ok...after conversing with various audio guys at music stores...i have concluded i want to record digitally. i was thinking, for my home studio, acompanying a fine selection of mics, a tascam sx-1el blah blah as a main recorder and i would use that to mix also. what i need is up to 16 simutaneus tracks to record to because the bands i record like to do it live. i also want to be able to add compression and eq and effects after the tracks are recorded...not with outboard equipment that requires me to set all the levels before hand. pre amps i also need to invest in. for around 3000, does any1 sugest a recorder besides the tascam i am looking into?

A lot of folks seem very happy with the FOSTEX VF160EX. Its a 16 track that records eight at a time and is expandable to 16 at a time with an adat lightpipe add on. Best part....*800-900 BRAND SPANKING NEW
There are also slightly older versions of this unit with most of the same features an dwhose software can be updated to the current, I believe so, for around $400-600 dollars used (some New old stock is still available). Search for Fostex vf16 vf160 and vf160ex and the t mis spellings vf 16 vf 160. Thats my two shits....Happy hunting.

I've owed a VF160 for around a year. I paid 700 for it and it is very good for the money. There are a few faults that will come back so bite you in the ass (ex: no eq if you use internal compressor).

The biggest problem I've had is the quality. I take good care of my equipment, but the thing has had more internal problems. An unresponsive headphone jack, iffy master fader, and buttons that sometimes need to be pressed 5x hard to get the machine to process. Most of the problems with it had a 50/50 chance of working at a given time.

If you're short on cash I'd recommend it (along with a self-help anger management cassette). The biggest problem is the 3 week turnaround time it takes to send it into Fostex for repair.

But you don't beat 500-900 bones.

skatingbasser wrote:But you don't beat 500-900 bones.

i got a 16x8x2 soundcraft 800b and a 1/2" tascam 8-track r-t-r (separately) for a total for $930. so yeah, an unreliable digital box can be crushed for that price.

Ahh... if only it was $31 cheaper.

shit, i left out the $100 for shipping, too. so i guess it's way too much at that point.

i spent 900 for a Tascam m2516 16 channel mixer and a Tascam MSR16 1/2" 16 track. And its in new condition the owner hardly ever used it! I think it was a better buy to shop around than look for a daw