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[plughead]

compasspnt wrote on Tue, 29 December 2009 18:12

Everyone has to start somewhere. No one knows how to operate anything until they either figure it out by themselves, or someone teaches them. I hope the poster gets it going well and enjoys it.

exactly.

Tho I prolly wouldn't ask the same things (in the same manner), I'd need a LOT of help to get up to effectively managing that tape machine. Although I started on tape (Sony and Fostex R to R's) and eventually got to mixdown with an ATR-102 regularly, I still have the most BASIC knowledge of maintenance and upkeep, and almost nothing re: setup and esp. repairing them.

I'd be hoping the help would be a bit kinder than just wise-cracks and know-it-all's ...

Everyone's a noob ONCE: we all too often forget remembering that...

peace

[bigbone]

We all got to start from the beginning, making fun of that is pretty cheap.

I hope he find some help. i'm not sure if it's the right place to go ( GS ), but i wish him luck.


JN

[Unwinder]

You can't group everyone together at Gearslutz. There's some excellent threads that have taken place there, so i'd say be careful with what and how you judge.

Misery loves company. Don't give in to the negative. YMMV..

Peace out.

[Ross Hogarth]

i still love the darwinian side of it all .....

he thinks he has bought a neat analog effect unit ..... like his portico tape simulator

[Barry Hufker]

I admit I thought this was pretty funny, until I remembered that at the beginning of my career I bought a Scully 4 track with no idea as to what I was doing.  I found some pros to give me advice.  One was kind enough to teach me how to do an alignment.  All of that (and more) started me on a career.

The guy bought a pro machine and is smart enough to know he doesn't know anything.  Those are both pluses in my book.

Barry

[Larrchild]

I have the very same 4 track A-80 here and know it in detail.
(Shhh.)

[jetbase]

Barry Hufker wrote on Wed, 30 December 2009 11:23

I admit I thought this was pretty funny, until I remembered that at the beginning of my career I bought a Scully 4 track with no idea as to what I was doing.  I found some pros to give me advice.  One was kind enough to teach me how to do an alignment.  All of that (and more) started me on a career. The guy bought a pro machine and is smart enough to know he doesn't know anything.  Those are both pluses in my book. Barry

Ditto. I spent all my money on an Otari 8-track, since I already had a live mixer that I could use with it, & I think I did quite a bit of recording on it before I realised that I needed something to mix down to. Fortunately, I already kinda worked in the music industry & knew a couple of people who were very generous with basic recording advice. Glad I didn't have the internet back then to make a fool of myself to a wider audience.

[J.J. Blair]

I think it's great that a few people at GS were able to give him solid advice. What I see troubling is that somebody is willing to spend almost $800 on a highly sophisticated piece of machinery without knowing the first thing about it, and having to rely on an Internet forum for assistance. To me, that is a constant problem there, epitomized by this post.

When I bought my 3M, there was a lot I didn't know. But I knew how to use tape at least. I knew I needed an MRL, and that I needed to align the machine. I also had people around me to instruct me on the things I hadn't yet learned from my recording courses.

I agree with Ross.  

[ssltech]

DSills wrote on Tue, 29 December 2009 17:32

I just bought Olympic Studios in Barnes...

Cenzo!!!

Drop me a line, will ya?



Serioiusly though... I appreciate that nobody is born knowing this stuff, however:

My initial concern was about stuff like 'can I just make all the screw heads point north and just do all my EQ-ing on the console...'

Really, there are some things which NEED to be done one-on-one, with a tech IN THE ROOM with you.

Nothing else will do, or you're re-inventing the tape machine.

Keith

[Larrchild]

I would tell CB'ers, anxious to boost their power, that the hex screws in those cans inside work themselves loose, and to tighten them all firmly, as their signal faded away.

[Edvaard]

Quote:

... he thinks he has bought a neat analog effect unit ..... like his portico tape simulator

Maybe.

But if that is so it speaks more to where things have gone astray in the industry itself more than it does to the industry-induced ignorance on his part.

To give a newcomer to recording in the present landscape a bit more benefit of the doubt, he might possibly have played with the simulator long enough that he decided to investigate if the real thing is where he should be headed as a standard course of recording (for him).

If a sonic signature is what he's most interested in, then it's too bad he didn't know enough to try a few less troublesome avenues first, like an old Altec mic pre, e.g. But we don't know his motivation or intention here. He might not know either but, like the rest of us at one time, that is important to learn first, and that's what he is in the process of trying to learn amidst much more confusion than existed years ago.

