recording options? please help.

i have been reading up alot on the subject and have been scouring ebay but i still don't know which recorder to get. My gear is limited: mpc, compressor, asr 10, decks, mic. i am on a really tight budget something close to 400 bucks. do i want to cop the fostex mr-8? or roland vs 880? or what?? i have been looking hard but i cant really figure how to get my beats to cd. i am willing to buy a recorder now and buying the cd burner upgrade later when funds allow. Or should i just buy a mixer and then record straight to adat or something comparable? the more i look around the more confused i get...
so basically my question is what works well for you?

Mr-8 the bomb diggtiy. I got one and I use it more than my PC tracking stuff. THE BOMB. U can USB it to your pc and as .wav files. You can get software from www.fostex.com and use it as a file manager for it. Dope.

thanks binger. does it record dry w/ no eq, etc? or does it have eq? it doesn't seem to heavy on features just from the looks of it. i am so ignorant w/ computers sorry for the dumb question but is it really as easy as exporting(?) the song to the pc via usb and then burn to cd? thanks!
peace.

You can probably find a used Digi 001 for about that. Pro Tools will give you the best bang for your buck man. Software dynamics and effects to fill in your gaps, as well as a "virtual" mixer so you can mix, master and burn a CD right from there. You can also edit the living hell out of all your tracks, more than a hardware recorder and have a nice visual of what you are doing. You get 8 analog ins and out, 8 light pipe ins and outs, and 2 SPDIF ins and outs for a total of 18. It already has midi ports on the unit so you wont need to buy a midi interface until you outgrow the one on the 001. This allows you to grow into your setup. I don't know man, it's all up to you.

Go for a used Digi001 or MBox/w ProTool Le. I owned a VS1680 for years, Iwould not say it's a part of****, cuz I done nuff work pon it, but I feel those kind of gear dem just...restricted!
Seems like u have a computer? So it will be easy for you to track down yu beats and burn dem... all di work on one unit...ya PC!
Keep in mind dat ProTool's the industry standard, means dat yur able to finalise your tracks in any pro. studio!!!
Hope dat will help!

Yeah man, the 001 is real tight, thats what i'm workin wit ova here and i love it, really clear, and real good editing options, great midi syncing, man i'd say get that anyday, and i got mine for about 500

You have 3 options:


1. Invest in a really good PC with a large HD and a MBOX. (save money)

2. Save your money and purchase something that will last for a while instead of fading out because of its limitations. Roland VS's, Fostex, or Digi, or Akai.

3. You can purchase a Roland CDX-1 for about 600.00 new or 400 bucks on ebay. This is an all-in-one recording work station. Or you can buy a Zoom multitracker.


I would go with options 1 or 2...if really desperate go for 3.