sweetbeats
Reel deep thoughts...
I just read a brief review in the latest issue of TapeOp (issue no. 80) of Endless Analog's CLASP tape-DAW integration system.
In a recent thread here the CLASP system was mentioned and I felt some disdain for it. I was bothered. I felt like tape was being "used" in a bad sense of the word...raped.
Maybe after some time my thoughts have had a chance to blend, and then reading the review brought them to the surface.
I like that the review highlights one contributor's appreciation of the system due to the amount of time spent trying to "make digital recordings sound like tape"...that having real tape available in seamless integration with the DAW saves time. Another contributor to the review underscores this with this statement: "As a businessman, it's about getting tones more quickly. When I cut to tape, I feel like I'm getting the tone I want instead of fixing it in the mix. Bottom line --- CLASP saves me time and maintains creative flow." (emphasis mine)
I see it as a real positive that with this system (and I realize its been around for awhile) the analog tape recorder is promoted as an essential part of the system.
A professional studio is a business. Time is money. So many innovations that are beyond common-place today were, IMO, developed out of this "time is money" drive: gapless punch-ins...autolocate facilities...even the growth in track count of tape machines...these all have ties to being able to do more in less time...to be able to track as different artists schedules allowed, or to be able to fix an otherwise "perfect" take without having to redo the entire take...and digital took those conveniences in the analog tape world and just set them completely on their ear.
CLASP is an admission that there is a market demand for tape; that there are production facilities that need to stay with or ahead of the "time is money" race to stay competetive but see tape as an answer to assisting in that through facilitating better sound.
For those who don't know, CLASP is essentially a system that allows an analog tape machine to be present in the DAW like a plugin...the CLASP system seamlessly maintains sync between the DAW and the tape machine. Audio goes into the machine from the front end and goes through the tape machine off the repro head and into the DAW. Tape is a realtime link in the front-end chain. The tape just keeps rolling and then the CLASP system automatically rewinds the tape and starts over again. The system can, furthermore, control up to three transports...managing sync offsets as well as latency compensation in the DAW.
Yes, in some ways it seems like a way for people to rape tape without having to touch it...the tape machine could be in another room and the engineer never has to look at it or change reels and for me that doesn't work...it misses a huge aesthetic of the analog tape process...BUT the tape machine becomes an indespensible component of a DAW system...invaluable...and the more this idea grows so will grow the demand for tape, and tape related services. AFAIC this can be seen as nothing less than a friend to those of us who enjoy tape machines and have ever had so much as a fleeting concern over the future of tape. I'm not suggesting this means a boom. I'm simply enjoying the validation from the professional digital production world regarding what we all already know about tape, and seeing this idea as a reinforcement of the future of analog tape technology.
We don't need to be validated, but if validation means some nutrition to the analog tape industry, I'm in. And anyway, its pretty neat technology.
BTW, CLASP is also a validation to the limited camp of us that believe the proper way to sync a tape machine to a DAW is to slave the deck.
Just sayin'.
See a real-world CLASP in action video demo via a youtube link in this thread put up by cjacek: https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=313754. I guarantee it will be a pick-me-up for anybody who loves tape machines.
In a recent thread here the CLASP system was mentioned and I felt some disdain for it. I was bothered. I felt like tape was being "used" in a bad sense of the word...raped.
Maybe after some time my thoughts have had a chance to blend, and then reading the review brought them to the surface.
I like that the review highlights one contributor's appreciation of the system due to the amount of time spent trying to "make digital recordings sound like tape"...that having real tape available in seamless integration with the DAW saves time. Another contributor to the review underscores this with this statement: "As a businessman, it's about getting tones more quickly. When I cut to tape, I feel like I'm getting the tone I want instead of fixing it in the mix. Bottom line --- CLASP saves me time and maintains creative flow." (emphasis mine)
I see it as a real positive that with this system (and I realize its been around for awhile) the analog tape recorder is promoted as an essential part of the system.
A professional studio is a business. Time is money. So many innovations that are beyond common-place today were, IMO, developed out of this "time is money" drive: gapless punch-ins...autolocate facilities...even the growth in track count of tape machines...these all have ties to being able to do more in less time...to be able to track as different artists schedules allowed, or to be able to fix an otherwise "perfect" take without having to redo the entire take...and digital took those conveniences in the analog tape world and just set them completely on their ear.
CLASP is an admission that there is a market demand for tape; that there are production facilities that need to stay with or ahead of the "time is money" race to stay competetive but see tape as an answer to assisting in that through facilitating better sound.
For those who don't know, CLASP is essentially a system that allows an analog tape machine to be present in the DAW like a plugin...the CLASP system seamlessly maintains sync between the DAW and the tape machine. Audio goes into the machine from the front end and goes through the tape machine off the repro head and into the DAW. Tape is a realtime link in the front-end chain. The tape just keeps rolling and then the CLASP system automatically rewinds the tape and starts over again. The system can, furthermore, control up to three transports...managing sync offsets as well as latency compensation in the DAW.
Yes, in some ways it seems like a way for people to rape tape without having to touch it...the tape machine could be in another room and the engineer never has to look at it or change reels and for me that doesn't work...it misses a huge aesthetic of the analog tape process...BUT the tape machine becomes an indespensible component of a DAW system...invaluable...and the more this idea grows so will grow the demand for tape, and tape related services. AFAIC this can be seen as nothing less than a friend to those of us who enjoy tape machines and have ever had so much as a fleeting concern over the future of tape. I'm not suggesting this means a boom. I'm simply enjoying the validation from the professional digital production world regarding what we all already know about tape, and seeing this idea as a reinforcement of the future of analog tape technology.
We don't need to be validated, but if validation means some nutrition to the analog tape industry, I'm in. And anyway, its pretty neat technology.
BTW, CLASP is also a validation to the limited camp of us that believe the proper way to sync a tape machine to a DAW is to slave the deck.
Just sayin'.
See a real-world CLASP in action video demo via a youtube link in this thread put up by cjacek: https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=313754. I guarantee it will be a pick-me-up for anybody who loves tape machines.
