Analog newb

This is my first post in this forum.

I have all the gear I need to make good sounding digital recordings (at least the quality sounds good to me).

Microphone - DMP3 Preamp -> Audiophile 24/96 Sound Card

I'm happy with it. But I'd really like to try recording to some tape. What I'm looking for I guess is a way to make good sounding recordings on tape then transfer them to my DAW for mixing and whatnot.

I do want good quality but if for nothing else then a good learning experience.

I bought an old 'antique' Casio boombox thing at a YardSale for a few bucks and it had a tape recorder with built in mic. But it used standard tape so I don't think the quality was that good. Plus it was like 30+ years old so the tape player wasn't working good (lots of noise on playback) and I think the mic sucked pretty bad.

Anyway, I don't want the 'lo-fi' sound. What kind of tape should the recorder support? Also, since I'll be transferring it to my computer afterwards it would need some kind of analog outputs.

Looking for the cheapest possible solution that will not sound like shit.

I'd like to be able to use my existing mics and possibly my preamp too. I'm not looking to do tape edits (cutting, etc.) just record, stop, and transfer. So I don't think a Reel2Reel is warranted here.

Thanks for any advice.

[Flangerhans]

Howdy! You'll enjoy analog recording, it's like flypaper, you'll never get loose once you land. Now, then:

"Looking for the cheapest possible solution that will not sound like shit."

You've got quite a row to hoe there. Your Casio will not help you now. Luckily, there are quintillions of cassette decks that are top quality, just unloved in this modern digital age. Dave is the man as far as cassette decks go here, he has a vast knowledge of what's good and what isn't, search for his posts and you will be pleased with the result. Once you have a deck in mind, you will be pleasantly surprised at how inexpensive a quality cassette machine is, whether you go the ebay route or buy one brand new, even.
Me, I love reels. In fact, the way I love them is illegal in some states, but they can't stop me because the ones I mess with are usually over 18 years old. The positives are that you never have to worry about a hard drive crashing again, your computer glitching in the middle of a recording, or anyone thinking that you are sane as you sit in the middle of your work area with strings of tape surrounding you, whispering about bias to yourself. The drawbacks are that you wind up knowing a whole lot of stuff that has little to do with performing music, because the analog route will ultimately lead you to maintenance and repair of wonderful but sometimes cranky old machines.

All your preamps, microphones, and effects will serve you well in the analog realm. Any hardware that works on digital will work here, and sound good doing it, too.

Have fun working with tape, there's just nothing else like it. Hope this is informative for you.

[A Reel Person]

just get a like-new Tascam 424mkIII for cheap on Ebay, & call it a day!

[A Reel Person]

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[FALKEN]

didn't the guy say he specifically didn't want the lo-fi sound??

danny.guitar, why do you want to record to tape and then transfer into the PC for mixing? Especially if you already "have all the gear I need to make good sounding digital recordings"?

I dont know I've just wanted to have a good casette recorder to use, and I'm wondering how it will sound compared to digital.

I guess a sort of 'lo-fi' sound wouldn't be too bad, as long as it doesnt sound like shit you know? It would at least be something different than what I get now. But I'm really broke right now and am mainly looking for a cheap solution.

A simple 2-track would be best for me, I don't really need 4 tracks. But the only 2 tracks I saw were more expensive than that $100 one.

Am I right that with the $100 one, I could use different types of tapes to get better quality? I remember reading that some recorders can't record onto certain types of tapes.

I plan on mixing the analog tracks with some digital stuff like effects and all that once I transfer the them to my computer.

[themaddog]

One of the biggest problems you'll have in synchronizing everything up within the digital realm. Recording a track or two on an anlog, then adding it to the computer, and doing more overdubs again in the same manner can be pretty difficult.

-MD

So there would be drift? I wouldn't be able to align the tracks in my DAW?