I've got a line on some really good analog recording equipment including a 16 track (1/2") Reel to Reel and several DAT Decks. Essentially I could set up a complete analog studio for about 1/4th of what it would cost to purchase each component separately. I've been planning on setting up a studio with both analog and digital capabilities. I think I'm going to take a shot at this gear.

I've been asked why would I want to bother with the expense and complexity of a R2R based studio when Digital is so much easier and cheaper.

Because I can.

I work in the "High Tech" industry and like to "unplug" for my hobbies. I just sort of like the idea of setting up an analog studio. I find a certain "romance" in the spinning reels. Sort of like travel by train. I am a serious amateur photographer and it took me a VERY long time to give up chemicals and the dark room. If I owned a boat, it would be a sailboat. I like to touch things and see the math and other concepts in my mind being represented in a physical manner rather than hidden and digesting through the electronic bowels of a computer.

This will be a labor of love. I'll take my time tinkering and learning. The list of gear is long and the price really is right. I know I'll be spending $ on tape and other "hidden" expenses. That is part of the fun for me. "Investment Payback" isn't a term that applies here.

I suspect this will be a little like my first guitar build. It certainly would have been easier and arguably less expensive to buy a guitar. I know it would have been less risky - I could easily have wound up with a pile of parts. And it took me a very long time to get the guts to proceed. But I loved doing it.

So...

...do any of you guys have experience in recording with analog gear and then doing a final mix down from 16 tracks to digital?

I've done 4 Track recording before, and once hacked a tape deck so that the erase head could be turned on and off independent of the write head. Are you old enough to be familiar with tape in general, or is this all completely new to you?

As far as mixing down, all modern software is designed to mimic old analog equipment, so if you understand a DAW you should have no problem figuring out tape. The biggest difference is remembering that every step in an analog chain adds noise.

If you run into model-specific problems with any of the equipment, you're probably going to need a more specialized niche forum than 2+2.

Also, to nit a bit, DAT isn't analog.

Yeah. Good point on the DAT. By definition not Analog. But judging by the almost universal hatred of the format, it might as well be Analog.

I hang out on "real" musician-type forums and am getting some good input from them on this. Just thought I'd support the Arts Forum and converse with my fellow Poker/Musician on a fun (to me) subject.

I'm definitely a geezer, so I grew up on tape. A splicer isn't a foreign object to me! We cut some tunes back in the day in 4, 8, and 16 track studios.

I actually know virtually nothing about modern SW. My plan is to get this gear and probably a basic Pro Tools set-up with a decent Mac and storage device and learn by playing with it all.

With this one purchase, I'll have the R2R, several DAT units, a 16 channel mixer, and a few other goodies (Digital Reverb, effects, monitors...)

That'll be Step One and keep me busy for a while.

As my skill level improves on that set-up, I imagine I'll start getting some pre-amps and compressors. I think I am OK with microphones, but will always be on the look-out for good deals on them.

When I get to the point where I am getting some decent results with this set-up, I'll get the Pro Tools set-up for final mix down and other fun.

Probably a little backwards from how most people would suggest. It surely makes more sense to start with a Digital Studio and then move to R2R if I'm still passionate about it.

I hear ya bud, re: liking physical stuff. You sound like you definitely want to get the setup and mess around with it so you should just do that.

My band was recently recording an EP and had to do a pretty serious edit that might not even work in the song. No problem. Lets see how it sounds. So our engineer just whipped out a razor and some tape and joined it together and low and behold, sounded awesome. Was weird from a computer persons point of view.



There's some of my music lying on the floor!

Whats the other forum you frequent btw?

That's a cool machine there. Looks like a 2" tape. But is the dude running it in Devo or something?

I love your take on things. Sounds like a fun project. I am an audio engineer but only been so for about 7 years and obviously missed the tape days by a number of years. I have spent almost all my time in the digital world... learned the analog theory and got a little hands on, but not a lot. Digital definitely makes things easier in a fast paced work environment but I'd love to get some time in on tape. I snagged an R2R a while ago but haven't got it running yet.

Pretty sure your around the same area as me. Is this an old stash from a local studio? I understand if you don't want to say here, or at all for sake of keeping the source to yourself , but feel free to PM me if you like.

Old Skool analog FTW.

Well.

I did it. Bought the entire lot of stuff. Everything looks pretty good. Still need to check it all out. I'll post more later.

Whee!!!

I don't think this was ever an official Studio. Just an old guy with some really good gear.

I'll post some more specifics soon.

Got everything home.

I sort of underestimated how much gear this was, but luckily my Jeep (4 Door Wrangler Unlimited) was up to the task. On the hottest most humid day of the year, I stopped at the Bank for cash, trekked to Cousin’s place and picked up my new studio. Everything fit nicely into the Jeep, with the MSR-16 strapped safely into the passenger seat.

Having done a little research, I was most concerned about the heads on the MSR-16. If the recording head was worn or gapped, it would be a bust. Luckily the unit shows virtually zero wear.

The only real “problem” is some idiot got lazy with their screwdriver and cross-threaded and head-stripped a bunch of screws when mounting things in the rack. How freaking stupid do you have to be to eff up a screw? Just take a couple of extra seconds to seat a screw properly and use a decent screwdriver. Five extra seconds and a buck for a fresh screwdriver bit to save damage to a several hundred dollar component.

There is some minor scraping and bending on several components on the “wings” that mount to the racks. The mixer is clean, but 4 of the 200+ knobs are missing their little colored “Top Hats”. The Mixer and Recorder power up and all lights and indicators check out just fine. Mild panic when the Recorder wouldn’t power up the first time I hit the ON Switch, but it was because I didn’t plug it in correctly.

Doh!

Clearly the moment of truth will be to run tape thru this baby and ensure all 16 Tracks are functioning. It will be a while before I get everything sorted out and in place to do a full test & alignment/calibration..

All in all it has been a great experience so far. It is really going to take some time and effort on my part to learn to use this stuff.

Maybe I'll start a Blog.

Here is fine imo. I am vicariously enjoying your adventures.

Congrats! Sounds like a ton of fun. Interested to hear (ITT and/or audibly) how it all works out.

GOAT engineer imo

So I finally set everything up. Needed an extra rack for some of the rack mounted effects. It really looks pretty cool. Decided to try and get some noise thru the Mixer.

First hurdle was Manuals. It came with Manuals for the DAT Machines, the recorder, patch bay... but not the Mixer. As I started slogging thru the hard copy version of the Recorder, I quickly realized that my inability to comprehend it wasn't completely my fault. What was labeled as a MSR-16 Manual (Neatly stapled with the MSR-16 Manual Cover) was a completely jumbled bunch of pages from 3 different manuals. Seriously, it seemed like random pages from the MSR-16, Mixer, and some other random manual. And not one was complete.

I'm guessing that the same guy who cross-threaded half of the screws in the rack also set-up the manuals

There was a DVD of the complete MSR-16 Manual. So that is a start.

Can't find a download for the 2516, but did find a version that let's me read it on-line and only charges for downloading it. I'm gonna keep looking.

The On-Line version of the 2516 Manual was enough to help me do an initial set-up and eventually get some sound out thru the Control Room and Headphone outputs.

That was my first real victory.

So freaking much to learn - but super excited.