Just bought an 8 track, do I NEED a mixer?

[cozy]

Hey guys.

OK, I just bought a Teac Tascam 80-8. The original plan was to track out to DAW, mix through various outboard gear, bounce to 4 stereo or 8 mono tracks, whatever the song calls for and then bounce to tape.

I was doing some reading about recording to tape vs recording to DAW, and it seems that recording to DAW first will have ill effects on the recording going to tape. So I was thinking about buying a mixer (Allen & Heath 14:4:2 to be exact) and mixing directly to tape and then bouncing to DAW.

My question is will my sound be significantly worse if I record to DAW and then to tape, rather than straight to tape? I was about 2 seconds from pulling the trigger on the mixer, but thought I should ask the experts their opinions.

I couldn't find anything with the search, but if this has been asked 100 times, please point me in the right direction.

Thanks all!!

Chris

[donny]

well i am not an expert and have very little experiencing recording digitally (my setup is all analog), but ...

i believe recording to tape first captures an essential essence. it is more of a vibe/spiritual thing for me, but there are many people who have hybrid setups who say that its better to track it to tape and then bounce to digital. there are countless arguments for and against (search the internet etc) and no general consensus has been reached.

it may have to do with capturing all of the nuances/energy in analog at the source, then fussing with it in the computer. the other way around, you are using the tape primarily as an "effect" and degrading your digital signal.

[Waltz Mastering]

OK, I just bought a Teac Tascam 80-8. The original plan was to track out to DAW, mix through various outboard gear, bounce to 4 stereo or 8 mono tracks, whatever the song calls for and then bounce to tape.

I was doing some reading about recording to tape vs recording to DAW, and it seems that recording to DAW first will have ill effects on the recording going to tape. So I was thinking about buying a mixer (Allen & Heath 14:4:2 to be exact) and mixing directly to tape and then bouncing to DAW.

My question is will my sound be significantly worse if I record to DAW and then to tape, rather than straight to tape? I was about 2 seconds from pulling the trigger on the mixer, but thought I should ask the experts their opinions.

I couldn't find anything with the search, but if this has been asked 100 times, please point me in the right direction.

I think if your quest is the "tape sound", you would benefit more by going to tape first and then transfer to daw for editing & mixing.

You can go mic pre/comp out direct to tape and monitor the output of tape through the daw although I'm not sure how latency would come into play when doing over dubs to tape.

You could always grab a line mixer to go between the tape outs to your daw ins, so
you don't necessarily need a full blown mixer.

I think the 80-8 operates at -10 dB.

What kind of pre's and converters are you using?

[cozy]

Pre's are ok, Great River MP-2NV and a pair of Shure M67's. Vocals are recorded with a Shure sm7b.

Converters are stock Digi 002 converters. I mostly record and mix sample[vinyl] based hip hop, everything comes from either an MPC or outboard synths.

Thanks for responding guys.

Chris

[ofajen]

Just IMO, if you're going to bother with tape, it's better to track directly to tape. It tends to force you to work on playing well and recording more simply and directly. Luckily, it also tends to produce a recording where things sound good together, even when working that way. At that point, you might as well skip the DAW and mix to tape!

Just my two cents.

Cheers,

Otto

[Michael_Joly]

Anyone with an eight track should study Emitt Rhodes work. Dig deep - he was doing better work in his parents Southern California tool shed than McCartney was on his sheep farm and at Abbey Road back '69.