Trying to help my brother

[Pine]

hey guys....My kid brother (just turned 60) is a fine musician and has played out for years. I've been trying to get him into home recording for years now with no luck. Reason? He sits in front of two PC screens 9 hours a day at his job and absolutely refuses to go online at home. Now he is considering a multitrack standalone....finally. He is looking at a Tascam DP-03 but here's the question. I see no new machines on the market with big hard drive song saving capacity at all anymore. All have SD cards. If you record some tracks and save them to SD card, can you leave it in the machine, power off without losing data, then power up the next day, pick up where you left off, and keep adding tracks? What about storing multiple songs on an SD card? Can it all be done without use of a pc? I own no recording software at all...don't even use Audacity...and work on a BR1200..so i am clueless. Thanks for any enlightenment!

pine

[Geir]

SD cards are better than hard disks in my opinion. I've never lost a track on a SD card ( except when running out of battery on my MBR) I've got Sd cards that's 4-5 years old that I've used as backup and I still can read them. I was seriously considering buying a br1600 last month but decided against it, mainly because it has a hard-drive.

[alfstone]

SD cards are better than hard disks in my opinion. I've never lost a track on a SD card ( except when running out of battery on my MBR) I've got Sd cards that's 4-5 years old that I've used as backup and I still can read them. I was seriously considering buying a br1600 last month but decided against it, mainly because it has a hard-drive.

I agree 100%.

I don't think your brother will have any problem with SD cards.

Alfredo

[Pine]

Thanks you guys...but you really haven't answered my questions. Since international corporations have all gone SD cards...and the vast majority of consumers also favor them, it makes sense that they are probably less problematic and more versatile. But you guys both use software and utilize pc's of some type or another in your recording process. My brother wants no part of that and i can't say as i blame him given his job. The Tascam DP-03 has a cd burner but no hard disc for storage...just SD card. Boss no longer makes any with HD's nor does anyone else.

pine

[Geir]

When I use my br800, I don't use the computer until the song is finished. I do everything on the br. I don't have first hand experience with the dp-03 but I think the same goes for that. I guess hook would be the one to confirm that ....

I hope that answers the question, if not don't be afraid to ask again

[Hook]

Yes! He will have no trouble starting multiple projects, saving them, tuning the machine off. When he turns it back on it will be where he left off or he can load another track or create a new tune. I'm not familiar with the 03 but It looks to be my 008 with faders (optional cd). If he gets the one with the cd burner he should be able to bypass the computer all together, but to organize and store his tracks and such he should use a computer after the song is done. If he gets the 03SD (without burner, he will have to use the usb connection to get the track after production. There are some good mastering tools on the Tascam machines and they are very user friendly. I totally love my 008ex & prefer it to the boss machines, but I don't need the built in effects. If he's a guitar guy and want's effects he should get a BR800 (or 900). I can't rave enough about the 008ex however. Great mics, easy to use, completely portable (as will the 03 be I'm sure) & I think my end results are better on the 008 than the MBR.
Good luck & let him know I'll help him with any questions!
Rock on!

[alfstone]

Thanks you guys...but you really haven't answered my questions. Since international corporations have all gone SD cards...and the vast majority of consumers also favor them, it makes sense that they are probably less problematic and more versatile. But you guys both use software and utilize pc's of some type or another in your recording process. My brother wants no part of that and i can't say as i blame him given his job. The Tascam DP-03 has a cd burner but no hard disc for storage...just SD card. Boss no longer makes any with HD's nor does anyone else.

pine

Yes, Pine, it's true, I use computers a lot, but only for audio EDITING, AFTER I've recorded on a multitrack standalone, simply because I find that for audio editing the software solution is better (unless you have many thousands $$$ to spend in hardware): easier and more versatile. It's just a way I prefer.

BUT IF YOU WANT

in all these multitrack recorders you may go through all the various steps: recording, then editing, then mastering the final audio file, from the beginning to the end.

I hope it may help...

Alfredo

[Pine]

 Thanks Alfredo...i can easily see why you use software. It probably is better. But what i am wondering is can you store multiple pieces of songs on SD cards and then re-boot them to add to your tracks at a later date on a standalone recorder. Can you store multiple unfinished songs on them and retrieve them?

[Geir]

Yes you can

[Pine]

Thanks you guys. That's a big help. I know i sound like a dimwit but when it comes to much of this tech stuff, i am. I will share all this info with him and i'm sure he'll be grateful.

Thanks again for the help and advice!

The Pineasaurus