You've got to be kidding me...

[fred s.]

This made me laugh

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com...-FX?sku=482649


Why not just buy an actual tape deck???

[Chilljam]

it's like an orange-flavored apple, you get the taste of an orange with the convenience of having an apple. The best of both worlds right?

[Dr ZEE]

this is an old "product" now, and it's about time for Universal Audio to come out with PlugIn version of this "piece" and grab another TEC "aword".... heh heh

**************
no child should feel left behind. everyone gets an award.

YEEEEEEY!!!!!!!!!!

[sweetbeats]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=130319852604

[sweetbeats]

http://cgi.ebay.com/AMPEX-456-1-2-BR...3A1%7C294%3A50

[A Reel Person]

It's $100K with free shipping!

************************************

Starting bid: US $99,999.00

Your max bid: US $ (Enter US $99,999.00 or more) Place Bid

[Richard King]

I knew I should have bought the one that I used when I worked for Pickwick Records.

[Dr ZEE]

heh heh heh
Analog Only board is in SPECIAL forums category because it's for 'special' and VERY VERY rich people only

[Richard Monroe]

Wow. I wonder if that Neve contraption has a "wow" and "flutter" emulator! At that price, it should come with the tape op girls!-Richie

[sweetbeats]

Come on!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's $100K with free shipping!

OH...! I missed that. Sorry. Now that is a reasonable deal.

[lo.fi.love]

Should we let them know that they can build a good analog setup for less than $2,000?

Or should we keep that secret to ourselves, and enjoy all of the inexpensive, used gear?

[Dr ZEE]

I'd say if "we" keep pumping up and spreading the word around about the "greatness of analog" as we do, then soon $100K for a machin with 'second head' (WOW!) may actually become a great deal.
Alaso, This may happen, regardlessly, as $100 for a gallon of milk or $1,000 for a pizza pie may become a reality...

so, for now, I say: Analog recording sucks, analog equipment is old, heavy and crappy, there's no support, no parts, no media available, and it's very hard to work with.
GO DIGITAL!

[pianodano]

Originally Posted by fred s.

This made me laugh

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com...-FX?sku=482649


Why not just buy an actual tape deck???

Why when it does all this ?

How it works:
The Portico 5042 Tape Emulator consists of two identical line driving amplifiers having transformer balanced inputs and outputs. The sonic quality of these amplifiers is such that, by providing galvanic isolation, simple single-sided circuit topology and freedom from grounding problems they are capable of enhancing the sonic quality of many signal sources, especially those of digital origin. The sonic "signature" is one of extreme purity and the image is consistent with that of Rupert Neve's original designs of 35-40 years ago.

The Portico 5042 host line amplifier has a much higher output level capability than the "tape" circuit embodied within it. The gain of the Record and Replay amplifiers has been adjusted so that with the TRIM control set to 0 dBu, and the ENGAGE TAPE button out, an incoming signal of 0 dBu, will cause the first meter LED to illuminate.

Now, with the Engage Tape button pressed and the Saturation control at Min, the same first meter LED will continue to light regardless of whether the meter button is set to Input Level or Tape Level. This is the minimum recommended record level. When the Saturation control is rotated to Max, this is the maximum recommended record level.


















Beam me up Scotty












My brain is becoming saturated.

[Dr ZEE]

Originally Posted by pianodano

...
...LED will continue to light regardless.
...

.....Beam me up Scotty
.

heh he heh , Good one!
**********

...and The "Enterprise" packed with bunch of "successful entrepreneurs" fortunes ahead at full thrust leaving the puplic behind in the dust of "final frontiers".

smile, lads and gents, please, smile!

[Beck]

Originally Posted by fred s.

This made me laugh

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com...-FX?sku=482649

Why not just buy an actual tape deck???

Yeah, I saw this chicanery and laughed my ass off, I think a couple years ago now. After 4 hours of surgery they were able to reattach my ass... no scars or anything. Actually I think it looks a bit better than before. I can fit into my old jeans.

It was this line from the blurb that got me...

"The only thing missing is the tape itself!"

I was recently relieved to learn it wasn't actually designed by Neve himself, but someone working under him. But still, he put his name on it, so I've lost a bit of respect for him.

A lot of the greats are selling out. I can't tell you the number of people of late that have endorsed total shit, maybe to survive in this economy... I dunno. It’s like the once great actors who are now doing infomercials for some piece of crap or another.

Yeah, I know I'm a crusader and will likely die in battle fighting for some lost cause, but still... c'mon! How do they look themselves in the mirror?

[dodgeaspen]

Not a bad price for this kind of gear. HEHEHE. I Bet ya they have sold at least 2 of thoes tape emulator things. I emailed the guy with the reel for 100k and asked if it was a type o. I will post if I get a response.

[Richard King]

Originally Posted by dodgeaspen

I emailed the guy with the reel for 100k and asked if it was a type o. I will post if I get a response.

A universal donor tape machine.

[SteveM]

Originally Posted by Dr ZEE

Alaso, This may happen, regardlessly, as $100 for a gallon of milk or $1,000 for a pizza pie may become a reality...

Oh yeah, it's coming.

Good word Mike, "Alaso"

[witzendoz]

Originally Posted by fred s.

This made me laugh

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com...-FX?sku=482649


Why not just buy an actual tape deck???

Hi,

While I agree with the debate, there is a case for studios that don't want a tape machine to, take up space, maintain, and feed with tape. There is also a case that as the years go by tape machines will be harder to find (good ones) and harder to find parts for.

The 5042 will be a quality piece of gear that will no dought add character to a digital recording and will suit the needs of some studios. There is a review of it here: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul0..._5042_5043.htm

I can however see the irony in building a box to sound like a tape machine. I do own several tape machines by the way.

Cheers

Alan.

