A good 8 track or 4?

[ApeDosMil]

I want to build a mini studio.
Right now the gear consists of

Fruity Loops for my Drum tracking and special effects.

Pod 2.0 to my computers line in.

Should I get a Boss EQ pedal, or get a 8 track system with good EQ?

Do I need a 4/8 track system for vocals, or should I just get the EQ pedal.. or edit it on the pc?

I would like to someday have decent mics to record Real Drums, but i don't see that anytime soon.

I want to record local bands music and edit stuff as a side job sometime in the future.

[Newc]

Re: A good 8 track or 4?

For your own stuff, I'd recommend just getting a small mixer and record into the PC for now.

When you're ready to record bands and live stuff, get an 8 or 12 track recorder, and DEFINITELY get a couple of Alesis 3630 Compressor/Limiters before you record anyone - most people don't have the patience to re-do a song 8 times because they were overloading a track, or one was recorded too low.

Having recorded both my own bands and a couple of others' stuff, I'd definitely restrict myself to only working with bands that can nail the whole song live to 2 tracks. "Studio work" with people that want results "right now" is not worth the effort, and will really show the weak links in a band.

[Twisteramps]

Re: A good 8 track or 4?

Ditto on what Newc said regarding your PC. Heck, you could just use a mic plugged into your friggin' POD for vocals! Use the Pod for EQ, and then do your effects in the PC.

Reason why I'm looking for a multitrack recorder is so I can take it to where my band rehearses and record, then take it home and put the tracks into my PC for deeper editing/effects/mastering.

Only thing bad about recording live to 2 tracks is that however it's mixed at that time is what it's going to be. I'm probably going to do my band's demos one instrument per track (including one kick track, one snare track, etc) just so I can tweak it after recording for the best possible sound and flexibility, not because of performances.

Pete

[lukerake]

Re: A good 8 track or 4?

I had a Boss BR8 before I started using the PC, and now wish I hadn't sold it. Veyr easy, very intuitive, and results were pretty good too. The only problem I have with them is you have to do a 'live' mix down, whereas you can automate effects on a pc, and the formatting on the Iomega zips it uses isn't compatible with a pc drive - that said, for band usage I'd recommend one, or the later Boss series that incorporates cd burning as then people can take a set home after a practice and see what needs work.

[crowley_67]

Re: A good 8 track or 4?

I use a Alesis 8trk but also looking for a computer program to record as well.I used to use cubase cubasis a few years back but didnt have the right hardware for my computer and not enough patience to figure it out so i sold it.I am also trying to figure out using a compressor.I can take my alesis practically anywhere.Its just the compressor stuff that has me stumped...