Old 02-05-2021, 04:45 PM   #1
BrianBett
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Default 24 track analog tape to Reaper

Good day,

I have a bunch of 2", 24 track reel analog tape of sessions, recorded on Studer A827 Reel To Reel at a Seattle studio.
I'd like to play back in a method that can be imported into Reaper for re-editing in the digital realm.
I'd rather not find and purchase a 24 channel A/D for this purpose to copy directly, costly.
The sound engineer at the same Seattle studio recommended playback from the Studer into ProTools save each track as WAV onto a disk. Then, at my leisure, import the WAVs into Reaper.

Sounds do-able

My question, has anyone performed such a copy from 8/16/24 track tape? Will it be pretty straightforward to edit so all tracks have the same start point, etc. Does anyone see any gotcha's?

I believe that if the Studer and ProTools are connected all 24 tracks being played back and recorded simultaneously, then the importing of the resulting WAV files should all have the same start point and be aligned by default.

Thank you for your thoughts through experience or experimentation,
Brian
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Old 02-05-2021, 05:46 PM   #2
SMM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BrianBett View Post
Good day,

I have a bunch of 2", 24 track reel analog tape of sessions, recorded on Studer A827 Reel To Reel at a Seattle studio.
I'd like to play back in a method that can be imported into Reaper for re-editing in the digital realm.
I'd rather not find and purchase a 24 channel A/D for this purpose to copy directly, costly.
The sound engineer at the same Seattle studio recommended playback from the Studer into ProTools save each track as WAV onto a disk. Then, at my leisure, import the WAVs into Reaper.

Sounds do-able

My question, has anyone performed such a copy from 8/16/24 track tape? Will it be pretty straightforward to edit so all tracks have the same start point, etc. Does anyone see any gotcha's?

I believe that if the Studer and ProTools are connected all 24 tracks being played back and recorded simultaneously, then the importing of the resulting WAV files should all have the same start point and be aligned by default.

Thank you for your thoughts through experience or experimentation,
Brian
BrianBett,

You are correct.

If you record all 24 tracks at once (simultaneously)
to digital as 24 bit wav files
(or, as floating point wav files if desired)
you will be fine. I've done that in the past.
All of the tracks will stay perfectly in sync.

However, do not record any less than
all 24 tracks at once (simultaneously) or you will get
tape drift between the tracks.
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Last edited by SMM; 02-05-2021 at 06:58 PM.
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Old 02-05-2021, 06:01 PM   #3
BrianBett
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Default 24 track analog tape to Reaper

SMM,

Thank you for your experience!
I am certain we'll go 24 tracks at once. We'll cut between songs, naturally. I am certain the engineer is shooting for the highest quality. I am certain WAV will be a fairly good, lossless choice.
I might add, this will be my first project in Reaper.
I HAD used eMagic Logic RPC until my tower PC version of Windows XP crashed, unrecoverably many years ago. Bad experience, to say the least.

I am really looking forward to starting my DAW adventures again with Reaper.

Brian
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Old 02-05-2021, 06:05 PM   #4
SMM
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Brian,

No worries. All good.
Wav files are perfect.
You made an excellent perfect choice.

Welcome to the forum and
welcome to REAPER.

REAPER is an excellent DAW.
You have made a wise choice.
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Last edited by SMM; 02-05-2021 at 07:04 PM.
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Old 02-09-2021, 11:58 AM   #5
ivansc
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Just to reinforce all this, the stuff I was recording in 2019 and early 2020 was eventually worked on via Pro Tools HD setup, but every mic went through a 24 track 2" recording first.

No problems at all.
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Old 02-09-2021, 12:34 PM   #6
serr
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BrianBett View Post
Good day,

I have a bunch of 2", 24 track reel analog tape of sessions, recorded on Studer A827 Reel To Reel at a Seattle studio.
I'd like to play back in a method that can be imported into Reaper for re-editing in the digital realm.
I'd rather not find and purchase a 24 channel A/D for this purpose to copy directly, costly.
The sound engineer at the same Seattle studio recommended playback from the Studer into ProTools save each track as WAV onto a disk. Then, at my leisure, import the WAVs into Reaper.

Sounds do-able

My question, has anyone performed such a copy from 8/16/24 track tape? Will it be pretty straightforward to edit so all tracks have the same start point, etc. Does anyone see any gotcha's?

I believe that if the Studer and ProTools are connected all 24 tracks being played back and recorded simultaneously, then the importing of the resulting WAV files should all have the same start point and be aligned by default.

Thank you for your thoughts through experience or experimentation,
Brian
In this statement
"recommended playback from the Studer into ProTools"
"ProTools" would mean a Digidesign audio interface.

I'll suggest that someone didn't really mean to recommend Digidesign AD converters over other products specifically. They just said it that way. Using a brand name like Kleenex.

Anyway, the generic version of that is:
"playback from the Studer into an audio interface and save each track as WAV onto a disk."

You need 24 channels. You only need line level though, not mic preamps.

The software used to capture (like Reaper) doesn't really matter for this part. You're saving the 24 bit audio that's streaming in to file. You're not altering or producing at this moment.

Digi hardware is pricey. More bang for the buck with something else.
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Old 02-10-2021, 02:05 AM   #7
ivansc
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Just to clarify MY response, I had previously done the same with my old Tascam 24 channel digital recorder from a 16 track tape recording with equally good results.
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Old 02-10-2021, 10:35 PM   #8
BrianBett
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Thank you SMM, serr and Ivansc.

AS it turns out my Seattle engineer friend has this all worked out on the Tape to WAV side. I will be meeting up with him in March to perform this initial stage. He's got all the hardware at the studio where a couple of the tapes were recorded initially. After that I'll bring it all home and import into Reaper.
I am filled with confidence after reading your posts confirming the viability of accomplishing this task. Stay tuned. I really DO follow up and will get back with the results.

You guys are great,
Brian
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