16 tracks 2 inch tape?

[poopchute]

Hi,
Is there a Tascam Reel to reel that is 16 tracks but on 2 inch tape?

[A Reel Person]

.........................

[jpmorris]

You could take a 24-track ATR and get new heads made for it. We're talking crazy money, mind you...

[cjacek]

Yup, but 24 track 2" machines are more common and the sound difference between that and a 16 track (on the same width of tape) is relatively minor, without being totally anal about it and, IMHO, doesn't warrant you seeking out a 2" 16 track specifically. A good condition 2" 24 or 16 track will blow you away. As JP said, though, we're talking crazy money here. Still, I'd like to get one, eventually.. the 24 / 2" type, just for kicks.

[jjones1700]

Hell, I'd love to have even a 1/4" machine that plays at 15 ips. All of mine are the standard 3 3/4 and 7 1/2 ips.

[cusebassman]

Originally Posted by jjones1700

Hell, I'd love to have even a 1/4" machine that plays at 15 ips. All of mine are the standard 3 3/4 and 7 1/2 ips.

You could probably make that modification yourself without a HUGE set of complications, although I don't know exactly what you would need to replace

[trancedental]

I remember a friends band recording on 2" 16 track in the late '80's I think the machine was a Soundcraft? (http://www.brenelltape.co.uk/id7.html)

Compared to the 24 track 2" in the studios my band used there was a quite a difference IMO. The 16 track sounded much bigger & 3 dimensional ect, & reminded me of classic late '60's / 70's recordings that I've heard.

Of course some of this could have been due to a better console & / or mixdown 2-track machine used. However I heard the monitor multitrack mix of both machines during overdubs & I was very impressed by the 16 track!

On a related note we used a studio around the same time with a Fostex B-16 with a Soundtracs MRX console (http://www.studiosystems.co.uk/soundtracs-mrx/) which was obviously not a console usually used together with a Fostex R2R. Although the mixdown tape was done on Revox 7 1/2" ips the end product sounded better than some 24 track studios I've used! My belief is that mixing desks are as important as the recorder & probably more so?


If I could get one of those big old top quality consoles from the 70's / 80's in my house I would buy one today & lots are available for cheap prices!

[poopchute]

Well,
The reason I ask is that at the present I have my TSR-8, which I love. But I find myself using up 5-7 tracks on just drums and it gets me thinking, boy I wish I had a 16-track machine just like this TSR-8. Thing is I dont want a MSR-16, they are what, 16 tracks on 1/2" tape. So I dont want to go down in tape width. Obviously I want the widest possible tape width with whatever tracks I think I need.
So I could get another TSR-8 and sync them together. or
I could just sync the 1 TSR-8 with my Digi-002, but I still havent done this and I just dont know if it will work like I want.
Thats why i wanted to know if they make a 2" 16 tracker. Cause thats actually what Im looking for. Either that or 2 8 trackers that run 1 inch tape synced.

[A Reel Person]

You could get a Tascam MS-16, which is 16 tracks on 1" tape. This was a very popular format.

[brendandwyer]

ms16 is 16 1" sounds great. works great.

oops, what reel said.

[poopchute]

OH I thought that is was 16 on 1/2 tape. cool

[jpmorris]

Originally Posted by poopchute

OH I thought that is was 16 on 1/2 tape. cool

MSR-16 = 1/2"
MS-16 = 1"

...despite their unfortunately similar names, they are very, very different machines.

[cjacek]

Originally Posted by poopchute

I have my TSR-8, which I love. But I find myself using up 5-7 tracks on just drums and it gets me thinking, boy I wish I had a 16-track machine just like this TSR-8.

If you love the sound of your TSR-8 then I think your best bet would be 2 TSR's sync'd or a 1" 16 track machine.

As an alternative, if you really wanna go all out, see about getting a machine from http://www.blevinsaudio.com/tapemachines.html

They have a bunch of 2" 16 / 24 trackers.

...or contact your local studios and ask if they have any recorders they wish to get rid of, that you could take off their hands.

I still say get the 24 track (2") over the 16 'cause it's much easier to "upgrade" to 16 tracks than it is to go from 16 to 24, if and when you need more tracks.

[jpmorris]

Originally Posted by cjacek

As an alternative, if you really wanna go all out, see about getting a machine from http://www.blevinsaudio.com/tapemachines.html
They have a bunch of 2" 16 / 24 trackers.

