No argument there. A Sony PCM DASH 3348 which was $250 000 USD in 1989 you can now get in good working order for under $5000 USD.
Jesus! Good question. Tell that to that Lord-Alge brothers. Chris and Tom were both recording all of their projects on DASH 3348 / 3348 HR until a few years ago. And one brother is still using his 27 year old DASH 3348 HR. He takes all of the 24/96 or 24/192 music he gets from clients and pops them into his out-of -date 3348 HR at 24/48. But more importantly thousands of music, movie and television soundtracks were recorded using these beasts. You guys wanna see Deep Space 9 HD release right? With a nice full 5.1 mix right? None of that will happen without a 3348 or a 3348 HD. So, don't be so quick to right them off or to get rid of them. And besides.....They makes great door stops! They stopped making DASH tape (1/4, 1/2 inch) in 2007. Although the Lord-Alge brothers have purchased most of the excess stock up. You can still buy DASH tape real cheap but it is tape that is sitting in someone studio.
Mmmm...Agreed. but not bouncing tracks on a 4 track is like not spending any money on a first date with a high maintenance woman
I love digital.....No bias or level to set. No heads to align and calibrate. What goes in...comes out perfect unchanged. And no tape.
Some companies were conservative in their specs but other companies like Stephens listed what their machines good do. And in the case of tape machines back in the 1960's the specs listed were locked in stone. Due to the tape, heads and tape transport design of the multitrack recorders back in the 1960's recording the last half octave just wasn't possible. And this was proven by the Ampex tapes of the period that were 30 - 15 000 hz. It wasn't until the 1970's that 20 khz could be reached. Yes, a good skilled engineer can get more out of these machines. But this depends on the skill of the engineer and the condition of the tape machine. And this is why I only list and go by the guaranteed specs. Members want to how a MM1200 -24 performed in 1973 with a Scotch 306. Not in 2021 with a 499. New tape would make the recordings quieter but would not provide extend frequency response.
I actually like analog emulation. Sometimes (especially in modern rock recordings) I will find the vocals have this artificial "crispness" added and It really bugs me. But I slap a tape emulator on there and things smooth out and glue together more. So I'll welcome analog emulation.
No Stephens tape machine worked properly without a Scotch 206 / 207 tape. That is why all those Queen tapes had to be baked.
The final word is 1995 was the last year for new analog multitrack recorders. And many pro manufacturers stopped producing machines as earlier as 1992 and even 1990.
If anyone was wondering.... The Sony 3348: 48 tracks of 16/48 PCM on 1/2 inch DASH tape. Sony 3348 HR: 48 tracks of 24/48 PCM on 1/2 inch DASH. $250 000 USD each at 500 pounds in weight.
O.k. here is the steal of the year featured on Reverb. The owner is selling a vintage 45 year old Ampex MM-1200, 2 inch 16 track completely restored for only......$5200 and a bit. "...Finally selling the centerpiece of my old studio. A beautiful Ampex MM1200 16 track 2" analog tape machine. It has been restored by Ampex specialist Joel Katz. All channels work and are calibrated and the power supply has been rebuilt. This machine sounds AMAZING! This is a favorite of many producers for its beautiful low end. It makes drums sound unreal. Things to note: I do not have a remote or the side and front panels. Only three of the lights in the meters work but all meters still function perfectly. Besides that this machine is fully functional. Plug and play! No delivery. You have to pick the thing up yourself. This is it. This is the old analog thing you have been looking for. Nothing beats the bottom end of a 2 inch 16 track. Well, except the bottom end of a 2 inch 8 track running at 7.5 ips. Check the beasty out on Reverb....
Which studio are you currently working with? Seems like it should be a very well recorded performance, hopefully it eventually gets a release
I had no problem playing my 1/2 inch VHS 14 bit PCM tapes. They played for years. As long as you recorded on the SP mode. Record on the EP speed and 3 years later the tapes will not play. Back in May of 1989 all of this was new. I just assumed the tapes would always play back. Truth is the machines dies out usually before the tapes stop tracking.
Ahh, got ya! The classic Sony DASH PCM 3348 weighed 500 pounds. Not as heavy as a 600 pound Studer A800 Mark 1, 24 track but...... Hey, those DAWs can get as heavy as 6 pounds!
For those who wonder..... If you have an analog project that used three 24 track machines then you need to get three 24 track machines to play the song back and do your Pro Tools transfer. But if you have an ADAT project that used 6 ADATs all you need is one. Because digital has perfect speed you can transfer your ADAT project in 6 separate passes. I wouldn't advise it though! The same with DASH and Prodigi. Let me know how that works out for you....Good luck...
Prodigi became popular for one reason only - price. By 1985..... Mitsubishi X-850, 32 track Prodigi recorder $156 000 USD SONY 3324, 3324A, 24 track DASH recorder $150 000 USD You got 8 extra tracks for only $6 000 more. And if you purchased two X-850s you got 64 tracks at $312 000 USD. This was a better deal than 48 tracks on 2 Sony 3324A's for $300 000. And for almost 4 years Mistiubushi ruled the digital multitrack market until 1988 with the release of Sony's 3348 which offered 48 tracks on one tape for $250 000 USD. Within 2 years Sony had cornered the digital multitrack market. Every studio wanted a 3348. Well....Those that could afford it.
