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Post by keymod on Jan 17, 2019 4:23:21 GMT -6
Well, this discussion veered away from Tape ( Machines ) and went in the direction of Tape ( Substitutes ) . Obviously people are looking for something of what Tape gave in the form of sonics, whether imaginary or not. But does anyone appreciate and enjoy the machinery of a nice tape deck? Regardless of the economics in both time and maintenance, and how that can affect the bottom line of a professional endeavor, I am simply enthralled by the design and engineering that goes/went into building these machines. Of course, that's being said by someone who doesn't rely on one to pay his mortgage. I enjoy opening a box of tape, threading it on the machine, hitting buttons and watching the transport kick in and move the tape, hitting play and watching the meters dance along with the music. There's a physical connection to all of that that I simply will never get from a computer, even though a RADAR24 is my most beloved recording device. It's very sad to me that "fix-it-in-the-mix" has become the standard. The easy way is not always the best.
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Post by jeremygillespie on Jan 17, 2019 6:32:44 GMT -6
Mixes get printed through 1/2” ATR102. Nothing does what that machine does to a mix. Seriously.
Studio I use has 2 Studer 827’s. For tracking purposes I’ve used them 3 times in 10 years. Nobody is much interested in it honestly.
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ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
Posts: 15,013
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Post by ericn on Jan 17, 2019 7:42:47 GMT -6
Tape 2019 everybody wants it, Nobody wants to pay for it.
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Post by jcoutu1 on Jan 17, 2019 8:18:50 GMT -6
I have a good condition Technics RS-1500 and 2 more of the same machines for parts. All just taking up space and never being used. My DAT machine gets more use doing transfers.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jan 17, 2019 8:47:04 GMT -6
Mixes get printed through 1/2” ATR102. Nothing does what that machine does to a mix. Seriously. That's my only regret about my new album, that I didn't run it through a tape machine. You do that before mastering I assume.. kcat had a track run through Chis Mara's MCI 2 track, and man that sounded much better afterwards.
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Post by notneeson on Jan 17, 2019 9:22:15 GMT -6
Mixes get printed through 1/2” ATR102. Nothing does what that machine does to a mix. Seriously. That's my only regret about my new album, that I didn't run it through a tape machine. You do that before mastering I assume.. kcat had a track run through Chis Mara's MCI 2 track, and man that sounded much better afterwards. I think I keep posting this, but it was powerful so what the heck: David Grisman played me a Grisman Garcia master off his ATR102 one time and it was absolutely stunning audio. That said, I've had my mixes (printed to an Otari 1/4") mastered off of Mike Wells' ATR102 with Aria electronics and, you know, it still sounds like my work for better or worse. @martin John Butler Your best option might be to hire an ME, such as Mike Wells or trakworxmastering , who is up for "layback" processing on mixes, i.e. printing them to tape. You will also get some ME's who think it's silly. Such is life.
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Post by EmRR on Jan 17, 2019 10:09:13 GMT -6
Mixes get printed through 1/2” ATR102. Nothing does what that machine does to a mix. Seriously. That's my only regret about my new album, that I didn't run it through a tape machine. You do that before mastering I assume.. I've had a number of records put on tape at mastering, then mastered from the tape. I usually use Kitchen Mastering, and they have a 1/2” ATR102.
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Post by damoongo on Jan 17, 2019 11:58:19 GMT -6
I feel like dumping mixes through tape *after* mixing is like looking for a magic bullet. Better is “mixing” through tape, then you are at least having a relationship.
But my favorite is *tracking* through tape, on whatever sources you feel would benefit. Then, as you build up your production, things already sound the way you want them to sound, informing your next decision etc.
So this is not nostalgia for the tapemachine style workflow, rather a hybrid of the sonics of a great medium combined with the daw workflow (for better or worse). Tape cost is not a huge factor because the audio is transferred on the fly from the repro head into daw. Then you rewind and roll again. Reels can last a long time this way. (Not much mechanical wear and tear of stop - start - punch- stop- rewind etc. Just let it roll for 30 mins (15ips) and rewind to zero to roll again.
I charge a little extra for “tape machine access with house tape” and 90% of clients go this route.
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Post by johneppstein on Jan 17, 2019 16:12:34 GMT -6
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Post by keymod on Jan 17, 2019 17:45:22 GMT -6
John, have you ever used Athan Corp for any repairs?
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Post by johneppstein on Jan 18, 2019 13:06:49 GMT -6
John, have you ever used Athan Corp for any repairs? No, I haven't. I've heard of them but have no experience. Oh, wait a minute - I do have experience with one of their pinch rollers, I think - I didn't get it from them, I got it from Audio Images, but I think it's theirs. It seems to work fine, but it's not an exact replacement - the stock A-800 roller is in multiple sections but the Athan replacement is in one piece. It doesn't seem to make any difference to the machine, as I don 't have a set of one inch guides and heads to swap in, so I really don't need the multi-section version. Other than that I don't really know anything.
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Post by kcatthedog on Jan 18, 2019 18:38:18 GMT -6
I had Justin do my mastering specifically bacause of his ampex 102 and ob. The big thing I noticed was that glueing things together idea, read about it with ssl plug ins and clones, but really heard it on Justin’s ampex masters, plus all that polish and finesse.
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