[Dr ZEE]

Originally Posted by witzendoz

The 5042 will be a quality piece of gear that will no dought add character to a digital recording and will suit the needs of some studios. ....

that's right, Alan.
And that's about it. Which is totally cool -
well, it would be cool, if that what "it" was "called" and marketed as what it is., ala: "Here's is another mad-box from The Grandfather of ProAudio ( or from who ever worked in his lab). The Device-5042 has Grandpa's signature on it."

But it's not the case.
The case is this:
The only thing missing is the tape itself! After purchasing of the device there'll be also $2,000 missing and still no tape neither tape "effect", but , well, you'll get an effect of a sort (The LED will continue to light, that's for sure )

********

Steve! Hi !
What ever is coming is coming. I am taking no chances and working on my agricultural skills

[themaddog]

Originally Posted by sweetbeats

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=130319852604

I was gonna take out a line of credit on my home to buy it, but I think it's about $100 more than I want to spend.

Now, if the bidding began at $99,899...
-MD

[sweetbeats]

it would be cool, if that what "it" was "called" and marketed as what it is., ala: "Here's is another mad-box from The Grandfather of ProAudio ( or from who ever worked in his lab). The Device-5042 has Grandpa's signature on it."

Yeah, I think that is my only hangup with it...call it what it is rather than what it isn't trying to get others to think its something it isn't so they think it is the "it" they need...I'm certain it is very well made and I've heard good things about it and truly the description sounds enticing to me as a tool in the toolbox, but billing it as a tape replacement is rude IMO.

Bugs me the same way as the images of tape reels on all the Digidesign tape emulator plugins...as if anything can do tape better than tape...I'm sure there are lots of things that do what consumers want to think tape does. So those products make them happy. Fine. Then they've found "it" for them.

[witzendoz]

Originally Posted by Dr ZEE

The only thing missing is the tape itself! After purchasing of the device there'll be also $2,000 missing and still no tape neither tape "effect", but , well, you'll get an effect of a sort (The LED will continue to light, that's for sure )

You could of course put a picture of a tape on the front like this.

Cheers

Alan.

[Beck]

Originally Posted by witzendoz

Hi,

While I agree with the debate, there is a case for studios that don't want a tape machine to, take up space, maintain, and feed with tape. There is also a case that as the years go by tape machines will be harder to find (good ones) and harder to find parts for.

The 5042 will be a quality piece of gear that will no dought add character to a digital recording and will suit the needs of some studios. There is a review of it here: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul0..._5042_5043.htm

Cheers

Alan.

The main problem though is that it doesn't work as advertised. I read the review in SOS and a couple other mags when this came out. Product oriented mags have always been a little questionable as objective sources for product evaluation, and today it's worse than at any time I can remember.

If they want to come out with a compressor or something to “take the edge off digital” that’s fine, and people have been doing that for years with tubes and whatnot. But to call anything, and I mean anything a tape emulator is criminal. They don’t understand, or hope their buyers don’t understand how tape interacts with audio. The tape itself is the key.

Using a tape head without tape is just pure deception. It may grunge up the sound a bit, but something I’ve said before over the years about tape emulators is that they create a caricature of tape sound. That is, they focus on the more extreme compression/saturation effect, which is only one small aspect of tape. They don’t have anything here remotely approaching the versatility of a real tape machine. And as we all know (or should know) tape can be as crisp and clean or as saturated as you want it to be depending on how you use it. The one thing we always have with tape is the absence of digital artifacts, and that’s often how you know something was recording to tape… simply because it doesn’t have the harshness and other unpleasantries of digital.

And people are doing the same thing with plug-ins… anyway they can somehow get the word “tape” into the product without actually having to use tape. Out of one side of their mouths they talk about the superiority of digital and out of the other side the want to use the word analog at every opportunity to sell a device or plug-in that will make your perfect digital better.

They speak with forked tongue… and two faces.

I think it just pisses off a lot of avid tape fans that manufacturers spent so much time, money and effort to diss analog, and now they want to profit from it, without actually using it, or admitting we had a point all these years.

I say fuck them. I’ve been debating analog/digital since 1989 and now they just want to slip this crap in without apologizing for all the deliberate misinformation they’ve propagated to hock their digital wares. I’d really like to see a consumer protection law passed that would prohibit people like this from using the word analog or tape in their product names. They should have to use the word “Artificial” like other industries have to.

And no, I did not have any more caffeine today than I usually do.

Originally Posted by dodgeaspen

I emailed the guy with the reel for 100k and asked if it was a type o.

I caught that.

[Dr ZEE]

Originally Posted by Beck

I’d really like to see a consumer protection law passed that would prohibit people like this from using the word analog or tape in their product names. They should have to use the word “Artificial” like other industries have to.

From where I stand (or more specifically - sit ), I would rather not to go that path because, even though initially the intention was good and clear, but as result we'll more likely end up with the same or even larger bunch of fake products BUT now with bold lables on it, something like FAC (Federal Analog Commission) Approved. heh heh, and in addition we'll have to feed all the FAC board members gangsters, their corrupt staff with their sub-corrupt sub-staff and pay for all the stuff that comes with it, or better say - being sucked into it.

In my mind, I just wish, folks who see things as what they are and understand technicality would stop being apologetic and call those self-proclaimed Grand-Papas of "industry" and winners of awards that they issued to themselves by themselves exactly what they are - liars, deceivers and in many cases flat-out bunch morons and clowns, whose business success relies on general public ignorance mixed with mass hysterical celebrity mania and naive trust in popular infomercial publications aka specialty magazines.

And, frankly, I DON'T give a stinkin dead rat's a$$ about how many big fat cat's studio mixing consoles this "genius" have "built" or "touched". However more than enough folks DO, and thus the madness shall go on