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

[Rude 66]

heh..

another layla 20 bit owner here. and guess what? i've gone the other way. i
used to record from the desk straight into the layla, and master from there.
sounded ok to me.
until i could borrow a revox b77.. ever since then i'm sold to tape again.
of course it all depends on the music you make and the convenience vs sound
quality issue. yeah, the revox is a huge thing, the tape counter doesn't
work, so it's guessing where one song starts. tape can be a pain to handle,
and the thing needs to be cleaned regularly. and there's more hiss,
especially combined with noisy ewffects and an old analogue board.
but the sound.. the sound.. that revox at 15 ips makes an 808 bassdrum
creamler than the best cake. it gives the whole mix a superb punch, all the
seperate sounds melt into one glorious mass of ehm.. well, sound.
however, i don't know the r8 well enough to say if it's tyhe same.. doesn't
it record 8 channels on the same space where the revox does 2? all i know is
tape is coming back just like analogue synths did. the analogy is the same:
yeah, a digital synth has presets, midi, convenience, and 100.000 built in
sounds. but an analogue synth still sounds better (not to open up that can
of worms..;-)

so pure for convenience, yeah go digital. actually for multitracking, it';s
not a bad thing and the pro's probably outweigh the cons. but then get a
decent 2 track master recorder..;-)

the magic of sound on tape does exist. maybe you can borrow a sound card
first and then compare.. i've heard tracks from people who changed from tape
recording to hd and the sound is terrible. it's sort of like nu-metal vs
hard rock.. first is totally brickwall mastered-hyped up inyour face and
very tiring, while the other has a gentler, richer and creamier sound.

personally, i'd love to own something like a 24 track studer or something..
i'd toss the computer out instantly for it.


r./


----- Original Message -----
From: "James Patchell" <patchell at cox.net>
To: "JH." <jhaible at debitel.net>; "diy" <synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
Sent: Sunday, December 26, 2004 12:04 AM
Subject: Re: [sdiy] Should I repair my Fostex, or should I go HD recording?


> 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.