DBX or No DBX and more newbie questions

[MAXRB]

I'm at home (6:11 a.m ) after my first recording session with my TSR-8.
We have been recording a rehearsal, trying to get used to setting levels in analog, etc.
I got some questions that I hope you can answer.

1. Do you use DBX in your recordings?

First I assumed that DBSX had to be better but I think that my DBX tracks have a more polished sound that I find less natural. Not sure about that.

On the other hand, tracks recorded without DBX are obviously a bit more noisy, although not that much because I recorded with pretty hot levels.

I like to know your experience about this.

2. Is it true that I should use tracks 1 and 8 for "less important" instruments?
Why?


3. How many times it's reasonable to re-use new tape. 3, 10, 500?



Thanks in advance

 

[jpmorris]

1. Do you use DBX in your recordings?

Yes. However, I mix to tape, and I don't use any NR on the master machine so I guess it evens it out in terms of polish.

2. Is it true that I should use tracks 1 and 8 for "less important" instruments? Why?

The edges are more susceptible to damage. I've had very few problems tracking to track 1, but even so I try to avoid putting anything critical on it. I use track 8 for the timecode.

3. How many times it's reasonable to re-use new tape. 3, 10, 500?

Aside from overdubbing and multiple attempts at punching in vocals etc, I don't generally re-use tape at all, so I can't really help you on that.

 

[MAXRB]

thanks again JPMorris.

As I'm not mastering myself this time (I'm planning to leave that to a pro)
do you think is better for that to have a no NR project or it doesn't make a difference?


Regarding 3, I didn't meant to re-use old tape.
Let's say we're recording live and we make a mistake.
I suppose it's ok to return to zero position and press record again, isn't it? Generally, how many times can you do that until there is some noticeable tape degradation?

 

[jpmorris]

thanks again JPMorris.
As I'm not mastering myself this time (I'm planning to leave that to a pro)
do you think is better for that to have a no NR project or it doesn't make a difference?

It's a matter of personal preference, really. If I had a wide-track recorder, I probably wouldn't use it, but for the multitracks, I prefer the sound with DBX.

Regarding 3, I didn't meant to re-use old tape.
Let's say we're recording live and we make a mistake.
I suppose it's ok to return to zero position and press record again, isn't it? Generally, how many times can you do that until there is some noticeable tape degradation?

Ah. Some people buy one or two reels of tape and recycle them continuously, erasing them once the project has been dumped into a computer. For more conventional use, it's supposed to be able to take hundreds of passes at minimum. Depends to some extent how gentle the transport is, though. Worn guides will wear the tape faster.

 

[Herm]

You should not be hitting the tape hard when using dbx. Peaks of -7 or so are plenty.
If you have a manual for your recorder or if you can find a dx-4d manual it will mention to keep levels lower when using dbx.

If you are looking for tape saturation and compression you need to turn the dbx off.

As far as the using the tape over again its alot. But I dont think I would be eating up a bunch of tape for a practice.