Analog Recording

[JFobs]

Hello,
I really like this forum. I've posted before on this subject.
Could anyone tell me this: with a Studer A827(standard or
gold edition) at 30 ips is it not neccesary to use Dolby SR?,
and get great sound? I am willing to pay the 10 grand for the
XPSR unit, if there is no tape hiss.
I have read that at 15 ips, Dolby SR is excellent for
stereo mixdown, on an Ampex ATR-102. Can anybody tell me
which unit is best?
(1/4, 1/2 or 1 inch)?

Thanks

[JFobs]

Hello, I
truly would like to know.
Which tape is best for the Studer a827
and Ampex ATR 102 1/2 inch?
Is it Quantegy or Emtec 456, 467, 499,
or the 900 or 911 formulations?

Thank You.

[JeffBarnett]

I remember when I was in college for audio engineering hey told us about anaolg tape machines, how people used to record on them, how expensive they were. We saw some pictures of what tape looked like, and they even brought in an "old-timer" who used to record on them back in the day. Ahh, memories...

Seriously, though. I don't think you will get a lot of responses here because you are speaking a language very few people speak any more. I have threaded tape in an analog machine, but only once, and that was 5 years ago. I don't want to get into the analog vs. digital debate again but the bottom line is that there aren't many analog audio experts any more.

Now, ask me questions about word clock or sample rates, and we can go nuts...

[JFobs]

HaHa very funny Jeff.
The truth is that your absolutely right.
But the people and the staff at Sweetwater
are very smart.
Thanks anyways.

[Byll]

Man, FJobs, you are truly asking people to jump in where Angels fear to tread...Simply my $.02:

Yeah...I am 57 years old (an 'old-timer in Jeff's language), and have worked with analog tape since I was about 14 years old. I have worked with everything from old Norelco and Webcor quarter track machines, to Sony Pro and MCI 2" 24 channel machines. I even taught the stuff to college students for about 10 years. My own personal studio only shifted from analog to digital, about a year ago...

We recorded for many years with every noise reduction system extant: Dolby A, B, and SR, and pro format DBX 1, plus a bunch of others whose names I cannot recall.

The challenge concerning your question is that I have never worked with the Studer A827, and your question is very specific concerning that point.. I can only give you my general opinion, based on years of experience:

At 30 ips, noise reduction is not necessary. It certainly can be used, but it is not necessary. Will 100% of the hiss be unnoticeable? Of course not. Even SR will not accomplish that. Nothing in the analog world will accomplish that. Does it matter? Of course not. The sound of 30 IPS recordings can be superb, if all obvious musical and technical factors are aligned (no pun intended, but it could have been).

Certainly we have mixed down to 15 ips half-track - both quarter and half inch...We used SR or A in that configuration. Never used one inch 2 track. But here's the issue: For mixdown, 30 ips/no noise reduction does not sound like 15 ips/SR. Neither is truly preferable; they are simply different. No intelligent value judgement is possible. Both formats will give excellent results...

If your SR gear at this stage is going to cost you 10 grand, it might be best to work at 30 ips for awhile, without NR. See how you like it. The people who hurt because of it will be your clients. I remember 2" reel costs of between $300-$500 per reel of tape, when bought in cases of 10...At 30 ips, that's about 15-20 minutes of recording time per reel, depending on tape thickness.

We always used Ampex 456 and machines were set up, accordingly. (Quantegy, today)... 456 was kind of the mother of all high performance tape at that time...Many of our studio tape masters have suffered from the dread stiction disease, even though stored in climate-controlled rooms...Go figure.

Best to you in your endeavor. I hope my musings were of some help...
Byll