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Recording to REAL REEL tape - who's down?

4YearGraduate4YearGraduate 2,945 Posts
edited August 2010 in Strut Central
Fam -
I have a bulk buy of really awesome Tascam 48; 1/2 inch 8 track machines that came from light use at the University of Iowa. It will be a pain in thesack but I am planning on putting in the tech work on them and restoring them to NOS level, completely calibrated for Mike Spitz' fantastic ATR tape. I live near Tascam US headquarters and it turns out they have parts warehoused for these fantastic machines. The thing is, I'm not sure how many young project recorders have the means to record to analog tape or the interest.

Just from a curiosity level - if you are currently recording on a laptop or computer, how many of you would be interested in learning how to record to tape? I mean, it's a commitment and it takes skill, knowledge and there is a risk associated with it, but the payoff is massive - especially for drums.

Anyone on the strut interested in a knowledge/user base for something like this or am i in the wrong jacuzzi?

And no, this isn't a sale listing, anything from this stock would not be available for a while...

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  Comments

  • InnerSpaceInnerSpace 443 Posts
    Man, I use to intern at a studio back in the late 90's and we were all analog/reel to reel and I loved it. Yes the task of splicing etc. was time consuming but the payoff is well worth it. These would be a great time investment even if most people use comp's nowadays. The warmth and definition alone on the drums is enough for reel to reel recording to stay alive.
  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
    I'm down. I've flirted with tape for my home recordings and it is a pain in the neck... but that's the fun of it. I currently have a Fostex 8 track but it's only 1/4 inch. I'm really interested in learning.

    Also tried to start a forum for people to talk gear (aka Music, you All)... but it never took off.
  • leisurebanditleisurebandit 1,006 Posts
    i am interested! i've been keeping an eye out for a decent multi-track reel to reel. i was think 4 track but 8's even better!

    i know you are not selling now but just to get an idea: how much should i expect to pay for a machine like this? further discussion can be taken to PM
  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Many many years ago, while my then wife was minoring in sound production at Mills College in Oakland, I recorded a Weather Report drum loop on an Atari reel-to-reel machine. I had to hold a pencil out from the machine for the tape to roll around it. Listening to the loop on cassette and comparing it to how other songs on cassette typically sounded ...wow, analog heaven!
  • DJ_EnkiDJ_Enki 6,475 Posts
    Interested? Extremely!

    Do I have the finances to actually do it? Sadly, no.
  • sabadabadasabadabada 5,966 Posts
    I used to record chunks of WKCR birthday broadcasts onto reel to reel, but it was just so hard to keep everything together in the end. I had some great Bix, and Monk reels.
  • dj_cityboydj_cityboy 1,481 Posts
    i would trade my PC in a minute, if it meant i could record to tape...in 1991 i purchased a yamaha 4-track and it was the funnest thing to record on....my buddy used to have a reel to reel, id go to his place get lifted and watch him cut and splice tape and loop it around broom handles and shit to make loops....back in the ampex456 days...good times

    id love to pick up a 4 or 8 track reel to reel now.....hard to come by in my neck of the woods..
  • 4YearGraduate4YearGraduate 2,945 Posts
    awesome, thanks all for the replies, i figured if there was even a modicum of interest this project would be worth it.
    the joy of these machines, pro-sumer as they would have it, was that they were meant to be in a non-commercial studio. So, they weren't set up to be recalibrated for a gazillion types of tape that would walk through the door for studio customers. As such, they hold calibration really really well. Mike Spitz at ATR Magnetics is currently manufacturing brand new 1/2" tape which exceeds old tape in so many ways, from tensile strength to noise floor. Plus he is such a solid dude.

    the problem wiht used tape machines is they are usually in really questionable condition head wise and i realized i am in a unique position here in LA because i have both parts and the ability to relap the heads at Sprague magnetics. So, even though the machines are working fine, I can actually bring them back to or better than they were the day they were sold for big$$$ for not that much $.

    We are talking well under a g. It is just going to take dedication on the part of the recordist. I really want to see a younger generation get into this stuff and get passionate about it, not just stealing pro tools transfers of old reels.
  • DJ_EnkiDJ_Enki 6,475 Posts
    dj_cityboy said:
    i would trade my PC in a minute, if it meant i could record to tape

    In my "holy shit, I just hit the Powerball!" dreams, I have a full analog studio.

