Tascam CD Recorder or CD Recorder + Tape Recorder

[Anubis]

I guess I don't understand what you and Jovinyl mean by splits. I thought you guys were talking about some problem with the autotrack feature.

I have A-Track off.
So I never have any problems with quiet moments triggering an incremental Track no.

When one side of the LP ends for Track 1, I hit Pause.
Turn the LP over for side 2.
And restart recording for Track 2.

What kind of "split" problem is difficult to get right?

I leave A-Track off too after messing with it and discovering it is not accurate. The OP used the word "split" to mean separating tracks. My problem with the A-Track on the 900SL is that while the trigger frequency is adjustable (another nice touch from Tascam, I mean that in a good way), it doesn't trigger correctly most of the time. One has to set the sensitivity rate very high to get it to work 99% of the time and then when it does, it tends to track split at every single silent or low volume section that is 2 seconds or longer. (Yes, the manual does pint this out). So if a song has a part that dips above the threshold setting it creates a new track and you also lose the first 2 to 3 seconds of the new recording. If a song has a truely silent section that is 2 seconds or longer the same thing happens.
That's why I just leave it off. To me it doesn't matter to have it off, because I record to CDRW then throw that into the computer, rip it to lossless wav, run it through Audacity, split the tracks and export. That way I don't have to babysit much during recording, except to monitor the levels. (It's just like using a tape deck except that being digital, one needs to set the input levels a little lower than one would with tape, digital is more sensitive to clipping). If I want to separate tracks during recording I just do it manually which requires more monitoring of course.

 

[Jovinyl]

I seem to remember someone saying that you could hit the "Record" button on the remote between songs to mark a new track, is that true?

Chris

That is what I ment when I said babysit the recording. I have done this When making a special recording. Like someone is giving me the Lp. I just have to record it on CD for them.

 

[terra1]

Unless you intend to manually insert track numbers for each single track on an LP, you really don't have to hit Record to mark a new track or do that much babysitting.

In Record Mode, I press Pause after completing Side 1 of the LP, the Tascam automatically increments to Track 2 anticipating your next recording. So I don't have to do anything to increment the track count while in Record mode.

I flip the LP, then restart recording by pressing Pause or Play and it continues recording Side 2 of the LP as Track 2. After Track 2 is done, press Pause and it will automatically increment to set up for Track 3 if you want to continue recording. But if you don't want to continue recording just end the recording session by pressing Stop. The CD-R will only have Track 1 and 2 ready to finalize.

Before recording, I will set it to Record Mode and I will play a portion of the record to get an idea of the peak levels to make sure the LP doesn't get into the red zone. I find I rarely change the recording level from LP to LP unless it's a really big volume change.

Once you have the settings of the Input control set and AutoTrack > OFF, it really is similar to recording with a tape deck. Other than to occasionally check the sound level meters to see you're not hitting the red zone and everything is running ok.

 

[Anubis]

Unless you intend to manually insert track numbers for each single track on an LP, you really don't have to hit Record to mark a new track or do that much babysitting.

In Record Mode, I press Pause after completing Side 1 of the LP, the Tascam automatically increments to Track 2 anticipating your next recording. So I don't have to do anything to increment the track count while in Record mode.

I flip the LP, then restart recording by pressing Pause or Play and it continues recording Side 2 of the LP as Track 2. After Track 2 is done, press Pause and it will automatically increment to set up for Track 3 if you want to continue recording. But if you don't want to continue recording just end the recording session by pressing Stop. The CD-R will only have Track 1 and 2 ready to finalize.

Before recording, I will set it to Record Mode and I will play a portion of the record to get an idea of the peak levels to make sure the LP doesn't get into the red zone. I find I rarely change the recording level from LP to LP unless it's a really big volume change.

Once you have the settings of the Input control set and AutoTrack > OFF, it really is similar to recording with a tape deck. Other than to occasionally check the sound level meters to see you're not hitting the red zone and everything is running ok.

That's exactly how I do it with the following variations: For tapes I just let it record the whole thing most of the time and then split the tracks on the PC. For vinyl I will either use the pause to split tracks or let record all the way (I'll see which I like best), but then it still goes to the PC for clean up/edit no matter what.
Yeah, one needs to watch those levels as they are a little different then recording with tape. That's why I like the Tascam so much because you have full control over levels and such.

 

[chris lehn]

Thanks to everyone for all of your help in my decision. I have everything set up and it sounds wonderful. Recorded Paul Simon's Graceland last night to replace a cd that has failed after years of use.

AudioKarma is great.

Chris Lehn

 

[Telegram Sam]

That's exactly how I do it with the following variations: For tapes I just let it record the whole thing most of the time and then split the tracks on the PC. For vinyl I will either use the pause to split tracks or let record all the way (I'll see which I like best), but then it still goes to the PC for clean up/edit no matter what.
Yeah, one needs to watch those levels as they are a little different then recording with tape. That's why I like the Tascam so much because you have full control over levels and such.

Hi,

I just ordered one of these.
What software do you use to split the tracks on your PC.
Also what is good for cleaning up hiss, pops, and clicks on the recordings?
(First post so take it easy on me!)

Bill