Analog rumours etc ...

S

SmeagolPrecious

New member
I've heard that there's a group of individuals, in the pro-audio industry, who are putting together the money to start producing reel to reel machines again for home recordists. I'm not sure if this is going on now or were there ever plans of this nature in the works or ... ???
 
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LMAO!

Dude. We all like analog...but lets face the facts.

Analog is dead to the world and cost too much for anyone to manufacture without a massive bank role. And supply and demand means there has to be a demand. I doubt the demand is quite as high as we want to believe...considering how much the demand drops off once the price goes above Ebay and back into where they were before.
 
Never say never,... dude!

It's not out of the realm of possibility, and there is fervent demand out there, whether you see it, or not. It's just that no one with any commercial or industrial potential is willing to step out, in front of the pack. Today, digital is seen as the "it" thing, and analog in recording is too "outside-the-box" thinking. However, just when we all thought that "toob" gear was dead, up sprung a specialty industry of just that: "toob" gear, and it's doing quite well, as we speak. In fact, I've seen page after page of glossy advertisements that proclaim that all these various gear manufacturers are falling all over themselves, to repackage "classic" analog gear in fancy new "digital-ready" packages. One, after the other, after the other,... of well known gear manufacturers, that are repackaging old standard "analog", as a front end to a "digital" interface. Go figure, but it's not much of a stretch of the imagination.

IMO, analog recording will make a resurgence, much in the way of the current lines of gear,... with "analog guts" sporting a "digital interface".

That's just M/O. In the meantime, I have the true "analog" gear pretty well covered,... and loads of media stockpiled, too. I'm not hurting for analog, or waiting for the "majors" to get it back together on analog.

Bernston, what's seen as rock-solid, undeniable "fact", often changes over time, with the winds of change, and the fickled whims of the masses. The earth being "flat" and the sun circling the earth was once taken as solid "fact".
 
Well.........

I think Studer will keep making their machine for a while. And those will continue to sell to professional studios, but I think this thread was about homerecording.

Not many people have 10 - 20k to drop on a tape machine. Sure people spend that all the time on a studio set up for the home, but not for one piece of equipment.

I could see an 8 track being manufactured at some point and marketed at studios for drum tracking, but for home recording I just can't see that.
 
I'm not talking about pro-level 2" Studers, either.

In it's day, Tascam was very capable of bringing 8-tracks (analog) to the market for a competitive price point. It's not beyond reasonability. 16-tracks (analog), too. Even 24-tracks, if you wanna go there,... (MSR-24).

I see the Roland VS-2400 and Boss BR-1600 for the >$1K-$3K> price point, and what's so "competitive" about that? It's not so much cheaper that it's heralding the dawn of a new reality. Not to me, anyway. I'm not convinced.

Sorry, Outlaws. Save your version of "reality" and "fact" for someone who agrees with you.

Your friend,
Dave
 
Reel, I dig what you've been saying here. But didn't the whole "toob" trend arise from criticism that digital was too "harsh" and needed something to "warm it up?" There's a correlation, at least. EDITED TO ADD: Actually, you do imply that. Man, I really need to slow down when I'm reading these things!

And though I do love digital, I started out in the analog realm, and still have my Tascam 38 (1/2" 8-track reel-to-reel for those who don't know). I don't think I'd be at the level I'm at now if I had started with digital only.
 
SmeagolPrecious said:
I've heard that there's a group of individuals, in the pro-audio industry, who are putting together the money to start producing reel to reel machines again for home recordists. I'm not sure if this is going on now or were there ever plans of this nature in the works or ... ???
Click to expand...

I wish you had told me before the weekend! I got an MCI JH24 2" 24 track deck in excellent condition. I wish I could say the same for my back. The deck is 540lbs.
 
Dang, Acorec!!

Going for the heavy artillery, eh?
WTG!

So now, when you say "I love that analog sound", and the typical trolls say "that's not analog", you say, "Dude, 2"-24-track", and shut'em all up!

You rule!
 
Outlaws said:
Well.........

I think Studer will keep making their machine for a while. And those will continue to sell to professional studios, but I think this thread was about homerecording.

Not many people have 10 - 20k to drop on a tape machine. Sure people spend that all the time on a studio set up for the home, but not for one piece of equipment.

I could see an 8 track being manufactured at some point and marketed at studios for drum tracking, but for home recording I just can't see that.
Click to expand...

If I may ....

Many home recordists, including myself, are not out to buy 8 or 16 or God forbit 24 track reel machines. Many would happily settle for a nice 4 track reel to reel deck such as the 34B which in its day did not cost an arm and a leg, I believe a few grand. And there's also something called financing or credit cards. (Buy it now and suffer later ;) :D ).

