Which 24-track interface?

[Sam Inglis]

For me one of the hidden disadvantages with most standalone digital recorders is track and file naming. If you're recording to a DAW, each input comes into a named track, and each file that's created inherits some version of that name, making it reasonably easy to identify. Most hardware recorders don't do that so you either have to spend ages manually naming the files or give the client a bunch of files named 'Audio_01' and so on.

[fatbenelton]

Not stand alone, but the TB2 Presonus Quantum 4848 (32 I/O on Dsubs plus 16 Adat) is cheap enough that you may consider that and a stand alone device....apparently won a blind shoot out with Apogee, but whether it did or not it still sounds perfectly fine.

I read the post title and came here to recommend same! The fantastically low latency of those Quanta is also a big plus — but as you say, no standalone recording... For that, I think the JoeCo recommendations are pretty spot on, though the RME UFX boxes would also tick the same sort of box (although they're less console-friendly, with half their inputs on the front and half on the back, and in a variety of TRS/XLR/ADAT/etc formats).

Yes, brilliant interfaces. Just sold mine as don’t need the amount of I/O any more but still got my Quantum 2 and DP88 - super low latency as you say.
I’m not an expert and Mr R B clearly knows what he’s doing, but still not sure why you just can’t ‘burn’ to a USB from within the DAW?? It’s still pretty quick; unless modern muso’s put down their instruments and walk out immediately and expect the USB stick there and then!!

[OneWorld]

The digital nerd community seem to think that I and everybody else has nothing better to do than install this, configure that, and download the other. What I need above all other considerations is speed and simplicity.

I employ someone to deal with finances because I do not have the time or the inclination to pratt about with bookkeeping software and rubbish like car insurance and dealing with pin-headed officials. Similarly, I have two accountancy firms on tap to deal with the likes of HMRC and the German Finanzamt. The last thing I need is for our core activity to be polluted by complication.

Take a bow, spot on and back of the net, you got it in one there

[Arpangel]

If you used the RDAR just as a converter, how much would that add to your workflow in terms of complication and a corresponding decrease in speed?
I know you’ve made a decision, but I for one still remember that session at your place, the quality of RADAR is still unique, sorry to see it go, nonetheless.

[The Red Bladder]

Radar as a converter box - a great deal of faffing about involved and the Radar would still be in the machine room because the fans are noisy. A modern box can live in the FX rack - or even in the patchbay as it is only 1U high.

I for one still remember that session at your place, the quality of RADAR is still unique, sorry to see it go, nonetheless.

That probably had more to do with the mics (M149 pair) the mic pres and the fact that I track directly from the Direct-Out point immediately after the mic pres, than with the quality of the converters.

Yes, they were the best money could buy at the time, but that was 20 years ago! At that time, most converters had clocking problems that gave (for example) the older ProTools (before HD came out) a nasty upper edge that became known as digital harshness - in reality a nasty high-pitched noise out of hearing range that interfered with HF in the audible range. I used to get mix sessions from punters that suffered from this and I had to get rid of it by putting a brick-wall digital filter at about 15kHz on each track.

latency - not an issue any more, unless one does in-track drop-ins and I have never done that with any digital system. In the days of tape - yes. But today?

Anyway, the Radar will still be here for a while, but I did promise the wife that I will be unloading piles of equipment soon as we are just filling up with stuff and running out of places to put it all! Redundant stuff includes DAT recorders, video recorders, SD cameras and their lenses, 3 or 4 DAWs and their associated PCs and Macs, more test equipment than I had when I was working in an electronics workshop and add to all that about 12 synthesizers! Add to the above, all the vintage stuff I do want to keep like Hammond A100 with Leslie, transistor organs, Wurley, an old in-line 24-channel desk with 16 off-line groups - the list just goes on and on.

Add to all that the huge amounts of film stuff I've acquired like a large 5m jib, dolly system, 24kW of lighting, an entire 6kW PA system with eight very large JBL speakers, a giant sub that came off Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' tour, an entire lighting and PA gantry with wind-up towers, guitar amps, a six-channel valve mixer from about 49BC - and that lot is just the stuff I can remember! A quick walk through next-door and I will definitely find more that I have forgotten!

I either start off-loading some of that stuff or I build a fourth building on-site just to house all the surplus!

(And then there's all the farm machinery and tools!)

Take a bow, spot on and back of the net, you got it in one there.

Thank you Sir!

Even within the realms of artistic and creative endeavour, be that making films, making music, or any other creative activity, if one is getting paid to do these things, it is extremely important to remember that one is primarily running a business. Complications lead to mistakes and confusion and that costs time - and we all know what time is!