It was unquestionably one of the hottest items at the last AES Show. You can bet it will only get hotter at the Winter NAMM Show in Los Angeles. Yes, we're talking about the Mackie Designs HDR24/96, which we mentioned in our last issue (and which we've already been fielding calls on). So hang on here's a closer look at this surefire best-seller. Oh, but before you start placing your order, please be aware that it will be probably be a while before Mackie actually starts shipping them. Think of this as an advance preview. We don't like to promote vaporware, but this one's going to be a monster hit, so we just couldn't help ourselves.

Let's start with some basics: Hard disk (or non-linear) recording has a lot of advantages over tape-based media. But to take full advantage of non-linear software-based editing in the past, you've had to make a sizeable investment in an external, computer-based workstation. The HDR24/96 combines a high-precision recording system with robust, intuitive editing software just plug in an SVGA monitor, mouse and keyboard directly into the rear panel ports to start slipping tracks and making crossfades.

The HDR24/96 offers all the cool features you'd expect: 24 tracks with 192 "virtual" tracks, sampling rates of up to 96kHz (via software update) and a 20 gigabyte Ultra-DMA IDE built-in drive for 100+ minutes of 24-track recording at 48kHz sampling rate. An extra drive bay holds Kingston-style Ultra-DMA IDE hard drives for easy expandability. You can operate the HDR24/96 as a standalone unit or directly linked to the Mackie Digital 8·Bus. The full-featured editor requires no external computer just plug any SVGA monitor, a mouse and a keyboard right into the HDR24/96 and you're ready to go! The on-screen graphic interface handles all recorder parameters with continuously scrolling track waveforms and variable 1X, 2X, 4X, 8X, 24X track displays.

Intuitive editing software is included with drag-and-drop crossfades and regions plus track slip, audio phase inversion, waveform reversal, normalization, pitch-shifting, time compression and expansion. The unit allows you to Sync and edit to SMPTE and MIDI (Bars/Beats/Ticks) time code. The detailed front panel display includes scrolling menus plus it sports familiar analog recorder monitoring modes so you won't feel lost (Translation: You'll be recording in no time!). The meter display simulates 24 high-res plasma type meters with peak hold, ballistic and dBfs/dBu options.

Want more? Not to worry, the HDR24/96 probably has every feature you can think of and a few you didn't even imagine. What will all this cost? Well, don't hold us to this figure, but we heard the HDR24/96 will most likely be in the $5000 range. Want more information? Want to see if there's any late word on a ship date? Then just call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer for all the up-to-the-minute information! What could be simpler?