[sdiy] Should I repair my Fostex, or should I go HD recording?

[James Patchell]

I have had my Layla now (this is the old one, 8 tracks, 20 bits, the new 
Layla is 24 bits) for quite some time.  All I can say is "Digital Recording 
is the way to go".  I also have a Teac 40-4 that I purchased back in 
1978.  Guess what, as nice as the Teac is, it has sat ununsed since I got 
the Layla.  Why?  Well, for one thing, before I use the Teac I degauss the 
heads, clean the heads and tape guides, check to make sure the brakes are 
adjusted correctly, etc...it is so much simpler to just use the 
Layla.  Now, I am not particularly recommending the Layla, there are a lot 
of nice digital recording systems out there.  But to tell the truth, I am 
to the point where I would almost give away the Teac just to get it out of 
the house...:-)

At 11:04 PM 12/25/2004 +0100, JH. wrote:
>Hi.
>
>My Fostex R8 analogue 8-track is broken again. I guess I could repair it for
>100 or
>200 Dollars, but should I?
>
>I've been looking around for PCI cards that allow 8 track recording /
>playback, and
>I was surprised to find them quite expensive. And then I still need
>software?
>
>OTOH, I would also be interested in PC-based samplers with huge capacity,
>for grand piano, church organ, mellotron and the like.
>
>I'm _not_ interested in virtual synths or virtual FX on the PC - I would
>really
>just use the PC for recording and playback and editing of tracks, plus as
>a sampled grand piano etc. Mixdown will still  be hardware, with tube
>compressors,
>quantec reverb and all.
>
>Under these circumstances, is it worth switching to PC-based recording?
>And if so, what PCI card would you recommend? (No need for Mic preamps
>or gain pots - 8 plain line inputs and 8 outputs will do.) And which
>software?
>Ease of use is important, and low price. No need for anything more than
>making a pre-mix of n HD tracks to 8 outputs.
>And how does the PC based sampler fit in here? Same software package?
>Different software package? How will the two work together?
>
>I'm a complete newbie here, as you see ...
>... and I'm still not sure if repairing that reel-to-reel might be the
>better solution. (;->)
>
>Convince me, give me suggestions - if it's too off-topic, in private mail.
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>JH.

         -Jim
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http://www.oldcrows.net/~patchell

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