Getting the most out of a VCR

[lpdeluxe]

'good' analog sound

Yeah, for that, well, there just ain't no way around it: you'll have to install a tube in your VCR.

 

[MadAudio]

Also, most consumer VCR's have built-in limiters and finding the hottest level you can record to can be tricky. I haven't seen any new VCR's where you can control the audio input level.

I used to use a HiFi VCR as a mixdown deck (but in SP/2-hour mode) - it's a helluva lot better than cassette!

 

[Farview]

Yeah, for that, well, there just ain't no way around it: you'll have to install a tube in your VCR.

Just because it has a tube in it doesn't mean anything either. There are plenty of solid state circuits that blow away most the tube circuits that most of the people on this board are using.

 

[lpdeluxe]

Perhaps I should have somehow indicated that I intended a joke....

 

[Farview]

I'm sorry it is hard to tell who is dillusional and who isn't. I had just gotten off the phone with a guitar playing client who believed that an ancient digitech rack unit is going to sound better than a Pod because the Digitech has a tube in it. (you can even see it through a hole in the front)
That's when I saw your post.

 

[Dracon]

The point of using the VCR for recording is multifaceted.

1. Six hours of non stop recording.

I would think, that if you record into your computer, and turn your recording into MP3, then you can have (depending on the quality of you MP3) upto 8 hours of music or more in a CD-R or you can save them into a DVD and have days of music in MP3 format.

2. The VCR can be set to turn on as soon as I power up my equipment.

Okay!

3. Cheap media (especially for the amount of time per tape) that can be stored indefinately for future perusial. I don't know how it is for you, but when I get "in the zone" I can't stop and hit record on my desktop unit, I will lose my muse. This way, everything I do is recorded. The tons of crap AND those fleeting moments of, dare I say it? genius will always be available to me after the fact. Maybe what I did wasn't that great after all, a quick review will let me know. I'll never forget "that chord progression I came up with last week" using this safety net.

Oh! Now, I get it. Your muse suffers from ADD. It works good for this application, but so does a hand held tape recorder.

4. By utilizig this method, I can capture all of my practice time for the foreseeable future. This means that whenever inspiration hits me, the fruits will always be recorded for future reference. When inspiration dosen't hit me, I can relisten to old recordings of noodling et al and perhaps find a diamond in the rough for polishing.

If this works for you, do what works!

 

[Dracon]

I am retiring from the Navy soon, though, and the house we bought has plenty of room.

I love seeing other military folks doing creative stuff. I'm prior AF, and worked in a joint enviorment, so I've had (and still do as a DoD contractor) some exposure to squids.
However, I would prefer being a squid any day, than a Jar head or a Grunt. Personally I loved the joint enviorment, never really felt like I was just part of the AF. Got to work with some Canadians, Britts, and even some Ausies. Pretty cool.
Now I mainly deal with Squids, Grunts, and Wing Nuts.