The Perfect Recording Medium (not another analog/digital war)

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Kasey

New member
i swear this isnt an analog/digital war thread. This is just for fun. What would the perfect imaginary recording system or medium be?
Im thinking a 2" reel to reel with a digital interface for editing - but no digital effects or anything, everything but the editing interface would be analog... make sense? what do you guys think would be perfection?

oh, and this is for everyone, not just the analog guys. and you cant just say 'a 2" reel to reel' or 'a computer'... because that defeats the purpose.
 
The ultimate recording set up?

Why a device that could read my mind and hear the parts in my head and spit out a CD, the other end. :)

Cheers! :)
 
Kasey said:
What would the perfect imaginary recording system or medium be?
Im thinking a 2" reel to reel with a digital interface for editing - but no digital effects or anything, everything but the editing interface would be analog... make sense? what do you guys think would be perfection?

oh, and this is for everyone, not just the analog guys. and you cant just say 'a 2" reel to reel' or 'a computer'... because that defeats the purpose.
Click to expand...

A recycleable 2" 90 minute reel in a box with internal high end digital transferring/editing/storage.
 
The Ghost of FM said:
The ultimate recording set up?

Why a device that could read my mind and hear the parts in my head and spit out a CD, the other end. :)

Cheers! :)
Click to expand...

Looking at current product literature, it appears that’s what a lot of people think they’re buying. :D
 
The Ghost of FM said:
The ultimate recording set up?

Why a device that could read my mind and hear the parts in my head and spit out a CD, the other end. :)

Cheers! :)
Click to expand...

haha, word.
 
The Ghost of FM said:
...a device that could read my mind and hear the parts in my head and spit out a CD, the other end.
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Beck said:
Looking at current product literature, it appears that’s what a lot of people think they’re buying.... :D
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...while people who're selling these products ride their golf cars and sing:
"I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world."
:D :D :D
*********
credits:
Long Live Mr Armstrong!
picture source: http://www.usgolfcars.com/
 

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Kasey said:
i swear this isnt an analog/digital war thread. This is just for fun. What would the perfect imaginary recording system or medium be?
Im thinking a 2" reel to reel with a digital interface for editing - but no digital effects or anything, everything but the editing interface would be analog... make sense? what do you guys think would be perfection?

oh, and this is for everyone, not just the analog guys. and you cant just say 'a 2" reel to reel' or 'a computer'... because that defeats the purpose.
Click to expand...
Well, I'd first of all state that magnetic tape is completelty out. It's just WAY to unlinear as a medium to be anything like "perfect".

It is however, easily re-recordable, which is nice. I have a hard time imagining anything else that is.

But, ignoring that, how about letting the signal...deflect a laser that then burns a path into a very big drum of some good medium? The drum could be thinly goldplated metal that is resitant to corrosion, and is not yellow. Chromium?

That would burn a very accurate represetation of the signal into the drum. The main problems would be getting the defelction circuitry to be able to follow fast enough, and not have ANY resonances below 100kHz. Should be doable.

Now, you would have a damn hard time actually *playing* that, but hey, you said *recording* medium. :D
 
regebro said:
It's just WAY to unlinear ...
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Is that a HIGHway???? Ala: "I'm on the highway to hell (x4)
mmmm
Don't stop me
hey hey
I'm on the highway to hell (x8)" :)
...and where the hell is 'unlinear'? what country? what state?


regebro said:
I have a hard time imagining anything ...
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regebro said:
Now, you would have a damn hard time actually *playing*...
Click to expand...

regebro said:
but hey
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:D :D :D :D :D :D :D
sorry, guys, I just could not resist.... ;)
but, hey!:
Kasey said:
This is just for fun.
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:p

********
lyrics credits: http://www.acdcrocks.com/
 
It would have to be TAPE based 'cause, along with vinyl, it has been polished to perfection for at least the past half century and it just makes sense for it to be the base of your "perfect recording medium". It has withstood the test of time and more classic and best selling (and best sounding) albums were recorded to tape than anything else. Tape based recorders will always be repairable and tape always readable unlike current digital technology. I am certain tape will be the choice of recording studios in 50 years and beyond because of its longevity, ease of use, predictable outcome, storage issues and a host of other variables. Tape (and vinyl), unlike most if not all current digital stuffs, will never become "obsolete technology". Don't believe me ? Check in 50 years and I'll prove you right. ;)

