Multitrack recording

[jerryguitar]

A friend of mine has a question:
he wants to record a bigband with 8 mic's, not on a harddisk recorder (to expensive), but on his laptop or PC via USB. The 8 signals should be digitalised, multiplexed and recorded on PC (where we still have 8 separate tracks, demultiplexed, to work on).

Is there some hardware & software to do this ?

[midimart]

Hi JG

I don't know much about this sort of thing mate, but there is a link to a good site if it will help. There is a free Lite edition at the bottom of the page.... Don't know if it is restricted in any way.

www.multitrackstudio.com/

Also try this one... It gives you a tutorial on what to do. Sound-Cards, Software... etc.

www.tracertek.com/multi-tr.htm

[Emerald Midi]

jerryguitar said:

Is there some hardware & software to do this ?

Friends of mine (serious musicians) swear by this product. Not sure if it's what you're looking for but it might be worth checking out.

www.fruityloops.com/

[JazzCat]

Fruity loops is not a recording program. He is talking about recording a live big band using 8 microphones. I think for what he wants to do real studio time would be the best way to go. (No, that's not a program name) 8 mics? 8 wave files running at once? Yikes! That's a mighty big strain for any home computer! As for the Multitrack program, it looks like any sequencer with audio capabilities. i.e. Sonar, Cakewalk etc.
Cat >^..^<

[stivy]

Hi Jerry,

It should be possible to do with Adobe Audition.
This software used to be called Cool Edit Pro by Syntrillium. It is a 132 track digital mixing desk for your PC including effects IE: reverb chorus etc.... but you'll need some serious processing power on your PC to do all the tracks at once. If your processor isn't up to it you'll get delays on each track and they'll all run out of time to each other. It is a seriously good pro software though. I use it to lay backing vocals down and to add extra guitar tracks on to my midi files ready for stage.

Regards

Stivy

[mephitblue]

What you want to do is possible, but it will take some investment in equipment. First, several companies make audio interfaces that will allow you to receive audio from 8 different mics and run them through a USB 2 or Firewire connection to your PC. M-Audio, Motu and Presonus are the first names that I can think of that sell this equipment.

What kind of mics is your friend going to use. He may need an audio interface that provides phantom power if he wants to use condensor mics for vocals or any of the instruments.

Next you will also need a multitrack recording software. Adobe Audition was mentioned by a previous poster. I use an inexpensive one called Tracktion that is distributed by Mackie. Sonar by Cakewalk and Cubase are other popular multitrack recording programs.

Depending on how good a setup your friend wants, the cost could really add up. I could easily see him spending a couple thousand for a decent recording setup. You can record a band for less, but if he wants to have good quality equipment to capture 8 mics live and the software to handle it, it will cost some money.

[jerryguitar]

Thank you for the info, I will pass this to my friend.
Problem was finding the right hardware.
Software is no problem, I work with Sonar, my friend also.
Regards.