win me over

  • Thread starter Thread starter dr.colossus
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dr.colossus

dr.colossus

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i'm about to buy what i call my capture device... this is my eight track....it seems that i can get all these things for around the same price(give or take $200)....the options are (in order of preference)

1. hard disk system (such as roland vsr880)

2. ADAT recorder

3. 8 track reel to reel

it seems the reel to reel is at the bottom of the list due to its lack of portability and high maintainence/tape costs....i'll admit that the reel to reel has had the least of my reasearch time so....why should i get one? (details please) or shouldn't i get one?.....
 
ADATs are getting cheep and ain't too bad. They're what I'm using now. The Alesis HD24 is next on my list though. For $2000 you get 24 tracks of 24 bit audio an decent AD/DA converters.
 
I went from cassette to a short stint with ADAT, which was spent mostly juggling cables, more tapes, space issues, etc before it crapped out on me. I said the hell with ADAT, got a Korg D1600, and haven't felt as satisfied with a purchase since I bought my first six pack legally. They're fast, easy, extremely flexible, portable, and sound great. The fun has returned.
 
i have a few

1) You can flip the tape over and record guitar tracks, so it comes out backwards when you play it back the right way. Just like the Beatles!

2) You will get to learn about lots of interesting stuff like azimuth, bias and tape head alignment, thus getting an excellent education in the recording arts!

3) Tape compression!

4) Tape delay! (if you have 3 heads on it)

5) The reels look helluva cool goin round and round......

It ain't much but I tried!
 
my first studio experience was with reel to reel, and i must admit, the atmosphere it creates is very nice, but portability is an issue, how do these things deal with being dragged back and forth once a week?
 
Seriously though, if portability is a real issue, I'd suggest something else. It's just not practical to heave one of those things in and out of the studio all the time.......they're heavy! Bumping the machine around over time could also screw up all your head adjustments and so forth. A stand alone recorder might suit your purposes better in this case......
 
my whole prob with digital realm is it just dosn't have that warmth you hear everybody yappin on about, it,s true. I'm currently looking for a r to r. I've been going thru a mackie with some processing into midiman audio card to a pc with cakewalk and a pod for git. I am not repeat not diggin it at all but as soon as I put it thru my cheesey 4 trac voila instant warmth I borrowed a friends fostex 8 trac and voila even better sound. AS soon as somebody can seriously give that warmth or what ever it is you want to call it digitally I will certainly pay for it. For now I'm looking for a good 8 trac. . Whats that you say anal ?,no just fed up trying any other way. Cheers Gag
 
if you are recording on pc, may i suggest a reel to reel simulator VST plugin effect..... i have never heard one, they probably sound shit, but i am sure i have seen one on http://www.hitsquad.com/smm
 
thanx colossus, Ive tryed A couple of different ones but no go for me however I"m sure there"s something out there that may do the trick .In regards to portability the 8 trac I used was not very heavy and reasonably small with a handle on top. If you buy one check out the heads, if you don"t know how to take it to someone who does it only takes a minute or two and shouldn"t cost anything. Regular checkups depends on usage. Heads can cost so get them checked first before you commit your hard earned coin. There is however a trick they use called lapping the heads which will extend the life of heads a little longer and is cheaper. If you maintain your rig regularily the heads can last quite awhile again it depends on usage. Cheers Gag
 
Analog 8 track reel-reels are cool.

The Tascam 38, 1/2" 8 track is nice, sounds good, but is heavy. 38's can be made portable, in heavy duty flight cases with wheels, handles, etc.

The Fostex R8 is the one that's smaller, uses 1/4" tape, and has a handle on the top. This unit is about as portable as any other portable unit you could think of.

Both of these units requires using an external mixer.


-Useablility of an analog R/R is easier than DAW or workstations.

-If used to optimum, analog R/R can sound very good, almost as good as digital.

-Changing reels of tape is a lot easier and more practical than some of the backup/restore schemes you must go through, with digital workstations and HD recorders.

-Maintenance of a R/R is not really a prohibitively high cost issue, necessarily, any more or less than some of these digital units.

-The reels really do look cool while spinning.
 
old guy, nice page.

Here's mine:
 

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I also have some older photos, of my previous few setups, which were quite different from my current setup. I'll scan them in and post them too, someday soon.

There's quite a stark difference between my current home studio setup, and the home studio setups I've had in the past. Stand by for those pics, some other time, maybe soon.

BTW, old guy, I also have a Danelectro DC-12, black & white. That's a really nice guitar.
 
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