    In reality, I have a one-bedroom apartment with an old Pro Tools rig.

    But if I could get a good tape machine like what Thes is talking about... :shit_yeah: :bizzo:
  • dj_cityboydj_cityboy 1,481 Posts
    ^^ yeah man...i was in a local studio here back in the early 90's buying a 8 track sequencer from a guy (alesis MMT8, i believe) and he had a 24 track 2 inch otari and i swear the tape reel weight more then i did at the time...i gazed at the 24 little VU meters...and facemelted inside...lol
  • boner softening styleboner softening style 36 Posts
    this sounds super interesting but i am like the littlest of little dudes so i will probably just sit back and watch what happens.
  • leisurebanditleisurebandit 1,006 Posts
    sounds great man! hold one for me if you can!
  • Otis_FunkmeyerOtis_Funkmeyer 1,321 Posts
    When I have a house, I'll get one.
  • holmesholmes 3,532 Posts
    we used to use one of these occaisionally in the studio I used to work at for small projects & sometimes mastering. It was ok, but we had a massive 2" Studer Reel to Reel which was better for us to record to so the 8 track was kind of outclassed & got neglected.
  • DelayDelay 4,530 Posts
    i would most definitely be interested in getting one and i sent the info to a couple other friends who would be interested.
  • 4YearGraduate4YearGraduate 2,945 Posts
    holmes said:
    we used to use one of these occaisionally in the studio I used to work at for small projects & sometimes mastering. It was ok, but we had a massive 2" Studer Reel to Reel which was better for us to record to so the 8 track was kind of outclassed & got neglected.

    well of course! I would choose the studer too. This machine doesn't weigh 800 pounds and have tranny's on every channel like an A-80 though either, an A-80 MKIV is probably one of the best soudning 2"/24's of all time.
  • holmesholmes 3,532 Posts
    4YearGraduate said:
    holmes said:
    we used to use one of these occaisionally in the studio I used to work at for small projects & sometimes mastering. It was ok, but we had a massive 2" Studer Reel to Reel which was better for us to record to so the 8 track was kind of outclassed & got neglected.

    well of course! I would choose the studer too. This machine doesn't weigh 800 pounds and have tranny's on every channel like an A-80 though either, an A-80 MKIV is probably one of the best soudning 2"/24's of all time.
    ha ha, didn't mean it to sound like that, i just sort of felt sorry that we neglected the little guy so much :down: it was definitely much more portable :lol:
  • phatmoneysackphatmoneysack Melbourne 1,124 Posts
    this doesn't answer your question, but you might find it interesting

    Greg Wilson Interview (Part Two, November ???09)
    http://www.headsdown.org/?p=495

    you should get in touch with Greg. He is the king of reel to reel. http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/

    edit: also check this

  • BeatnicholasBeatnicholas 1,005 Posts
    i use tape as part of the recording process, very handy for warming up things that sound flat and artificial

    good skills to teach the youth, i'd like to learn how to edit tape properly.
  • BeatnicholasBeatnicholas 1,005 Posts
    phatmoneysack said:


    you should get in touch with Greg. He is the king of reel to reel. http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/


    hmm dj harvey = king, greg = the prince

    GOAT = delia derbyshire
  • DuderonomyDuderonomy Haut de la Garenne 7,793 Posts
    Ulysses31nicholas said:
    delia derbyshire

    Hip-hop.
  • phatmoneysackphatmoneysack Melbourne 1,124 Posts
    Ulysses31nicholas said:


    GOAT = delia derbyshire

    i just googled her

    :next_level:

    thanks!
  • BeatnicholasBeatnicholas 1,005 Posts
    unbelievably she made all of that shit using a tape measure and splicing tools, chopping little slices of 16th notes, 8th notes and so forth. So she would record 1 mile of A, 1 mile of B and so forth.. cutting them into sequences. incredible. plus she preferred to use simple sound sources like tin cans, broom handles and pan lids.

    even more incredibly, she retired when synthesisers came into play, saying that it was quote on quote "becoming all a bit too easy". so definitely a proto-strutter. salute to delia.

    if you've not seen this youtube of her prepare to be face melted. the first beatmatching dj was... a woman!

