Transferring Multitrack Reels Into Computer?

I went with Reaper and was able to get some sounds in and out of it, though the meters are a bit on the small side.
(I'm using an older Mac version, and this may be the reason why most of the meter options are not showing up.)
 
You should be able to increase the mixer area by finding the top and dragging it up. Make the wave areas smaller, they are really necessary unless you are trying to find a specific area of a wave. If you record in 24 bit and have even moderate input level, you can easily select the tracks, go to Actions and find Normalize to Common Gain (also you can select and just hit Shift N). It will bring the tracks up so that the highest peak is right at 0dBfs and all the tracks will rise by the same relative volume, if you want to keep them equivalent. If you're going to remix, you can Normalize each track on it's own.
 
Thanks - what I'm having trouble finding out is how to have tracks 1-4 always open in the program, without having me choosing them manually, one by one each time.
I'm sure it's something pretty simple.
 
One way..

Select New Project from the top menu. Name it "4 Open Tracks". Add 4 tracks then select Save Project.

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Now you can open that project and it'll have 4 open tracks ready.

When you're ready to record stuff, just open that project and set the tracks up any way you want with routing, FX, plugins, etc. Do your recording then select "Save project as" from the menu and give it the name you want for that project. This will drop it into the same folder as "4 Open Tracks" and show it just below it.

You can leave it there or move it to it's own folder. The next time you want to work on that recorded project, just Open Project and the "4 Open Tracks" will appear with your new recorded project beneath it. Select your newly recorded project to continue working on it, or select "4 Open Tracks" to start a new project to be saved with it's new name later in the same folder.

You can save all these to better folder locations or just leave them all in their current folder. When you begin each day by selecting "Open project" from the menu, Reaper will always open from the last folder you were in, which will probably be the one all of these new items are in, assuming you haven't navigated away from it before your last save.
 
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That Project idea did work - thanks.

One thing that has me puzzled is if I have a track that's clipping and I use the interface to lower the volume, it doesn't have much of an effect.
Most channels are OK, but a few with drum tracks seem to have too much output.
(Even with the Clarett's volume all the way down, I have to lower the output of the tape deck to get the meters to back off.)

Also, I'm hearing the signal through the mixer as well as the input when bringing tracks in, so it's somewhat louder - this can't be right, can it?
 
You might check to see if your tape is outputting +4dBu and the Clarrett inputs are set for -10dBu. I don't have the output specs for your tape machines. Check the wave form for peaks, and see if they are flat topped. It's easy to pick a peak wave and zoom all the way. If not, you're safe. There's no problem lowering the output of the tape deck.

RE: hearing the signal through the mixer and the input, I'm not sure what you mean. Are you going through a mixer between the tape machine and the interface? You should be able to bypass any mixer and go directly.
 
The 3440 is not +4, so that's not the problem.
The waves look smooth.
Checking further, I see it's not the mixer, but the Master Track that is enabled, so I guess all tracks go through that.
 
In Scarlett Mix Control there is a pad function on the mic preamp inputs. I suspect there's something similar in the Clarett control panel.
 
If you are talking about the master track in Reaper clipping then it is fine to just bring down the master fader to get rid of the clipping. I find that I often need to bring it down by 10dB or more when doing a multitrack transfer even though none of the individual tracks are anywhere near clipping. Reaper uses floating point arithmetic when mixing which means that it can handle levels way over 0dBFS internally.

If you are talking about the individual tracks clipping with the gain turned right down then make sure that you aren't using the XLR inputs - use the jack inputs for line level sources. I've not found Focusrite line inputs to be too sensitive although there are issues with mic input headroom on certain Focusrite interfaces.
 
Thanks - I am using the jack inputs, not the XLR's.
I believe that Clarett has no pad, though the Scarlett and other models seem to, according to that page.
 
I'd be surprised if the TRS couldn't handle +4, but I suppose it's possible. So if your tape outputs are -10, there should be no problem. The front line inputs on my Scarlett (combo jacks on the mic pre channels) take -10 signal with the gain knob at the halfway point (12:00). The line inputs on the rear seem to be good with -10 just as they are.
 
Gee - I hope there is; the last few days would have been a waste, then.

One thing I didn't realize - even with the knobs all the way down, there is still some signal coming through.
(I thought the interface would have no output when zeroed out.)
 
An interface isn't like a mixer, where you are controlling the signal from 0-100. An interface control is generally just to set an acceptable level, and in some cases, its a matter of going from line level to mic level on the same control. In that case, it would trim a level of, say .3V down on low end, and pass a 1.5mV signal on the other end. Think of it as level matching than a "volume" control.

Once you get it into the computer, the faders in the DAW will do the 0-100 thing for you.
 
The gain control doesn't need to provide infinite attenuation, just enough to accommodate the range of input levels it is likely to encounter. But sometimes doing that with one rotary control isn't practical, so a pad is added to extend the range.
 
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