Syncing a Analog Multitrack to DAW

I

imacgreg

New member
I am considering purchasing an analog reel-reel 8 track recorder and using it along with my DAW which consists of a Gadget Labs 824 soundcard and N-track. I would like to record bass and drums on the reel-reel and the rest on the DAW, can these two machines be accurately synced together? How does one go about doing this? I know I could always record analog and then record that onto the DAW, but I would like to have both running synced and separate until mixdown. Can this be done?? My soundcard does have word clock output, is this relevent? I'm very unfamiliar with syncing, thanks.

Ian
 
You could do it with midi. I have a Tascam box (from years ago) that will stripe the tape with time code . I don't have it handy so I don't remember the model #. You will waste a track on the reel machine. Then the output of that track goes back into the box and midi out into your sound card. You would then set the clock for your card to use sync from the midi in. Although this works, your clock stability will depend on the transport stability of the deck which will not be nearly as stable as a digitally generated clock from a crystal.
My best advise is to bag the whole idea and take the money you would spend on the reel and time code generator and upgrade your hardware/software to enable more tracks. The situation I describe above is not optimal nor is it very convenient.
 
Ok, I kinda understand how this works, and the track count isn't the reason I want the reel. Are there any other methods for getting them to play together? If not, I guess I would just have to record analog then dump it into my computer.

Any other ideas??

Thanks,
Ian
 
Unless you can get a deck that will slave (very expensive I believe) the method above is really the only way. Although you dont need midi you can do it all with SMPTE.

If you just want analog to track drums or something you would be much better off just dumping the analog tracks to the DAW. Fewer hassles and investment for about the same sound quality.
 
Tex is correct all the way around. I was talkin' midi 'cause I have a box that does that and of course you can use SMPTE or MIDI. I just picked one to illustrate how it could be done.
 
By the way, can I ask why you want the reel? Not that I have anything against them, but maybe there's a better option for what you want to do?
 
Thanks for the ideas. Monte, the reason I want the reel is that I have heard that drums among other things sound great recorded onto analog tape. I am not buying into the digital "harshaness" and tube "warmth" equipment manufacturers wish us to believe, but there obviously has to be some difference between the sonics of a DAW system and an analog ree-reel. Also, some of my favorite records have been recorded on ree-reel machines and i also feel that to be competitive as en engineer I must also know analog recording techniques as well as digital. I think that sums up why I want one, but another reason is that they look way cooler than a stupid computer:D

I believe that I will just have to dump tracks into the computer and in the meantime, while I'm searching for a good tape deck, I'll need a good set of converters. That is another question I have. I know that my soundcard has to have converters (duh) so what would be its purpose if I bought outboard converters?

ian
 
I think what Cyan's getting at is that if your wanting the reel for that purpose, it suggests that you have a very discerning ear. It would be pointless to go through all that trouble to buy the machine and dump the audio into the pc through the crappy converters that are in most soundcards built for the home recordist.
 
Ok, I understand. I have a discerning ear (two, hopefully) and I think my soundcard has good converters. In the end I guess it is all how you use it anyway...

Thanks for your help,
ian:D
 
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