If the audio engineer was using a Studer A-800 Mark 2, 24 track recorder he wouldn't need any NR. Back then the machine could manage 68 db A weighted signal to noise ratio easy. And that is at 0 VU. I would like to see him try that "No NR trick" with a Ampex MM-1000 24 track recorder. Of even a MM-1100.
It's an analog tape thang. And if anyone thinks they can get a - 2 db @ 30 hz running at 30 ips out of a Ampex MM-1200 24 track recorder, let me know. Even the famous Studer A800 Mark 1 crapped out at 30 ips. Like all the other 24 track machines did back in the early 70's. - 2 db @ 50 hz @ 30 ips. 1957 - 1969 The majority of 3, 4, 8, 12, 16 and 24 tracks were limited to 30 - 15 000 hz +-2db. A few like the Scully could record at 30 ips. 50 - 18 000 hz +-2db. As you see the bass response is severely cut. As I have said before the measurements of multitracks in the 60's was not a bare minimum/ guaranteed spec. Before 1970 tape head and tape transports made it almost impossible to record the last half octave. I argued these specs with many engineers. Some like Bob from Motown. These are not conservative measurements but what the machines are capable of. Want proof? The Ampex test tapes were 30 - 15 000 up until 1970. A quick frequency measurement of your songs from the period will confirm this. Unfortunately many don't know how to tell the difference between music and noise on frequency graph. After 1970 /1971 is a different story. The Stephens 2 inch 40 track (1973) @ 30 ips.................. 40 - 22 000 hz +1, - 2 db. Guaranteed spec...40 - 20 000 hz +1, - 2 db. Only Scotch 206 / 207 tapes may be used. Or a 206/207 equivalent. Whatever the hell that is! As you will notice the bass response never changes. Keep in mind the first spec is what the machine can do and NOT a guaranteed spec. How did ex- aerospace engineer, John Stephens make a 2 inch 40 track tape recorder that was almost flat at 40 hz running at 30 ips. Neither Studer, Ampex or the rest could do it at 30 ips and that was just with 24 tracks. John Stephens was also a member of The Church Of Scientology. According to a member on Gearlusts Mr. Stephens used to carry a gun around with him. When he fixed your Stephens multitrack he would place his revolver on top of the mixer. This is the the story that was posted by studio staff that met the guy. Supposedly. He also later built Black Boxes for the airlines. The Ampex ATR124 (1979) had a guaranteed spec of 25 - 22 000 hz +1, - 2db @ 15 ips @ 0VU. This is impressive. And $63 000 USD it should be! Only 90 made. No...Really. MCI 3 inch (Yea, I said 3 INCHES) 32 track recorder. The infamous JH32 PROTOTYPE. (1979) Quoted spec: 30 - 28 000 hz +-2db @ 20 ips. Many audio engineers argued that 20 ips was the perfect speed. High, but not too high to affect the bottom end. Unfortunately the JH32 never entered the market. It worked.....But only in the vertical position. In the horizontal position the 3 inch tape (Mother mary wept!) kept lifting up over the heads. There was one expensive solution - to make the tape twice as thick. That didn't fly... So the JH32 prototype and several reels of 3 inch tape were locked away deep within the vaults of MCI. The JH32 is almost a legend. It did make a Brief appearance at the 1979 Pro audio show. I thought of posting a picture of the JH32 but a 3 inch head is really grotesque. No really....It was like the engineers got stoned one night and said, "Dudes! 3 inch 32 track that runs at 20 ips...Who's in for skinny dipping?!...." 1971 - 1985 The average guaranteed specs for most 24 tracks. @ 15 ips...... 40 - 20 000 hz +1, - 2 db. @ 30 ips...... 50 - 22 000 hz +1, -2 db By 1986: @ 15 ips.......30 - 20 000 hz +1, - 2 db. @ 30 ips.......40 - 22 000 hz +1, - 2 db. The Otari MX-80, 2 inch 24 track (1987) With the lovely Dolby HX Pro. @ 7.5 ips....... 20 - 18 000 hz +1, - 2db. @ 15 ips.........30 - 20 000 hz +1, - 2 db. @ 30 ips.........40 - 22 000 hz +1, - 2 db. You see at the lower speed how the MX-80 is almost flat at 20 hz. A modern 16 track could do that easy at 15 ips. Can you get more top end out of these machines? Sure, if you knew what you were doing. And it depends on the condition of your tape machine. But the bottom end, particularly at 30 ips was another story. More top end could be traded in for increase in distortion. The guaranteed spec is what you should go by. Why? Some super crafty engineer might be able to get a confirmed 18 - 23 000 hz +-2db @ 15 ips out of a MX-80. Unfortunately all engineers won't be able to pull this trick off. And if you purchased a Studer A800 for your home studio the company quoted spec is what you should go by. If you get better - great. And you might, but don't expect it. ROCK BIASING You play a infrasonic tone (below 30 hz) to set bias. I read it somewhere. Don't ask. One of the Engineers that Pink Floyd had used to did Rock biasing.
McLover climbs a wall in a gym to get Rock Biasing. Engineers who are different use special tools and techniques to serve, and do their job. I keep a Wellman Harness (wheelchair users aka barely Bipeds must own them) and a belay crew of 4 to stay safe. And my roots secure.
