I have a brother who is not into computers at all or doesn't want to be.
Plays guitar in church and just asked me if there is any sort of gadget whereby he can record guitar and vocals directly to cd. Just wants to press a few buttons like in the old cassette method and the job is done.
Tried to explain to him about doing it on computer but not interested
Anyone know of a standalone recording device such as this?
Windows 10 (64bit) M-Audio Fast Track Pro, Band in a Box 2025, Cubase 14, Cakewalk and far too many VST plugins that I probably don't need or will ever use
That looks it could well do the job, as long as it doesn't take too long to set up a he's a bit of a phobic when it comes to anything to do with menu's or computers.
Windows 10 (64bit) M-Audio Fast Track Pro, Band in a Box 2025, Cubase 14, Cakewalk and far too many VST plugins that I probably don't need or will ever use
Windows 10 (64bit) M-Audio Fast Track Pro, Band in a Box 2025, Cubase 14, Cakewalk and far too many VST plugins that I probably don't need or will ever use
Look at the Jam Man in stereo. It uses SD cards and is easy to operate. It's not direct, but it's very close. Record to the jam Man and burn from the SD card. Holds 99 songs.
Windows 10 (64bit) M-Audio Fast Track Pro, Band in a Box 2025, Cubase 14, Cakewalk and far too many VST plugins that I probably don't need or will ever use
Boss (Roland) BR-1200CD or BR-1600CD, digital multi-track recorder, TASCAM DP-2488 or DP-01FX/CD digital multi-track recorder, Zoom MRS-802CD or HD-8 digital multi-track recorder. All of these units are desktop digital recorders with built-in CD burners. In some cases the CD burner is an optional feature. All of these units are discontinued but available through online sources such as Craigslist, eBay and Amazon or in person at garage sales, pawn shops and the consignment area in music stores.
CDs burners are dying out. It's even getting difficult to find them on computers.
Your brother may enjoy a dedicated hardware based recorder. TASCAM, actually the US based affiliate Teac, invented affordable home based recording with the cassette based porta-studio series of products. Their products have few bells and whistle and are still designed to operate similar to a cassette player.
You can see though, why guys are willing to learn how a PC works for this. Direct to CD recording stuff is expensive. A Zoom -> SD card -> a PC is cheap. Or...Buy PowerTracks or Music Creator for $40, plug himself into the PC and go.
Musiclover, tell your brother if he has a phobia about computers, that's fine but it'll cost him.
It things like this that caused all of us to figure this stuff out in the first place.
Boss (Roland) BR-1200CD or BR-1600CD, digital multi-track recorder, TASCAM DP-2488 or DP-01FX/CD digital multi-track recorder, Zoom MRS-802CD or HD-8 digital multi-track recorder. All of these units are desktop digital recorders with built-in CD burners. In some cases the CD burner is an optional feature. All of these units are discontinued but available through online sources such as Craigslist, eBay and Amazon or in person at garage sales, pawn shops and the consignment area in music stores.
CDs burners are dying out. It's even getting difficult to find them on computers.
Your brother may enjoy a dedicated hardware based recorder. TASCAM, actually the US based affiliate Teac, invented affordable home based recording with the cassette based porta-studio series of products. Their products have few bells and whistle and are still designed to operate similar to a cassette player.
The Tascam DP-24 and similar DP-32 ( I own and recommend the DP-24 - There is not sufficient benefit or differences between the 24 and 32 to warrant the additional cost.)
The DP-24 is Tascam's flagship recorder and EASIEST to operate. It can be as easy to operate as recording to a cassette deck. You can be up a recording in minutes and simply ignore the editing. It is as easy to record to as Audacity. The first generation DP24 has a CD burner. Be somewhat wary of the older units like Boss 1200 and Tascam 2488 that use hard drives rather than SD. They are old enough to worry about hard drive failure.
Preparing a song for CD with a DP-24 is a three step process but doesn't require going into menus unless you want to. 1. Arm/record 2. Mix 3. Master There are dedicated buttons to do each and real faders to move if you want to mix your recording. Hit the mix button again, your song is mastered and ready for CD.
Fx are there if you want to use them. Virtual channels are there if you desire. Bouncing is available. Dynamics, EQ, Panning, Reverb, etc. There if you want them, ignore them if you desire. You can use existing hardware if you have a piece you want in your recording chain.
The cheaper, smaller Zoom 8,16,24 and Tascam 02,04,06,08 models all rely heavily on menus.
Years ago I bought the Sony RCD-W500C dual tray CD player/recorder.
One tray holds 5 discs for playback. The other tray is a single disc play or write.
It does high speed dubbing as well as having the ability to act just like a cassette recorder. You hit record and it will burn the CD in real time to the audio input.
Simple way to burn a disc live without the need for a computer of any sort. Problem is, like a cassette, you WILL run out of recording media at a designated point in time.
If a computer, with a simple recording program such as Audacity was employed to capture the audio stream, you could record several hours and then split it onto as many CD's as would be needed.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
Thanks guys for all the helpful advice will pass it on to him.
Will also tell him that if he wants he can buy a cheaper device that will record to sd card such as Zoom or Tascam, and I will gladly burn it to cd for him on computer.
The thing is with burning to cd you have to get it right if doing it on the fly, else the cd is ruined and at 20-25 pence (not a lot) but the cost will soon add up for wrong takes.
I do like the look of the Roland CD2 as it has got built in speakers and mic, but a hefty £500.
will pass on all the good advice that everyone has taken the time to post. Thank you all.
Windows 10 (64bit) M-Audio Fast Track Pro, Band in a Box 2025, Cubase 14, Cakewalk and far too many VST plugins that I probably don't need or will ever use
Also don't overlook into using either a VCR or DVD recorders. VCR's use to be very common for audio backups. Their specs were normally higher than consumer grade audio recorders.
Todays DVD recorders are even more impressive with high quality audio capability and some models featuring digital input/output.
A small 1-2 channel mixer input into the audio input of the DVR is all that is necessary to input your audio. This provides the preamps and line level output.
Here are some screen grabs of the audio specs of a JVC DVR recorder.
192/24 bit with spdif digital stereo output and analog output.
Also don't overlook into using either a VCR or DVD recorders. VCR's use to be very common for audio backups. Their specs were normally higher than consumer grade audio recorders.
Definitely. In the 90's I used to record our band by taking a line from the house PA board into my own mixer and mix that with a pair of stereo room condenser mics. Ran my mixer output to a nice JVC Stereo HiFi VCR I had. It had digital level meters right on the front. Very good quality for live bar band music.
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202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!
Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
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MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
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20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
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