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[lord]

Vernier, you are so high.

Somebody asked me recently why we used naked razor blades instead of x-acto knives or similar modern cutting utensils.

I wasn't sure what the answer to that one was. But I'm sure it has something to do with the little dance they do near the han-d-mag?

[xonlocust]

like the barnhart - i'm a youngin (29) doing it all on on 1/4" and 2". doubly agreed how often my clients say the best part of recording is when i A) spot erase B) rock the reels and they hear shit all satanic like C) use the razor.  basically: all the reasons why DAWs are "better" than tape. clearly everyone here knows that all of that stuff is no rocket science, but the perception among my small set of clients is that i know something the other people don't - and they're making a bona fide record.  they also typically are coming from having done previous sessions on DAW and leave saying they love tape and don't want to go DAW in the future.

this is probaly not suprisingly, punk and indie rock work.

[Ronny]

Matthew J Barnhart wrote on Fri, 01 July 2005 01:07

Ronny wrote on Fri, 01 July 2005 04:17 I haven't used a splicing block in over 10 years. Just doesn't make sense if the final product is cd or dvd. My perspective (stolen outright from engineers much smarter than I) is that the band's "final product" is the master tape that they'll keep forever, not the pressed CD. In fifty years, if they're so lucky, Dave Collins III will remaster their record for release as Super Whizbang Infinite Bandwidth Telepathic Impression Music (SWIBTIM -- Copyright Me!), and the record will play back exactly the same as it did when the band made it. DC III also won't be able to bill 10,000 Space Rubles per hour, recreating edits that I did for peanuts (or, more precisely, Thai food with peanut sauce) half a century before. This then leads us into the analog vs. digital storage debate, which shouldn't really be entertaining for anyone at this point, right? mb

Believe me Matthew, storing tape with many splices on it is by far worse than storing the original uncut tape. The splicing tape adhesive can deteriorate causing the tape to break apart when playing back. Some adhesives can liquify over time, run and gums up sections of tape that aren't spliced. If the final destination is going to be digital media, than transferring to digital realm and doing the editing there non destructively is a much better choice. Also, this past week I've been restoring some annie tapes that date back as far as 1968, some of the takes on these tapes were unacceptable at the time and were scratched and put on the out takes shelf. 35 years later, I load them into a DAW and using modern technology have now turned out takes into acceptable tracks for mixing. Had these original tapes been spliced, I never would have been able to edit and restore them.

You guys using pocket and exacto knives should spend the 20 bucks for a splicing block. The ones that I use have the razors built into the device, two clamping arms that firmly hold the tape and the razors are on the diagonal so that all splices come out uniformly the same. You simple press down on the razor arm and there is no physical cutting with a knife or hand held razor. Once you work with a block for a couple of weeks and get used to it, it's 5 times faster than using an exacto knife.

[McAllister]

I do, though it's not a commercial studio - just my own place where I do mostly my own stuff.

Thankfully, I don't need to do it too often.

M

[satisfactory]

Ronny wrote on Fri, 01 July 2005 19:59

You guys using pocket and exacto knives should spend the 20 bucks for a splicing block.

a twenty dollar splice block?  it is made out of tupperware?

remember:  one button 'undo' is mostly convenient for people who make mistakes

[Ronny]

satisfactory wrote on Fri, 01 July 2005 16:05

Ronny wrote on Fri, 01 July 2005 19:59 You guys using pocket and exacto knives should spend the 20 bucks for a splicing block. a twenty dollar splice block?  it is made out of tupperware? remember:  one button 'undo' is mostly convenient for people who make mistakes

The ones that I have are stainless steel and chromed steel. I don't think they had Tupperware when these were manufactured.

[satisfactory]

yknow its an easy 200 bucks for a new 2" editall block nowadays?

probably because they have to wait until AFTER an order comes in before they blow the dust off the mold!

[Ronny]

satisfactory wrote on Sat, 02 July 2005 04:35

yknow its an easy 200 bucks for a new 2" editall block nowadays? probably because they have to wait until AFTER an order comes in before they blow the dust off the mold!

Ha ha ha, I wasn't thinking about inflation. At least you don't have to worry about wearing them out.

[dcollins]

I've sure been fixing more splices then ever!  

Is going to leader becoming a lost art?

DC

[Jerry Tubb]

acorec wrote on Thu, 30 June 2005 10:04

do studios still cut tape?

Yes they do !

Yesterday I mastered a record from 1/4" tape that was properly edited/leadered... Sugar Hill Studios in Houston still doin it !

..also fix lots of dried spices on older tapes during remastering.

de-mag those razor blades.