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Author Topic: Hardware/software recommendations for dubbing media  (Read 3961 times)

Offline Teeg

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Hardware/software recommendations for dubbing media
« on: January 16, 2011, 10:36:05 AM »
 In the past I've had quite a bit of fun dubbing older media onto new 10" reels....favorite 4-track tapes, vinyl etc, using 440/350 machines in the tape loop of an inexpensive preamp. Recently I've tried taping digital media, fairly easy from a CD player in previously mentioned fashion, more difficult from the PC as I own neither a decent soundcard or software to edit/manage audio files.
 
 Transferring lossless digital files to open reel tape adds that magical analog 'something' to the final product. Studios still do it in final mixdown, creating two-track final tapes from their multitrack masters, or with fancy software plug-ins on their DAWs.

  For dubbing analog media to tape, I'd get better quality transfers with some sort of mixer/fader in the line-level loop; something that would let me attenuate the source signal a bit or drop it out completely between songs. With so much equipment available from pro audio stores, I don't have a clue as to what piece of gear fits the bill.

  The second option would be to outfit a PC with a good sound card and good audio editing software, and rip the analog media straight to lossless digital, and use the software to control what winds up on the tape. Again, without much experience in this field I am not sure in which direction to go to get started.

  Where am I going with all this? No further than just making a few nice tape collections for my own enjoyment. The tapes I've made so far have been pretty good, even considered 'very good' when demoed to my non-audiophile buddies.  I just feel there is a bit more improvement that could be had in the transfer process and I want to experiment.

Regards,
Tj Bassi
T.j. Bassi  
    Martin Logan reQuests....Martin Logan Descent x 2....Atma-Sphere MA1 OTL amplification....Krell KPS25s digital front end....VPI Scoutmaster....Studer A80 VU MKII....Ampex 300-2 Tube/SS Playback "Ampexius Maximus"....Ampex MR-70

Offline Stevebol

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Re: Hardware/software recommendations for dubbing media
« Reply #1 on: February 24, 2011, 10:15:27 PM »
I use a Firebox for ins and outs to computer. It's not a pro-spec card and ones that are generally start around several hundred dollars+ used. Some brands to look at would be RME, Focusrite, and maybe an Emu 1616M. I don't know much about the higher-end cards. As far as software, if you just want to control fades, volume and spacing between songs you might be able to use something free like Audacity or cheap like Goldwave possibly. Audio editors all sound about the same so it's the features that separate them price-wise.
If you check out the reviews of hardware at different sites like Zzounds you can get an idea of what's what.

Offline Teeg

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Re: Hardware/software recommendations for dubbing media
« Reply #2 on: February 24, 2011, 10:53:11 PM »
 That's good information, thanks. Audacity seems to have a strong following and I've played with it a bit, but not enough to be proficient. Heck, I've spent countless hours just trying to get a good rip with EAC; cant wait to try burning a DVD with 24/96. Digital can be tough.
  I've been ripping CD's and making compilations of favorite songs, but these currently exist only on CDRs. None have made it to tape yet.

Tj
T.j. Bassi  
    Martin Logan reQuests....Martin Logan Descent x 2....Atma-Sphere MA1 OTL amplification....Krell KPS25s digital front end....VPI Scoutmaster....Studer A80 VU MKII....Ampex 300-2 Tube/SS Playback "Ampexius Maximus"....Ampex MR-70