Jump to content

Recording on Tape


tubezipper

Recommended Posts

  • Members
Posted

I found out that a studio i will record my album have this beauty:

 

studer-a800large.jpg

 

I was originally going to record on Pro Tools but i never am satisfied with digital recordings and the whole Pro Tools thing. My dream would be to record analog.

 

and

 

They have a Studer A800 lying around in the corner which is not being used because no one is recording on tape or knows how to operate it.

 

So i decided i am so recording on it :love:

what a lovely machine...

 

Although 2" tapes cost $290

  • Members
Posted

I would worry less about what medium you are recording on and more about who is engineering. Recordings on tape can sound good or bad, depending on who is doing the recording. Don't get me wrong, in the hands of a competent engineer I prefer the sound of tape, but I would rather record with a great engineer to digital than record with a not so good engineer on tape. IOW, if the engineer is good, go for it. If not, shop around for a good engineer. When you find an engineer that has recorded stuff you like, hire him (or her), regardless of the medium they prefer recording to.

  • Members
Posted


They have a Studer A800 lying around in the corner which is not being used because no one is recording on tape or knows how to operate it.

 

 

 

Which translates to : It hasn't been maintained because they don't have an engineer to calibrate it.

  • Members
Posted

 

Which translates to : It hasn't been maintained because they don't have an engineer to calibrate it.

 

 

They know how to use it, except it hasn't for a while.

 

I know the engineer and that's not a problem

and my dad will also work on it.

 

 

I mean you have Pro tools and the Studer in front of you.

 

i choose tape:wave:

  • Members
Posted

They know how to use it, except it hasn't for a while.


I know the engineer and that's not a problem

and my dad will also work on it.



I mean you have Pro tools and the Studer in front of you.


i choose tape:wave:

 

 

 

I've done extensive recording on both tape and digital. If the engineer is equally competent and the machine is well maintained I'd choose tape. If I had it in the budget. Almost $300 for 15 minutes of recording time is a lot of cash. Still, budget allowing, tape does have a cohesiveness that digital currently does not. In many cases it makes it easier to mix, and since it takes less time to mix, you'll recoup a few $ that way.

  • Members
Posted

record as high fidelity as you can on pro tools, edit as you wish, best takes and so....

then send everything to tape!

then back to computer (because the final product will be digital anyways!) and off you go!

  • Members
Posted

tape does sound different/better to my ears

 

 

 

To mine it has a slight easy compression and a little bit of high end roll off that makes it less fatiguing to listen to for reasonably long times. A good engineer should be able to get great results on digital as well as tape though. Find the engineer and use what they prefer.

  • Members
Posted

 

record as high fidelity as you can on pro tools, edit as you wish, best takes and so....

then send everything to tape!

then back to computer (because the final product will be digital anyways!) and off you go!

 

 

i dont want it to sound high fidelity.

 

I want it to be. One or two takes

 

It more fun that way and you can get through quicker

 

Pro tools gives you the chance to do take after take after take. And you lose your performance. After 3 takes give up.

 

 

RoboPimp : tape does sound different/better to my ears

True

  • Members
Posted

To mine it has a slight easy compression and a little bit of high end roll off that makes it less fatiguing to listen to for reasonably long times. A good engineer should be able to get great results on digital as well as tape though. Find the engineer and use what they prefer.

 

 

the way tape saturates cannot be replicated by digital plug ins to my ears.

  • Members
Posted

the way tape saturates cannot be replicated by digital plug ins to my ears.

 

 

I would agree that it hasn't been replicated. Still, I've heard great sounding digital recordings and horrible sounding analog ones. If they ever write an algorhythm that actually replicates tape saturation at various bias points and mimics different formulations of tape, then tape as a medium will die a quick death. It hasn't happened yet, and seems like it's still at least a few years off though.

  • Members
Posted

tape is wonderful! digital is great too, but if you're into overdriving your recordings and natural saturation, tape is difficult to beat!

  • Members
Posted

tape is wonderful! digital is great too, but if you're into overdriving your recordings and natural saturation, tape is difficult to beat!

 

As said by "Tape" :thu:

  • Members
Posted

I'm a bit confused as the two statements seem at-odds

not being used because no one is recording on tape or knows how to operate it.




They know how to use it, except it hasn't for a while.

  • Members
Posted

 

I'm a bit confused as the two statements seem at-odds


not being used because
no one
is recording on tape or
knows how to operate it.





They know how to use it
, except it hasn't for a while.


 

 

I just meant they're not using it. They do know how to use because they have before.

  • Members
Posted

tape wins

ask hotel2tango

 

 

I took a sound engineering/recording workshop there in 2006, it was great! biasing the tape heads is a little scary though, if the demagnetiser loses power (like a power cut) while you're doing it, you've probably ruiend yoru heads.

  • Members
Posted

It's popular in Nashville and other areas to have both digital and analog. Often tracks are recorded to tape, then bounced to digital for mixdown & processing. If you went that route, you could re-use the same tape after digitizing.

  • Members
Posted

I'm thinking of getting myself a quality stereo reel-to-reel so that I can bounce my digitally-generated sounds (samplers, drum machines, software synths) onto tape and let the natural saturation/drive/wow and flutter affect it.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...