Transferring analog to digital....tascam tape to Zoomr16

[mazz]

I suggest transferring them 2 tracks at a time which would mean only two passes. Your chances for sync are 4 times better this way, IMO.

If possible, print a sharp sound, like a metronome click, across all 4 tracks at the same time on the tascam, just before the music starts (but far enough so you don't erase anything!!), or if you have stick clicks on the drum track, just bounce the first click to the other tracks.

Either way, if you have this short sharp sound on all four tracks at exactly the same time, at the very least you will have something to line up the beginning with. If the songs aren't too long, you have a good chance of staying in sync. If you drift on one track, you can probably do a "snip" at some good edit point and slide the rest of the track one way or another to bring it in sync with the others. Also, it won't matter where you start the recording on the zoom or the playback on the tascam, because you'll be able to line up the click once you make the transfer.

No matter what, make as few passes as possible, in this case, you'd just have to do it twice.

I strongly suggest that once you get the tracks in the Zoom, that you do your lining up in the computer. Any fairly modern computer should be able to easily handle 4 audio tracks, that's a pretty small number of tracks. Once you get the tracks edited and sync'd up, you can put them back in the Zoom for further mixing, etc.

All of this will be good practice because digital recording is where you want to be and you have to come to terms with it eventually if you want to be in the game.

Good luck!

Mazz

[fret17]

Thanks Mazz ...I'm gonna try that and hopefully avoid what Mark Kaufman has warned me of.....at any rate...if I succeed...I will post a before and after audio...it might be interesting to hear if there's a significant difference....but you're right Mazz time to get with the program and the rest of the world....thanks everyone!

[mazz]

Have fun with it!

Another advantage of having it in digital form is that you won't be scraping that tape across the tape heads any more. There's a finite number of times you can do that!

That brings up another point: make sure you've cleaned the tape machine before you do the transfers. The buildup of tape oxide on the heads really will diminish the audio performance of the machine. I knew folks that never cleaned their machines!! Working on 24 track machines in my friend's pro studio taught me the value of regular cleaning! It doesn't take much and pays off big!

Cheers!

Mazz

[billg1]

Maybe you can do something like this . . . here's a song from Spoon's new CD where they actually used parts from their scratch 4 track cassette demo. for the most part they just put the 4 track stuff (which includes the drums and bass) in the left channel and added studio stuff on the right channel. Sounds cool too. I guess there really aren't any rules. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwxpJD8HTQo

[eeoo]

Man I love that record. Sorry, mini thread highjack...

eo

[fret17]

Have fun with it!

Another advantage of having it in digital form is that you won't be scraping that tape across the tape heads any more. There's a finite number of times you can do that!

That brings up another point: make sure you've cleaned the tape machine before you do the transfers. The buildup of tape oxide on the heads really will diminish the audio performance of the machine. I knew folks that never cleaned their machines!! Working on 24 track machines in my friend's pro studio taught me the value of regular cleaning! It doesn't take much and pays off big!

Cheers!

Mazz

You said a mouthful here Mazz...that's one of the big reasons to switch...also a good reminder for all of us still in the anolog mode....clean the heads!....now where did I put that demagnetizer???....will let you know how things turn out down the road....

[fret17]

Maybe you can do something like this . . . here's a song from Spoon's new CD where they actually used parts from their scratch 4 track cassette demo. for the most part they just put the 4 track stuff (which includes the drums and bass) in the left channel and added studio stuff on the right channel. Sounds cool too. I guess there really aren't any rules. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwxpJD8HTQo

I may end up doing something similar billg1...would like to just keep these track as they are though , only clean them up and fatten them up....There are guitar sounds and runs that I will never be able to reproduce any other way....this is really going to be a huge undertaking to pull off...but I'm jazzed that it's going to help me learn all about the R16...fingers crossed...

[Mark Kaufman]

Mazz's two-pass method may still cause a trouble due to the gradual way the two passes go out of sync. When I tried this awhile back, I just couldn't edit two tracks into normality...it was herky jerky at best. And I really wanted to do some treatment/mixing/EQ/cleanup of each of the four tracks after they were digitized.

But Mazz just showed me the light in a different way, should you run into the same issue I did...if you have a stereo out, put tracks 1 and 2 hard left and tracks 3 and 4 hard right, and in one pass you can record it onto two digital tracks, all in sync that way.

AND...if the two-pass method works, then you could have all four tracks separated digitally by trying the above method twice: the first pass has Track 1 hard left and Track 2 hard right (3 and 4 are muted)...the second pass has Track 3 hard left and Track 4 hard right (1 and 2 are muted). Now you have four tracks, and you only have to worry about getting 1&2 to sync with 3&4.

Good luck!

[fret17]

Great added bonus idea to Mazz's Mark....I'm going to print out this thread to have all this great input close by when I start this...(hopefully this weekend)....If you see on the weekend news that there was a huge explosion in Virginia beach...it's just me blowing up my studio...Thanks again to all who responded

[jonathanm]

One thing I would add to Mazz's and Mark's suggestions is to put a click on all four tracks a few seconds AFTER the song also. Once in digital, line up the first click then check the last click on all four tracks to gauge how far off they have drifted over time.

If the drifting tracks are drums or percussion (atonal stuff) you can simply speed-adjust the digital track to bring the final clicks in line (assuming the machine was somewhat constant in its rate of drift).

A little nip-n-tuck editing may still be involved, but it's typically a lot less than what you started with.