Topic: Zero bit recording

[rocksuitcase]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Awesome!
My friend, TJ, used to use a Nagra SN, mono to do Dead shows:either 17 or 20 minute reels. 
https://www.ebay.com/itm/387225385494

I have some Blues Traveler shows he did with my mics and his deck. the analog goodness is all over them.   

[Ozpeter]

I have just spend a long weekend with my son who, like me, emigrated from the UK to Australia.  While I was with him he suddenly said, hey Dad, have a look at this crate of stuff I put in the loft after I moved from the UK all those years ago.  In it were my childhood toys and - a JVC CD-1636 Super ANRS Portable Cassette Deck which was my first valve-free portable.  Not stealth.  Remarkably heavy!  Sadly it wasn't practical to bring it from his place in Adelaide to my place in Melbourne on this occasion but I would love to see if it still works, one day.  I have some Super ANRS tapes in my archive which should really be transcribed with that rather than any flavour of Dolby.  It was weird to suddenly see it again - I didn't recall leaving it in his care 25 years back!

[grawk]

Ok you got me.  I bought a box of NOS XLIIS 90s and a pmd430 today. 

[Gone Fishin']

Before there were cassettes, people smuggled in reel to reel recorders.

One of the most compact was the Nagra SN, originally ordered by the CIA and later used by Israel's Mossad, and of course one could purchase it and use to record shows, as it used both dynamic and condenser mikes.

Want a piece of history?

It's yours for only $18,0000

https://www.ebay.com/itm/333289549152?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=NDw_TPURRj6&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=0A0mnt5BQWW&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

The Nagra Pico is being blown out for $230 US (no VAT), but I cannot do another recorder.
I've also never done business with Pink Noise Systems in UK before.
I have no idea if it is concert-worthy.

It has more than 0 bits...

[fireonshakedwnstreet]

This is awesome. Tape sounds fantastic.

[grawk]

Before there were cassettes, people smuggled in reel to reel recorders.

One of the most compact was the Nagra SN, originally ordered by the CIA and later used by Israel's Mossad, and of course one could purchase it and use to record shows, as it used both dynamic and condenser mikes.

Want a piece of history?

It's yours for only $18,0000

https://www.ebay.com/itm/333289549152?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=NDw_TPURRj6&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=0A0mnt5BQWW&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

The Nagra Pico is being blown out for $230 US (no VAT), but I cannot do another recorder.
I've also never done business with Pink Noise Systems in UK before.
I have no idea if it is concert-worthy.

It has more than 0 bits...

The nagra pico would be tempting if it did 5v PIP

[goodcooker]

Ok you got me.  I bought a box of NOS XLIIS 90s and a pmd430 today.

Awesome

[rocksuitcase]

Ok you got me.  I bought a box of NOS XLIIS 90s and a pmd430 today.

grawk- tapeheads.net is all things analog.
if you are interested in used once Maxells, I have multitudes I'd sell for lower than the going rate.
On Tapeheads you will see people selling tapes, mostly NOS, but also used. The International market for cassettes is actually quite large.

[Billy Mumphrey]

Looking forward to everyone's analog recordings. Big Head Todd and Blues Traveler should be really cool.

I am also very interested to hear modern microphones with older analog recording technology. Especially anyone running the same cassette recorder as Mike Millard (like goodcooker), as I've heard a lot of Mike's recordings by now and I am curious how some Line Audio's etc would sound with that gear.

I'm also reminded of some emails I exchanged with Doug Oade last year; he said some of the new chip designs that have become available just in the last couple years "really make a big difference". Anyone up to hit up Doug about some cassette recorder upgrades?? haha

[rocksuitcase]

Looking forward to everyone's analog recordings. Big Head Todd and Blues Traveler should be really cool.

I am also very interested to hear modern microphones with older analog recording technology. Especially anyone running the same cassette recorder as Mike Millard (like goodcooker), as I've heard a lot of Mike's recordings by now and I am curious how some Line Audio's etc would sound with that gear.

I'm also reminded of some emails I exchanged with Doug Oade last year; he said some of the new chip designs that have become available just in the last couple years "really make a big difference". Anyone up to hit up Doug about some cassette recorder upgrades?? haha

going OT, but to your point.
OADE brothers modded several of our Sony TC-D5M's. we had a transformerless pre-amp mod, a line in mod and had them set bias for Maxell Metal tapes on two of them. All in all I was responsible for having six D5's modded by the OADE's. (1984-1987)

[Billy Mumphrey]

I do apologize for the OT, but you guys got me jazzed on analog.

Would love to hear some of your Oade mod cassette aud's if you got links to the LMA. PM me or if goodcooker doesn't mind posting them here. If not no worries.

