DAT, anybody using it today.

S

sterling1

New member
I'm still using DAT for field recording and mastering, as well as some archiving. Am I alone. My circa 1995 Sony PCM-7010F recorders and RM-D7200 edit controller are still going strong and the sound is so far unsurpassed.
 
I have a DAT Walkman I still use for field recordings quite a bit.
But really, there's a LOT of digital recorders that use SS storage and they make just as good of recordings and it's a LOT less hassle to clear up the cards for more recording. When I use the DAT I have to get the recording off the tapes in real time. I have the unit for getting a digital feed but you still have to play the tape. So if I record a 4 hour gig it takes 4 hours to get the stuff into my puter or on a CD.
But with the smart card based units I just drag and drop and I'm done ..... WAY easier.
And they sound just as good ...... not better ...... but just as good.
And I'm pretty weird about sound quality ..... I still prefer vinyl to CD for example.
But I'm really not noticing any drop in quality.
Even my little Tascam DR-05 sounds just as good as the DAT.
 
I still have a DAT machine in the rack but it's just for some backwards compatibility. I don't track to it anymore. Hell, I have a mini disc player and cassette deck in the rack for the same reason.
 
I have a Tascam DA20, a Sony DTC, and a Casio DA R100 portable. None of them get much use nowadays except for transfers of old material. All 3 machines do sound very good.

Cheers
Alan.
 
Same here Alan. I have a little Sony TCD-D8. Very little use and clean as a whistle inside. Also the matching RM-D3K unit with SPDIF out.

Useful if someone wants me to play a DAT tape.

Tim
 
I still have my Panasonic SV3200...nothing like it at 48kHz and if for nothing else the LED's are awesome looking !!!:eatpopcorn:
 
Tim Gillett said:
Same here Alan. I have a little Sony TCD-D8. Very little use and clean as a whistle inside. Also the matching RM-D3K unit with SPDIF out.

Useful if someone wants me to play a DAT tape.

Tim
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The sony I have is a rack sized unit, can't remember the model number.

Cheers
 
I don't really see any advantages in using DAT. To me it, it's just an inconvenient digital format. I hear no difference in the audio quality between DAT or any other equivalent digital media BUT I do still like ADAT - It might just be in my mind but I hear a certain character in recordings on ADAT.
 
Hi all, Tascam DA 45 HR is my mix-down Deck. So listen, I'm seeing HHB Dat Tapes available new.. Can anyone account for their quality? I am in need of some fresh tapes. I thought Quantegy were supposed to be pretty good, but I see HHB seem to be getting good feedback. I remember them as being a good company.. (?)
 
DanTascam24 said:
Hi all, Tascam DA 45 HR is my mix-down Deck. So listen, I'm seeing HHB Dat Tapes available new.. Can anyone account for their quality? I am in need of some fresh tapes. I thought Quantegy were supposed to be pretty good, but I see HHB seem to be getting good feedback. I remember them as being a good company.. (?)
Click to expand...

I used to use Emtec (basf) dat tapes and they were great, all my old dats still play fine. HHB makes god products and when I can I buy stocks of HHB CDRs to use as master CD's. I don't think that you will have any problems with HHB DAT tapes as long as they have been properly stored.

Alan.
 
Yup. Still have my old faithful Tascam DA30 and DA30MkII. work great, sound great. No reason to ditch em.
 
Thanks Alan. I remember they made a pretty well spec'd CD Recorder, and some other nice gear, back in the 90's. I'll go with some of their DAT tapes, I'm sure they'll be fine. Can't seem to locate Ampex any more, but I'd guess they're around new, somewhere. thanks again, dan
 
Thanks Alan. I remember they made a pretty well spec'd CD Recorder, and some other nice gear, back in the 90's. I'll go with some of their DAT tapes, I'm sure they'll be fine. Can't seem to locate Ampex any more, but I'd guess they're around new, somewhere. thanks again, dan
 
I just needed to transfer a few old dats and my one remaining machine has failed. Trying to get one on eBay and the prices seem very high now, as good ones are being held on to.
 
Prices in Oz are low, nobody wants them, one of the reasons I am hanging onto mine. E(vil)bay UK has a lot for a fair price? Tascam DA20's are a good buy if you can find one.

Alan.
 
I guess DAT players/recorders went the way of cassettes. I stopped using my Panasonic SV3700 back in 08 when I transitioned to DAW recording and everything digital. Not that I'm anti-analog, but today everything you wanted in analog sound can be duplicated digitally today so, why be burdened with any extra old tech real estate? I haven't used any analog gear in my racks (DAT recorder included) in five years and I don't miss anything. I gave away a 48 channel console and two full racks of analog recording gear, cables, compressors, high end reverbs and a lot more to make space for people, sofas and chairs. For me, there's no romance in old technology.
 
bmwerx said:
I guess DAT players/recorders went the way of cassettes. I stopped using my Panasonic SV3700 back in 08 when I transitioned to DAW recording and everything digital. Not that I'm anti-analog, but today everything you wanted in analog sound can be duplicated digitally today so, why be burdened with any extra old tech real estate? I haven't used any analog gear in my racks (DAT recorder included) in five years and I don't miss anything. I gave away a 48 channel console and two full racks of analog recording gear, cables, compressors, high end reverbs and a lot more to make space for people, sofas and chairs. For me, there's no romance in old technology.
Click to expand...
DAT machines are digital. Thus the name, Digital Audio Tape.

I had two dat machines that died from non-use. They were basically tiny vhs tape machines and had the same problems with the mechanism. I was happy to use them in the 90's when they were the only/best choice, but 20 years later, there are much better, faster, easier, cheaper and more stable ways to archive and field record.

I really like not having to deal with linear recording.
 
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