Hi, can anyone direct me to a site that sells 8 track mini disc
portastudios? I've looked as much as I can and cannot find anything!

Preferrably a site with reviews, or can anyone let me know of their
experiences with them?

TIA.

Peter

Hi, can anyone direct me to a site that sells 8 track mini disc
portastudios? I've looked as much as I can and cannot find anything!


Yamaha used to make the MD8 and may still.


---------------------------------------
"I know enough to know I don't know enough"

"Peter Campbell" wrote in message
...
Hi, can anyone direct me to a site that sells 8 track mini disc
portastudios? I've looked as much as I can and cannot find anything!

Preferrably a site with reviews, or can anyone let me know of their
experiences with them?

The last of those I saw was probably at zzounds.com last year. They were maybe
70% off and still more expensive than an 8-track hard disk based unit with
better quality, longer record times, and far more features.

Have you looked into the latest crop of portable HD based units lately? It's
amazing what you can get for less than 600 pounds.

Why are you looking for a MiniDisc based unit?

John

"John LeBlanc" wrote in message
...

"Peter Campbell" wrote in message
...
Hi, can anyone direct me to a site that sells 8 track mini disc
portastudios? I've looked as much as I can and cannot find anything!

Preferrably a site with reviews, or can anyone let me know of their
experiences with them?

The last of those I saw was probably at zzounds.com last year. They were
maybe
70% off and still more expensive than an 8-track hard disk based unit with
better quality, longer record times, and far more features.

Have you looked into the latest crop of portable HD based units lately?
It's
amazing what you can get for less than 600 pounds.

Why are you looking for a MiniDisc based unit?

John

I've always been a fan of mini discs. I also like the fact that the mini
discs are removable as opposed to HD recorders. On saying that, when a song
is finished, 90% of the time I'll never use it again after it's mixed down.

What kind of storage space can I get in an HD portastudio, for about £600?

"EggHd" wrote in message
...
Hi, can anyone direct me to a site that sells 8 track mini disc
portastudios? I've looked as much as I can and cannot find anything!


Yamaha used to make the MD8 and may still.


---------------------------------------
"I know enough to know I don't know enough"

I'll have a look for it mate, cheers.

"Peter Campbell" wrote in message
...

I've always been a fan of mini discs. I also like the fact that the mini
discs are removable as opposed to HD recorders. On saying that, when a song
is finished, 90% of the time I'll never use it again after it's mixed down.

What kind of storage space can I get in an HD portastudio, for about £600?

Hello, Peter.

Do yourself a favor and first draw up a list of must-haves. The number, width
and breadth of models and features available is truly dizzying and it behooves
you to start with a list of what you know you want. Go to this URL
http://tinyurl.com/szxr and look at some of what's available. I'd think most of
these models are available where you are and you can Google reviews.

I've also found Yahoo! Groups to be an incredible source of information on a
particular model or line of recorders. When you decide on a model, check Yahoo!
Groups for a user group and read the messages. It may bolster your decision, or
make you look for another unit.

Also, you may want to quiz the folks in alt.music.4-track for their opinions on
particular models. I know I've had a good run with my Korg D16, which, while
missing some current model features, is several years old but still suits my
occasional location recordings. I prefer computer-based recording, but it's hard
to beat a box you can stuff in a sack and take with you at a moment's notice.
It's a great time to be interested in recording music, I can tell you that much.

Keep in mind a couple of things to consider as you're choosing your recorder. At
what quality do you wish to record? The MiniDisc is a compressed format whereas
most of the HD-based recorders these days do uncompressed 24-bit audio, some
still do 16-bit. Comparatively better quality.

How do you wish to archive your mixes? Anything worth keeping is worth dumping
off of hard drive. While there is a good argument to be made that CD-R isn't a
real archival medium for long-term storage, it beats the snot out of HD. Some
units have -- or can interface to -- an external CD burner; some allow you to
install a burner in the unit itself. If you go the external route, make sure you
find out which units are compatible. (This'll usually come from the
manufacturer's web site.)

Some units have USB connections to connect to your computer and some don't. USB
will allow you to dump to your local computer and burn a CD-R or DVD+/-R.

Can you upgrade/change out the hard drive yourself with a standard IDE drive?
The drive will go bad one day. And it'll be the day you most don't want it to go
bad. (Murphy's Law.) Being able to do this yourself with an off the shelf drive
beats sending it in for repair.

Another thing to consider, and this was a consideration when I was looking for a
box to take with me on location, is how many tracks can you record
simultaneously. 8- or 16-track machines don't necessarily mean 8- or 16-track
simultaneous recording ability. If you're buying a box to record a couple of
tracks at a time, I think just about any of them will do. Recording a band live
will require a stouter model or clever mic technique or premixing.

Beyond that, you can chose a box with or without a MIDI sound module/drum
module, guitar modeling, moving faders. It's amazing what they can stuff in a
little box these days.

You may want to visit your local magazine stand and look for Computer Music,
FutureMusic, and Sound on Sound magazines. Check out their websites for reviews,
and the magazines for the ads.

Good luck on your search,

John

"John LeBlanc" wrote in message
...

"Peter Campbell" wrote in message
...

I've always been a fan of mini discs. I also like the fact that the
mini
discs are removable as opposed to HD recorders. On saying that, when a
song
is finished, 90% of the time I'll never use it again after it's mixed
down.