~Daniel
 
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cjacek said:
It would have to be TAPE based 'cause, along with vinyl, it has been polished to perfection for at least the past half century and it just makes sense for it to be the base of your "perfect recording medium". It has withstood the test of time and more classic and best selling (and best sounding) albums were recorded to tape than anything else. Tape based recorders will always be repairable and tape always readable unlike current digital technology. I am certain tape will be the choice of recording studios in 50 years and beyond because of its longevity, ease of use, predictable outcome, storage issues and a host of other variables. Tape (and vinyl), unlike most if not all current digital stuffs, will never become "obsolete technology". Don't believe me ? Check in 50 years and I'll prove you right. ;)

~Daniel
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a very unusual sense of humor
 
cjacek said:
It would have to be TAPE based 'cause, along with vinyl, it has been polished to perfection for at least the past half century and it just makes sense for it to be the base of your "perfect recording medium".
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Tape is great, but I'm not sure if it is 'perfect' - I'd have to say that Regebro's idea (which is based on a concept older than tape - but updated with lasers and chromium drums instead of cutting stylii and wax/lacquer/whatever) has merit for recording :eek:. No tape hiss and potentially a perfect representation of the original source.

The problem would be in playback. You'd potentially get the same issues as vinyl - how to track the original signal perfectly. :confused:

BTW I had to read Regebro's post twice. The minute it said 'laser' my mind started thinking of tiny indentations on a thin piece of aluminium sandwiched in resin.... :o
 
But, if you instead can modulate the *width* of the laser beam, and you can have two non-corrosive metals with a clear color difference, you could get a track that would reflect different amounts of light when lighted by a laserbeam that is refleced by one of the materials but not the other.

Then it would be possible to read it as well.

It's gonna be *very* hard to erase and re-record, though. :)
 
Guys, I'm all for invention and creative thinking but we DO have a "perfect" medium and it's called tape! Why reinvent the wheel here ?? If one was to take the best of the best when it comes to parts and design, we already have the "perfect" medium. If money is a non issue, all a company needs to do is select the best possible existing technology for parts and build the ultimate tape recorder. When one starts to talk about lasers and "drums" then I can't help but think about it being another BETA (and now VHS), LD, CD, ZIP, or some other proprietary format which is now or will be shortly extinct. Tape is really the format of choice if you really examine all variables. I can understand how one may find fault with some of today's and (yesteryears) recorders but it only means companies cut costs by selecting lower quality components. Again, if price were a none issue, as is the case with a select few more recent recorder designs, the quality can be out of this world. Tape and recorder designs had been perfected for decades and are/were capable of ever increasing sound quality. Imho, a tape based recorder (and tape) is capable of better and better performance with ongoing design changes. There is really no reason to change to a different recording medium, if absolute quality is required. I don't know about you but I would never switch to a completely new medium, no matter how hi-tech it was. More likely than not, it would too become obsolete technology faster than you could press rewind on your tape recorder.

~Daniel
 
I prefer a band that can pay me to take the time to track and mix fully analog. Up until a year and a half ago I did everything analog (11 years full-time engineer and counting)... imagine doing fader, EQ, and outboard hand moves on the fly (real-time); it takes more than one person. I do miss it and sometimes I still go "AAD" but it's a rare thing.

-- Adam Lazlo
 
regebro said:
But, if you instead can modulate the *width* of the laser beam, and you can have two non-corrosive metals with a clear color difference, you could get a track that would reflect different amounts of light when lighted by a laserbeam that is refleced by one of the materials but not the other. Then it would be possible to read it as well.
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That would work, and a basic non-perfect proof-of-concept version is already around (optical soundtracks anyone?) ;)

regebro said:
It's gonna be *very* hard to erase and re-record, though. :)
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Indeed!
 
analogelectric said:
...imagine doing fader, EQ, and outboard hand moves on the fly (real-time)
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no need to 'imagine' it ;). That IS the way all The GREAT and Uncompromisingly Unique music records used to, are and will be produced. And that's the way one should 'choose' if He/She hopes or care to produce GREAT and Uncompromisingly Unique music record.

*******

oh, and btw,
Perfect Recording Medium for music recording/production (currently existing, not from fantasy world!) - Analog Tape. No questions about it. It does what it takes and does it perfectly.
The problem is, you need 'a machine' to use IT, and those machines are on Endangered Species List.... so?
Yeah. So.....
..it sucks. that is. :( :p :(
 
cjacek said:
Guys, I'm all for invention and creative thinking but we DO have a "perfect" medium and it's called tape!
Click to expand...
You have a very low requirement on "perfect".
 
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