Overdubbing on an Ampex ATR102 - possible?

fazeka · Post by **fazeka** » Tue Jun 16, 2015 12:47 pm

Hope this is not going to be a stupid question...

I have a Ampex ATR102 that a former studio owner who went bankrupt gave to me about 5 years ago (actually he included it with some other items I was buying from him).

I don't know much about them other than the fact they were/are considered the gold standard (meaning I never owned nor used one before).

I was wondering if I could use this with my existing setup to get some phat analog goodness going into an HD24XR.

I know it would be possible to track drums on the ATR (in stereo) and then dump to the Alesis. However, is there a capability to overdub on an ATR? Say, if I wanted to do mono drums and then overdub a bass onto the second track? If so, do I need the PURC cards for this?

I ask because I am considering sending in the machine to ATR Services for refurbishment.

Cheers,
Chris

gregnrom · Post by **gregnrom** » Fri Jun 19, 2015 2:53 pm

Wow,

You lucked into an amazing mixdown machine.
You can record independently on either track. PURC is built into the audio boards already, and that only has to do with punching in/out seamlessly.
I highly recommend ATR Service rebuilding the thing if you can afford it.
It will be basically a new machine when it returns.

fazeka · Post by **fazeka** » Fri Jun 19, 2015 4:02 pm

Hi Greg,

Thanks for your reply!

Yup, it's a little worn but the price was right... 1/2" heads, has the Search-To-Cue, ex-George Benson machine:

Thanks,
Chris

fazeka · Post by **fazeka** » Fri Jun 19, 2015 4:09 pm

gregnrom wrote:Wow,

You lucked into an amazing mixdown machine.
You can record independently on either track. PURC is built into the audio boards already, and that only has to do with punching in/out seamlessly.

OK!

I am assuming I'll be able to monitor one channel off sync while overdubbing onto the other track?

Correct?

gregnrom wrote: I highly recommend ATR Service rebuilding the thing if you can afford it.
It will be basically a new machine when it returns.

Am talking with them already. I sent the heads to JRF for eval... we shall see what we shall see.

Injured Ear · Post by **Injured Ear** » Sat Jun 20, 2015 6:51 am

Do you want to track through it on the way into your DAW?
You can record while monitoring off the repro head, the time delay between tape hitting the record head and reaching the repro head is a (mostly) fixed time, so you can slide your tracks in your DAW accordingly.

fazeka · Post by **fazeka** » Mon Jun 22, 2015 2:26 pm

Injured Ear wrote:Do you want to track through it on the way into your DAW?
You can record while monitoring off the repro head, the time delay between tape hitting the record head and reaching the repro head is a (mostly) fixed time, so you can slide your tracks in your DAW accordingly.

In the case of mono drums, was hoping I could track drums to one channel of the Ampex, rewind and then in sync mode (monitoring off the first channel), overdub bass onto the second channel. Then when that was done, dump into HD24XR and track the rest there digitally. Really don't want to fvck around with sliding/nudging/lining up tracks...

Injured Ear · Post by **Injured Ear** » Mon Jun 22, 2015 2:43 pm

Your approach is totally doable. I didn't realize you were using a standalone digi recorder. Probably a little more complicated to nudge tracks if you aren't using the graphical interface. Are you using the graphical interface?

fazeka · Post by **fazeka** » Mon Jun 22, 2015 4:56 pm

Injured Ear wrote:Are you using the graphical interface?

Wasn't planning on it, no.

Thanks!

gregnrom · Post by **gregnrom** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 7:31 pm

fazeka wrote:
gregnrom wrote:Wow,

You lucked into an amazing mixdown machine.
You can record independently on either track. PURC is built into the audio boards already, and that only has to do with punching in/out seamlessly.
OK! I am assuming I'll be able to monitor one channel off sync while overdubbing onto the other track? Correct?

gregnrom wrote: I highly recommend ATR Service rebuilding the thing if you can afford it.
It will be basically a new machine when it returns.
Am talking with them already. I sent the heads to JRF for eval... we shall see what we shall see.

If they are stock heads you should be able to monitor off of the sync head. If they've been replaced by 3rd party heads, you may not...
Some record heads aren't wired for sync, with the assumption that this machine would only be used for 2-mix master recordings.
JRF would be able to tell you if the record head is setup for sync playback.
Good luck!

Teacher's Pet · Post by **Teacher's Pet** » Wed Jun 24, 2015 7:32 am

Ex-George Benson machine?
What did I miss?

It used to belong to GB?

fazeka · Post by **fazeka** » Fri Jul 10, 2015 2:47 am

Teacher's Pet wrote:It used to belong to GB?

You could say that:

Message Board

Overdubbing on an Ampex ATR102 - possible?

Overdubbing on an Ampex ATR102 - possible?

Who is online