Got my reel-to-reel 2-track refurbished!

[ernstinen]

Hi All,

I ditched analog recording about 20 years ago, for the "new and better" digital. Digital is great for certain things, but my poor Tascam 22-2 was sitting in the garage unused for a long, long time. I had mixed to that deck at 15 ips until the early 90's, and kept the tapes in storage.

A few weeks ago, I decided to get it fixed at Adrian Pro Audio in L.A. This guy is a magician with analog decks, and when I picked it up (with new motors), I put a reel on to take a listen... WOW! The music just EXPLODED off that tape! Since I used to record and mix way "into the red" with analog tape, there was zero noise; NONE. Just rich, detailed music with every frequency jumping out of the speakers or headphones. i was shocked at how great it sounds!

This post is not intended to start another "Analog vs. Digital War." I just wanted to share my experience... I plan to use tape sometimes in my mastering studio if I want to warm up (and compress) a digital recording. I used to have a VERY expensive unit that "simulated" this process, but nothing sounds like the real deal, IMHO.

Cheers,

Ern

[mojobone]

Hah, sorry Ern, but that battle's long since lost, unless you're Jack White. I only add back tape hiss when I want some, these days, which is practically never. IMO, judicious use of saturation is the key to mixing in the box, but you're ahead of that game in knowing exactly what to shoot for.