Whats a good set up for using Tape & DAW together?

D

desmond22

New member
Im thinking of doing away with my m216 Tascam mixer. Its limiting and im getting tired of mixing and editing with it. Ive heard that i can record straight onto tape using things like a lexicon AD/DA converter. I would then like to dump the tracks into PT for editing/mixing. I have no idea about this process, does anyone have any useful links or info that could shed some light on this?

What would be the best way to get the music from tape to pro tools? Can i just keep using my old dog mixer?
I have a digi 002

thanks in advance
 
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Not sure what your mixer has to do with going from tape to DAW, but yeah, it's pretty straighforward...I record that way all the time.

You don't need anything special to go from tape to DAW...just a converter(s) with multiple I/O so you can dump several tracks from tape to DAW.
I use a 16-track deck, and I have 24 channels (3 8-channel converter boxes).
I edit in the DAW...but I mix outside of the DAW through my mixer...so maybe you might want to hold on to yours, though if you mix OTB, you'll need a lot of outboard gear for processing, but you can also process in the DAW and still mix analog.

Lots of ways to combine a hybrid analog/digital rig.....
 
Thank you for your reply.

I record through the mixer onto tape. once the music is on tape, would i be better off dumping straight from the tape to the digi 002 or through the mixer to the 002?
I dont want to mix using my mixer, i want to mix and edit in pro tools. my mixer is very limited which is why i either need a new one, or just use PT. Will the 002 suffice in quality, converting the tape signal to digital? or will i need a proper converter?


miroslav said:
Not sure what your mixer has to do with going from tape to DAW, but yeah, it's pretty straighforward...I record that way all the time.

You don't need anything special to go from tape to DAW...just a converter(s) with multiple I/O so you can dump several tracks from tape to DAW.
I use a 16-track deck, and I have 24 channels (3 8-channel converter boxes).
I edit in the DAW...but I mix outside of the DAW through my mixer...so maybe you might want to hold on to yours, though if you mix OTB, you'll need a lot of outboard gear for processing, but you can also process in the DAW and still mix analog.

Lots of ways to combine a hybrid analog/digital rig.....
Click to expand...
 
First off..how many tracks does your tape deck have?

If I'm not mistaken...your Digi is just a 2-track converter...right?
Are you mixing down from the tape deck to a stereo pair and then to the Digi?

If your deck is a multitrack...then with out the mixer, you need more converters to be able to individually and simultaneously send multiple tracks from the tape deck to the DAW, or you have to do a couple at a time, which is doable, but more work and you need good sync between the tape and the DAW or it will take a lot of editing to fix it all in the DAW.
It's less work if you dump 8 or 16 tape tracks at once, and then maybe do another 8 or 16 (whatever your tape deck has)...'cuz then the sync is already there between the tracks, you just need to make sure each dump/group of tracks is tight with the other.

List the gear you have by model and function so we can better sort this out....
 
THanks Miroslav
Ive got a 16 channel tascam mixer m216
the 8 track is TSR8, 8 track.
THe digi 002 interface has the ability for me to dump either 4 or 6 tracks down at once.
Id be editing in pro tools but his stuff youre telling me is what i need to know. TRyna sync those tracks up is a pain and takes a while to get right.
 
There's a lot of guys here using a TSR8...just start a thread asking how to sync a TSR8 to a DAW here in the Analog Forum.
Each tape deck is a little different in its sync capability. I'm not familair with the TSR8 sync options...but it's not rediculously hard to do with most "last" generation tape decks.

How do you mean 4 or 6 tracks on the Digi..?
You will need one track on the TSR8 for SMPTE timecode to sync with the DAW, which means you'll be able to record 7 tracks with audio. Each of those tracks will need an analog line input on the Digi. How many does your Digi have 4 or 6?
The
 
The TSR-8 can be driven as a slave, via serial (accessory-2) or parallel interfaces. I use the ATS-500 (serial) myself, but it is designed to lock two decks together. If you record a timecode track on protools you should be able to make it chase that in code-only mode, but I haven't tried it.
 
look like the digi 002 has 8 outs, 4 with preamps 4 without.

back to your post a few posts ago. im not sure what 2 track converter means with the digi. All i want to do is have the tracks recorded on tape go to a track(per track from 8 track) on the 002. im not mixing down from 8 track to stereo -only when mixing down for a final mix, without using Digi. I have not been using computer for mix downs yet. Ive been mixing down to either a DAT player or a SD card recorder.
Why do i even have to use smpte? I dont even know what that is! Couldnt i just dump the tracks all at once onto PT using the audio ins on the digi? The thing im really not sure about is whether the 002 is a good enough converter. should be though right? Im always sub consciously tryna find an excuse to buy something new. That being said if i can make do with what ive got then i should.
 
OK...sorry for the SMPTE segue, but there was an assumption you would want more than 8 tracks off the tape deck.

So...if you only want to use/have 8 tape tracks and dump them into the DAW...then you don't need sync/SMPTE (sync code).
Just run the outputs from the tape deck to the Digi...one per Digi analog input.
That will let you bring the tape tracks into the DAW.

However, if you wanted to go back, and record a few more tape tracks...that's where sync becomes necessary so that your new tape tracks line up with the original ones you already dumped into the DAW.
If you just drop them in...yeah, you could slide them and edit/adjust them to make them fit...but having sync is a lot easier and less time consuming.

Oh...your Digi is an 8-channel A/D converter if it allows 8 individual analog channels/tracks to be used and then dumped into a DAW as 8 individual DAW tracks. Some/older Digis were only 2-channel boxes if I recall.
 
THanks alot for the helpful answers. I will probably add more tracks after ive dumped the 8 into PT, but i guess ill have to nudge em into place.
 
Cheap sync = click track.

Have a click on your 8th track and a scratch track on your 7th.
With every tape-to-DAW dump always include the click track. USe them to line up the tracks.
It will still be work, and not just a simple "slide", as the tape never spins the same way twice...but at least with the clicks, you have some common reference point with each dump.
 
You have 8 line inputs and 8 line outputs with the 002...line inputs 1~4 have mic preamp jacks in parallel, but you still have 8 line inputs. Just use the 1/4" jacks.
 
But if I'm going from tape machine to 002 and I've got 4 mic pres and 4 lines I'm wondering if this will have a negative or inconsistent effect on the overall sound. I don't think I can by pass the pres.
 
To my knowledge you can't bypass the preamps on channels 1-4 of a digi 002/003.

Sure you can set it to line and plug a line level signal in, but it's still subject to the preamp. This is from memory so don't quote me.

Dunno if it's been recommended already, but the digis have adat in, so you could get am ada8000 and use it as converters. It gets a good rep for that kind of use.
 
I know they may be the right way to go for some smaller, more compact recording rigs...but that's why I hate the all-in-one boxes. There's usually some kind of trade-off or "duality" that can get in the way.
 
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