New company maufacturing reel to reel machines

[3db]

Here's the link to the info.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-08/the-ultimate-analog-music-is-back-ballfinger-reel-to-reel-tape

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

“Digital media is great, but experiencing music is more than just listening to a sound file -- it’s sensual, it’s reels that turn and can be touched,” says Roland Schneider, the machine’s designer. “When it comes to audio quality, nothing else in the analog world gets you closer to the experience of being right there in the recording studio than reel-to-reel tape.”

What a bunch of bs. Ask any old-timer recording engineer and gladly vote for digital recording options

 

[3db]

What a bunch of bs. Ask any old-timer recording engineer and gladly vote for digital recording options

Right or wrong, the demand for analog appears to be growing. Whether or not it corresponds with your views is irrelevant.

 

[panteragstk]

This is the part that gets me:

Yet with a growing demand for music that sounds different than the overly polished digital recordings that have dominated the charts for the past two decades, studios are dusting off their analog equipment and musicians are rediscovering the old way of producing songs.

So digital recordings sound too good? I'd think instead of making the recording on older media to achieve an effect it'd be easier to use a different mic or guitar amp, pedal, etc to capture the sound rather than use the media to make it sound different. There are also filters in most DAW to replicate this sort of thing.

Or maybe the intent is to go analog to analog so as not to change the recording in any way. I guess I just don't get it.

 

[everettT]

I still record to DAT in the field over my HDsK recorder as the mic and input preamp sections are much better. Transfer is so time consuming. Cant imagine studios really embracing it. I loved my reel to reels but transferred them to DAT in the 80s.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Right or wrong, the demand for analog appears to be growing. Whether or not it corresponds with your views is irrelevant.

It's not about my views. I have nothing personal against turntable players and reel2reel decks coming back to home music consumption. I get it (to a degree).

However, as far as recording goes - I think you have no idea how much it's pain the rear to record and deal with multitrack analog reel recording. Digital recording and mixing made the process hugely easier and much more accurate and repeatable.

 

[lovinthehd]

What's the supply situation for the tapes needed to utilize a reel-to-reel recorder now?

 

[slipperybidness]

Analog synths are also making somewhat of a comeback.......

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Analog synths are also making somewhat of a comeback.......

don't think they ever left. Even 12-15 years ago fleebay prices on original Moog keyboards and synths were strong

 

[slipperybidness]

don't think they ever left. Even 12-15 years ago fleebay prices on original Moog keyboards and synths were strong

There was a time when it was really an eclectic niche. Still is, but coming back around a bit more than before.

Yeah, Moog never really lost much popularity though.

 

[slipperybidness]

don't think they ever left. Even 12-15 years ago fleebay prices on original Moog keyboards and synths were strong

I love the Clockwork Orange OST and the Switched on Bach vinyls. These were both from the same artist and use the good old Moog.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I love the Clockwork Orange OST and the Switched on Bach vinyls. These were both from the same artist and use the good old Moog.

I used to be the biggest fan of J.M. Jarre. Among other greats: Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, Kiraro ... All of them did a lot of custom stuff with 70-80s synths

 

[lovinthehd]

Made me think of Keith Emerson's rig

 

[Verdinut]

Analog synths are also making somewhat of a comeback.......

Yeah! We have a very audacious long time target: Going back to the wax cylinder!

 

[Verdinut]

A well recorded tape reel has advantages over the LP:
Among those are more dynamic range, more presence and no click-pop noises after several playbacks.
If it's a master tape recorded at 30 inches/sec., it's much better!

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Made me think of Keith Emerson's rig
View attachment 24190

I call your ELP setup and raise it with JM Jarre rig from the late 70s (click to zoom) -

 

[Verdinut]

The reason artists like Lady Gaga prefer analog tape recordings is that there is no risk of unbearable clipping that happens with digital recordings in live recordings as an example. Analog recording will accept sound level overload situations to a certain extent, but digital ones won't, and there is no practical way to correct the situation when distortion has occured.

This situation happened with so many digital recordings that we can hear on CDs. This, of course, all depends on the experience and competence of the recording engineer. The situation is more critical with classical music recordings where the dynamic range can reach up to 35db, on one opera recording which I was informed of.

I have noticed that the quality of the recordings on films, concert DVDs and Blu-rays is of a better quality and so far, I don't recall having heard a multichannel DVD or Blu-ray reproducing noticeable distortion. The fact that DVDs and Blu-ray are using a 24 bit depth instead of 16 bits allows more dynamic range and surely helps with the end results.

 

[everettT]

The reason artists like Lady Gaga prefer analog tape recordings is that there is no risk of unbearable clipping that happens with digital recordings in live recordings as an example. Analog recording will accept sound level overload situations to a certain extent, but digital ones won't, and there is no practical way to correct the situation.

Except a good engineer and proper setup. I've never had an issue recording to DAT with clipping.

 

[3db]

Except a good engineer and proper setup. I've never had an issue recording to DAT with clipping.

Are you forgetting the loudness wars that CDs were tangled up in and the dybamic range of CDs were no vwtter or worse than of these poorly recorded CDs?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Are you forgetting the loudness wars that CDs were tangled up in and the dybamic range of CDs were no vwtter or worse than of these poorly recorded CDs?

These there made 100% purposely since the ancient idea that louder on the radio = more people notice it and "sounds better". Digital recording allowed "artists" to go much louder than ever before.
Yet, it absolutely doesn't need to boosted so much to point of clipping.