Eighteen track simultaneous recording

[dBHEAD]

Up until now I've only used the analog inputs on my 001 interface, so I've never tried to record more than eight tracks simultaneously.

However, a few weeks from now I've got a project coming up where I will attempt to record at least 16 tracks simultaneously (and maybe 18). I'll be taking 8 tracks via light pipe out of a Mackie d8B and then another 8 through the analog inputs. It's possible I may also use the S/PDIF input as well.

Anyway, I'm wondering what people's experiences have been like trying to record that many tracks and what they have in terms of computer processing power, RAM and hard drive.

I've got a 450 mHz DP G-4, 256 megs of RAM and a Glyph firewire drive. I know the processor should be up to the job, but should I get more RAM and will I have to go SCSI? I don't have an SCSI card now (nor hard drive), but if it will be necessary to get them I want to get that taken care of immediately so I'll be ready.

Anyway, I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has tried to record more than 10 tracks simultaneously and how things went.

[vf124]

Nice read...far be it for me to know about 18 tracks, I'm waiting for Sweetwater to send my "New" Micro Box any day now [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Anyway, in Chapter 8, pg. 127 of "Producing in the Home Studio with Pro Tools" by David Franz, he covers doing this exact setup...

Chapter 8, titled "Advanced Studio Setup" is wicked cool...man, the awesome power of the 001...

Peace

[Nine Spine]

G4 733, 1.5 gig Ram, I have tracked 15 inputs at once using my 001 but never using the SPDIF ins (I don't have a preamp that would send one chan SPDIF L and the other Chan SPDIF R.). I use the analog ins and the light pipe ins. When the hardware buffer is set to 128 there is a 2-3 second delay from when I hit record until the transport acutally starts moving, but this doesn't affect performance. As far as the 18 inputs at once thing is concerned I would think you would need a mixer with a digital out so you could route one mic hard left and another one hard right. Tascams USB 428 thing will do this, but I think with that you'd be stuck at 16 bit?? I could be wrong about this, either way my system handles my inputs and as long as you have the equipment to do this you should be fine. I'd be leary about the firewire drive myself but it sounds like your looking into other options.

Good Luck.

[Burton]

I'm using and RME ADI-8 a/d box into the ADAT in's along with another 8 channels of analog into the 001 (through an A&H mixer). I routinely (every day) record 12 tracks simultaneously on a 466mHz G4, 512meg. I have recorded 16 tracks on a few occasions, and other than the delay before recording starts (as mentioned in the above post), everything worked fine.


For a brief while I was using a firewire drive and it SUCKED!!! Much slower than the 2nd internal IDE drive. I think that you might run into problems with the firewire drive keeping up with the 16 tracks of recording in 24-bit mode.

[menacemedia]

I would definitely suggest beefing up your RAM to at least 512M just for the hell of it.

[insta-fame]

16 tracks to internal ata/ide drive works every day for me.

[yoz]

18 tracks no problem, 8 analog, 8 via AI-3 and rest 2 from digital output of my TRAK master (it has line input for second spdif channel) which is sync master, 256 megs ram, IDE drive when 24bit 44.1 no problem, when 24 bit 48k, sometimes get 6045err...

[where02190]

More ram and an internal IDE drive would make this possible. the Event Electronics EZBus gives you lightpipe and SPDIF @24 bit I believe, plus a whole lot more

[dBHEAD]

Thanks for the responses. Looks like a new hard drive is in the equation. And yeah, given how incredibly cheap RAM has become I think I'll get some more of that too. I was looking at a MAC catalog from 1997 earlier today. Most of the Power Macs came with 16 MB of RAM (some only had 8!) and a 1.2 Gig hard drive (which was considered HUGE compared to the Macs of the early 1990s (250 megs).

Anyway, RAM cost 110 bucks for an additional 16 megs; 450 bucks for an additional 64 megs. Blank CDs cost about eight bucks each and CD burners were in the 600 to 1200 dollar range.

Just a few years back! Now, if only they could do that with audio gear! We'd be getting U87s and Avalon for 459 dollars.

Wait! A clearance sale! Buy the Avalon 737 for 299 dollars and we'll throw in the U87 FREE!!!

Well, I'm not holding my breath.
[img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[flymax]

I do 18 with Pismo 400,001,Digimax, Magma and Firewire drive. 320 megs ram