ambient Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 (edited) I really want one Anyone know anything about them ? I plan to record onto it, then put that into Logic Pro. Possibly maybe a strange idea Edited February 21, 2015 by ambient Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 (edited) Not so strange. You get all that lovely analogue warmth and saturation by recording to tape. There are plug-ins that will do a good job - I'm thinking VintageWarmer2 from PSP, which I use for mastering all the time - but there's nothing like the reel thing. Did you see what I did there? Edited December 16, 2014 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 No it's a great idea. Those lovely ampex reels spinning around in the corner.. I have no idea about buying these but will follow your quest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 I know what you mean about plug ins, but I want to be able to slow the tape down, and do loops and stuff, and record those into Logic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Admiral Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 How fantastically retro of you! They take a bit of TLC by comparison with digital gear, but if you find a well maintained one, you'll have great fun with it. http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar10/articles/taperecorderadvice.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 [quote name='Drax' timestamp='1418772489' post='2633322'] No it's a great idea. Those lovely ampex reels spinning around in the corner.. I have no idea about buying these but will follow your quest. [/quote] They're not that expensive on eBay, I guess I don't actually need a multitrack either, mono would probably do, just record 1 track at a time onto it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 There are guys I know who do ambient music that release music on cassette tape . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 [quote name='The Admiral' timestamp='1418772651' post='2633327'] How fantastically retro of you! They take a bit of TLC by comparison with digital gear, but if you find a well maintained one, you'll have great fun with it. [url="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar10/articles/taperecorderadvice.htm"]http://www.soundonso...orderadvice.htm[/url] [/quote] Thanks for that link, some interesting reading there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 If you're looking for a bit of tape colouration within a mostly digital setup, I've known people who track to digital then bounce tracks to tape almost as an effect. The advantage is that you can get away with a two or four track tape machine (so you can afford a better machine for the price) and still have the flexibility of tracking digitally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 [quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1418773106' post='2633333'] If you're looking for a bit of tape colouration within a mostly digital setup, I've known people who track to digital then bounce tracks to tape almost as an effect. The advantage is that you can get away with a two or four track tape machine (so you can afford a better machine for the price) and still have the flexibility of tracking digitally. [/quote] Great idea, a bit like I was thinking of recording one track at a time, then bouncing to digital. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Admiral Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 [quote name='ambient' timestamp='1418772914' post='2633332'] Thanks for that link, some interesting reading there [/quote] No problem. It sounds as if you would be happy with a 2 track, in which case you will be able to get a high spec one for the same price as a lower end multi track. IIRC, Revox were the ubiquitous choice for most serious home recordists and smaller studios, and I think that's covered in the article. Post Christmas is a great time to buy too - as the new year resolution to get rid of some old gear, coincides with the post Christmas skint ness, so eBay and Gumtree could turn up some bargains. Let us all know what you do in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jecklin Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 I've wanted a stereo reel to reel for a long time. I just love the look of them. You could gig with one too Ambient - great prop ion stage!! Or perhaps something like this ( watch to the end) : http://youtu.be/mEbcuzzwPWs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 or this: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKG7hOuEFmA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKG7hOuEFmA[/url] although I did see him attempt this at the Virgin Megastore Oxford Street some 30+ years ago and it all went horribly wrong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 (edited) [quote name='ambient' timestamp='1418772125' post='2633316'] I really want one Anyone know anything about them ? I plan to record onto it, then put that into Logic Pro. Possibly maybe a strange idea [/quote] No not at all. However speaking as someone who has done multi-track recording on reel-to-reel recently there are some things you should take into consideration. You'll only get any real benefit out of this kind of work flow if: 1. You get a decent professional quality multitrack recorder. Tascam and Fostex machines simply aren't built well enough for anything other than casual use. Look for something like an Otari as a minimum. Quality is down to tape speed and track width. That means IME 15ips second as a minimum speed and at least 1/4" per track. Ideally 1" tape for 8 tracks and 2" tape for 16 or 24 tracks. 2. You need to keep it well maintained and calibrated. That means buying a good set of calibration tapes and running them before every session you use the machine. Also you'll need to budget for regular maintenance of the heads and tape transport. 3. Get some decent tapes to do your recording on. Something like 3M or Zonal. No Ampex 456 it hasn't stood the test of time very well. Be warned even pre-used multitrack tape is expensive. 4. Invest in some really good A-D converters for the transfer from tape to your computer otherwise you are completely wasting your time, and then you would be far better off using plugins to achieve the same effect. RME would be the minimum standard IMO. You also need to have enough channels on your interface to be able to transfer all the tracks in a single go (unless you want to get involved in time-code synchronisation issues). Hope that helps. Have fun. Edited December 17, 2014 by BigRedX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 [quote name='Jecklin' timestamp='1418796657' post='2633393'] I've wanted a stereo reel to reel for a long time. I just love the look of them. You could gig with one too Ambient - great prop ion stage!! Or perhaps something like this ( watch to the end) : [media]http://youtu.be/mEbcuzzwPWs[/media] [/quote] That was bloody marvellous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted December 17, 2014 Author Share Posted December 17, 2014 [quote name='Jecklin' timestamp='1418796657' post='2633393'] I've wanted a stereo reel to reel for a long time. I just love the look of them. You could gig with one too Ambient - great prop ion stage!! Or perhaps something like this ( watch to the end) : [media]http://youtu.be/mEbcuzzwPWs[/media] [/quote] That's brilliant, thanks for posting the link A stereo one would do me, that's probably what I'm going to get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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