Hi guys,
A friend of mine and I are looking to start a live recording venture here on my campus, and we have some questions about gear. The main box that I've been looking at is the M-Audio Firewire 1814. Reviews seem to be generally good, but some I've read note driver issues. Has anyone had any experience with this box?

Alternatively, any suggestions as to other boxes we should be looking at? The Digidesign Digi 002 Rack is an option, but is rather expensive. The Mackie Onyx series also looks quite nice, but damn, I don't think we can afford one of those. Our requirements are:
Firewire or USB 2.0 connection
Compatibility with ProTools (alternatively Garageband, but Pro Tools would be better)
No less than 8 inputs (we'll be recording for a cappella groups, which use a multitude of mics)
Somewhat portable - we'll be in situations where sometimes plugging in will just not be possible, so bus power would be awesome.
Must be rock-solid on a G4 Powerbook - this shouldn't be a problem, but I figured I'd note it just in case.

Thanks for the help!

plus_c,

I think you'll find more recording related info on the Steve Hoffman forum.

I wonder, when will Jude ban me for always recommending other forums.

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll try there. Figured I'd post here first though, since I know and like this forum

Try www.taperssection.com as well

The 1820m would be something to consider. I don't know if it works with Macs.

I'd suggest you'll get MUCH better results recording acapella groups with a stereo pair, rather than individually micing everyone.

A pair of good mics into a good preamp in the right location is the perfect way to record unamplified music.

Thanks for the input, everyone.

Grawk - if the groups were un-amplified during the performance, I'd be very inclined to agree with you. However, most of the a cappella groups on my campus perform in large spaces, and are amplified. What I'm planning on doing is taking the signal straight out from the mixing board. I've tried this in dual-channel, and it works well. Having a multi-track recording is just a logical extension of that, giving me the flexibility to make tweaks to the sound to get it to its best on the CD. For example, one group I work closely with used 11 mics in their last concert - 4 for the arc, 2 solos, one for each of the basses, and three for the vocal percussionist. Using a standard Mackie mixing board, I can get away with less than 8 inputs. However, it'd be nice to have more for the flexibility.

I still think you'd get better results flying a stereo pair in the sweet spot in front of them rather than taking a board feed.

That said, the m-audio firewire solution should be rock solid.

So the mixing board has 8 outputs to feed the m-audio?

Yep, 8 at the very least. Like I said earlier, last concert I used 11 mics, and some groups individually mic every member, so there could potentially be more.

Quote:



plus_c, the M-audio firewire box is fine to get you started. Realize that if you're capturing any premix busses off of the house board, you'll be locked into a premix that might be good for the house, but not so good for recording.

If the group is performing in a nice hall, I wouldn't discount grabbing a well-positioned stereo pair, as recommended by grawk. It would simplify your setup and if the house sound guy knows what he's doing (I assume this is a concert hall?), the presentation should be fairly clean with the right mics AND you'll have channels left for spot mics. That brings us to another question... what mics are you using (if any). I assume that since you're actually starting a recording venture, you won't always be able to rely on the feeds from house.

Also, if you're looking to capture 8 channels or more, you may want to check out a Roland or Yamaha multi-track HD recorder. You really can't beat the stability, reliability, and routing flexibility of one of those over a laptop/software solution. You can always port the tracks later over to your fav sequencer and edit to your heart's content.

If you're absolutely stuck with going laptop (maybe 'cuz you won't have access to house mains all the time... though I can't think of why that would ever be the case...), check the MOTU and Echo products. They are insanely stable and Mac-friendly, oh yeah... and they are of superb quality as well.

There's lots to understand before hitting that glowing "record" button, esp. if you're talkin' about gettin' paid. If there's one thing I've learned over the years (as long as you're serious about sticking with this), get top-notch, high-quality equipment. If you ever need to unload it, and you've taken good care of your kit, you'll capture most of your investment money back. If you go cheap, you'll experience a much faster depreciation curve.

At the end of the day, what piece of kit will fit your situation best is a big "IT DEPENDS"... what uses are you forseeing with that box? ...will you be using top-shelf mics with them? (if that's the case, you'll be wanting to some decent micpre's that can take advantage of those mics) ...how much is in your budget to startup? ...what are the situations you'll be recording in? ...what types of music? ...and on and on and on...

Take a look at some of those forums others have recommended, as well as...

http://www.recording.org/index.php

The more specific and detailed your description is of your situation, the easier it is for people to help you.

Best of luck to you!!

Access to house mains won't be a problem - in many cases, my partner and I will be the house sound guy as well. (Here at Penn, performance venues are often various auditoriums and lecture halls that don't have pre-existing house sound - so the university rents equipment, and will actually let students run it.)

The multi-track recorder is a nice consideration, but I don't think we'll be able to afford really top-shelf gear. I'm graduating end of next year, and my partner will be in two years, so breaking even quickly is kind of important for us. I envision being able to pass down the business to other enterprising tech folks, but for now, I think we're going to be staying fairly low-end.

We've learned a lot by being the sound folks for Penn's various a cappella groups , and this year has been particularly eye-opening for me wrt recording. I think we know enough to get started now, and the only way to get better is to actually start doing it, so here goes.