How to integrate analog tape with your DAW Part 2

Tape, Digitize, Align! TaDA: it's analog magic for your DAW. This video shows how you can integrate your analog tape deck with your digital audio workstation and benefit from the sonic bliss of tape, latency free in the digital realm. Enjoy the best features of tape (its sound) and the best features of computer recording (digital editing, precise punch-ins, non-linear approach, unlimited multiple takes) at the same time. You can even record to multiple tape decks and the DAW simultaneously without having to manual align tracks for synchronization. This video was created in a couple of hours at Little Red Wagon Studios by Brad McGowan and Ken Mahru to demonstrate the power of
the system. Please try it out for yourself and give us some feedback. We hope to make a better video in the near feature with improved sound and camera work.

This is the second of two videos.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• analog
• tape
• DAW
• Voxengo
• latency
• delay
• TaDA

[rmh1320]

this is pretty interesting, but isn't it kind of a waste of tape? or do you just reuse the same spools over and over?

[redwagonstudio]

@rmh1320

You just keep reusing the same reel over and over. When you get to the end of the tape, hit rewind and start again.

[mpcnyc1]

Isn't there a problem if you try to punch? Won't the punch always be late??

[redwagonstudio]

There are no problems during punch-in's or overdubs because keep in mind that you are doing the overdub in the computer and the tape deck has no idea if you are tracking basics or doing a punch in. It's only there to serve as a real-time processor on the way to the DAW. The Voxengo plugin on the DAW input channel takes care of all record-repro head delay.

[DJNyquest]

@Pipotron3000 I really dont get the point of doing it this way. You waste time of your musicians and you make it stressful for yourself. Okay you are doing 3 tracks this way, but imagine a full band recording using a 24 channel tape machine. If you are multing the output, why not record it to DAW and record the mult on tape, afterwards you can bounce the tape back to DAW.

[DJNyquest]

@MrJonathanjonathan the "sel-repro?" head or the SYNC head is actually the same head than the REC head, used backwards. This means there is no distace beween these two heads (cause -> actually the same head) no distance means the tape takes no time to move from REC to reproducing head, so no time difference. Now if you use the REPRO head, this one is not in time with the REC head but does have higher quality components. The SYNC head should only be used for monitoring.

[MrJonathanjonathan]

Nobody answered the question a fella asked on the part 1.. he was saying the sel-repro head is not as good fidelity as the repro head. Are you guys using the sel-repro head? is there anyway to take/feed from the repro head? what's the difference between the two. btw nice work indeed anyway.

[gouchodon1]

poor man's clasp

awesome

[redwagonstudio]

@necrotisingfacilitis

Any size tape would be worth trying. As long as you can monitor the playback head of your deck then you should be good to go.

[Pipotron3000]

First : you need an host supporting delay compensation report from Voxengo Latency Delay

Second : you use the plug ONLY when recording, not reproducing.

Your dry tracks are recording exactly on time, but latency delay reported tracks will record the sound played back by the latency reported (DAW buffering)

This is like you make a take, and after you move it back a little to compensate manually.

But here, DAW is doing it for you automatically every time ;)

[Pipotron3000]

First : you need an host supporting delay compensation report from Voxengo Latency Delay

Second : you use the plug ONLY when recording, not reproducing.

Your dry tracks are recording exactly on time, but latency delay reported tracks will record the sound played back by the latency reported.

This act like you make a take, and after you move it back a little to compensate manually.

But here, DAW is doing it for you automatically every time ;)