Reel to Reel

Tex13

New Member
Have a quick ?? I have been looking @ Reel to Reels AkaiGX 4000d and some pioneer decks. Anybody ever record live music with one of these??????
 
What's your goal? Just foolin' around, or serious? While you can use a 4000D, because it has mic inputs, there are better quality machines out there. A lot will also depend on the quality of mics you're using.

I've done lots of live recording, mostly with TEACs such as the 3340, 3440, TCA42 and others. Sometimes with a mixer, sometimes not. I don't recall ever doing live stuff with any of the Akais I've owned, but it was certainly possible.

Which Pioneers? The RT-707, favorite of a lot of folks, would likely do a better job than the Akai.
 
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Have a quick ?? I have been looking @ Reel to Reels AkaiGX 4000d and some pioneer decks. Anybody ever record live music with one of these??????
Yes the pioneer 707's is what I want, and will be investing in mics. I am serious about recording. I dont want to go digital.
 
If you are fairly serious about live recording, invest in a decent mixer (and/or mic preamps) and microphones -- I wouldn't expect much in terms of performance from the built-in mic preamps in the consumer reel to reel decks.
 
Heartily recommend that you get a 2 track for doing live recording. 2 track at 15ips will give you the headroom that you need for recording live. I don't know what your budget is, but if you could swing a pro or pro-sumer deck like an Otari Mx-5050, Technics 1500, Tascam 32 or 52 (or similar) you'll be much happier with the results. Be sure that you set the bias and eq for the tape type that you will be using. Also, get some decent mics (AKG, Shure, A-T, etc) and a decent 2 channel mic pre-amp also (Joe Meek, PreSonus, etc.). A good analog compressor will come in handy too (DBX, Drawmer, etc.). OK, I know its getting expensive, but you will find that recording live is not so easy as the dynamic range is tough on mics, pre-amps, and tape decks. Without good mics to pic up the sound, a good mic pre-amp with plenty of headroom, a decent compressor to control the dynamics, and a tape deck that can handle the signal levels, you're not going to be very happy with the outcome. Having the right tools greatly improves your chances of getting a good result.

That being said, the 707 is a pretty good deck. I have one and (after I worked it over) it is very solid from 30 Hz to 20kHz (and beyond). The mice pre-amps in those generally need the transistors replaced (otherwise they are pretty noisy). I've never tried running mics directly into the 707, but I would imagine it would do pretty good job. I'd likely not want to attempt that though, as outboard mic pre's with compression between the mic pre's and the tape deck would give a much better result.
 
I have made live jazz recordings with Akai 4000 machine. It's no mastering machine. Headroom deficient. I would guess most home machines will have that problem. Teac machines would do better, and would be your entree into the recommended 1/2 track format. In that format, I've used Magnecord decks (60+ pounds of tube goodness) and they did quite well. Also higher-end decks, like Sculley 280, Revox B77, Ampex 351 and 440, and newer Otari 5050 and MTR-10s. Depends on how much you want to carry. As mentioned above, a mixer and maybe light dynamic processing might help a bit, depending on what and where you're recording. But not a necessity with pro machines and decent mics.

Start picking out headphones you can believe, too...
 
You will want condenser mics and all the decent ones require xlr inputs and phantom power, which you will not find on any consumer deck. You need a mixer with phantom power. Behringer makes very nice inexpensive mixers with very quiet mic amps in them. You can get excellent mics cheap if you look. I use MXL V67G large diaphragm mics for live classical recordings as well as recording myself. They sound as good as mics costing many times the price. A recording engineer friend is very impressed with the sound quality.
 
You will want condenser mics and all the decent ones require xlr inputs and phantom power, which you will not find on any consumer deck. You need a mixer with phantom power. Behringer makes very nice inexpensive mixers with very quiet mic amps in them. You can get excellent mics cheap if you look. I use MXL V67G large diaphragm mics for live classical recordings as well as recording myself. They sound as good as mics costing many times the price. A recording engineer friend is very impressed with the sound quality.


would agree with tubleweed, get an outboard mic pre amp use that to generate the line level signal the deck needs. Many inexpensive units out there now.
Need to remember most tape deck mfgrs added that feature for home use with a 10 dollar mic, not for use with a nice card mic.

Even with inexpensive set up, you will surprise yourself how good your recordings will come out.

best
 
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