Last month's issue was the beginning of the GearBOX and we started into the topic of home project studios. I left you with some manufacturer's websites to checkout with digital multi-trackers in mind. I have had much opportunity to go out and investigate many of them in the past month and have done so.

Overall, they all fair well and have fantastic capabilities, some of course better than others. The decision of which one to purchase, or rent, is up to you, based on what you want it to do. Hence last months preface to this article.

When examining units, there are many options to choose from, including; number of tracks, faders, inputs (TPS or XLR), inserts, equalization, editing capabilities, effects, hard drive space, 16 or 24 bit, and the list goes on.

In my mind, some of these units have too many bells and whistles attached to them. With such an affordable price tag, I question their quality. Keep in mind, there are more things that could go wrong with a multi-purpose unit and you could end up having problems with them in the future.

I'll give you the top three units that I found to be the best overall

1. Fostex VF-160

   Explanation: This is a fantastic 16 track unit. This unit features 8 TPS ¼ inputs, 2 XLR with phantom power and 2 inserts, which will enable you to record 8 tracks simultaneously.

   Features include:

   16 faders so that you can have full control of your mix easily

   3 Band-EQ with parametric on the mid and high

   A large capacity 20GB internal E-IDE hard disk gives you hours of record time on all 16 tracks

   Two effect sends and two aux sends per channel (switchable pre/post). The internal effects sound very good

   If you've ever worked on an analog mixing console, this unit almost makes you think that you still are again. They've tied the old and the new together into the digital realm. This unit is very easy to operate with just a little reading in the manual and sounds great. As for the cost, it can't be touched at Approx.$1300.00

2. Yamaha AW4416

   Explanation: This unit was almost identical to the Fostex in design and ease of use. The only major differences I found were:

   It has a 4-Band fully parametric EQA huge 64GB hard drive

   Motor faders and higher bit ratios in the internal processing and EQ section

   You may find the sound quality a slight bit better than the Fostex, but I don't think that it justifies the price tag at Approx.$4000.00. The reasoning behind this is that it is using the famous O2R technology. Overall a really fantastic unit.

3. Fostex VF80
   

   Explanation: This unit is great for the singer/songwriter who doesn't need a lot of tracks or anyone who is just getting started with the process of recording. This unit can record only 2 tracks at once:

   2 XLR with phantom power and 2 ¼ inch TRS inputs

   20GB internal E-IDE hard disk

   Good sounding effects with amp and mic simulators

   The EQ section is only 2 band which is a little unfortunate, but still sounds very good

   It also comes with a preset library of EQ's for all sorts of instrumentation

   This unit would defiantly serve anyone well who has a small budget and would like to have quality recording. Approx. price $600.00

The reasoning behind my top three pick is, basically, ease of operation, sound quality and how the unit is put together as a whole (mainly just the basics without too many extra components within the unit).

Next month we'll start getting into some of the other tools that you will be using and needing to get those great sounding recordings from home. Until then, happy recording.