B
brandonl
New member
Hello all,
I have an 8 year old imac with logic and a not-sure-how-old Teac A-2000R Automatic Reverse (1/4" tape 7 1/2 ips max) that has been serviced in the last couple decades and works really well. I also use a alesis multimix 8 firewire which works perfectly. I recorded an album on the imac about 4 years ago and did a ridiculous amount of multitracking, which resulted in the imac crashing twice (although i was using external hard drives and eventually finished it).
Anyway, I got the reel to reel more afterward because my imac failed twice, and because I wanted to experiment with analog. I have been using the reel to reel for about 4 years now very casually to record things.
Now I'm wanting to record an album again of newer songs, and much more stripped down production (1-4 instruments on each song) but still professional sounding. This is where you folks come in.
I have several tapes I got in a box on craigslist for free. I have about 3 1/2 Maxell UD 35-90 tapes that have been recorded on with music from the original owner of the machine, but never by me. Of all the tapes I've recorded on in the box, the Maxells (about 7 total) I have used seemed to come out best. I also have one blank Ampex 641 which is a voice grade tape.
Using this equipment (along with my two nady ribbon mics, one condenser microphone and one sm58) what would you suggest to get the best recordings for an acoustic guitarist/folk album? What about mic placement?
Somebody who once owned a studio told me to record everything digitally, get the mix right, and then transfer it onto tape. My only hesitation is the computer failing again, though I would go much easier on it this time.
Should I do this, or record everything on tape then transfer the individual tracks digitally?
For example, let's say I record vocals and guitar at once on tape, transfer that digitally, then record a mandolin part or something on tape while listening back to the digital transfer. Would combining these two takes on tape to digital sound odd or have too much tape hiss compared to a track that's just guitar and vocals with no overdubs?
Also, would it be possible to modify my machine to record like a mastering deck, where two tracks cover the whole 1/4" tape, rather than two tracks one way and two tracks the opposite direction (technically only 1/8" tape)?
Finally, should I clean the tape heads/demagnetize before transferring every single song to digital, or would that be the wrong way?
I have an 8 year old imac with logic and a not-sure-how-old Teac A-2000R Automatic Reverse (1/4" tape 7 1/2 ips max) that has been serviced in the last couple decades and works really well. I also use a alesis multimix 8 firewire which works perfectly. I recorded an album on the imac about 4 years ago and did a ridiculous amount of multitracking, which resulted in the imac crashing twice (although i was using external hard drives and eventually finished it).
Anyway, I got the reel to reel more afterward because my imac failed twice, and because I wanted to experiment with analog. I have been using the reel to reel for about 4 years now very casually to record things.
Now I'm wanting to record an album again of newer songs, and much more stripped down production (1-4 instruments on each song) but still professional sounding. This is where you folks come in.
I have several tapes I got in a box on craigslist for free. I have about 3 1/2 Maxell UD 35-90 tapes that have been recorded on with music from the original owner of the machine, but never by me. Of all the tapes I've recorded on in the box, the Maxells (about 7 total) I have used seemed to come out best. I also have one blank Ampex 641 which is a voice grade tape.
Using this equipment (along with my two nady ribbon mics, one condenser microphone and one sm58) what would you suggest to get the best recordings for an acoustic guitarist/folk album? What about mic placement?
Somebody who once owned a studio told me to record everything digitally, get the mix right, and then transfer it onto tape. My only hesitation is the computer failing again, though I would go much easier on it this time.
Should I do this, or record everything on tape then transfer the individual tracks digitally?
For example, let's say I record vocals and guitar at once on tape, transfer that digitally, then record a mandolin part or something on tape while listening back to the digital transfer. Would combining these two takes on tape to digital sound odd or have too much tape hiss compared to a track that's just guitar and vocals with no overdubs?
Also, would it be possible to modify my machine to record like a mastering deck, where two tracks cover the whole 1/4" tape, rather than two tracks one way and two tracks the opposite direction (technically only 1/8" tape)?
Finally, should I clean the tape heads/demagnetize before transferring every single song to digital, or would that be the wrong way?
