How Good Are Your Ears? The Analog Contest!

T

themaddog

Rockin' & Rollin'
Greetings fellow analog connoisseurs!

I've decided to run a little contest. I've made the same recording simultaneously across three machines: a Tascam MS-16 with and without dbx noise reduction, a Tascam MSR-16 with and without dbx noise reduction, and an IZ Corporation RADAR V with classic converters. Then, the analog tracks were all captured digitally onto the RADAR V. All of the recordings on the RADAR V were at 16-bit, 44.1 khz so that there would be no dithering of the files. There was no digital editing of any of these files other than trimming the beginnings and ends of the recordings.

The first person to identify the recording correctly wins......... [TR-909 drum roll please....] a NOS, 7" reel of Quantegy 457 with free shipping within North America! Submissions may be made on this thread or by PM, and if you would like to remain anonymous, please put that info within your PM. If someone who lives outside of North America should win, and if they want more than bragging rights, then they'll have to pay the shipping to their country, minus the difference I would have spent on shipping.

Here are the files:
File A http://www.mediafire.com/?itjnyomyzi4

File B http://www.mediafire.com/?4dzejrmmdgo

File C http://www.mediafire.com/?eynyyn2znnq

File D http://www.mediafire.com/?yzwz3fjz0dj

File E http://www.mediafire.com/?emdkqwizmzw

Just tell me which files were recorded on the MS-16 with and without dbx, which on the MSR-16 with and without dbx, and which was straight onto the RADAR V.

How the recordings were made:
I played on a Jackson Warrior XT guitar with the neck and then the bridge pickup. I played the guitar through a Mesa Boogie Single Rectifier with EL34 tubes, through a 16 ohm 4x12 Peavey cab with Sheffields. The Shure SM57 mic was pointed off-axis on the bottom left speaker. The mic was connected directly to a Soundcraft Ghost, using the Ghost's pre-amp, and split across five groups to the three machines. The EQ was not engaged. I kept the levels as consistent as I could and recorded on all simultaneously. I did not have the same exact tape for the MS-16 and the MSR-16, so RMGI SM 911 was used on the MS and Quantegy 456 was used on the MSR.

I look forward to seeing your submissions, good luck to all interested in participating!
-MD
 
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I just took a wild guess. We are supposed to get all these right? :confused:


1. Radar
2. MSR16 w/DBX
3. MS16 no DBX
4. MSR 16 no DBX
5. MS16 DBX
 
Would have been much easier if the recording had drums or more instruments or something, this is the best i can hear. Here goes....

A: MS-16 without dbx
B: MS-16 with dbx
C: MSR-16 with dbx
D: RADAR V
E: MSR-16 without dbx
 
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Chilljam said:
Would have been much easier if the recording had drums or more instruments or something, this is the best i can hear. Here goes....

A: MS-16 without dbx
B: MS-16 with dbx
C: MSR-16 with dbx
D: RADAR V
E: MSR-16 without dbx
Click to expand...

I think one of us will be right. I would just be guessing between the MS and MSR since I don't own either.
 
It sure would have been easier, but then I would have had to mix them, which would have made things too subjective, but all the same - WE HAVE A WINNER (and he just had to be on the other side of the world)!

PM me if you'd like the tape.

Before doing this contest, I played these for my brother at my studio, through my monitors and everything. Although he's heard me talk about the difference between analog and digital countless times, it's not something he works with or really understands. He thought the dbx engaged tracks sounded the best, and the best word he could use to describe them was smoother. He used to work at a liquor store, and he compared it with discovering fine wines for the first time; he could tell which was better, but he didn't have the vocabulary to differentiate between the different tracks. He couldn't hear any difference between the MS-16 and MSR-16 dbx engaged tracks, which I thought was interesting.

Thanks everyone for your submissions!

-MD

Chilljam said:
Would have been much easier if the recording had drums or more instruments or something, this is the best i can hear. Here goes....

A: MS-16 without dbx
B: MS-16 with dbx
C: MSR-16 with dbx
D: RADAR V
E: MSR-16 without dbx
Click to expand...
 
leddy said:
I think one of us will be right. I would just be guessing between the MS and MSR since I don't own either.
Click to expand...

The MS-16 is a 1" 16 track, and the MSR-16 is a 1/2" 16 track. A better comparison test probably would have been 2 machines in the same series, like the TSR-8 and the MSR-16, but I don't have that equipment.

In all honesty, I didn't expect the recordings to come out as different as they did.

-MD
 
If Chilljam does not want to pay the shipping, I'd love to try a roll of that. I'd be happy to pay something for it since I didn't actually win. I run LPR35 or Scotch 207 on my Tascam 22's. I'd love to try the 457. :)
 
A MS -16 with DBX is an outstanding recorder and it is worth a heck of a lot more than they are currently selling for.

My .000000002 cent.
 
leddy said:
If Chilljam does not want to pay the shipping, I'd love to try a roll of that. I'd be happy to pay something for it since I didn't actually win. I run LPR35 or Scotch 207 on my Tascam 22's. I'd love to try the 457. :)
Click to expand...

No worries Leddy, It's all yours... I've got 2 cartons of Quantegy 457 still unopened.
 
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