Simple Question: Recorder / Reproducer?

[Ben Logan]

I understand "recorder," but what does "reproducer" mean? On the output section of the Tascam 32 Pro, for example, you have a choice of three settings:

1. input
2. sync
3. repro

Input, I'm sure allows you to monitor the signal you sending into the machine. But what about options 2 and 3?

Thanks folks.

[JohnDavisNYC]

sync head: monitors off the record head, so there is no time delay between record and repro heads.

repro: monitors off the reproduce head. this is the one to use for playing back anything recorded to tape.

i'm sure someone can explain it much more eloquently.

but that's the gist. repro is to listen to tape (and have it sound the best) and sync is to use for overdubbing (no delay, but poorer sound quality)

john

[3db@1K]

I understand "recorder," but what does "reproducer" mean? On the output section of the Tascam 32 Pro, for example, you have a choice of three settings:

1. input
2. sync
3. repro

Input, I'm sure allows you to monitor the signal you sending into the machine. But what about options 2 and 3?

Thanks folks.

Repro or as you mentioned "reproducer" is the last head on a tape machine that plays back the recorded audio.

A traditional tape machine has tthree heads. in this order as the tape plays..
1. Record Head/Erase
2. Sync Head
3. Repro Head

[Ben Logan]

Thanks guys. I've got an old Akai consumer level deck that I've been goofing around with. I run vocals through it on the way to hard-disk. Obviously, the vocals wind up out of sync with the rest of the tracks, due to the latency introduced by monitoring the signal on the "tape" setting, which is then fed into computer. I manually line the vox back up. It's not perfect, but close enough for rock.

If I was able to finance a Tascam 32-Pro, which monitoring setting would be best to accomplish the above? Would this machine work similarly to the Akai?

[3db@1K]

Thanks guys. I've got an old Akai consumer level deck that I've been goofing around with. I run vocals through it on the way to hard-disk. Obviously, the vocals wind up out of sync with the rest of the tracks, due to the latency introduced by monitoring the signal on the "tape" setting, which is then fed into computer. I manually line the vox back up. It's not perfect, but close enough for rock.

If I was able to finance a Tascam 32-Pro, which monitoring setting would be best to accomplish the above? Would this machine work similarly to the Akai?

Explain a bit more....

Do you record the vocals on the tape machine then dump them in? It sounds like you are running the vocal track through the tape machine in record to the computer. Now this would, be just recording input to your computer not repro (tape).

[Ben Logan]

Thanks guys. I've got an old Akai consumer level deck that I've been goofing around with. I run vocals through it on the way to hard-disk. Obviously, the vocals wind up out of sync with the rest of the tracks, due to the latency introduced by monitoring the signal on the "tape" setting, which is then fed into computer. I manually line the vox back up. It's not perfect, but close enough for rock.

If I was able to finance a Tascam 32-Pro, which monitoring setting would be best to accomplish the above? Would this machine work similarly to the Akai?

Explain a bit more....

Do you record the vocals on the tape machine then dump them in? It sounds like you are running the vocal track through the tape machine in record to the computer. Now this would, be just recording input to your computer not repro (tape).

Thanks for your help 3db. I've been using the Akai Machine in the signal chain just like one might put a compressor or something in between the mic and the hard disk. I use the akai to get some tape-compression / saturation before it hits the computer. The Akai deck is my father-in-law's dust collector from the attic, but it sounds "cool." When I set the monitoring section to "tape" I can hear the recorded signal echoed back to my ears a second after a note is sung. This what I send to computer - WHILE recording. It's one continuous process (as opposed to recording vocals on tape, and then rewinding, and dumping them into Logic by pressing play).

So, in short, will pressing "repro" on the Tascam 32-Pro give me the same effect as pressing "tape monitoring" on the Akai?

[Mark Alan Miller]

Thanks guys. I've got an old Akai consumer level deck that I've been goofing around with. I run vocals through it on the way to hard-disk. Obviously, the vocals wind up out of sync with the rest of the tracks, due to the latency introduced by monitoring the signal on the "tape" setting, which is then fed into computer. I manually line the vox back up. It's not perfect, but close enough for rock.

Better than close enough for rock, close enough for anything other than phase-critical work, especially if you've calculated the needed offset by sending a sharp transient (sidestick or kick drum, for example) through the process and measured the distance in the DAW. Aside from slight speed variations that all analog decks exhibity, if you use this kind of measurement to help align tracks, it will be as tight or tighter as a SMPTE locked bounce would be (that is recording onto the analog deck and recording the analog signal back off the playback/repro head in one pass.)
If you're recording through the AKAI to hard disk, record a direct version of the same signal if possible - that way you can use the direct signal as a visual/audible guide to lining the tracks back up.
Also, once you've measured the time (in millieseconds or better yet, samples) you can pretty safely use that as a quick-and dirty offset every time. Bear in mind that the machine will run at slightly different speeds every day, and even as it warms up, so this isn't as precise a method of alignment than actually comparing the same waveform both 'before' and 'after'.

If I was able to finance a Tascam 32-Pro, which monitoring setting would be best to accomplish the above? Would this machine work similarly to the Akai?

You'd have to set the output to "Repro". Setting it to "Sync" wouldn't play back the recorded audio off of the tape when the machine is in record, it would simply pass the input - exactly the same as if the machine was in input.

[Ben Logan]

Thanks Mark. You and others on this board are quite generous with your responses. I read a similar post from you regarding tape/digital hybriding on another thread recently - entitled "introducing tape to digital," I think.

You're right - lining the tracks up visually by looking at the waveforms is surprisingly effective. I record everything myself, so my tracks are always "loosely" in time with one another - to put it sportingly! Even when I've ran EVERYTHING through the Akai, just for kicks, my tunes haven't felt anymore sloppy than going straight to digital. I'm becoming a real fan of this duct-tape and chewing gum approach to introducing some tape-saturation. Now if I could just get my hands on a machine that doesn't add a chum-bucket full of hiss on every track (my gain-staging technique - or lack there of - is certainly part of the problem).

So, REPRO is the correct setting on the Tascam, then. I could sing a note, wait about 8/10 or a second and hear "Yeah ahhhhh" beamed back to my ears and onto hard drive.

[Ben Logan]

If you're recording through the AKAI to hard disk, record a direct version of the same signal if possible - that way you can use the direct signal as a visual/audible guide to lining the tracks back up.
.

Brilliant. Hadn't thought of that!