Which drive to record to? 002R, professional?

[dividedsci]

Hello everybody, I have a few questions. Lets say I have a C drive, D drive, and an external firewire drive. Which drive would be best to record to? Which would be best to mix from, and bounce the final mix to? Please let me know your opinions, also, has anyone ever recorded a full-length professional album using the digirack 002? I would also add a Digimax LT for more inputs. Right now I use an mbox for recording demos, which works fine for that, but I was thinking of upgrading to the 002, if you can get professional results (lets just assume I have a very stable and compatible system for the 002, and good mics, ranging from $100 to $700). And I mean just recording, I would probably take the session to a real studio for mixing, because I think a TDM system is essential for mixing a professional album, right? thanks!

[Ragged Edge]

a TDM system is essential for mixing a professional album, right? thanks!

not really, but a good engineer is.

[bassntreble]

....because I think a TDM system is essential for mixing a professional album, right? thanks!

well, I mixed a professional album for a Sony sub-label with a MOTI 2408 a bunch of years ago.

Now I mix professional singles with PTLE and an MBox.

[BookSix]

Being able to make a professional recording on any LE system always causes confusion. Yes it's possible. Easily done. But what's your experience level? How much engineering experience do you have? How skilled are you/your musicians - playing and tuning/maintaining instruments? What do you consider a "professional level" recording? Etc... Remember, there is a reason studio's and professional engineers get paid what they do...

[johnnyreno]

It's the people, not the tools. A good engineer could (and I imagine some still do) mix an album on tape machines and no computer. I don't know enough about Windows to know the diff between a "C" and "D" drive but a fast internal ATA drive or a qualified firewire drive are great for recording and bouncing to, just don't use your system drive.

[dividedsci]

Thanks for the responses, they are helpful. I guess I probably should have posted my first question on the windows forum, but the C drive is the main system drive. D drive is my secondary internal drive. I guess I just wanted to know which would be better to record to, the secondary internal drive, or an external firewire drive. Booksix, I have recorded one full length album in a top notch studio. As far as recording, the main reasons I can see for going to that kind of studio is the mics. But its so expensive, that I would rather try it at home, and have an unlimited amount of time recording, if an expanded 002r system would be sufficient. I am a professional musician, i check my tuning before each take, and I know enough about recording to be able to run a tracking session. If you take the good mics out of the equation, I am wondering if there is any point in tracking at an expensive studio, if you can get similar results with an expanded 002r. I guess my main question is, from a tracking perspective, is there much difference between the 002r LE system and a TDM system. I know the main power of a TDM system is more for mixing, at least I think it is. In any case, I would still mix my session at a real studio, because the engineers have a lot of experience, and they have a wealth of plugins and outboard gear. Any other opinions would be very helpful, thanks!