Yamaha AW16g - Anyone still using one?
 

Hi, I recorded my first album (sometime before the civil war -either the US or UK one) in two studios with two different engineers. some tracks weer reat , others sounded like a rock concert.

I recorded my secnd album on a Roland VS840 (which was better)

My third was on a Yamaha AW1600 -good but complicated.

In my dotage and not familiar with DAW software, so I'm looking at buying a used AW16g (with built in CD burner).

I plan to record in my tiny study probably with just the one condenser mic plus DI for bass guitar - as I did before.

I'd just like to put down some tracks with my self playing mando, dobro, National over my guitar and vocals and maybe harmonising with myself.

This is a vanity project - not a commercial thing - although my second album sold really well to friends in the US through direct contact.

It seems like few actually "buy" music nowadays.

Is anybody still using a steam driven machine like the AW16G?

Any issues?

Any advice?

any .. anything?

Hi Silly,

How about one of these more modern units from Tascam:

https://www.andertons.co.uk/recordin...tascam-dp-24sd

They sell for around £400 new the link above is a used one.

Can't offer any advice on the AW16G, you might consider the afforementioned Tascam or a Zoom R series (R8, R16, or R24, what I own and use...). I'm a fan of using a digital multi-tracker for audio capture and then moving the wav files to a PC to mix, edit, and render as finished stereo files.

If you don't need any more than 2 inputs at a time and won't be using more than 8 tracks for each tune I usually recommend a Zoom R8. It's about as complicated to use as an old cassette recorder.

Your choice to keep them as standard wav files or convert to high quality mp3s, often a better choice for end users.

If you're going to do an entire album's worth of work it might be worth your time learning to use a DAW on your computer. The editing is SO much easier once you record your basic tracks.

If you have a PC it's as simple as adding a simple usb audio interface, installing your choice of software for your DAW, and using a good quality set of headphones to mix with. (Some think you shouldn't mix with phones, but it IS a simple option if you don't want to purchase powered monitors.)

You might want to think twice about the needs for a CD burner. So few people use them today that it's often difficult to find anyone who owns a CD player. You can upload your finished tracks someplace like Bandcamp for free or paid distribution and reach a lot more people with your work.

You can also simply copy your finished work to cheap usb flashdrives or the credit card style usb memory cards for distribution. If you use the credit card size memory you can even mail your "album" in a business-size envelope.

I second the computer recommendation.

I resisted leaving the stand alone recorder for a long time. I loved my ancient Korg D1600. Ultimately, I had some hard drive issues and there was a big compatibility issue with the currently available hard drives and CD drives. With an older unit, a drive may fail and there will be no replacements available.

For the cost of an old used stand alone unit, you could get a decent interface. I also recommend Reaper as an inexpensive DAW.