What kind of storage space can I get in an HD portastudio, for about
£600?

Hello, Peter.

Do yourself a favor and first draw up a list of must-haves. The number,
width
and breadth of models and features available is truly dizzying and it
behooves
you to start with a list of what you know you want. Go to this URL
http://tinyurl.com/szxr and look at some of what's available. I'd think
most of
these models are available where you are and you can Google reviews.

I've also found Yahoo! Groups to be an incredible source of information on
a
particular model or line of recorders. When you decide on a model, check
Yahoo!
Groups for a user group and read the messages. It may bolster your
decision, or
make you look for another unit.

Also, you may want to quiz the folks in alt.music.4-track for their
opinions on
particular models. I know I've had a good run with my Korg D16, which,
while
missing some current model features, is several years old but still suits
my
occasional location recordings. I prefer computer-based recording, but
it's hard
to beat a box you can stuff in a sack and take with you at a moment's
notice.
It's a great time to be interested in recording music, I can tell you that
much.

Keep in mind a couple of things to consider as you're choosing your
recorder. At
what quality do you wish to record? The MiniDisc is a compressed format
whereas
most of the HD-based recorders these days do uncompressed 24-bit audio,
some
still do 16-bit. Comparatively better quality.

How do you wish to archive your mixes? Anything worth keeping is worth
dumping
off of hard drive. While there is a good argument to be made that CD-R
isn't a
real archival medium for long-term storage, it beats the snot out of HD.
Some
units have -- or can interface to -- an external CD burner; some allow you
to
install a burner in the unit itself. If you go the external route, make
sure you
find out which units are compatible. (This'll usually come from the
manufacturer's web site.)

Some units have USB connections to connect to your computer and some
don't. USB
will allow you to dump to your local computer and burn a CD-R or DVD+/-R.

Can you upgrade/change out the hard drive yourself with a standard IDE
drive?
The drive will go bad one day. And it'll be the day you most don't want it
to go
bad. (Murphy's Law.) Being able to do this yourself with an off the shelf
drive
beats sending it in for repair.

Another thing to consider, and this was a consideration when I was looking
for a
box to take with me on location, is how many tracks can you record
simultaneously. 8- or 16-track machines don't necessarily mean 8- or
16-track
simultaneous recording ability. If you're buying a box to record a couple
of
tracks at a time, I think just about any of them will do. Recording a band
live
will require a stouter model or clever mic technique or premixing.

Beyond that, you can chose a box with or without a MIDI sound module/drum
module, guitar modeling, moving faders. It's amazing what they can stuff
in a
little box these days.

You may want to visit your local magazine stand and look for Computer
Music,
FutureMusic, and Sound on Sound magazines. Check out their websites for
reviews,
and the magazines for the ads.

Good luck on your search,

John

I really appreciate the time you've put into this post John. Thanks.

I think I just want something simple and good quality. My previous
recording experience is with a Yamaha 4 track. It was good enough for what
I used it for but it's had its day. I am currently in the process of trying
to record stuff onto computer but I am not convinced of the audio quality
when it's recorded. Maybe it's just my sound card though!

Again thanks for all your help!

Snip

I really appreciate the time you've put into this post John. Thanks.

I think I just want something simple and good quality. My previous
recording experience is with a Yamaha 4 track. It was good enough for
what
I used it for but it's had its day. I am currently in the process of
trying
to record stuff onto computer but I am not convinced of the audio quality
when it's recorded. Maybe it's just my sound card though!

Again thanks for all your help!


Getting a bit OT but to add my 2pennyworth... I used a Vestax 4track tape
machine for years but then started to use the PC. I've got a quite elderly
500 PIII machine, but get excellent results using a SonicFury soundcard
(SantaCruz Turtle Beach in the US I think). Really impressed, and it's
quite cheap. It even does quad recording so I've mastered all my 4track
tape recordings onto the PC for remixing. Great!

D

Here's my 2 cents...

Yamaha had been selling (maybe until last year?) an 8 track MiniDisc
Portastudio called the MD8. They are still available, both NOS and used, on
eBay. Prices seem to range from $450 - $550. Here's a link to some info on
the unit: http://www.crmav.com/recording/89/md8_8_track.shtml . Also, do a
search on MD8 on the Yamaha web site and you'll find the brochure and user's
manual.

I'm also in the market for a new multi-track digital recording workstation.
And being a fan of the MiniDisc format, I would normally consider the MD8.
Especially given the fact that it's one of the few machines in its price
range that allow SIMULTANEOUS 8 track recording.

HOWEVER, for some stupid reason, there's NO digital I/O on this machine!
Personally, once I've recorded digitally, I don't want to have to go back to
analong via RCA connectors for mix down. I can't believe Yamaha didn't put
AT LEAST an optical output on this unit. Stupid....

That's why I'm looking at DAW's like the Fostex VF-160. Or Yamaha's AW16G,
which basically replaced the MD8.

Hope this helps.

ray

"Peter Campbell" wrote in message
...
Hi, can anyone direct me to a site that sells 8 track mini disc
portastudios? I've looked as much as I can and cannot find anything!

Preferrably a site with reviews, or can anyone let me know of their
experiences with them?

TIA.

Peter