The Beat is done... How do you mixdown?

[wax inspektor]

Hey folks,
how do you record your beats? Do you use a software-multitracker?
I'm using Cubase 3.0 with a quite good soundcard but in my ears I'm loosing a bit of the "dirty" sound from the SP 404, especially on basedrums. How can I keep the analog sound?

Is there any body using a hard-disk-recording machine? How about the sound?

Would be interesting how you get down ... ?!

I'm looking also for a good mastering tool... ?

Thanx 4 help...

[Huph]

I track out into ACID, and I never notice much difference between samples coming from the SP and the computer. If anything, they usually sound a little dirtier after running into the computer. It's odd that something would sound cleaner after conversion, as in your case. How do you actually interface with the computer? I run RCA outs from my 404 to stereo RCA inputs on my sound dock's interface. It records in 24-bit, so I almost never notice much obvious quality loss. If you're having to convert your connection to a 1/8 or 1/4 inch headphone jack, you may be losing some audio info on the way into your DAW. I've noticed that adapting cables usually results in some loss in the low end, which might explain why your samples sound less "dirty" on your computer. Some of the original low end information may be missing.