Beginner question: Live recording/burning discs through computer

Hello all,

I know what I want to do, but haven't figured out how to do it yet. I have recorded recitals in the past as a student job in college using all rack equipment and cutting CDs straight off the recorder. (Set up was Preamp->DAT->CD recorder until the DAT crapped out, then it was straight to CD). No mastering or editing - gave the CD to the performer at the end of the recital.

I've been asked to record a concert band festival but I want it to be similar as before (record and burn the cd, rinse repeat) but through my computer (Macbook Pro and USB interface). Is there a way to effectively do this? I've tested it out through Garageband, but it seems like if you record a performance, there's no way to split the master into separate tracks for a CD without having to cut/paste into three new projects. This wouldn't be a problem, but it takes more time than I probably have between ensembles for getting the discs out.

Is there a solution, or should I just invest in getting a separate cd burner, or multitrack recorder with a cd burner?


Thanks!

Check out Audacity. It will allow you to split recordings into new files then drop them into iTunes or Toast to burn.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

And you should check out Reaper.

Not only is is Mac & Win and a full-fledged multi-track sequencer (audacity is an extended stereo editor) but it also has CD burning facilities within.

....and it's only $60 for a full Mac/Win license.
The 'demo' is fully functional so you can try it out to see if it meets your needs.

On the PC side, it's easy to do this with Audition 3.0 (not later versions, as Adobe didn't include disc-at-once in their new code). On the Mac side, there's Wave Editor from Audiofile Engineering: http://www.audiofile-engineering.com/waveeditor/ They have a 15-day trial so you can see if it does what you need. I believe Steinberg's Wavelab has the ability to do DAO, too.

On the theoretical side, I wouldn't do this in-the-box -at least not with the turnaround time you're talking about. If you're recording at 24/44.1 you still need to sample-convert (takes time), program track changes (takes time), burn (takes time), and verify the disc (takes time). Recording straight-to-disc at 16/44.1 via a hardware burner is probably going to be the quickest thing to do.

JP