too bad an option with batteries running everything. while i don't plan to move around all that much, i do want to record a couple tracks in a space that sounds really good. my house has a really neat little hallway with good acoustics. however it's in the middle of the house and the kids won't give me a lot of time. so the ability to take a recording station there with a mic or two is really ideal for me.