charlie.
respectfully i have concerns about useing a standalone hardware multitracker.
based on past experience.
as follows. (correct me if i'm wrong.)
some potential issues that have concerned me each time ive considered buying one lately.
1. will it last ??
in days of yore i had a little multitrack unit i would take on holiday with me for getting rough song ideas down. i had a part failure at one point. the cost of repair wasnt worth it.
which brings me to point 2.
2. parts availability in case of failure.
these type of units are great at first glance , and have good reputations , and might give years of service.
BUT what happens if it goes wrong down the road ??
will there be parts available once a new version comes ?? will there be service available ??
(its rather expensive for companies to keep inventories of old legacy parts.)
and possibly the cost for a user in a remote area to ship a unit to a service centre or back to a manufacturer might be just too much. so up in the attic it goes.
3. the guts of the machine useing internal custom SMT chips.
and obsolescence concern.
in the old days (goodness i feel old lol.) even a lot of smaller studios (as well as obviously lots of well funded big studios) often did their own hardware maintenance ; often small jobs , like fixing a channel in a mixing console needing a new op amp; or a circuit card on a recorder.
but these days dense surface mount tech has taken over and is often used in lots of products.
so, the question becomes ; how long will the units parts be available ??
can the unit be fixed ??
SMT is not like the old days.
4. navigating menus etc etc.
for the older musician menu navigation can often be an issue.
particularly if there are lots of them charlie, and screen size can often be also an issue.
also if no port is available for hooking up to a larger tv display say.


charlie i respect the concept and your comments but its the day to day operational "nitty gritty " aspects that concern me per the above and other issues like transferring traks
etc etc.
perhaps for novices , in a seperate thread you might go into more detail how you integrate the standalone multitracker with the computer/daw/biab/vst/vsti tech to form a total solution. i think a lot of people might find this interesting. particularly as you have obviously quite a serious computer rig .

frankly i feel it is fair to say that every tech option for a novice has pros and cons whatever the platform. whether computers and/or standalones and/or now tablets/celphones.


i WILL put in a plug for computer refurbs. they are affordable, readily available in laptops and there are always loads of computer shops around me that "fix them" .
and i dont even live in a big city.
my 300 buck refurb according to RB will do 191 traks which i would never ever use.
under 24 normally.
and ive had it for several years with nary one problem. maybe ive been lucky. i do everything on it.

i DO see your point with audio interfaces, but it all comes down to carefull selection/buying. and drivers.
ive rarely had a problem.

respectfully
muso.

my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..)
https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs
(90 songs created useing bb/rb)
(lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)