I wonder if anyone could help with these questions:
What equipment would be needed to transfer 16 tracks from 2"
multitrack to digital (apart from a reel-to-reel!)? If the tape is old
(15 years old) would it need to be baked, and if so for how long/how
much would this cost/where can it be done?
Thank you very much

In article writes:

What equipment would be needed to transfer 16 tracks from 2"
multitrack to digital (apart from a reel-to-reel!)?

Depends on what "digital" and how it's equipped. My local pretty high
end studio has a 2" Ampex and a ProTools rig with a 24 (or more, but
who's counting) channel I/O. All they'd need is 16 patch cords and it
would be done in about as long as it took to run the tape. There are
more complicated methods.

If the tape is old
(15 years old) would it need to be baked, and if so for how long/how
much would this cost/where can it be done?

A 15 year old tape would probably need baking. If you find someone to
do it for you, it costs whatever they charge, probably quite a bit
since they're accepting responsibility when they take your tape. You
can do it yourself for little or no cost. You can buy an electric
convection oven for about $100, an electric food dehydrator for about
$30, a hair dryer, a cardboard box and a meat thermometer (about $15)
or a 100 watt light bulb and a junked computer fan in your kitchen
oven (about $1). 8 hours at about 130 degrees F. Let cool. Serves 12.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

In article writes:

What equipment would be needed to transfer 16 tracks from 2"
multitrack to digital (apart from a reel-to-reel!)?

Depends on what "digital" and how it's equipped. My local pretty high
end studio has a 2" Ampex and a ProTools rig with a 24 (or more, but
who's counting) channel I/O. All they'd need is 16 patch cords and it
would be done in about as long as it took to run the tape. There are
more complicated methods.

If the tape is old
(15 years old) would it need to be baked, and if so for how long/how
much would this cost/where can it be done?

A 15 year old tape would probably need baking. If you find someone to
do it for you, it costs whatever they charge, probably quite a bit
since they're accepting responsibility when they take your tape. You
can do it yourself for little or no cost. You can buy an electric
convection oven for about $100, an electric food dehydrator for about
$30, a hair dryer, a cardboard box and a meat thermometer (about $15)
or a 100 watt light bulb and a junked computer fan in your kitchen
oven (about $1). 8 hours at about 130 degrees F. Let cool. Serves 12.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

In article
writes:

What equipment would be needed to transfer 16 tracks from 2"
multitrack to digital (apart from a reel-to-reel!)?

Well, you can do it for as much as you have to spend. A computer a mixer, some
audio software, a digital interface and some cables and your good to go, better
conversion will cost more cash than a lower cost rig. Pro Tools, MOTU and the
likes are the higher end or you can get a smaller interface (less converters),
do only a few tracks at a time and rearrange things in the software after you
get it to digital.


If the tape is old
(15 years old) would it need to be baked, and if so for how long/how
much would this cost/where can it be done?


This will depend on the shape of the tape, has it been played to death or
stored in a bad environment? If it's in good condition you may be able to get
one pass or more.

In article
writes:

What equipment would be needed to transfer 16 tracks from 2"
multitrack to digital (apart from a reel-to-reel!)?

Well, you can do it for as much as you have to spend. A computer a mixer, some
audio software, a digital interface and some cables and your good to go, better
conversion will cost more cash than a lower cost rig. Pro Tools, MOTU and the
likes are the higher end or you can get a smaller interface (less converters),
do only a few tracks at a time and rearrange things in the software after you
get it to digital.


If the tape is old
(15 years old) would it need to be baked, and if so for how long/how
much would this cost/where can it be done?


This will depend on the shape of the tape, has it been played to death or
stored in a bad environment? If it's in good condition you may be able to get
one pass or more.

yant wrote:
I wonder if anyone could help with these questions:
What equipment would be needed to transfer 16 tracks from 2"
multitrack to digital (apart from a reel-to-reel!)?

You need a multitrack machine and a digital machine and some cables.
You need to make sure the 2" machine has a head stack for 16-track
available. You need a scope so you can align the machine to the tones
on the tape.

If the tape is old
(15 years old) would it need to be baked, and if so for how long/how
much would this cost/where can it be done?

If it has sticky shed, it needs to be baked. If it does not have sticky
shed, it does not. It has nothing to do with how old the tape is, it has
to do with a particular manufacturing defect that a lot of manufacturers
shared. If it was Ampex 406, it probably will go sticky. If it was
Maxell, it definitely would not. If it was Agfa, it might, but the shedding
may be worse than the stickiness. You need to put it up on the machine and
try it.

If it's only one or two reels, Quantegy will do it for free, but you have
only a few days after it's been baked to play it before it goes sticky
again, so it's often better to do it in-house.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

yant wrote:
I wonder if anyone could help with these questions:
What equipment would be needed to transfer 16 tracks from 2"
multitrack to digital (apart from a reel-to-reel!)?

You need a multitrack machine and a digital machine and some cables.
You need to make sure the 2" machine has a head stack for 16-track
available. You need a scope so you can align the machine to the tones
on the tape.

If the tape is old
(15 years old) would it need to be baked, and if so for how long/how
much would this cost/where can it be done?

If it has sticky shed, it needs to be baked. If it does not have sticky
shed, it does not. It has nothing to do with how old the tape is, it has
to do with a particular manufacturing defect that a lot of manufacturers
shared. If it was Ampex 406, it probably will go sticky. If it was
Maxell, it definitely would not. If it was Agfa, it might, but the shedding
may be worse than the stickiness. You need to put it up on the machine and
try it.

If it's only one or two reels, Quantegy will do it for free, but you have
only a few days after it's been baked to play it before it goes sticky
again, so it's often better to do it in-house.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."