| Home recording and general music post from the archived Yabb Recording Website Message Board. Some of the info here may be outdated but many of the audio recording and home studio tips are still good. Note: The only tags I made and attempt to convert are italics, bold, center and underline. So if you see some gibberish surrounded by brackets, just ignore it.
Recording Website Archived Yabb board Post
Febuary 2001 Yabb Message Board Archive
Subject: cd burner
by jb | 05/11/01 at 07:47:47
Ignoring whistles and bells, what do you guys think
is better.
A cd burner in a computer or,
A rack mount/free standing burner?
Subject: Re: cd burner
by Big D | 05/11/01 at 08:30:28
The burner will be faster. The recorder will be more portable and allow you to revisit the same disk at different times before being finalized. There are obvious advantages and disadvantages to both. It will really depend your purpose for using it.
Subject: Re: cd burner
by Steve_S. | 05/11/01 at 08:57:34
I think it depends on which way you record and mix your music.
-If you record and mix to tape and do not use a PC, then the free standing may be a better option.
-If you record and mix on the PC then the PC burner would be a better way to go.
Subject: Re: cd burner
by Percy | 05/11/01 at 09:32:21
I have a standalone buner of the consumer variety that burns great without errors BUT if I knew then what I know now, I would have paid the extra for a professional one. They use any old blank cdr but I have to pay shetloads of money for my blanks cause Shania and Bryan Adams need the freakin dough. Sorry for the rant.
Percy
Subject: Re: cd burner
by Jim | 05/11/01 at 13:05:51
Here is my 2 cents worth on the subject....
A PC burner is more likely to work in any CD player (more troubles in automotive players)
Some consumer grade standalone models the CDs don't work in some players.
Commercial grade burners will infact lay down a deeper format on a thicker CD which will play on anything, especially in automotive CD players.
It may come down soley to the deeper burn on the thicker CD, but I am of the opinion that the technology is getting better in the consumer grade and I think the PC manufacturers are more ahead in the technology race.
Subject: Re: cd burner
by jb | 05/11/01 at 14:09:53
What I was wondering was, aren't the working parts of all burners
about the same quality wise? Microwave ovens are about the same
(and made by just a few companies) with the differances being
the name and features.
I usually record RtoR then edit and burn on PC. I can't shake the feel
for tape!
Thanks guys
Subject: Re: cd burner
by Jim | 05/11/01 at 17:51:20
Even Microwave ovens have major differences in technology and quality of components and the routing of waveguides including consumed power.
Here is the major difference between a consumer and a commercial CD burner. The consumer, even some touted as "professional" use CD-R and CD-RW media found at any audio store. These CD's look similar to the real deal that you find software and music on, but they are not.
The CDs you would normally burn are a plastic CD with a film on the recording surface that your burner would write all of the data in 1 and 0s. This film can break down and in most all cases is very inconsistent from CD to CD, especially in your budget brands.
The CDs that you would buy already "industrially" produced are burned right into the special plastic surface, very deeply. So you do not have problems with the media degrading or being inconsistent.
The differences in burners is equally different in that the principals are the same however the job is different and even how they write. Some write in a single or multiple sessions or tracks. The industrial technology itself has less variables hence less errors and is designed to perfectly reproduce the master, the PC or consumer (homestereo) standalone versions do not perfectly reproduce nor do they meet this kind of standard.
The bottom line is most standalone burners are made to replicate music however not all CD players will recognize or accept these variables in the format. The PC burners are a bit more consistent in their format just by the nature of having to burn data. You can drop a few hundred bits of audio and just loose some quality, but you can not drop a few hundred bits of data and still retain a uncorrupted file. That is the key difference in the PC verses Standalone homestereo type burners. This is why when you buy media you can not use the CD-Rs that say music only and trust them to work in your PC, they won't because of the very purposes I described above.
I hope this answers your questions. I have tried to keep it to simple terms, but I could find some technical specs I am sure if you need that. But basically a $400 burner for a PC is probably better than a $2000 standalone that uses the film coated media unless it is capable of recording data and then the standalone just maybe better constructed or simply called professional as a marketing gimmick and charge more because most people don't know that many of them use the same drives as in some PCs and Laptops.
Subject: Re: cd burner
by Percy | 05/11/01 at 23:05:13
Thanks for the info Jim. I was told down at the music store, as far as standalone burners go, the "PRO" ones are able to defeat SCMS and the consumer ones like I got cant. The discs the consumer standalones use cost way more than pro or computer discs because the big record companys need the money(ha) to compesate them for all the copies we are makin. The computer ones can do anything on the cheap discs and I wish I had bought one.
Oh well.
Percy
Subject: Re: cd burner and attention Percy
by Big_D | 05/12/01 at 08:07:50
I have a "pro" recorder and it will burn just about any kind of blank out there. It will use the same type disks as computer burners and does defeat SMCS. It's been a great machine and it works great to back up my Fostex D-80 multitrack. Another feature I like is that I can burn one or more songs on a disc and come back later and add more to a disk. The disk can be recorded on unitl it is finalized. My understanding was that this was not possible on a computer burner unless updates have allowed them to do that. If recording outside your home, a recorder obviously has a portability that a computer burner lacks.
Percy, it seems I recall that you were going to purchase an AT4047. As we have similar vocal characteristics I was curious as to what your impressions were of this mic. Also here's a laugh for you. As you recall I've not been in a band and my music was confined pretty much to recording. I have some friends that also play a guitar and we are attempting to form a band. You can only have so many guitar players so I'll be taking a wack at the drums. This will be very interesting. Any tips are welcome.
Subject: Re: cd burner and attention Percy
by Big_D | 05/12/01 at 08:09:05
I have a "pro" recorder and it will burn just about any kind of blank out there. It will use the same type disks as computer burners and does defeat SMCS. It's been a great machine and it works great to back up my Fostex D-80 multitrack. Another feature I like is that I can burn one or more songs on a disc and come back later and add more to a disk. The disk can be recorded on unitl it is finalized. My understanding was that this was not possible on a computer burner unless updates have allowed them to do that. If recording outside your home, a recorder obviously has a portability that a computer burner lacks.
Percy, it seems I recall that you were going to purchase an AT4047. As we have similar vocal characteristics I was curious as to what your impressions were of this mic. Also here's a laugh for you. As you recall I've not been in a band and my music was confined pretty much to recording. I have some friends that also play a guitar and we are attempting to form a band. You can only have so many guitar players so I'll be taking a wack at the drums. This will be very interesting. Any tips are welcome.