transferring these old tapes...

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Member Since: Jan 18, 2003

i have old band tapes here and this evening i am going to get them into the computer and into my ipod.

i am not sure which device to play them through. what am i gonna gain by playing the tapes through an old 8 track device which has line outs? the only other thing i have to do this--which i would prefer to use--is a modern tape deck that has a headphones out jack. i have a splitter that will take that 1/8" jack and turn it into two RCA's.

i was never one to focus on this kind of thing. cables and stuff. which is why i still dont always understand when its crucial to use a line level signal.

so which device should i use?

also if anyone has any advice on compressing these songs--they're very quiet and have some hum. i'd like to do some remastering, but since i tend to overdo everything, im a bit hesitant.

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Hello!
Member
Since: Jan 12, 2004


Jun 09, 2005 07:16 pm

I would suggest the way to go would be the 8 track with the line level signal which is ideal for what ye are doing (I thinks).

Ye wanna run it as hot as ye can with nae clips straight into yer app, recording as ye go and testing levels first.

Then, run it through a maximiser/normaliser for volume increase rather than compressing it Id say.

Ye will find if ye compress it just for the sake of it (unless the original wisny compressed) ye will kill the sound and dynamics...maybe just needs its volume increased which ye can normalize/maximise to achieve.

Good luck man.

Coco.

Pinnipedal Czar (: 3=
Member
Since: Apr 11, 2004


Jun 09, 2005 07:49 pm

I'd have a compressor and an eq in the line, just in case you wanna make a quick-fix somewhere .

Good luck ! Long live Uncle Dude !

Member
Since: Jan 18, 2003


Jun 09, 2005 08:42 pm

thanks guys. i tend to use a limiter on so much of what i do because i'm retarded and the limiter presets just make everything loud. i SUCK!

what maximizer would you recommend coco?

p.s. i just used the headphone out jack because i dont understand. line out is at ONE set volume level, right? a rather medium one, i thought. so then you crank up your mixer input level knobs as much as you can, watching your meters and getting it right below the red, and thats how you gain-stage a line-level input--you set the mixer while watching your soundcard meters, to decide the appropriate level at the mixer.

i'd have to mess with my mixer to see if thats even possible. i dont know if it has input level knobs for the RCA in's. i might have had to run the tape deck into the 1/4 inputs instead, just to get access to input level knobs.

so what i did was do headphones out to the mixer RCA ins and i brought up the headphones level until i was safely below the red. the signal is so dynamic, though, that i ended up with a weak overall sound level, in order to avoid clipping.

im not sure why what i did here sucks, i just know i'm supposed to know that it does.




Member
Since: Jan 18, 2003


Jun 10, 2005 12:52 am

haha

eeeeeeemo.
Member
Since: Oct 30, 2003


Jun 10, 2005 10:15 am

"the signal is so dynamic, though, that i ended up with a weak overall sound level, in order to avoid clipping."

i would take that as a sign that a compressor for this situation is necessary *nods*

Administrator
Since: Apr 03, 2002


Jun 10, 2005 10:31 am

I would have to agree with mccarty's assessment of the situation, that is a sure-fire sign that compression is necessary.

Hold 'Em Czar
Member
Since: Dec 30, 2004


Jun 10, 2005 11:21 am

thing is forty, your headphone output has been amplified by a power amplifier, which adds noize and subtle distortion....line level, in your case -10db, is much more stable and you will get a better signal to noize ratio, is veddy good deal.

also i wouldn't bother compressing gooin' in, and it's already 'limited' from the tape.

Member
Since: Jan 18, 2003


Jun 10, 2005 11:49 am

thanko guys.

what i mean by dynamic is that in order to set a level that didnt go into the red, i had to make the overall signal hover at the green/yellow boundary. that struck me as very quiet. the waveform ends up looking like a tiny thing.

im going back and using the line level outs today. the only reason i hesitated is because this 8 track machine is 12 years old and somewhat complicated; strange fears come along with that.

i dont understand how something can be 'limited from the tape' though.

Hold 'Em Czar
Member
Since: Dec 30, 2004


Jun 10, 2005 11:59 am

it's called 'tape saturation' do to physics (there's only so much room for signal on tape) this is a soft limiting that sounds DAMN GOOD! espically when you track drums to it, because of their quick transients, you can safely push your faders hotter, and it will sound gooooood, well, to a degree. now we're talkin' about hi quality 1" tape or better, on your 8 track it dosn't sound as good, but it's still there.

also the recording with the 'meat and potatoes' of the signal at around -12db rms, and peaking every once and a while to say -1db is normal and good. your goal when converting analog to digital, is to cleanly and accurately capture the whole signal, and if your signal is clippin' alot gooin' in, well it's not accurate, and it sure isn't clean eather. IF you compress before converting, the accuracy is good and well, but you're accurately capturing a compressed signal, which could lead to troubble down the road, so that's not a very clean recording.

jimmie neutron
Member
Since: Feb 14, 2005


Jun 11, 2005 06:33 am

If you've got an 8 track machine, can I have it when you're done? (I *love* tape!) And all the tape you've got? (gettin' expensive and hard to find.) Do you have 8 separate tracks, or just a stereo mix? If you've got individual tracks, record them individually and mix them in the digital domain. I'd use the Line Outs of the machine that did the recordings, if possible. No mixer, direct to the interface. Record in as high of a resolution as you can so you don't lose any of that tape "sound". Be sure and record yourself about a minute of the blank tape so you get a background hiss that you can get a fingerprint from for future noise reduction.

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