Help? 16 track analog transfer to DAW

[Freal]

Hello:
I have an old Fostex E-16 reel to reel machine. I have about four hours of
recordings I'd like to preserve that were made on this machine.
I want to somehow transfer these 16 track tapes to 16 tracks on my PC so I
can remix & archive.
I don't want to invest $thousands into a complete 16 simultaneous input PC
system like Hammerfall or ProTools since I only need it for this one brief
project.
Can anyone here point me in a direction to where or how I could get this
done?
Thanx- Freal

[Mondoslug1]

freal wrote:

>Hello:
>I have an old Fostex E-16 reel to reel machine. I have about four hours of
>recordings I'd like to preserve that were made on this machine.
>I want to somehow transfer these 16 track tapes to 16 tracks on my PC so I
>can remix & archive.
>I don't want to invest $thousands into a complete 16 simultaneous input PC
>system like Hammerfall or ProTools since I only need it for this one brief
>project.
>Can anyone here point me in a direction to where or how I could get this
>done?
>Thanx- Freal
>

Contact some local studios & just pay for their time + burning you some discs.



My tunes at:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/5/andymostmusic.htm

[Steve King]

"Mondoslug1" > wrote in message
...
> freal wrote:
>
> >Hello:
> >I have an old Fostex E-16 reel to reel machine. I have about four hours
of
> >recordings I'd like to preserve that were made on this machine.
> >I want to somehow transfer these 16 track tapes to 16 tracks on my PC so
I
> >can remix & archive.
> >I don't want to invest $thousands into a complete 16 simultaneous input
PC
> >system like Hammerfall or ProTools since I only need it for this one
brief
> >project.
> >Can anyone here point me in a direction to where or how I could get this
> >done?
> >Thanx- Freal
> >
>
> Contact some local studios & just pay for their time + burning you some
discs.
>
>
>
> My tunes at:
> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/5/andymostmusic.htm
>

How about recording some tone across all 16 tracks ahead of the program
material. Splice on some blank tape if necessary and record tone on that.
A second or two is all that's necessary, and don't fade the tone in,
obviously. Now, transfer the tracks two at a time or whatever your sound
card allows including the tone. Eyeball sync everything up in your
multi-track DAW. Zoom in to see individual samples to get the synch dead
on.

The downside, of course, is that you may have to do eight passes for each
tape, if you only have two track inputs.

Steve King

[Abyssmal]

Check Ebay . They have a motu 24 i/o for 300$.
For the best quality, take his advice and go to a studio.

Randall

>freal wrote:
>
>>Hello:
>>I have an old Fostex E-16 reel to reel machine. I have about four hours of
>>recordings I'd like to preserve that were made on this machine.
>>I want to somehow transfer these 16 track tapes to 16 tracks on my PC so I
>>can remix & archive.
>>I don't want to invest $thousands into a complete 16 simultaneous input PC
>>system like Hammerfall or ProTools since I only need it for this one brief
>>project.
>>Can anyone here point me in a direction to where or how I could get this
>>done?
>>Thanx- Freal
>>
>
>Contact some local studios & just pay for their time + burning you some discs.
>
>
>
>My tunes at:
>http://www.soundclick.com/bands/5/andymostmusic.htm
>

[David Morley]

In article >,
"Steve King" > wrote:

> How about recording some tone across all 16 tracks ahead of the program
> material. Splice on some blank tape if necessary and record tone on that.
> A second or two is all that's necessary, and don't fade the tone in,
> obviously. Now, transfer the tracks two at a time or whatever your sound
> card allows including the tone. Eyeball sync everything up in your
> multi-track DAW. Zoom in to see individual samples to get the synch dead
> on.
>
> The downside, of course, is that you may have to do eight passes for each
> tape, if you only have two track inputs.
>
> Steve King

I was about to suggest the same.
This is the best budget option.
Above this, take it to a studio and pay for the time as this will be
the easiest and save you aggro. Also, it´ll probably sound best if they
have half decent gear/engineer!

[Scott Dorsey]

Freal > wrote:
>Hello:
>I have an old Fostex E-16 reel to reel machine. I have about four hours of
>recordings I'd like to preserve that were made on this machine.
>I want to somehow transfer these 16 track tapes to 16 tracks on my PC so I
>can remix & archive.
>I don't want to invest $thousands into a complete 16 simultaneous input PC
>system like Hammerfall or ProTools since I only need it for this one brief
>project.
>Can anyone here point me in a direction to where or how I could get this
>done?

You can go to a place like the Transfer Station that specifically does
this sort of thing. Or you can rent a PC system. Or you can rent time
at a local studio with a PC system and bring your Fostex with you.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Jay Kahrs]

>
>How about recording some tone across all 16 tracks ahead of the program
>material. Splice on some blank tape if necessary and record tone on that.
>A second or two is all that's necessary, and don't fade the tone in,
>obviously. Now, transfer the tracks two at a time or whatever your sound
>card allows including the tone. Eyeball sync everything up in your
>multi-track DAW. Zoom in to see individual samples to get the synch dead
>on.
>
>The downside, of course, is that you may have to do eight passes for each
>tape, if you only have two track inputs.
>

Analog tape speed isn't consistant enough to do that. You really need to get it
in bigger chunks, at least 8 tracks at a time. Otherwise that 1% speed
fluxuation will kill you by the end of the reel. I'd suggest digging around and
finding a studio with a deck and a DAW to do the transfer, or you could always
bring your deck to the other studio and do it all in one pass. It's really the
only way that it's going to work.

---
-Jay Kahrs
Owner - Chief Engineer
Mad Moose Recording Inc.
Morris Plains, NJ
http://www.madmooserecording.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Come visit me here --> http://www.gearslutz.com

[Roger W. Norman]

You have a simple achive method directly at hand, and it's called -wait for
it -analog tape. Properly maintained analog tape IS the archive.

Now, for transfer to computer and doing new mixdowns and such, there should
be a number of studios willing to do the job for you, or you can do it too,
without too much fuss even if you only have two tracks of recording ability
on your computer. But you should be able to find a local facility that
charges maybe $40 to $50 per hour, haul your E16 over, run tape and record
tracks. At that point the tracks can be moved to CD-Rs as data and you
simply copy them onto your hard drive and load into your favorite program.
Ta Da!

This job is simply a matter of doing some footwork, making a contact, and
determining formats and media. Once it's decided it shouldn't take much
more than maybe 1/2 again as much time as the transfers take, depending on
whether the media is DVD-Rs or CD-Rs and what you have available on your
system.

I know it sounds like a big job, but it's not. So rather that $1000s of
dollars, you're talking maybe a couple of hundred. You get your files and a
local studio gets a job. Don't see how it could work out better for both of
you.

And, of course, you're talking to a world wide set of professionals here, so
you might want to include information about where you're located and how
quickly you'd like to get the job done.

--


Roger W. Norman
SirMusic Studio

301-585-4681




"Freal" > wrote in message
. ..
> Hello:
> I have an old Fostex E-16 reel to reel machine. I have about four hours of
> recordings I'd like to preserve that were made on this machine.
> I want to somehow transfer these 16 track tapes to 16 tracks on my PC so I
> can remix & archive.
> I don't want to invest $thousands into a complete 16 simultaneous input PC
> system like Hammerfall or ProTools since I only need it for this one brief
> project.
> Can anyone here point me in a direction to where or how I could get this
> done?
> Thanx- Freal
>
>