reel to digital

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bobby Darko
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Bobby Darko

Bobby Darko

New member
Hey people,
This is my very first post. Let me start off by saying I enjoyed reading all the stuff on this forum (especially bout the Tascam 244 which I own and love!). I am thinking about buying a 8track reel to reel, but I;m curious about 1thing. I guess I can figure out how an reelrecorder works, but what;s the process after you recorded the music. What;s the best way to put the stuff on cd? I guess a computer is needed. But how does it work ik detail. Thanks!!
 
First of all you'll need a mixer to go along with that reel to reel to sum your 8 tracks to two. Then an adequate sound card in your computer. That patchs from the main LEFT/RIGHT outputs of the mixer to the LINE inputs of the card. Then you need recording software for the computer. Mr. Manning will probably be along in a minute or so with some VERY cheap suggestions for that. Once your tracks are recorded into the computer and you've edited the tops and tails of your tunes, you can burn all that to a CD, sit back and admire your handywork. :D
 
Track Rat said:
First of all you'll need a mixer to go along with that reel to reel to sum your 8 tracks to two. Then an adequate sound card in your computer. That patchs from the main LEFT/RIGHT outputs of the mixer to the LINE inputs of the card. Then you need recording software for the computer. Mr. Manning will probably be along in a minute or so with some VERY cheap suggestions for that. Once your tracks are recorded into the computer and you've edited the tops and tails of your tunes, you can burn all that to a CD, sit back and admire your handywork. :D
Wow...it's so simple! :p
 
This might sound like a dumb question, but are you saying that the mixer goes after the reel to reel, then that signal to the computer? The reel to reel im looking at has both rca inputs and outputs (tascam 38) What do I use to plug into the 8 inputs
 
For microphones, mic into a mic preamp, line out of the preamp (-10, unbalanced) to the input of the reel to reel. Line level sources that are -10 unbalanced can go directly in with no preamp.
 
Just as your old 244 had a mixer built in, with a 38 open reel recorder, it is only half the equation in that kind of set up. An external mixer is a must for tracking or for mixdown as you need a means of feeding signals to the recorder which means microphone and line level inputs and a means of creating a monitoring mix while you over dub and build up your production on the recorder.

Stand alone pre-amps are cool and very fashionable for the folks who record only one or two tracks at a time but those units are not a complete mixer with cue mixing and effects sends to create a complete production.

Get a mixer with at least 12 or more channels to it so you have extra inputs to bring effects returns back into the mix for mixdown and any sequenced midi parts you have created and want included in the mix. You can never have too many mixing channels!!

Cheers! :)
 
You can always get a component CD burner (like part of a stereo) These came out before the ones on computers but you can still find them from crutchfield's and stuff. This would cut out the computer (and we all know how reliable they are) and most of these units are Audiophile equipment, meaning they will give you great sound.
 
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