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hi all,
have a bunch of original tunes on a Fostex E-16
16 track 1/2" tape deck.
any suggestions on getting all 16 tracks in sync to a digital recorder.
i have a tascam neo 1288.
the most inputs at one time is 8.
thanks for all who answer.
mike k

Print a sharp click across all 16 tracks at exactly the same time at the very head of the tape and then play the tracks in 8 at a time. Once you get the tracks in, line them up based on the click and you're done.

mazz wrote:Print a sharp click across all 16 tracks at exactly the same time at the very head of the tape and then play the tracks in 8 at a time. Once you get the tracks in, line them up based on the click and you're done.

spoken like an old film guy!

Nothing like the sound of a 2 pop to take me back!!

Geezzz...

<gigglesnort>

hi guys,
thanks for the help.... i think.
i'm not sure what your telling me.
can you define what you mean by sharp click.
is this a drum stix sound from a drum machine etc?
and then what...... i have to guage when i hit the record button in time?
what about tape drift on the second pass ?
still need help with this.
thanks
mike k

You need to somehow record the sound across all 16 tracks at the same time. A click sound from a drum machine would be fine. If you have a click on one of the tracks, you could bounce it to the rest of the tracks by routing it to them through a mixer if you have one or one track at a time with a patch cord. You'd put the destination track in record and just record the click. It should get recorded at the exact same spot on the other tracks. I used to have a Fostex 8 track and the tracks were accessible in pairs so you only had to have the first four inputs connected and you could address all 8 tracks depending on which track was record enabled. So for example, input 1 also addressed track 5 if it was in record. I'm not sure if the 16 track machines were designed in the same way. It might be worth checking out. This way, you'd only have to connect up 8 inputs, not 16.

Tape drift is a fact of life that you'll have to deal with. Fortunately you have lots of editing possibilities once you get it in the computer and you should be able to slide or edit the tracks to keep them in sync once you have them transferred.

You could also record the two passes "wild" without any reference and match them up by hand and trial and error once you have them loaded in.

Either way, you have some work ahead of you!

I believe he means recording those clicks prior and or after any audio on the tracks. Then once imported into the computer you can line them up by the hits. You can zoom in and line them up pretty well that way. And any click that is sharp and can be recorded on all 16tracks simultaniously would do.

I would imagine it will be harder (harder if you get too much drift between the takes) then lining up snare/kick samples into a poor sounding drum kit.. zooming in and lining them up as best ya can on the hits. But not by an aweful lot.. should be less time consuming anyway.

Rob

Edit: I was thinking.. on one of the passes.. do the drums and bass if possible so they stay sync'd easily. Then line up the melodies which if there is drift will be less noticable.. in other words, do tight parts that need to stay tight with eachother in the same pass. I wouldn't be too concerned about tape drift though unless it is a long song and or the motor is getting shot and needs servicing. That fostex should be pretty presice. That might be a thought too, have it serviced before pulling those tracks into your comp.

hi guys
i see what you mean.
thanks for the idea.
i guess i didn't state that i was recording with a tascam neo 24 track digital deck
should work the same way as far as sliding the tracks around.to sync.
thanks again.
mike k