next step up from an otari mx5050 1/2" 8 track

[prince turbo lung]

I love this little deck, but it is limited in its fidelity. The mighty mx5050 has served me well for the past 5 years, but i would like to step up. i already have a dedicated daw running nuendo with mytek converters and it is great, but i find that most people who work with me want to go on tape as of late. Recently i have been starting on th e mx5050 and then dumping tracks into nuendo where tracking continues, and then mix on an analog desk. the problem i find is this: the mx5050 has this beautiful thick lofi sound, and the daw has an accurate hifi sound. I am constantly trying to get the most hifi sound out of the deck, and a lofi sound from the daw to make them mesh................
where is the middle ground??? of course i would love some sort of 2" deck, but it is unrealistic for my small space and infrequent work load. What about 1" 16 or 1" 8 tracks?? or is there a 30ips 1/2" 8 track? who works on these mediums? is it the fidelity i am questing for? and the burning question... if someone suggests a deck, please discuss reliability / matinence issues of the deck... that is the main attribute of the 5050 it is like a volvo..take care of it and it will run forever...

1 other possibility: anybody ever try to mod the cards in the otari to make them more hifi?

[corinpills]

Just out of curiosity, exactly what is "lo fi" about your Otari. To my ears, my Otari 8 track sounds fabulous, a lot better than any DAW system (although I've never used RADAR and people swear that sounds great). By "hi fi", do you mean sterile? Seriously, just a little confused about you terms. I'm sure someone more experienced can help answer your question about a logical format move, but I think you've got a pretty kick ass set up.

[brianroth]

Is the Otari properly aligned? You begin with a MRL reproduce tape, get the repro as flat as possible, then set bias and record EQ and levels.

Bri

[norton]

I'm no expert... but isn't the mx5050 mk3 8 track pretty much the high point for the half-inch format? Standing right beside the Tascam 58?.

Wouldn't your next step up be a 1" 8 track or a half inch 4 track?

If track width and tape speed equal fidelity to you, then that's pretty much the only place to go isn't it?

Otari made a few 1" 8 tracks i think... along with all the big tape machine makers....

Jack endino's got some cool info on his site.... endino.com and there've been quite a few threads going into detail on the reliability and performance of tape machines here on this board... but i can't point you directly to them.

i like my otari.
tape is good.

[norton]

i've seen a couple otari machines that have been modified to run closer to 30 ips... so that's a possibility.

how about a re-cap of the boards? That would probably give you a much beefier signal... and the machine's definitely old enough to be able to benefit from a recap.


Or maybe what you need is one of those fancy NEW machines Joel's been pimping on the board???





i'm just talking to make sure my ears still work

[gevermil]

ive recorded a bunch of great stuff on that deck (otari 50)
I have a 1/2 inch 4 track ampex and I can hear a bigger sound on my drums and bass with the wider tape format .Ive been looking at the 8 track 1 " as well
(not wanting the big 2" decks for tape cost and maintinence ect )
It seems to get a bit blurry on opinions in this format .
ampex mci and otari being the avalible machines
from all Ive read , your always gona want a a 2" 16
but from where i stand now , getting a 1" 8 and a daw sync'd would be tits
butb what do I know ,.. Im at yet another boring christmas party , hiding away in the coat room on this guys computer

[bigtoe]

i went to a couple da38 and notice the quailty difference...down...but still very workable and the extra tracks make better quality.

check into a 1 inch 8 track...the tape costs though...didn't otari have an MX70-8? that seems logical.

maybe check into a mixdown deck. every since i got mine i've mixed nothing to it and it's changed my life.

just kidding...january i start mixing on it.

Mike

[corinpills]

Extra tracks make better quality? I had no idea.

[bigtoe]

Extra tracks make better quality? I had no idea.

sure. more options. ever tried to do a whole punk band bussed to one track in a practice space in like an hour? i have...it's a gamble no matter how wide the format is.

i get where yer coming from - but the trade off? whoa.

Mike

[MichaelAlan]

I'm gonna go ahead and throw out 1/2" 16 track...heh...

[corinpills]

I don't know. I'd say that more options is often where recordings go wrong. You stick to 8 tracks and a lot of times you're going to end up with what is essential about the song and whether or not you've actually got a good performance of a good song or not. If there's been one thing wrong with my recordings over the years it has been too many options.

[bigtoe]

"I'd say that more options is often where recordings go wrong. "

been down that road on 2 track, 4 track, 8 track, 16 track and 24 track. makes absolutely no difference. putting a hairshirt on doesn't help.

"If there's been one thing wrong with my recordings over the years it has been too many options."

talk to yourself...not your tape machine.

Mike

[drumsound]

If you're considering a 1" 8-track instead of a 2" deck due to size you might want to reconsider. A 1" machine is in a full console like a 2" machine. There are smaller machines out there. The 3M M79 is pretty small. I think it's about 27" wide, and not very deep. The MCI JH-24 is a bit wider, deeper and taller (at the deck). The new Studers (820/827) are not very big either.

As for maintenance, bench time is the same rate for a 2-track as it is for a 24-track. Multitrack recorders need work in the logic, or motors or transports as often as the channel electronics. If you're going to do a full rehab, recap, mod situation, then less tracks will cost less money. Re-lapping is less money with smaller heads too. Though a full set of 2" heads is $515 for a JRF re-lap. That IMNSHO is well worth the money, a bargain really.