Well, in that case I highly recommend you take a close look at the Korg D series digital recorders. I have a D1600 and it has 8 inputs and will record 8 tracks at once in 16 bit and 4 tracks at once in 24 bit. It will also playback 16 tracks in 16 bit and 8 tracks in 24 bit. They are solid, stable units and in addition there is a GREAT forum at www.korgstudios.com where there are some very friendly and very, very knowledgeable people very willing to help with any problem you might have. Also, the learning curve is not very steep. The current price for a D1600 MKII is about $1050 usd.

Tom

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Bigger is not always better

Thanks Tom. The Korg D series is a top consideration. I worked with one a few years ago and for me it was a pretty intuitive piece of gear.

AJ

Scott, who is your dealer? I notice that you manage to get everything way below the regular price...

Chony, the manager of one of my local music stores just happens to be a LONGTIME personal friend (from our college days together at music school). Not only does he consistantly offer me the best prices, but he also shares with me (confidentially) the actual dealer 'wholesale price' paid by him as well. This type of openess (rare in this business) insures me I'm getting the best (fair-honest) deal possible. - Scott

AJ, the noise you get with the USB cables...is it your laptop that you use with the USB?

If so try using a two prong adapter before plugging it into the wall receptical...
I found this did the trick with noise on my Laptop..

My USB cables give off noise. I don't know what to do about it. My speakers and mixers pick up these alien like sounds (not ground noise) from USB and it drives me nuts!

The Usb cable goes to my PC ( or at least it did when I was having the trouble ).

AJ

You're very lucky. I normally manage to get the best prices in town, but I've discovered that you always manage to do even better. Now I understand... The great thing about your situation is that you can upgrade once a year by selling your old equipment at no loss!

Chony, as an avid reader here yourself, you too should now be aptly armed to negotiate the best deal possible on music equipment. A savy buyer must comparison shop (via both local & online dealers) and can often negotiate a 'lower price' when a dealer is willing to undercut the competitor's price. The best deal can be had by becoming informed as possible about the product, it's 's features, and dealer's pricing-markup structure, and in-store service policies . Fortunately, with the advent of the internet, and specifically: our Synthzone arranger keyboard forum, we the consumer have become much more informed savy buyers. - Scott

On another note to explain my case. One week ago, I upgraded from "Sonar 3 Studio" to "Sonar 4 Professional" paying Cakewalk's listed upgrade price of $229.00. Before ordering, I asked the Cakewalk sales rep if there might be an UPGRADE special being offered in the near future as upgrading from "Sonar 3 Studio" to "Sonar 4 Studio" was currently on sale for only $79. He advised me that no SALES promotion was planned so I went ahead and paid $229.00. Subsequently, when checking Cakewalk's site yesterday, I noticed that Cakewalk is now offering the "Sonar 3 Studio" to "Sonar 4 Proffessional" upgrade for $179 ($50 less than what I paid just a week before). After calling Cakewalk to complain about this sudden change in pricing, though they refused to offer me a refund of the difference, they agree to apply a $50 credit to any future Cakewalk product purchase. I opted to receive (free) Cakewalk's: Loops of Hazard: http://store.yahoo.com/cakewalkdirect2/loopofhazfor.html

Scott

[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 06-06-2005).]