  • doomdoom 305 Posts


    the radiophonic workshop is essentially what made me get one of these badboys, heaven on earth for me. i experiment alot with tape in my studio, but the times ive tried reel2reel tape the result has always been a lil bit too smooth (late 70s, studio slick) not enough gangsta (60s, 80s hiphop tapes crunch, d.i.y.). but im mos def down to learn more about this. ive only scratched the surface so far.
  • DCarfagnaDCarfagna 983 Posts


    This machine right here is like the Cadillac of 1/4 tape machines. Kamal told me that Low End Theory was demoed on it, and I know most of "In The Air Tonight" was recorded using it. It was made at the height of 4-track technology, right before the onset of new digital mediums like ADAT, DAT, etc. Currently they are extremely affordable and fly under the radar, but I can predict that these joints will soar in popularity and sink in availability when folks see how incredible a machine this really is. I really can't emphasize enough how sympathetic and reliable this recorder can be, especially when coupled with an MPC, some hot outboard gear, and a few high-end mics. It behaves very much like an open reel machine, sans the headaches of calibration and maintenance.
  • Jonny_PaycheckJonny_Paycheck 17,825 Posts
    Funny you mentioned that one DC. I have been after it for years - decades, really: I had an old Akai catalog back in the day (acquired from Leo's Pro Audio, natch) and used to salivate over that machine and also the S1000KB (a S-series sampler mounted into a full-88 keyboard). I eventually acquired a S1000KB, which is big enough to be used as a raft in a flood. But never the tape machine. Also, I seem to recall it being pictured in the photo montage on the insert for Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth's The Main Ingredient, which further drove the desirability factor through the roof for a young youth such as myself.

    I got rid of the KB because it's ultimately pretty useless.

    More recently I was in the market for a 4-track tape machine and I ended up settling on the Tascam 464, mainly because it syncs directly to Midi. But man, I would probably trade it for this one if pressed.
  • DCarfagnaDCarfagna 983 Posts
    The only flaw I can find with the Akai MG614 is that there is no counter reset button. In order to return to zero on the counter, I am forced to turn the machine off and then turn it back on. Really not a big deal, but it seems strange that Akai would forget a simple device like a counter reset. And JP, that Tascam 464 is like a blueberry mini-muffin compared to the whole bakery that is the MG614.
  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
    DCarfagna said:


    This machine right here is like the Cadillac of 1/4 tape machines. Kamal told me that Low End Theory was demoed on it, and I know most of "In The Air Tonight" was recorded using it. It was made at the height of 4-track technology, right before the onset of new digital mediums like ADAT, DAT, etc. Currently they are extremely affordable and fly under the radar, but I can predict that these joints will soar in popularity and sink in availability when folks see how incredible a machine this really is. I really can't emphasize enough how sympathetic and reliable this recorder can be, especially when coupled with an MPC, some hot outboard gear, and a few high-end mics. It behaves very much like an open reel machine, sans the headaches of calibration and maintenance.

    Nice. I'm always open to cassette machines that bring a HUGE sound. Reel to Reels are such a bitch to thread and maintain. Cassettes add a level of convenience that I am happier with.
  • BeatnicholasBeatnicholas 1,005 Posts
    DCarfagna said:


    This machine right here is like the Cadillac of 1/4 tape machines. .

    thanks for sharing, i want this.
  • SPlDEYSPlDEY Vegas 3,375 Posts
    I am in love with analog tape recording.

    Gabe Roth, and Miles motivated me to record myself. So, I've recently taught myself how to use Tape for my album. I recorded my whole album on a Tascam 388, all my edits done digitally. Looking back I can't imagine doing all the edits I did with tape alone.

    I'd like to see what prices you're asking. I'm building a new studio space, and I honestly can't wait to dive into more tape. I need to get into something bigger and badder then what I'm on now.

    I was just reading up on your custom built Console. Sounds like a beast THES. Would love to come check out your setup someday brotha.

    - spidey

    - Spidey
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