R2R for Archival Project

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mboese
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R2R for Archival Project

Post by mboese » Thu Nov 19, 2020 1:01 pm

Dear all,

I am about to embark upon an archival project where I will be digitizing ~100 hours of tape recorded oirginally on a Nagra (3.75ips). Looking for suggestions for the best tape machine for recording such a project. The key here is that the digitizing will be done on-site at the archive so concerned with selecting a good machine that's portable. From a signal point of view just looking to get a good signal with best level possible that will be able to stand up pretty well for the 100+ hours of digitizing. Thoughts?

Thanks!

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markjazzbassist
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Re: R2R for Archival Project

Post by markjazzbassist » Thu Nov 19, 2020 1:13 pm

nagra i believe used a proprietary eq curve for their tapes, it might be best to use a nagra. i would recommend using a nagra. the only other portable is a Stellavox.

other questions...where will this take place? if europe then a revox pr99,b77,a77 (depending on condition). if usa or japan then otari mx5050 i believe they do 3.75 IPS.

mboese
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Re: R2R for Archival Project

Post by mboese » Thu Nov 19, 2020 2:13 pm

Archival work will be done in USA- NOLA.

Thanks!

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Nick Sevilla
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Re: R2R for Archival Project

Post by Nick Sevilla » Thu Nov 19, 2020 8:09 pm

The best is to get the original machine, or an identical one.
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

drumsound
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Re: R2R for Archival Project

Post by drumsound » Fri Nov 20, 2020 9:58 am

Yeah, as Mark mentioned, Nagra has their own EQ. Find a Nagra (and be prepared to pay).

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digitaldrummer
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Re: R2R for Archival Project

Post by digitaldrummer » Fri Nov 20, 2020 11:47 am

maybe you could rent one somewhere? I did a quick google search and one came up... but also pricey.
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mboese
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Re: R2R for Archival Project

Post by mboese » Sat Nov 21, 2020 8:23 am

Thanks kindly everyone for the suggestions.

In the process of tracking down a Nagra rental. Seems a lot of the rental houses don't even have them to let any more. If anyone has any leads that would be much appreciated.

Follow-up question: would I need a separate pre-amp to go from the Nagra to my interface? Given the proprietary eq I wasn't sure if this would be recommended practice.

drumsound
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Re: R2R for Archival Project

Post by drumsound » Sat Nov 21, 2020 10:09 am

mboese wrote:
Sat Nov 21, 2020 8:23 am
Thanks kindly everyone for the suggestions.

In the process of tracking down a Nagra rental. Seems a lot of the rental houses don't even have them to let any more. If anyone has any leads that would be much appreciated.

Follow-up question: would I need a separate pre-amp to go from the Nagra to my interface? Given the proprietary eq I wasn't sure if this would be recommended practice.
You shouldn't need a preamp between the Nagra and your interface. It's still a line level output. Does your interface have balanced line ins?

As to rental, Hollywood is probably where you'd find one. They are a standard for films.

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winky dinglehoffer
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Re: R2R for Archival Project

Post by winky dinglehoffer » Sat Nov 21, 2020 10:15 am

So are these tapes mono? Do they have timecode? I never had major issues with playback of mono tapes on a stereo Nagra (I had a T until a few years ago, when I realized how expensive they'd gotten and how much I needed the money), but it's probably not ideal for archival transfer from full-track mono. If the tape does have timecode & you try to play it back on a non-timecode deck, you get to hear all the lovely sounds of timecode. If you're in NO, you might check with rental houses in Atlanta. There might possibly be someone who still rents them.

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markjazzbassist
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Re: R2R for Archival Project

Post by markjazzbassist » Sat Nov 21, 2020 11:16 am

look for film places. LA and NY just hit up rental houses. As far as mono, they made different headstacks for Nagra, it could be full mono, it could be stereo. I believe their stereo headgap and spacing is different from other R2R's as well, another reason to get a nagra.

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