Live band, summing 2 8-track recordings

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jimmie neutron
Member Since: Feb 14, 2005

I'm about to experiment with doing a 16-track recording, using an 8-track ADAT (Alesis XT20) recording, using all 8 channels, and at the same time, from the same mixer, do 8 more channels into a PC 8-track card (Guillemot ISIS). Both will be set to 48kHz, 16 bit (the best the ISIS does). I'm considering doing the kick drum channel on both for a "reference" track. It's a "live" recording of a 5 piece band, multiple keys & a HUGE drum kit, double-kick, double-floor toms, etc., 2 electric guits, occasional use of mic'd acoustic and, of course, an electric bass and 5 vocal mics. The house mixer will use approx 20 channels (24 channel Mackie sr24) (the stage plan isn't set yet), we'll "line-out" some channels, "aux-send" some, for a sub-mix (drums in stereo, etc.) to get into a 16 channel "recording" mixer (MX3242x). That way, our "house" sound is separate from our recording mixer, and won't interfere.

After this LONG description, my questions are simple:
1. Has anyone else tried something similar?
2. If so, what was your set-up?
3. How much "drift" did you have between the 2 systems?
4. Were you able to use and mix-down the 2 recordings with each other?
5. Was it worth the trouble, or would you just recommend "do an 8-track and be done with it"?

In other words, I'm attempting a 16-track recording, using 2 separate 8-track sources (of the same "format") that are not linked until put into the multi-track editor and mixed-down. Is it possible? I thank you ahead of time for all your knowledgeable insights.

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Hold 'Em Czar
Member
Since: Dec 30, 2004


Feb 14, 2005 04:28 pm

yeah you can pull it off, but what about mixing? are you gonna dump all the files into a computer? if so, you're good to go.

jimmie neutron
Member
Since: Feb 14, 2005


Feb 14, 2005 04:58 pm

Yup, dump in a computer. 8 of the trax are recorded on the box, the other 8 get imported from the ADAT via light pipe. The mixing is the part I'm worried about. I'm feeding the kick drum to both recordings as a "reference", but I'm worried about the two machines drifting and one recording being say 40:32 and the other 40:46 after import.

Hold 'Em Czar
Member
Since: Dec 30, 2004


Feb 14, 2005 05:01 pm

yeah i know whatcha mean, do both of your machines have any kinda syncing capabilitys? like word clock or smpte?

jimmie neutron
Member
Since: Feb 14, 2005


Feb 14, 2005 05:32 pm

The ADAT machine has a DB-9 connector for "sync" to other ADATs, or to a computer via an Alesis PCI card. Both have light pipe in/out, but very poor documentation (especially the ISIS) on what it can or cannot do. The ISIS has midi in/out/thru. So, other than using the proprietary Alesis card AND cable, which I don't own, the answer is: "No, no word clock or smpte sync." But, the Alesis can stripe a tape... the software on the PC can do it too.... maybe, just maybe they'll sync after-the-fact, if I smpte them both, but with dis-similar clocks (the PC's & the ADAT's)? I'll loose a channel on the ADAT, but I loose one anyway if I double the kick drum.

Hold 'Em Czar
Member
Since: Dec 30, 2004


Feb 14, 2005 05:35 pm

yeah i think you should be safe with what you got....if not, chalk it up to a learning experiance.

jimmie neutron
Member
Since: Feb 14, 2005


Feb 14, 2005 06:36 pm

I think you're correct. Thanks for the feedback & help. Another board has come guys insisting on "sync". Others are saying "no need". I'm from the old "if you've got a 2-track reel-to-reel deck, you must a professional" era. We did a lot of stuff with bouncing and double-recording with 2 decks and no sync (now, that's *tough* to mix-down). We'll experiment try several approaches prior to the big day, do an after-report and let ya know. Thanx.

Hold 'Em Czar
Member
Since: Dec 30, 2004


Feb 14, 2005 06:40 pm

yeah please, i'm interested

good luck

jimmie neutron
Member
Since: Feb 14, 2005


Feb 15, 2005 05:54 pm

Tenk-ooh beddy muscht! The weekend of March 4, 5 & 6. I've got to drive 6 hours to get there, and back, of course. Then, sift through all the mess of tape and disks that I'm sure I'll have and see what I can make of it. One of the other guys is the owner of the ADAT, and he'll get copies, so between the 2 of us, one of us should have something rough but useful a couple of weeks after that. There will still be an analog 2-track as back-up. Until then, I'll most likely maintain radio silence, since I'm busy with the experiments. No guinea pigs, tho. They all ran away. I'll have to use the kids.

jimmie neutron
Member
Since: Feb 14, 2005


Mar 08, 2005 05:29 pm

Say, wyd, we tried to cram too much into the weekend and wimped out and went with an 8 channel feed to the two machines, just doing a double 8-track recording, first to the ADAT, then to mine using the ADAT's outs. 8-tracks, of course, works, just not what I was wanting. We'll try again later in the summer. I hope to have a new interface by then, tho.

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