These past few months I've been doing a lot of research on analog recording as it is a dream of mine to have my own professional fully analog studio. A far fetched dream yes, but with some hard work and sacrifices I believe it can be done. I've managed to land on the Studer A820 2" 24 Track unit to use for tracking, and I really love the look, and everything I've read/seen. But I'm not sure what I would use for a mastering/mixdown unit with this unit. The only mastering unit I know of is an Otari MTR 10, and it just seems like it'd be foolish to take tracks recorded on 2" tape and mix them down onto 1/4" or 1/2" tape. Of course I really have no knowledge of any of this. What Mastering/Mixdown units would you guys recommend? And I'm quite aware of the price of the Studer unit, and the price of 2" tape lol.
Mastering/Mixdown unit suggestions.
- Thread starter crbp742
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The Ghost of FM
Banned
Once you understand track width, you'll quickly discover that even a 1/4" 2 track running at 15 ips offers a thicker more detailed recording format then a 2" - 24 track deck which is recording on a track width equivalent to a 1/4" 4 track tape format. It's not how wide the highway is. It's the lane width that's at play here.
Cheers!
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
Those are the two most used mixdown track/machine formats...with 1/4" being probably the staple of most studios for many years, and even still today whem mixing down to tape. A 1/2" is certainly a notch above, but, only when you compare the whole package and not just track width.
Nice way to dive into analog by getting the Studer 2"....or are you just considering it at this time...?
I track to an Otari MX-80 2", and mixdown to an Otari 5050 BIII 1/4" 2-track.
Once you understand track width, you'll quickly discover that even a 1/4" 2 track running at 15 ips offers a thicker more detailed recording format then a 2" - 24 track deck which is recording on a track width equivalent to a 1/4" 4 track tape format. It's not how wide the highway is. It's the lane width that's at play here.
Cheers!
Holy crap! Why didn't think of this sooner!! Its so simple! Thank you so much for this! This has solved so much of my confusion. Thanks a ton! And thanks Cosmic Cowboy, I'll take a look at those Otari units!
jpmorris
Tape Wolf
Cool, I had this sneaking suspicion you were still missing something important in the RS1700 thread. Might be an idea to reread that again, hopefully it will make more sense now.
Nice score with the 2" machine, by the way.
Well have fun with your dream studio! They can be fun and they can be misery, LOL. Nice to start out with a 2" machine, but you will soon find that the tape machine is just a small part of the expenditure in getting up and going. Do lots of research before committing resources ($$$). In addition to the mix down machine (and by the way id recommend the MTR-12 over the -10). How about the mixer? Dont go cheap (quality wise) there. Cabling. I dont think most people starting out realize how much expense and time goes into wiring up a home studio. Just the cable running from the mixer to the 24 track will require 96 XLR connectors! Similar numbers to get in and out of the patchbays. Outboard gear. It gets crazy!
Im not trying to discourage you, just help you go at it with your eyes wide open. Have fun, and ask questions as necessary!
Im not trying to discourage you, just help you go at it with your eyes wide open. Have fun, and ask questions as necessary!
Thanks everyone! So I do have another question. The Studer A820 seems to be about a $10,000-$15,000 unit, but then theres the Otari MX-80 and MTR90 both 2" reels that can go to 30ips and they are serveral thousand $$$ cheaper. Is the studer really worth all that extra dough? Especially for someone just starting out, I know there are a few Studios in my area that use those Otari units. Would I really notice that much of a difference between the Studer and Otari? Thanks in advance!
lo.fi.love
Functionally obsessed.
If you can afford expensive high end stuff then go for it. It's not necessary for better recordings, but you're free to spend however much you like
The MTR-90 will be the most affordable to operate, they are regarded to be well built and there are lots of spare parts available second hand. I've heard that it was a very common machine in Hollywood film sound studios in the 1990s.
The Studer is a Studer of course. But ultimately you're comparing what are all highly regarded machines.
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
The Studer is certainly top of the class...but Otari is considered a workhorse, especially the MX-80.
Is it worth the extra thousands for your find a Studer instead of the Otari....? That's your call.
If you are looking for extreme "tape machine" mojo....instead of the Studer, go look at MCI or Ampex decks, but of course, they will also need a lot more constant TLC.
I always dreamed of a Studer....but I have an MX-80, and it's a great machine. I have nothing bad to say about mine.
There are also a lot of people who will tell you they like the MX-80 more over the MTR-90...but of course, the MTR-90 is a newer and "slicker" deck.....but the MX-80 just keeps on going, and going, and going....
For about $2-$2.5k...you should be able to find a well kept MX-80. The MTR-90 is going to run from about $3-$5k, depending.
Here....this guy's been trying to sell this MX-80 for at least two years now. I've tried a couple of times to talk him into parting it out (I wanted a few pieces)...but he's refused, and just keeps re-listing it.
You can probably talk him down to $2500...and I would make sure it's all operational before buying it. He's in Huston, TX...so that may be good for you to go look at it.
It has the autolocator too, which is hard to find, but honestly, not really all the necessary at all unless you're doing video post or what have you, and you need endless/constant cue points to locate to etc...
For straight up recording, it's not much use...but nice to have.
Oh...there's a guy on eBay selling the plexi-glass meter cover for an MTR-90, it might work on the MX-80 so you can replace the one on the machine that has a crack in it...?...don't know for sure if it will work.
Use that plexi crack and the fact that it's been sitting for so long and that he hasn't been able to sell in over two years of trying to your advantage to talk him down in the price.
Otari MX 80 with Remote CB 140 Auto Locator cm 120 | eBay