Quote:

What I see troubling is that somebody is willing to spend almost $800 on a highly sophisticated piece of machinery without knowing the first thing about it, and having to rely on an Internet forum for assistance. To me, that is a constant problem there, epitomized by this post.

I agree, as epitomized by the post, but disagree that all the attribution be to that particular site. GS did not, by itself,  induce and inveigle him to go this route, and I don't see flyers from that site in Banjo Center or ads in pro audio revue (note the spelling there) telling everybody that the site is the place to go for all the answers.


That post is just a feedback to the industry as it stands now.


Don't blame the messenger, be it that particular poster or GS.

[Unwinder]

I agree with the kid that asked the question. Whatever works for him, is fine by me.

Maybe it would've been best just to offer him some advice as per getting some proper training? It's better than hurting his feelings if he read this post? Maybe your one of the guys he looks up to or something? Who knows?

We're all in this together...we're here to help each other, in my mind.

Maybe you should make post at Gearslutz J.J. called, "The Benefits Of Getting Proper Recording Training", to aid in making a positive change instead of letting it bug you...to the extent that you have to post about it somewhere else.

[arconaut]

The poster's first question is, " Is there a book or site I can read up on to get the hang of this thing?" which, to me, indicates that this person really didn't do any research at all. This is is what makes it worthy of ridicule. I learned how to align a tape machine from reading the Woram book. There are books and sites, of course, and this person didn't even look for them before buying a machine?

http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=how+to+align+tape+machine

[RSettee]

arconaut wrote on Tue, 29 December 2009 19:42

The poster's first question is, " Is there a book or site I can read up on to get the hang of this thing?" which, to me, indicates that this person really didn't do any research at all. This is is what makes it worthy of ridicule. I learned how to align a tape machine from reading the Woram book. There are books and sites, of course, and this person didn't even look for them before buying a machine? http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=how+to+align+tape+machine

Good point. Though it's important to note that sometimes people play dumb so that they can show off their gear, kinda like the porn star that exclaims "what, THREE pizza boys showed up?", ha ha. You've got to think that they already knew what was gonna transpire. Even a simple Google Search would reveal alot of the same info that's just regurgitated by everyone else. That's a pretty big purchase to not know anything  about how to use it. Unless he got it for a ridiculous deal off of his buddy or something like that. Or my other guess is that the guy wanted to buck the trends of how everyone else makes records and made an impulse purchase thinking that all tape/ analog was created equal. I didn't really see anything wrong with it, but that's just my $.02. Gawd knows i've appeared like an idiot enough on this  board, hahaaa.

[Bill Mueller]

Larrchild wrote on Tue, 29 December 2009 19:28

I have the very same 4 track A-80 here and know it in detail. (Shhh.)

Larry,

Wow that is an emotional sight! I spent so much of my life, really incredible days, caring for big Studer iron and hauling it all over this beautiful nation. I was almost overcome seeing that lineup of German craftsmanship in your hallway. The memories.

However, I also see a troubling trend in your shot, that I have recognized over and over again for many years. Stately gray and brushed aluminum workhorses, detached from their multi-channel halters and put out to pasture in hallways in studio after studio.

Because I defend digital recording does not mean I don't LOVE analog recording! If I just had the space.

So a couple days before the New Year, I find myself wishing I could turn back the clock about fifteen years. Back to those times when we professional engineers owned the high seas, were masters of our own fate, rock and roll was still exciting and new (even after almost fifty years), and we still had a music industry capable of supporting us all quite well thank you.

This thread and that poor kid with his used Studer, somehow remind me of Gothic camp followers, picking the bones of the great Roman army, finding stunning art, architecture, engineering, music and sculpture, and then selling it all for scrap.

I just can't leave this on a down note however. Just as the Irish monks saved the Bible, (maybe or maybe not a good thing), it is up to a small group of dedicated craftsmen and women today, to preserve the fundamentals of audio engineering against a swelling sea of cheap imitations, modeling amps, plug-ins and drum loops.

So, Larry, don't ever sell those shrines to excellence. Find some kid who needs to be taught and make him understand what they mean to all of us, so he can keep them safe for future archeologists. Who knows, maybe that kid on Gear Sluts?

Best regards and Happy New Year,

Bill