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Gear / Technical Help => Ask The Tapers => Topic started by: firemt66 on September 10, 2018, 06:04:34 PM
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Hello,
i will be going to a few shows in october where its taper friendly.i was wondering,up untill a few years ago i was using the sony d8..really liked the sound of tape recordings,even others in the field commented on how warm dat recordings sounded over digital.im a stealth recording guy so only one set of mics will be with me..should i dat or m-10 the shows is the question? Thanks in advance
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How long has it been since you used the D8? I wouldn't risk using a 20 year old DAT machine for any live recording, so go with the M10. The electronics (preamp, A/D) are improved in the M10 as well.
"really liked the sound of tape recordings,even others in the field commented on how warm dat recordings sounded over digital"
Of course DAT *is* digital, so not sure this statement makes much sense.
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Thanks..last time i used the d8 was oct 2014 besides last nite to transfer a tape.i think she meant the way recordings sound warmer on tape than digital(no tape) recorders.she works in a recording studio in massachusettes.just one thought..
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The media storing digital audio should have zero effect on the sound unless something is very wrong, A/D conversion is handled upstream of storage. It would be equivalent to saying that files on an SSD sounded different than HDD.
That aside, there are more failure points for a DAT recording vs. flash memory.
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It would take many thousands of dollars in cash and prizes for me to go back to any tape recording medium.
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If you preferred the sound of your DAT recordings to "tapeless" recordings later on, I won't discount that impression, but it must have been because of something other than the recording medium.
As others have pointed out, DAT is just a neutral "bit bucket" that stores and replays PCM audio data. Today's silicon-based recorders cut out the mechanical transport and tape, which are fragile and subject to accidents and wear, but in principle the A/D and D/A stages around the recording process are the same as with DAT.
So like I said, maybe you liked the particular way that your particular mikes (in the places you put them back then, with the particular performances that you recorded) sounded when their signals went into your D8, more than you like the way they sound with any recorder that you may have used since then. But the DAT medium itself has no sonic character as such; it can't.
--Are blank DATs being made any more? The highly miniaturized, helical scan format requires almost incredible physical precision. I wouldn't trust any tape stock that had been sitting on a shelf (in unknown temperature and humidity) for 5+ years; even the tiniest amount of warping and weaving can interfere with tape-to-head contact.
BTW the D7 and D8, etc., used half-sized head drums, which are fine in a recorder--but when playing back a DAT, the tape-to-head contact is more reliable with a full-size head drum (less severe angles of tape wrap, and the two playback heads on opposite sides of the drum can sometimes read "iffy" data that a single head might not be able to read reliably). So the error / dropout rate is lower on decks that have full-size head drums--plus they're less vulnerable to the effects of head clogs and wear. If I were using DAT to record any more, I would use the recorder strictly as a recorder, and use a separate machine (again, with a full-sized drum) for playbacks and transfers.
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DAT is the worst thing you can do to yourself right now if you choose to use it.
They are highly unreliable when it comes to playback. One little problem with the alignment or the tape itself, you are getting yourself in a world of trouble. I even have DAT tapes that won't play now and they worked 100% fine around the first year I recorded them. This was about 15 years ago when I made those recordings.
I don't understand what you mean that they sound "warm." It's digital, so there is no way I can see that would qualify this to be sounding any better than what is currently out there. If you mean warm in the sense you can get that digi noise, then I understand you. lol
As you probably are aware, you can record on the DAT sample rate on the M10 or pretty much any other recorder out there that is made for field recording.
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--Are blank DATs being made any more? The highly miniaturized, helical scan format requires almost incredible physical precision. I wouldn't trust any tape stock that had been sitting on a shelf (in unknown temperature and humidity) for 5+ years; even the tiniest amount of warping and weaving can interfere with tape-to-head contact.
yes you can buy brand new tapes.
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Blanks appear to be godawful expensive and that d8 is gonna need service you’re talking big bucks. I was a late holdout but I found myself a few years ago after a two year hiatus with two functional m1 dat decks that needed servicing as all m1s do every few years. The gears are plstic and would fail even while not in use. Best thing I ever did was to force myself into moving to Marantz 661 and Sony m10. Sounds the same or better and nowhere the upkeep, way fewer errors, and no media. There’s usually a cheap solid state deck in the yard sale forum in the 100-200 range. Way better to do that than pay 250 to service a dat deck.