Sound Man Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 As CDs are limited by their length I am proposing to initially record using something like the “Marantz PMD560 Digital Audio Recorder”. Then via a computer moving the recorded file to the CD duplicator which would have an internal hard drive and USB connection fitted. Has anyone else used this type of equipment before and found any problems? If so I would appreciate your response. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Lewis Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 David, We record from the desk direct to a PC (via a USB preamp). Software is something like Cool Edit light (although Syntrillium have been bought up since we purchased it). We can then top and tail the recording and burn CDs from the PC. If we needed multiple CDs, we'd buy a duplicator, but many still use casettes, and we still have four dual well Denons to do this. HTH, SImon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 Recording direct to PC works very well but the usual caveat for audio work applies. You're far better off keeping your audio PC as clean as possible and not clutter it up with other software, some of which inevitably installs processes which run in background. I'm another former user of Cool Edit but I've done the upgrade to Adobe Audition...the current version being 2.0. This version is actually much better for live recording than the one Simon Lewis is using because it records direct to disk. In the Cool Edit days, recordings when to a temp file, then you had to save later...frustrating if you have a 2 or 3 hour file with multiple tracks! Now, once I hit "Stop" I'm done. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkPAman Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 This version is actually much better for live recording ...................... Now, once I hit "Stop" I'm done. Bob Didn't know that 2.0 did that. I must upgrade! Thanks Bobbsy :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alec Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 We use a Marantz CD recorder with CDRWs to record, and then RIP to PC, and top & tail using Audacity. The RIP is pretty quick and removes the other risks of using a PC in a live environment. Interestingly, although we create cassettes, only a handful - literally less than 5 - have been used in the last few months, whereas the MP3s on our website are hugely popular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesperrett Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 This version is actually much better for live recording ...................... Now, once I hit "Stop" I'm done. Bob Didn't know that 2.0 did that. I must upgrade! Thanks Bobbsy :o The downside to this is that all the bad takes are recorded direct too so your disc ends up more cluttered than with the older versions. There isn't an easy way to delete unused takes although there are work arounds. If you are doing Multitrack work then the V2 upgrade is essential but the new version is fairly different to the old one so it would be a good idea to check out the comments on Adobe's website before commiting yourself. There's also a fully functional demo available too. I was forced to upgrade to Windows XP in order to run it. Mark, if you want to hear Audition 2 in action get in contact and pop round sometime. Cheers James. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 OT...With a couple of minor niggles I really like AA2.0. The direct to disk recording itself was worth the upgrade for me, but I do a fair bit of live (i.e. in the theatre) recording...saving 8 x 2 hour tracks at the end of a session when the bar is about to close is NOT fun!. When in the studio, my work flow was to keep all versions of a track until I was sure I didn't need them, so the "problem" you mention isn't one for me. Goodness knows how many times I've pulled a phrase or two from a supposedly "bad" take for use in the final mix! Still, as you say 2.0 is a fairly big change from previous CEP/AA versions, so the 28 day free trial is worth the download. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 mainly pointed at bobbysy. but I'd be interested to see if you use the real time analyser - if so, do you get a short spike at around 11K? I'm not sure if this is an unwanted artefact from my sound card - it isn't audible, but 'just there?' on the display. I've found that when hard drive space is limited (down to about 5G in my case) I sometimes get a glitch in the recorded file - I'm assuming background tasks, in particular, the firewall/virus checker that I'm reluctant to shut off are to blame. Closing these down, and ensuring the internet connection is off solves it of course. I left the wi-fi on, and in one venue discovered it auto logged on to the net - can't be too careful. On my studio based machine, audition 2 is 100% solid. This machine only has audio software on it, and has a switchable internet connection. I have a cd tower duplicator. They are much, much better than any internal system - especially for time. I burn from the music machine to a CD, then duplicate from this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 Yup, I find the analyser (and the phase analyser) very useful and use them quite often. I've never noticed a spike at 11K or anywhere else. (At this stage, I just opened Audition and tried several different samples of programme material in case I'd managed to miss it in the past...confirmed: no spikes.) I'd guess that your suspicion of a sound card artefact is the most likely cause. As for recording glitches, I think you're right about it being a background process. Like you, my main audio work station is a "clean machine" but my laptop is more multipurpose and I find the AV software causes an effect like the one you describe. I physically shut down the wifi connection, then the AV, before doing any recordings and this seems to work. I'm not sure if I'm lucky or unlucky, but so far I've not worked in a venue with an open wifi network...which would have occasionally have been useful! OT aside: Don't know if you read Dave Rat's blog about touring with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but he improvised a high gain wifi antenna and scanned the horizon out his hotel window for open networks to avoid paying hotel rates...he had enough success that he now carries a "genuine" high gain antenna for wifi frequencies for this nefarious...but money saving...purpose! Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesperrett Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 mainly pointed at bobbysy. but I'd be interested to see if you use the real time analyser - if so, do you get a short spike at around 11K? I also use the analyser and phase meter when recording. I sometimes see high frequency tones that are less than 100dB below full scale but these are certainly not audible. A spike around 11kHz could be related to the sampling clock if you are sampling at 44.1kHz. It is very easy to set the analyser up to show a ludicrously large level range which might be useful for looking at dither but it doesn't really help for monitoring music signals. Cheers James. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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