Hd24 transfer to PC question

[planetal]

Hi,

I like to record my band at gigs and have had good success using a tascam da38 (8 channels) for tracking and then mixing the tracks on my pc using Cubase (recording the individual 8 tracks on my pc via an aardvark q10). As my band is expanding by adding keys and more vocals, 8 tracks isn't enough any more without a submix. So I would like to go from 8 tracks to at least 12, all recorded in real time at gigs.

I am looking at the Alesis Hd24 as a really good unit to use for tracking when I choose to record a gig. My only concern is transfering the individual wav tracks to my pc so I can mix in Cubase. I plan on recording at 24bit/48K, as an FYI. I don't need anything more.

My question is.. If I use the optional Firewire transfer module for the alesis, does the Alesis produce individual track wav files that can be imported into Cubase? I am under the impression it does.

Ive experimented with Cubase.. and I know I can import individual mono wav files to make up set of tracks. If all the wav files start exactly at the same point in time (like when you press record on the record enabled channels on the hd24), then they should all be in synch automatically and simple individual imports should work.

In your expert opinions am I missing something .. it seems too easy and straightforward to be correct.

Thanks
Al

 

[TAVD]

I use a similar set up, only with a Fostex D2424 w/ the ethernet option. The nice thing about the D2424 is that it records in .wav format, so there's no need for extra software.

Alesis is pretty vague concerning the HD24 file type. The file transfer can happen in one of two ways. With the HD24 in "server" mode, using the ethernet OR with the fireport and the included software. The software allows for export to .wav or .aiff, all this according to the manual. This implies to me that the HD24 file type is actually neither .wav or .aiff, otherwise you wouldn't need the software. So, basically, you will need to transfer the files from the HD24 to another drive on the computer, then import them into your daw, as opposed to importing them directly from the fireport connected drive.

So, the simple answer to you question is yes, you can export HD24 files to .wav and yes, the files are referenced to time so they stay sync'ed. But you should download the user manuals from Alesis to get a better idea of the functionality. You might find that the ethernet ftp, although a little slower will work just as well.

 

[planetal]

Thanks much for your response..

How do you like the Fostex? I am also considering the newest version of the Fostest D2424LV as well as the Alesis HD24 .. The fostex is a couple of hundred dollars cheaper, but has a couple of concerns for me. One of them is that the fostex seems to have a very limited list of approved disk drives. The Alesis will let me put in just about any decent quality ATA type drive (so I can get 180GB for $150 bucks and have a few for different projects).. am I correct about the fostex being fussy about drives? I know the newest version comes with an 80gb HD.

Thanks for confirming my thoughts on imported wav tracks being synched in time. That does make the whole process seem pretty straight forward to me.

In reading the various alesis manuals, it does let you quickly do multiple file copies of tracks in wav format onto a pc (or to the alesis from the pc). Yes it does do some form of conversion, but conversion should be trivial. The fireport extension device and software allows some very cool stuff to be done to prepare a hard disk for a recording project including creating projects and songs space, i.e. all the up front stuff that one would need to do prior to actually recording a given song sequence. That just makes it easier for me to do a live gig with as little time as possible between songs (or logical break points of a few songs) screwing around with the recorder. Once I set up the recorder at the gig for levels, I really want to be more concerned and focused on my playing and creating a good, worthy of recording, performance.


Al

 

[TAVD]

The D2424LV isn't really too picky about drives. Fostex has verified the WD and Maxtor drives with the 8 mb buffer. Others will likely work, some just haven't been tested by Fostex. The WD 1200JB drive is under $100 now. And the 1600JB is approved too. The problem they have with certain drives is that some drives don't allow for large enough sectors when being formated. The Fostex also has the option of backing up to external SCSI drives.

I don't think you can wrong with either recorder. I bought the Fostex because at the time, the HR24 did not have ethernet capability. I haven't compared the converters in either and since I use the adat i/o only, the converter quality was never a concern for me. I did do a quick and dirty a/b test once when I first got the recorder. I could hear a difference between my mixer's and recorder's converters but it wasn't enough to definitively say one was better then the other.

 

[planetal]

Thanks

Al