Shedding oxide

[brenellic2000]

This should put the cat among the pigeons!

Get some decent "new old stock" BASF LP35LH or SP50 - that lasts for ever! You may have to splice 2 x 7" for each 10-1/2" reel but you can easily avoid the splice! Stick to analogue. Clean the old tape; if it is old 'Ampex' stock you may have a real problem with gooyness.

When recording off the original tape, watch for oxide build up and clean the heads between each piece of music. Record like for like, though it is true that original pre-recorded tapes were recorded at high speed and then copied at very high speed (back to back) on special duplicators, but if you go down that path, you can't monitor what you are recording for quality!

Store the tapes end-out, rewind and then listen to them often, sitting own, and then listen to the music, not the technology! After all, as you grow older your hearing deteriorates, so the technolgy is academic! And get yourself a Hacker Sovereign 'portable trannie' the same time while FM analogue radio lasts!

You can always record a second set on digital if you want to expeiment!

As to machines, well, I'm biased and will suggest a Brenell any day.. or a Revox.

Good luck!
Barry

[paolo]

On a related topic, I've just been transferring some of my vinyl to the digital realm. Using a good turntable (Linn Sondek) and decent cartridge (Ortofon Rondo Blue) I've been getting very satisfactory results using a Creative X-Fi soundcard in my PC. I record at 24 bit/96kHz and keep that as the 'master'. I can then play around and downsample to 16 bit/44.1 and thereafter to AAC for my iPod.

There's really not a huge difference to my ears between the 24 bit and the 16 bit conversion but this is probably down to the age of my eardrums. What is really interesting is comparing the 24 bit to a 320kbps VBR AAC file. Its like listening to a 3rd generation analogue copy. (My god, I don't know how people can listen to 128kbps AAC!)

Anyway, the point of my post was to recommend perserverence with digital. I'm still keeping my vinyl. Its just good to know that should the worst happen, I've got everything backed up

[TIMTAPE]

Paolo, a fellow Perth WA ite!

There shouldnt be ANY discernable difference between 24 bit and 16 bit, at least not when your source material is vinyl. 16 bit is about how quiet the digital noise floor is, and 16 bit is a whole lot quieter than the best vinyl quietness attainable. In your application, 24 bit recording is a waste of file size and then you have to downconvert for CD anyway.

I doubt there is an amplifier in the world which is capable of reproducing 24 bits, and neither probably would there be a set of human ears capable of hearing that range of volume extremes without causing actual hearing damage.
In the end these numbers need to be related to the real world.


Cheers Tim

[ruffrecords]

Originally Posted by swampy

Any one have experience with Zonal tape? what are the best formulations to buy? and what are the advantages of back and non-back coated tape?

Zonal was a British tape made for many years and used extensively by the BBC so it is good quality stuff. They are no longer in business but there is a lot of NOS about. I bought 40 reels of Zonal 675 myself. 675 is almost identical to Ampex 456 in specification terms.

Ian

[arjoll]

Originally Posted by ruffrecords

Zonal was a British tape made for many years and used extensively by the BBC so it is good quality stuff. They are no longer in business but there is a lot of NOS about. I bought 40 reels of Zonal 675 myself. 675 is almost identical to Ampex 456 in specification terms.

I understand that Zonal are manufacturing again, 1/4" Zonal 700 on pancakes: http://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=203657