VCR recording

[oz_fenda]

Ok dumb question,
is it a sure bet that recording onto a VCR tape (eg. mic - mixer - vcr - then import to DAW) would produce awful results? I'd try it but it'd mean i'd need to buy a few leads etc so i'd rather just have someone tell me i'm an idiot before I bother trying it out......
cheers

[oz_fenda]

Yes i was looking at a tight-arse way to get a warmer analogue sorta sound before i realised how relatively cheap i could get a tape machine for......Would any of these be any good? I guess I would be recording mixer - tape machine - soundcard line in then DAW? Or would I be better off with a big old 'reel to reel' machine? Cheers!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nice-Nad-Stereo-...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI...._promot_widget

[warble2]

How about this for analog:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI...._promot_widget

I used to use a Canon Hi-Fi VCR in the early 90's to record masters to. Great audio quality probably due in part to the cost of the thing. For tracking, I used a Yamaha 4-track though.

[beezelbubba]

Do a search under either Walters or Creamy,Milky compressors.

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Originally Posted by oz_fenda

is it a sure bet that recording onto a VCR tape (eg. mic - mixer - vcr - then import to DAW) would produce awful results?

No, it's not a sure bet that it'll produce awful results, but it's a fairly sure bet that it won't so you any good, either. Don't waste your time.

G.

[ecktronic]

Originally Posted by oz_fenda

Yes i was looking at a tight-arse way to get a warmer analogue sorta sound before i realised how relatively cheap i could get a tape machine for......Would any of these be any good? I guess I would be recording mixer - tape machine - soundcard line in then DAW? Or would I be better off with a big old 'reel to reel' machine? Cheers!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nice-Nad-Stereo-...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI...._promot_widget

They both look crackin bits of gear.
Ive thought about it too. DOesnt it need to be analogue tape rather than digital tape? Or am I totally wrong?

Eck

[MadAudio]

I used to mixdown to HiFi VHS years ago. It can sound good, however most consumer decks have built-in limiters and it takes some trial and error to find the right level before the limiter kicks in.

[chessrock]

It's not the same.

You can get good results, but just about all of the benefits that people would generally associate with analog tape ... would not be present. It's a different technology, and a different way of recording. If you're expecting something that might approximate the compression of analog tape and/or saturation, "warmth" or whatever the hell you might want to call it ... then you'll be disapointed. Look for a regular tape deck.

.

[oz_fenda]

ok cool thanks for the advice guys, cheers

[Beck]

I used beta hi-fi, so I can only tell you about that VCR format.

Mixing and mastering to super beta-hi-fi was fairly popular at one time... VHS hi-fi to a lesser extent. Incorporating a hi-fi VCR in a digital system can have some benefit, but it will not have the dramatic effect you can achieve by pushing an open-reel machine. In fact you cannot push it much at all... it is more like digital at 0 VU going into harsh distortion a bit above that point. It uses AFM (Audio frequency modulation) to put the signal on tape.

I still have a Sony super beta hi-fi I bought for mixdown in the 80’s, and I prefer it to mastering to digital. For those that are already on the analog bandwagon (I’m not trying to make any converts here) you will have the same infinite resolution as analog tape without the sampling artifacts of digital. The high end is full and thick like analog tape, for lack of a better term.

You’ll have clean recordings with perhaps just enough harmonic distortion (0.3%) to give your music some analog character… but nothing like reel-to-reel. The character may be more accurately described as undigital.

The tape you use makes a difference. Sony PRO-X was probably the best consumer beta tape, but you will rarely find it new anymore (except at my house). A little secret… professional betacam tape can be used in beta hi-fi machines and the high-grade broadcast quality stuff like BCT-30G is the same formulation as PRO-X. TDK SA betamax is another tape that I had great results with.

I see the Sony betacam tape selling new on eBay now and then. Betacam travels at about 10 times the speed of betamax BII, so a betacam tape labeled as 30 minutes long is equivalent to a betamax L-750 tape, which is about 3 hours of run time. In other words BCT-30G is a 30-minute tape in the betacam world, but 3 hours in a betamax VCR at BII speed. A lot of the later generation beta hi-fi machines wouldn't record at BI speed... That's why I'm referencing beta II speed.