Does anyone know of good multitrack recording software for Windows (XP)?

What I want to do is record four or more tracks continuously and unattended,
eg., for a whole day, opening new file(s) as needed. I don't need any fancy
graphics, although simple level meters would be great. I am recording from a
variety of external audio devices including Edirol UA5 (2 track), Presonus
Firepod (8 track), etc. All have ASIO drivers.

So far I've tried Cubase LE (*), the program that came with the Presonus. It
is reliable, but I can't figure out how to get it to record beyond 2hrs.

(*) Note: Cubase LE version 1.08 shipped with the Presonus is crippled,
limiting it to four tracks! If you've bought the Presonus, ask for an older
version, Cubase LE 1.07. They will ship it to you for free.

Thanks,
Richard

wrote in message ...
Does anyone know of good multitrack recording software for Windows (XP)?

What I want to do is record four or more tracks continuously and
unattended,
eg., for a whole day, opening new file(s) as needed. I don't need any
fancy
graphics, although simple level meters would be great. I am recording
from a
variety of external audio devices including Edirol UA5 (2 track), Presonus
Firepod (8 track), etc. All have ASIO drivers.

So far I've tried Cubase LE (*), the program that came with the Presonus.
It
is reliable, but I can't figure out how to get it to record beyond 2hrs.

(*) Note: Cubase LE version 1.08 shipped with the Presonus is crippled,
limiting it to four tracks! If you've bought the Presonus, ask for an
older
version, Cubase LE 1.07. They will ship it to you for free.


You'll need an app that can record to other than WAV files (2GB limitation).
Sony's workaround (vegas) is their own spin on linear PCM files, W64 . I'm
sure other apps have equivalents.

geoff

Geoff@work wrote:
eg., for a whole day, opening new file(s) as needed. I don't need any

You'll need an app that can record to other than WAV files (2GB limitation).

Actually, the idea of transitioning to a new file when you hit the
file-size limit is an interesting one, and theoretically it ought to
work... but I don't know whether anyone is doing it.

wrote:
Does anyone know of good multitrack recording software for Windows (XP)?

Yes, but . . .

What I want to do is record four or more tracks continuously and unattended,
eg., for a whole day, opening new file(s) as needed.

"Four or more tracks" and "all day" is kind of open-ended. What sample
rate and bit depth?

Do you have any money? If so, you might consider picking up a used
Mackie MDR24/96 dedicated hard disk recorder. It automatically creates
a new file every 15 minutes so you never have to worry about how long
your recording runs until you run out of disk space . . . until you
have to do something with it other than play it back. You can render
tracks, which combines the multiple files into a single file, but
because of the file size limit of a WAV file
(2 GB), you have to be careful to render into chunks that won't be
larger than that. If I didn't slip a digit, that would be about 6 hours
at 44.1 kHz, 16-bit.

When recording to a 120 GB drive, which is the largest size that the
recorder will accommodate with a BIOS update (30 GB without) you'll get
about 380 track-hours, or about four days continuous with four tracks.
But check my math on this. It's humid and the abacus has a stuck bead
this morning.

I know this isn't what you're asking for, but it's a good solution and
something that you actually can leave running unattended. These
recorders get sold on eBay for under $1000 these days, and the BIOS
upgrade costs $50 from Mackie.

You'll need an app that can record to other than WAV files (2GB
limitation). Sony's workaround (vegas) is their own spin on linear PCM
files, W64 . I'm sure other apps have equivalents.



magix music/audio studio does this: maximum project-length seems to be about
11.5h