Any advice for a studio about to upgrade to HD and

[Audiodude]

Hey all,

First a little background:

I've been running a Mix Plus system with a Yamaha O2R for about 5 years now and have absolutely loved the flexibility it allowed me in my studio (http://www.audiodigital.com). I am jumping on the Mix Plus to HD Accel bandwagon and am rethinking the entire configuration of my system and would surely appreciate any input from collegues.

I run alot of MIDI gear; 22 of the 24 mic channels on the O2R are hardwired to my keys and v-drums. I like being able to keep MIDI tracks midi, but be able to process them digitally either in the O2R or by bussing into PT without committing them to audio tracks on disc.

I also teach guitar and bass, so I need to power up my sound rig without necessarily powering up the computer and PT.

So, my quandary is this: what do I do with the O2R? Does it make sense for me to buy an O2R/96 and put it ahead of an HD Accel system? Should I bail on the O2R and go with a Control 24? I'm kinda likin the idea of bailing on all the different stuff and moving towards a tight, integrated system, but I am equally afraid of loosing anything in the flexibility of my system. Will I like Control 24 after using an O2R for 6 years? In all honesty, the O2R is the only large(ish) console I have ever really worked on. Can I use a Control 24 the same way I have been using the O2R? How about if I use one of the 96i i/os for my line stuff?

Was really not planning on doing anything like this until the announcement for the end of development for Mix systems. Now I have to make some pretty big decisions pretty fast to keep my studio humming along. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


Gene
Audio Digital
www.audiodigital.com
www.americagomorrah.com
www.cprogrock.com