Re: Need Advice on Software/Hardware for Particular Purpose

blackburst@xxxxxxx <blackburst@xxxxxxx> wrote:
What I need is audio software/hardware which will allow me to take
discrete tracks from several 4-track tapes and (re)synchronize them,
in terms of both time and pitch, (to make "new" multitrack masters
with all discrete tracks).

Any DAW system should allow you to do this. You dub the tapes to the
workstation, then stretch or shrink individual tracks to fit.

HOW I USED TO RECORD: In the 70s, I had a Teac 2340 and a friend had a
Dokorder 4-track (7140, as I recall). Typically, I would record
instruments or voices on each of the tracks of the Teac, filling all 4
tracks. Then, I would mix down from the Teac to tracks 1 and 2 of
another tape on the Dokorder.

I would then put that second tape on the Teac, and record additional
instruments/voices on tracks 3 and 4. Then, I would again mix down
from the Teac (this tape containing a stereo premix on 1 and 2, and
discrete tracks on 3 and 4) to tracks 1 and 2 of a third tape on the
Dokorder.

I would again put this third tape back on the Teac and add additional
instruments/voices to the vacant tracks 3 and 4. It was usually at
this stage that I mixed to a stereo master.

This production method is called ping-ponging and it was very common back
in the days when folks had limited track counts. As you probably noticed,
it's very important to lay your arrangements out so that the tracks that
least need detail are recorded first.

THE PROBLEM: Considering that they were recorded at 7 1/2 ips on 1/4"
tape, and most of the instruments/voices were down a generation or
two, the tapes sound surprisingly good. The stereo masters play fairly
well in stereo; but when they're collapsed to mono, there is some
serious phase cancellation of the premixed portions. I deduce that the
head alignment differed between the Teac and the Dokorder! This would
affect ONLY the premixed portions, not the discrete tracks.

Yes, this is not surprising at all. What surprises me is that you could
actually get a Dokorder to run for a full reel before breaking down.
Also, note that on the Dokorder machines, the head gaps were often not
parallel, so when you play them back you can set the azimuth right for one
track but not necessarily for all of them.

So I tried to go back to the original discrete tapes and dub all the
discrete tracks onto a Tascam 2488, but trying to synchronize them "on
the fly." Then I noticed another problem: Time and pitch variations!
Now, I ALSO deduce that the Teac and Dokorder ran at slightly
different speeds.

This also doesn't surprise me a bit.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The discrete portions of these tapes ARE
theoretically synchronizable, since they all derive from the same
take. But some of them will need to be adjusted as to pitch and time.
(I KNOW pitch and time can now be adjusted separately, but they will
have to be done in conjunction with each other, as the degree "out of
time and pitch" should be proportional to each other.) By the way, I
have close to 100 songs that I would like to re-synchronize.

100 songs is an awful lot of work, but you can do it. You're going to have
to be doing it by hand and by ear, though. And you are going to have to
spend a lot of time playing back the original tapes and making sure you get
the azimuth correct each time.

So, I'm looking for a program and hardware well-suited to:
-taking up to 4 line inputs at a time
-allowing a total of between 6-14 tracks
-lining up the tracks to start at the same time
-and, by adjusting speed (and pitch), to end at the same time
-and possibly be able to add a new instrument or voice or two

I think whatever DAW software you have will be fine, and you should
recognize that the DAW work is going to be the easy part. The hard part
is getting all of the individual tapes onto the DAW, and doing it with
the azimuth as close as possible to correct. Also, if your project is
anything like the others I have seen, you're going to find masters and
submasters that are missing. Identifying all the submasters that went with
each song and labelling them properly is the hardest part.

What is the best setup for this? Software, hardware. Sure, I like to
keep the cost as low as possible.

Pro Tools is fine. Get a nice tape machine.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
.

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