Backup recording device?

[valleysound]

I have no back-up recording device for my mobile rig. I'm trying to budget it in right now and wanted some opinions. I've seen several posters say that they use a different medium than their main recorder. IE: main to harddrive, backup to tape. You've seen me run my mouth about my Metric Halos and Presonus pre-amps. I'm thinking of getting an APC Smart UPS(finally!) and an Alesis HD24. So my main rig of the Metric Halos will be performing the AD conversion and lightpipe to the HD24, or lightpipe out of the Digimax 96k to the HD24.
Basically, what is out there for 24 tracks up to 96 khz? $2000 budget. I record 44.1 right now and can do 96khz, but there is a job that I may need the higher rate for video and want my butt covered with a capable backup. The backup may end up as main recorder for smaller gigs.

[joelpatterson]

I live right out there on the edge, multi-tracking to my Alesis HD-24 without any backup at all. None.

If some people want to think this is foolhardy, I can't argue I guess... but then, the machine has always performed flawlessly... and if the idea of a "backup" is some kind of two-track, well then in my multi-tracking set-up, I don't have a two channel "mix" to record anyway. What my customers have come to expect is a carefully crafted blend of the multiple tracks, done in the serenity of the studio afterwards.

I don't know what I would do with a two channel "backup." Certainly, not let anyone hear it.

[ClickTrackAudio]

The mantra of live recording...

...please..everyone...repeat after me:

"You only get one chance to get it right."

"You only get one chance to get it right."

"You only get one chance to get it right."



Your machine may have done well to date and been flawless, but what happens on that ONE day that the machine decides THAT will be the day to seek to unfurl its wrath onto the world as a result of a childhood without loving parents?

Sure I'm being melodramatic, but that's what you'll be thinking when you have to face the client saying "Umm...yea...you know that recording we were supposed to make... ...well ...umm....you know...a funny thing happened...you'll never believe this...umm...but...well...."

Sure your clients pay for a well crafted mix, but running a two track is at least SOMETHING. And SOMETHING is miles better that NOTHING when the fit hits the shan.

I have a saying:

Murphy is an asshole.

Why? Because whenever he can, Murphy manages to not just make life hard, he manages to do it in the strangest most oblique manner.

Don't be a Murphy victim.


Back to the original question.

I think the Digimax/HD24 is a good combination for what you're trying to do. I've frequently dissed the HD24 for its inadequacies in the live environment (small arming buttons...bad for a dark room....pathetic if not non existant sync options to the rest of the world...I could go on) but as a small-system, standalone backup, these don't matter as much. ..and given your price point, this seems to fit your budget a little better than some of the more esoteric options.

Just a few thoughts as I prepare for a load in...

Cheers!

[travisgarrison]

Originally Posted by valleysound

what is out there for 24 tracks up to 96 khz?

First of all, it's great to see another soul from the Upper Valley on Gearslutz. I'm at Dartmouth now - home is in Wilder.

OK, on to the topic. As much as I love my Alesis HD24, it is unfortunately limited to recording 12 tracks at higher sampling rates. (88.2, 96) Even the HD24XR with the improved converters only adds the ability to record analog sources at higher sampling rates. Both models are still limited to 12 tracks with analog or digital I/O at 96.

However, I'm completely happy with the quality I get at 44.1. I suppose if your main system is running at 96 and your backup runs at 44.1, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. The only time I've ever had to resort to a backup, it was only to cover a momentary glitch in the main system. It's unlikely that your entire main recording would be hosed. For small "repair" work, the difference in sampling rate will go unnoticed.

On the other hand, you can always get 2 HD24's and run them in sync to get 24 tracks at 96.

Travis Garrison

[jslevin]

There's nothing cheaper in this vein than a Mackie SDR. Folks have told me it will do 24 tracks at 96K, all analog, but only 12 are supported at 96 -- and the converters really aren't good enough for the higher resolution to matter. Mine has always been rock-solid (though I'm about to sell it).

Your 2882 will only output four channels at 96K of course, since it doesn't have dual optical outs. An RME Fireface in this respect would be better, or more of your Presonus pieces.

I tend to agree with travisgarrison that it seems like 44.1 should suffice as a backup. If you must have 24 @ 96, a pair of Mackie SDR boxes seems like the most cost-effective way to go, and more than ample quality.

JSL

[joelpatterson]

Originally Posted by ClickTrackAudio

... what happens on that ONE day ...

Indeed, then I will shed the bitterest tears of regret and rage. As a matter of fact, I was pretty bitter on the day the power failed, and I discovered that until you hit STOP the data is not really recorded. Not even "not really," more like not at all whatsoever. AAARGH!

[Remoteness]

Ahh, the beautiful digtal hard drive media....

Rather leave home without them but, cannot 'cause everyone wants them.