Transferring Tascam 244 recordings to PC

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Findlay

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I've spent a while transferring recordings from my 244 to a PC to archive them and also to use remix the tracks using a DAW. I'm amazed how good they sound (and thinking that tape is pretty good at archiving anyway as they are 34 years old and in great shape!). But I wonder if I am doing it correctly. I don't have 4 analogue inputs on the PC soundcard - it is an EMU 404 - but it has 2 analogue and a stereo optical input. I'm feeding tracks 1 and 2 from the 244 into the analogue soundcard inputs and then tracks 3 and 4 into a minidisc recorder which I'm using as an A/D I guess - putting it into record pause mode and feeding the optical monitor output into the soundcard optical input. The recordings sound great. I guess I should make sure the tracks I want to be highest quality should go to the analogue inputs in case the minidisc recorder is reducing quality a bit. Just want to make sure I'm not doing anything stupid here and maybe posting as a tip for anyone that wants to try this. Apologies if it should have gone on the digital board!
 
Most minidiscs are running at 16 bit.

I would recommend a 4 input interface. You can tranfer the tracks at a higher bit rate. Also, no time alignment issues to deal with.
Personally that's what I'd do. Besides interfaces are cheap as hell nowadays.
 
The only bug I could see is -I would think- the EMU would need to look to the optical input to be it's clock source (i.e. 'mini disk would be master, sound card 'slave).
But if you're not getting random clicks' in the optical tracks ('recordings sound great') ...then maybe not. Sounds like you're good to go.
 
RFR said:
Most minidiscs are running at 16 bit.

I would recommend a 4 input interface. You can tranfer the tracks at a higher bit rate.
Click to expand...
You expect greater than 16 bit resolution from cassette tape?!?
 
Not the point.
But why not take your cassette multitracks and run them straight into a daw @ 24 bits.
Also with most minidiscs, the portastudio type anyway, you are going into an analog mixer, converting to digital, then back into analog, thru the analog mixer and out.

Minidiscs sound better than cassette on thier own but to use one to go into a daw as a way of transfering cassette audio just seems silly to me.

Better to go straight from cassette to daw via an interface.

I'm not down on the minidisc. I even have one still. A Yamaha MD4, which is great for what it is, a portable digital multitrack. I'll use it for writing sometimes.

---------- Update ----------

mixsit said:
Hmm. Come to think of it, do they record in WAV format(?
Click to expand...

Dont think so. It's it's own format.
 
RFR said:
...you are going into an analog mixer, converting to digital...
Click to expand...
...then out through the optical output. It stays digital from there until you go to play it back out of the DAW.

If it sounds good it is good. If you're not hearing a problem, there isn't one. The minidisc almost certainly has more resolution than necessary for cassette transfer, and going out to buy new gear based on the idea that there is some "loss of quality" that you can't actually hear is kind of silly when you're getting results that make you plenty happy. If you were starting from scratch with no gear to begin with, the best idea would be to get an interface with 4 or more inputs, but you are where you are, using what you've actually got in hand, and not hearing any problems, so...
 
Yeah, maybe im not up on the big picture. What it sounded like to me, was that two tracks were goint to a computer via a card and two tracks through a mini disc into the card. Not at once. Quite possible i missed or misunderstood something.

Are all 4 tracks getting transfered at the same time????
If so, and if it sounds good, it is good.
:D
 
Yeah, no, that would suck! Lol. I mean it might work, but it would be a bitch to line up, and yes would have an extra conversion, but worse would involve a destructive data compression step very much like going to relatively low bitrate mp3 first.

The OP is just using the MD as an ADC, and passing the (uncompressed) audio data to the computer via the digital inputs on the interface. As long as the sync issues that mixsit mentioned are sorted, it should work fine.
 
Thanks for your comments guys. I'm not getting any of the clicks Mixsit mentioned so I will keep going! I couldn't find a reasonably priced interface with 4 analogue inputs here in the UK last time I looked. Can anyone recommend one?
 
mixsit said:
Hmm. Come to think of it, do they record in WAV format(?
Click to expand...
ATRAC, which is a lossy compression algorithm. IIRC, it uses psychoacoustics like MP3, but presumably much less processor-intensive. I'm not sure it would go through the codec when just monitoring the input like this, mind.
I have a feeling later models has a lossless mode too, but you wouldn't get much recording time.
 
Look into buying a gently used 4 input interface anyways. If you're digitizing your 4-track cassettes, better to get it done in one pass, then to do it again when (if) you end up buying a 4 input interface. It's way better to capture each track on it's own and have them sync up perfectly, and then edit/add effects/mix.
 
Findlay said:
Thanks for your comments guys. I'm not getting any of the clicks Mixsit mentioned so I will keep going! I couldn't find a reasonably priced interface with 4 analogue inputs here in the UK last time I looked. Can anyone recommend one?
Click to expand...

I have a Terratec Phase 88 Firewire gathering dust if you're interested. I can probably throw in the firewire PCI card too if you need it. I'm not sure if there's driver support for recent windowses or Macs, though - I had an old XP machine kicking around for it. Digitized most of my 8-track tapes that way. After I went 24-track I got a hard disk recorder for digitizing duty instead.
 
Thanks Tape Wolf. How much would you be asking for the Terratec and card?
 
Findlay said:
Thanks Tape Wolf. How much would you be asking for the Terratec and card?
Click to expand...
Well, at the moment it's just taking up space, and I'm not sure I'll be using it again. If someone else can put it to good use, more power to them.
It is a 19" rack unit so I'm not sure what the postage will be, but I can look into that after work. I'd be happy to take £25 or so, given that it's something like 10 years old.
 
Thanks so much Tape Wolf, that would be wonderful! If you could check out the postage that would be great.
 
Okay, I was going to use MyHermes, which needs a postcode. By Royal Mail it looks to be something like £17, its just a little too large to be a Medium parcel. Everything seems to be there, firewire cables, PSU, driver disk, the Euro->UK adaptor I was using, and the Firewire card. I don't have the driver disk for the Firewire card, but it's a Via VT6306 or later. AFAIK Windows XP ships with drivers for that chipset anyway, so it should Just Work(tm).
I'm tempted to call it £35 or something and I'll eat the cost of the postage.
 
Thanks again Tape Wolf, that is really super of you. I've sent an email with my address. How is is best to pay you? Cheque or directly into your bank? If you drop me a note? (I might not be able to pick up email again until Monday morning will try!)

PS have just sent private message as well - should be able to pick these up over weekend!
 
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