...one of which is a TASCAM ATR-60. This intrigues me. A quick google search reveals only one other reference to a 2" version of the ATR60/16. Wonder if it's a typo and they meant 1"? It's possible they did do a 2"/16 option, since they did a 2"/24 version, but I imagine it's very rare.

[cjacek]

Originally Posted by jpmorris

...one of which is a TASCAM ATR-60. This intrigues me. A quick google search reveals only one other reference to a 2" version of the ATR60/16. Wonder if it's a typo and they meant 1"? It's possible they did do a 2"/16 option, since they did a 2"/24 version, but I imagine it's very rare.

Good call 'cause I noticed that same thing too and wondered if it infact was a typo. I'd bet yes 'cause I can't find any evidence that the ATR60 / 16 was a 2" deck. The ATR80 was a 2" but that was 24 track... Hmm...

[A Reel Person]

A local studio I'd visited several years ago would have sold me a like-new Studer A-80mkIII for $8k, delivered! I nearly popped for it! Couldn't at the time, though!

...or maybe it was a mkIV ????

[The Ghost of FM]

I've got a freshly restored MS-16, with re-lapped heads and a new pinch roller. 100% working at factory spec!

Not using it much there days.

Maybe I should sell it?

Anyone interested?

Cheers!

[A Reel Person]

Originally Posted by The Ghost of FM

I've got a freshly restored MS-16, with re-lapped heads and a new pinch roller. 100% working at factory spec!

Not using it much there days.

Maybe I should sell it?

Anyone interested?

Cheers!

Go digital !!!

[cjacek]

Originally Posted by The Ghost of FM

Maybe I should sell it?

Anyone interested?

Are you serious, Jeff?

[cjacek]

Originally Posted by A Reel Person

A local studio I'd visited several years ago would have sold me a like-new Studer A-80mkIII for $8k, delivered!

That would have been a great deal right there!

[The Ghost of FM]

Originally Posted by cjacek

Are you serious, Jeff?

I don't know?

I've been thinking about it for the past year...living in an apartment building now has really put a damper on my recording habits. There's always someone banging in a nail or running the shower and all these noises can be heard pretty easily.

My plan was to buy a house one day and set up a proper studio like I used to have but anything I can afford is way out of town and in areas with little work available so in the meantime, I keep saving my money and hopeful of a market crash! ...which may never come.

If I did sell it, it would have to be a local sale, to someone with a van or good sized car to come and pick it up. There's no way in hell I'm gonna pack it again like I did two years ago when I moved. That took me a month to do, to take it all apart, find suitable boxes, padding and bracing for the boxes...too much work.

Cheers!

[Beck]

Don't do it, Jeff!

You'll be glad you held onto it sooner or later.

[cjacek]

Jeff,

I stand with Tim (Beck) on this one. I can almost guarantee that you will regret selling the MS-16, just as I am sure I'll be back posting on this board again this week. Tim's right, don't do it.

It may seem the right thing to do, like right now, in the spot you're in, but often, when one's situation or environment changes, so does the way we think and behave.

Take a long, hard look and remember the history of your MS-16, both good and bad, the restoration, the hours spent recording etc.... No matter what you think, it's more than a recording device and you'll agonize over selling it, as soon as you part with it.

If you have any doubt, don't sell it. Put it away, cover it up, don't look at it, even stop recording for a while but don't sell it. You'll always have a recorder to place in your own studio, inside of the proper house you'll soon purchase but if you sell it, you'll never get it back and the money you get for it, won't matter inside of a few weeks anyway...

This is kind of a sore point for me 'cause, Jeff, you're in exactly the same point right now as I was several months ago, when I made one of the most stupid gear decisions, to sell (I won't mention what) that I now regret with each passing day. At the time it sounded like the best thing I could do but as my situation changed, so did my outlook. Oh how I wish I had stopped and first asked you guys what to do, back then. You're asking, we're telling you don't do it. Don't look back, just don't sell.

The mind set you have right now will pass, one day soon, and your MS-16 (your pride and joy) will be there waiting for you.

[jjones1700]

Originally Posted by A Reel Person

Go digital !!!

You know you could get shot for that comment in here right??

[jjones1700]

Good point cjacek. I don't have any "pro" equipment, but the decks I do have, I have spent some $ on and put some labor into them. They will have to pry them from my cold, dead fingers before I give them up. Someday I will hopefully have a need for some pro gear and maybe I'll try to buy a 1/2" or 1" machine. That is after I get a good Technics 15xx or higher series deck for the collection. What can I say, I'm a sucker and a slave to the "vintage" gear.