Transferring from analogue to digital

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kopacabana
  • Start date Start date
You didnt say whether you still have a suitable working 4 tracker cassette machine for your tapes. Playing them back well on a good machine is just as important as having a good digital interface.

If you used high speed and dbx when you recorded the tapes, make sure whatever machine you use today for playback also has those features.

Also make sure the machine has the ability to output four individual tracks to four individual sockets.

And dont believe the hype that no matter how badly the tapes play back, digital wizardry will "clean up" the faults. It's mostly not so. The secret is getting the tapes to sound as good as possible before the audio enters the digital domain.

Cheers Tim
 
Thanks for all your help and advice guys!

I apologise for what appear to be pretty dumb questions from a newbie. If I sound clueless that's because I am!

Yes, I do have a four-track. It's a Fostex one that's getting on for 20 years old. All the tapes will be of a similar age so sound quality is not going to be brilliant (and to be honest I'm not too bothered).

The range of gear some of you have kindly suggested is quite pricey for me. All I am looking to do is transfer my old analogue tapes to digital. I don't intend to make any more music - I just want a digital library so I can throw out all those old tapes and that dusty four-track. I may decide to remix some of my tracks and put them on CD.

I take it there are no cheaper options out there?
 
Kopacabana said:
I take it there are no cheaper options out there?
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For what you are describing, the only kind of tool out there to do this kind of thing is the kind of tool we're taking about.

You could look for a used one by clicking here. That might save you a few bucks.

Or you could find a studio that'll do it for you if you have just a handfull of tapes you want to convert, but pretty quickly the conversion cost would run up to the the the cost of the device, if you have more than just a couple of tapes.

G.
 
It seems like you can sell a used Presonus Firebox for around $180 on eBay. Do some good comparison shopping, buy the least expensive FireBox you can find, transfer your recordings, then eBay the FireBox and get most of your money back. So your cost of transfer will be much less than the full cost of a FireBox, and certainly much less than having it professionally done at a studio.

These things cost money, but really if you do it right, it won't cost you very much at all.
 
SonicAlbert said:
Do some good comparison shopping, buy the least expensive FireBox you can find, transfer your recordings, then eBay the FireBox and get most of your money back.
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Or maybe even make a profit on the deal!

Yeah, Al, it's that kind of thinking that'll get you far in my organization...if you were in my organization, which you're not...and if I had an organization, which I don't........ Ummm, aw, hell, it's just a great idea :D

G.
 
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