I love how goodcooker got the Naks 300s, it just makes sense. I'm hoping there's other tapers at Blues Traveler/BHT and we can compare. But I just can't help thinking about  how modern mics, modern tech/ chips/ opamps, and modern A>D chips would sound using the cassette recording medium. It's not like the old tech was crappy, I just like the idea of taking all of our modern gear/tech advancement (including preamps) but using cassettes as the medium. Sounds like some of you could be running multiple rigs!

[Gutbucket]

[snip..] I just can't help thinking about  how modern mics, modern tech/ chips/ opamps, and modern A>D chips would sound using the cassette recording medium. It's not like the old tech was crappy, I just like the idea of taking all of our modern gear/tech advancement (including preamps) but using cassettes as the medium.

If that's the thing of most interest, it would be easier to take any of the alternate digital recordings and transfer them to tape afterward.. at leisure, with levels set perfectly and side-flips figured out.  Doing that would make for a good direct comparison against the original digital recordings, and a secondary fun comp with Goodcooker's straight to analog recording.

To me the fun thing about this is having fun with tape and classic analog gear including the mics of that era!  But it will be cool to hear and compare. 

[goodcooker]

I do apologize for the OT, but you guys got me jazzed on analog.

Would love to hear some of your Oade mod cassette aud's if you got links to the LMA. PM me or if goodcooker doesn't mind posting them here. If not no worries.

I love how goodcooker got the Naks 300s, it just makes sense. I'm hoping there's other tapers at Blues Traveler/BHT and we can compare. But I just can't help thinking about  how modern mics, modern tech/ chips/ opamps, and modern A>D chips would sound using the cassette recording medium. It's not like the old tech was crappy, I just like the idea of taking all of our modern gear/tech advancement (including preamps) but using cassettes as the medium. Sounds like some of you could be running multiple rigs!

I don't have any issues with anyone posting on topic info of any sort. I'd love to hear some shows recorded with cassette decks that were optimized for performance. Link em up if you got em!

After I found the deck I was kinda kicking myself for selling my CM300s. They weren't getting much use so I let them go. I was lucky enough to find a set of 3 with everything they came with - the cardioid and omni capsules, windscreens and ball head covers. I'm pretty stoked to get the 100% Nak rig going at this show. I'll probably run my KM140s and Mixpre6 alongside it to compare.

In the coming week I'm going to try out the "blend" mic by setting it up in front of my playback and adding/subtracting the middle mic to see what it does to the stereo image. I know that in 3 mic arrangements the forward facing mid mic can interfere with the stereo image if used with a heavy hand so I hope I can see how it behaves in an at home test. Since everything from the mixer gets summed to 2 track stereo before going to the record head I can't undo what's done at the time of the recording and monitoring is not likely to be very effective in front of a 100,000 watt PA system.

The other wrinkle with monitoring is that the headphone jack on the deck doesn't have a dedicated level control and is controlled by the same fader that controls the line out - which I will have a Sony A10 patched into for a backup. If I'm understanding this correctly - in the absence of a block diagram - the output is the same signal being delivered to the record head but since it's a 2 head deck it's being split off at the mixer.

I bought a demagnetizer and gave the deck a going over but I don't have time before the show to get it to my local guy for a tune up. He can't squeeze me in with all he has going on being the only guy in town who works on vintage audio gear. I would really like to do some formal tests but I'm opening a new restaurant in a month and, honestly, my hair is kind of on fire right now with all the plate spinning going on...

[Gutbucket]

Curious to hear your plan on which caps to use?  Three cards?  Omni center?  Those two options represent the traditional arrangement.. and they require less spacing than omnis with a card in the center really needs to shine, much less three omnis.

[goodcooker]

Curious to hear your plan on which caps to use?  Three cards?  Omni center?  Those two options represent the traditional arrangement.. and they require less spacing than omnis with a card in the center really needs to shine, much less three omnis.

I'm thinking three cards. It's an outdoor venue that holds about 1500 maxed out. This show is the first one I've attended that has seats - usually it's SRO GA - so a wide mic bar to accommodate omnis will likely be in the way of older, seated and possibly grouchy patrons. Cards in NOS will cover the PAS angle. The line arrays are mounted wide about 90 feet. I've had good results with directional mics at this venue but never tried omnis due to slap back echo and crowd chatter. Subcards with a wide split and narrow angle has worked well.

There's some slapback from the building at the back and some from the concrete side walls but it's only noticeable close to those areas. The FOH enclosure where I'll be is pretty close maybe 70 feet from the stage and the venue is maybe 200 feet deep and 300 wide. The PA is huge and could cover a much larger area. They spent some serious coin on the PA and the FOH sweet spot is close.