Can I use two MDs as a 4-track recorder?

[JamesW]

I need a small portable device for recording four tracks simultaneously, and of the few around - Tascam, Zoom etc - they all can only record a maximum of two tracks simultaneously, whereas I'd like to record three of four tracks at once (at my band rehearsals). There are some recorders that can record 4 or more tracks simultaneously, but these tend to be the high-end expensive models and aren't so portable either.

So I've had an idea: why not use two minidisc recorders, with two mics going into one MD (for tracks 1 and 2), and two into the other (for tracks 3 and 4), in oreder to record four musicians. Then when I transfer both stereo recordings to my computer / digital audio workstation, all I need to do is separate all four tracks and then align them so that they're all sync'd together. This way I'll end up with four separately recorded tracks for mixing / overdubbing etc.

Has anyone any thoughts on the above? I did wonder if one recorder might recorder a fraction faster than the other, or otherwise cause sync problems. Possibly a flanging effect might occur when all four tracks are played back together on the computer. I'm ust wondering if it's worth splashing out another £100 on a second MD recorder.

Thanks in advance. (I'm also not sure where to post this hence adding it to more than one forum - sorry!)

JamesW.

[Bananatree]

Yes, this would work, although I've never tried syncing 4 tracks. I've only done remixes using stereo->Mono dubbing.