Some nay sayers would argue that digital stuff today, the multitrackers, offer many more features for a bit less money. I'd argue, that I'd rather get REAL and RESPECTABLE gear rather than some computer boards wrapped in plastic! HA! At least when I get a 50 LB monster reel to reel deck, I know I got my money's worth. Have you ever looked what's inside those babies ? Now, take a look at yer digital yamaha, roland, Tascam multitracker. Pathetic.

Problem is that many folks, who never have experienced true Analog, foolishly believe that all reel to reels, vintage mixers and host of other gear is inferior because "they're old". HA! Truth is that the better ones are superior to anything that's out there today in every respect. Plus they're a JOY to operate! I'm really sorry if I offend anyone with the following statement but I truly believe that DIGITAL PRO AUDIO is the biggest JOKE and SCAM ever! Look, I'm only 30 and have only been introduced to recording no more than 5 years ago. I've gone the digital route before :o and learned a lot from experience and other people. I see, read and observe and have come to realize that Audio in general has taken a nose dive in quality since audio came to rely more and more on digital technology. Listen to some of the 50's, 60's and even 70's music and hear how brilliant, alive and "real" it is. It breathes and touches you in ways that todays recordings can't. No, I'm not talking about the lyrics, I'm talking about the sonic quality of the recorded material. You can't really hear it on cd's 'cause they're lifeless and records and reels are all but gone ... so what's one to do ? Well, we can always start a letter campaign (not email) to TEAC/TASCAM JAPAN main office ...

Anyway, is there a good enough reason that TASCAM does not carry at least one of their multitrack reel to reel recorders along with a matching mixer ? I mean, how hard would it be to still produce the TASCAM 34B + the matching M30 mixer for us hard core Analog guys ? Sure, they might not turn as much profit and sell the amount of units they'd like but they'd be taking care of their very faithful, abeit small sector, Analog crowd and, in the long term, they'd win big time! IMHO they could not possibly lose, especially since this type of gear is gaining popularity once again ... and prices are going up! I know. I see it everyday! Why not reintroduce 1 of each and see what happens or at least make it a "special order" ?

Daniel
 
A Reel Person said:
In it's day, Tascam was very capable of bringing 8-tracks (analog) to the market for a competitive price point. It's not beyond reasonability.
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Sure. But not while there is a big second hand market full of cheap machines. A good machine cost AT LEAST $1000 to manufacture before. Anything manufactured now would be made in smaller series, and taking that into account + inflation, you can forget about anybody making a pro quality multitrack for under 2-3000. And when you can buy then for $300, who will but that?

Right: Nobody in their right mind would.

But sooner or later the second hand market will run out of good quality machines, the prices will rise again, and then who know what happens...
 
You know when Adats came out you could buy a brand new tascam 38 or a Fostex R8 new cheaper than what the adats are. So there is no reason they couldnt come out with new machines for just as cheap as some of this junk they put out now.
 
The "junk" they put out now are HD recorders. They cost some $1200. Add to that the tape mechanics + a set of 24-track heads. The heads alone willl set you back a couple of thousand...

You can't really compare it to dogotal, which gets cheaper and cheaper with the general change in price/performance rate driven by the computer industry. Analog however, stands still. Making an analog 8-track costs as much now as it did in 1980, PLUS the extra cost of making small runs PLUS inflation.

The only analog multitrack still being sold is the Studer A827. And I would be surprised if they actually manufacter it. They just are selling the last ones they made now. For $500. Per channel.

Sure it would be great if somebody would start making multitracks again. But face it, if that happens, they will NOT be cheap.
 
regebro said:
The "junk" they put out now are HD recorders. They cost some $1200. Add to that the tape mechanics + a set of 24-track heads. The heads alone willl set you back a couple of thousand...

You can't really compare it to dogotal, which gets cheaper and cheaper with the general change in price/performance rate driven by the computer industry. Analog however, stands still. Making an analog 8-track costs as much now as it did in 1980, PLUS the extra cost of making small runs PLUS inflation.

The only analog multitrack still being sold is the Studer A827. And I would be surprised if they actually manufacter it. They just are selling the last ones they made now. For $500. Per channel.

Sure it would be great if somebody would start making multitracks again. But face it, if that happens, they will NOT be cheap.
Click to expand...

I think I gotta go with regebro on this. Analog multis are just expensive to build well. Yeah, you could save some money on assy-sounding suface mount insides, but the transport, motors, power supply, and heads have to be top notch or the thing is just more crap. Same reason a high-end analog mic pre is still expensive. But, some people might not mind paying 2-3k or more for eight tracks, even though that will probly still only be an entry-level deck.

Where's Uli? His uber-perspective might actually be an asset in this thread. :)
 
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