Re: Digital recording

[Tim Nelson <tcn62@ici.net>]

Thomas,
If you're looking for something to master on, you might be better off with
DAT, maybe something like the Tascam DA20MKII or the Fostex D5, both in the
price range you mentioned for a CD burner.
I do use a mini-disc deck, but in sort of an unusual way. It wouldn't be
that great for mastering, but if you've got a model with a REPEAT 1
function, you can load discs full of loops into it, using this as a sound
source to feed a delay or even to run straight. It can be a little tricky
to catch the beginning and end of the recording so it will loop properly,
but the MD allows you to edit a track without disturbing the rest of the
disc, something you're not able to do with a cassette deck.
It really is a poor man's sampler, though; you can't trigger it with MIDI,
you can't correct for pitch or speed without running it through an external
unit. You can record up to 25 items or 74 minutes (stereo, twice that in
mono) whichever comes first. But if you're using the MD to play loops,
you'll probably never come anywhere near the 74 minute mark, since the 25
track limit usually totals 8 or 10 minutes, unless you're doing really long
loops.
The track naming feature is useful in helping you access the contents of
the disc, and scrolling is almost instantaneous. It only takes a second or
so to locate a track and get it playing... Try THAT with cassette!
As far as copying the MD to cassette, the Serial Copy Management System
would not be a problem, since it doesn't apply to the analog outs. If you
want to go from MD to MD or MD to DAT, however, the digital outs permit
only first generation copies. You COULD copy to MD or DAT using the analog
outs, though, but that kind of defeats the purpose of digital recording
even though it's still a lot better than cassette!
Since you've already got an Echoplex, the MD would be, by comparison, of
limited usefulness for looping. It is, however, an affordable way to get
more loops going at the same time.
You'd probably also be better off with DAT than a CD burner for mastering,
at least until CD-Rs become a dependable re-writable medium. They get
pretty expensive.
Hope this has been some help...

; At 09:25 PM 1/6/99 -0500, Thomas Rupolo wrote:
>
>For years I've been recording my Echoplex loops straight to cassette.
>I'm looking to upgrade in sound quality so I can make better copies.  I
>was wondering if anyone has tried mini-discs for this?  Or how about the
>relatively inexpensive stand-alone CD burners? (They're running for
>about $500 these days)  I'm still trying to keep my PC far away from my
>music equipment, but I am considering buying a new PC and adding a CD
>burner.
>
>I have heard that you can only make 7 copies of a mini-disc master (to
>prevent bootlegging), and I think I heard the same about CD burners.
>This would kill my plan for making a master demo and copying it to
>cassettes.
>
>Any help would be greatly appreciated!
>
>