analog vs. digital, boss or tascam?

[mojo_pin122]

okay looking into buying a cheaper(relatively cheap) four or eight track recorder. i've browsed musician's friend because i live in a small town and am not sure the only local music store offers recording equipment because it's small...and have seen a few selections, i was interested in the tascam bundle for it's vast cheapness lol and simplicity cause i've never recorded anything. but i also looked at the Boss BR-600 Digital Recorder and liked some of it's aspects too, so that being said, which would be the better option, or are both of these not good cheap choices for novice recorders? the reviews were okay but i don't trust them all that much...opinions?and is analog recording better than digital, i know it's probably not, but i think either one would sound okay for just demos, i'm not looking to be making an album or anything.thanks

[Fab]

I'll confess straight up that I don't know the specifics on either of the machines you're looking at, but for the sake of demos, I'd go with digital. Digital is far easier to edit, and at that kind of level, the charm of analogue is more in its lo-fi, hissy quirks than the fuller frequency response you get with high-end analogue studios.

[Dovecoat]

Digital is much easier to work with, which is good for beginning. You can load things straight onto a computer, burn them, etc... without going through the hassle of converting tape. In terms of sound... analog sounds *warmer* and overall better if you know what the hell you're doing with recording. If you don't know what you're doing, it just sounds like a wall of hiss. So... digital.

For cheap 8-tracks... the Tascam DP-01 is really great and easy. However, I suggest getting the one without the built-in effects... the built-in effects are unusable (they sound like shit) and add on quite a bit of money. You can get a refurbished one on Musician's Friend for under $200. The Boss one has the added bonuses of amp modelers and a drum machine... however, I have no idea how good they are. They'd be fun to play with when starting recording, but as recordings get more elaborate, you'll probably outgrow them.

[SlingeroGuitaro]

cassette tape is not going to sound like 2" tape- its going to sound thin and hissy

[lostdreamachine]

Digital is much easier to work with, which is good for beginning. You can load things straight onto a computer, burn them, etc... without going through the hassle of converting tape. In terms of sound... analog sounds *warmer* and overall better if you know what the hell you're doing with recording. If you don't know what you're doing, it just sounds like a wall of hiss. So... digital.

For cheap 8-tracks... the Tascam DP-01 is really great and easy. However, I suggest getting the one without the built-in effects... the built-in effects are unusable (they sound like shit) and add on quite a bit of money. You can get a refurbished one on Musician's Friend for under $200. The Boss one has the added bonuses of amp modelers and a drum machine... however, I have no idea how good they are. They'd be fun to play with when starting recording, but as recordings get more elaborate, you'll probably outgrow them.

I actually recommended that digi eight track to this dork.

While I'll agree that the built in effects aren't the greatest, if you can utilize them in a proper manner, they're okay. I used them for all of my home recordings because I didn't have a good enough amp to record with through the mics. And if you get the one with the DP 01FX instead, you can plug the XLR cables directly into the console with the addition of quarter inch inputs whereas the basic DP01 doesn't have the XLR inputs. There may be something better out there, but I'll tell ya one thing- don't record to your computer. There's a lot of bullshit to be dealt with on that path.

[6thandpowell]

I hate digital.

I'd go with a Portastudio for a cheap ass casette recorder.

If you want a R2R....I'd go with a Otari MX 5050.

It's less noisy than a Tascam 38.....but still has a great smoky sound to it.