Peak level when mixing down to DAT?

Going from dat to masterlink, you are basically updating from 20 years ago to 10 years ago.

I understand that you don't like the feel of a computer, but for a little over $120 you can get a usb interface and a free program to record to. It will open up a lot of editing, sequencing, and crossfading options that you just won't have with the other options. It will allow you to get creative with the building of the album beyond picking the song order.
 
gentlejohn said:
OK, after much deliberation this end I'm gonna take a punt on the 'Alesis Masterlink' unit. I've done a fair bit of research and, from what I've read, it's ticking the boxes and will best serve my needs. I'd be very interested to hear opinions from folks who have experience using this very interesting piece of gear. (I'll be mainly using it to capture analogue stereo mixes through its analogue inputs I'd imagine - I'll keep you penned.)
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You might want to hold off a bit and get the most from the collective experience here before purchasing anything too quickly, like you did the DAT. Let your threads develop. Personally, for a stand alone unit I would choose the HHB CDR850 Pro CD recorder as a stand-alone unit. I've owned one for many years and prefer it to the Masterlink.

I wouldn't use any sort of USB either, although many nice people do. I know people use them, it's a controversial topic and I'm not going to rehash the various USB discussions we've had in other threads. So you can just look at this thread as a poll I suppose, and I vote no to DAT, Masterlink and anything USB.

I vote yes to a half-track analog reel-to-reel. Even many of those who don't track to analog appreciate analog miixdown and mastering. You'll see more people using analog in that stage than the tracking stage these days. Of course I do both, and if the final product is going to be Redbook CD or mp3 I'll use the HHB CDR850 to bring it into the digital realm. Keep in mind my objective is to do the least harm to all my analog goodness and this is how I do it. Yeah, the HHB CD burner is 10+ years old now, but its been doing a beautiful job all that time and I don't like to go trying to fix things that aren't broken. ;)
 
Great info people. PS: Buying the DAT unit was no big shakes as I paid peanuts for it! Next purchase I will spend my money wisely though! I will now go do some further research before committing to a set up ..... THANKS FOR ALL THE INSIGHTS!
 
In case your original question was never answer: you can get the signal up to just below clipping. The normal concerns about leaving analog headroom dont apply because they were mostly calibrated with line lecel being somewhere around -12. So you wont be straining the analog front end on the way in
 
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