What Do You Do With All Your Old MASTERS ???

raybbj

Member
In a post I made a few months ago, I came to the conclusion that my old ADAT XT's are worth less money than ...... well...... anything!.
So what have you all done with all your old masters? I have a closet full of 4-track, 1/4", 1", 2" and ADATs goinf back 30+ years, but I don't have the heart to throw them out. I still my old 4 track, 8 track and ADAT machines, so I could dump everything into a DAW for preservation, but I don't have access to a 1" or 2" machine.

What have you all done?
Just curious.
 
I still all of mine...but then, I also have the ability to play them back. Mine were mostly done to 1/4" tape for many years...and then in more recent years I still mixdown to 1/4", but also to the DAW...so I have tape and file versions.

I skipped the ADAT madness. :)
 
I've kept mine even though some are 1/4" 4 track or 8 track which I don't have the machines anymore to play. It's good to make a habit of digitizing tapes before selling off a machine (I mostly did this). It's also not that hard to buy a working machine, use it to do the transfers then sell it again for a similar price.

Used 1/4" tapes are still worth a fair bit on the second hand market (because of the home hi-fi enthusiasts) but used 1/2", 1" and 2" tape is essentially worthless compared to it's value when new.
 
If you're not going to use the machinery any more, the most sensible thing seems to me to transfer them into a current format. As we all know, tape isn't forever, and that means digital tape as well as analog. And no, CD/DVD-R are no guarantee either. I do a lot of transfers for people who need stuff off of everything from vinyl pressings to DAT and cassette (stereo and 4-track), and all kinds of reel to reels up to 24 track 2". I've saved a lot of "trapped" recordings that way. Some people just want to listen to them again. Some want to bring them into the "present" and work on them. I've even played some new parts on some pretty old recordings, and mixed older stuff, as well. As with most technology, if you don't keep up, or don't have access to the machines, and in good shape, no format is forever.
But if you can do it, or find someone to do it for you, transferring to a current format at least buys you some more time.
 
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