Tech: reel to reel

Subject: Tech: reel to reel
From: GUEST,fleadhman
Date: 29 Jun 04 - 04:10 PM

I have about 30 reels of tape that were recorded in the sixties all over Co. Wexford in Ireland. Mostly traditional Irish music and songs from local musicians. They were recorded on a Philips 4 track 2 speed tape recorder. What do I need to buy, to connect to a pc so as to put these tapes on CDs?. HELP.
I have the two Philips tape recorders that the tapes were recorded on, but none of them work is it possible to get these repaired in the London area.

Subject: RE: Tech: reel to reel
From:
Date: 29 Jun 04 - 04:23 PM

1 - You'll need to get a working Tape Deck to go with the tapes
2 - Once you have that, you MIGHT need something equivalent to Xitel's Ground Loop Isolator
3 - Cables and adapters to hook all of that together. 4 - Software for recording. (Note Xitel's INport has the isolator and the software, and most of the cabling you might need)

Subject: RE: Tech: reel to reel
From: AKS
Date: 30 Jun 04 - 05:53 AM

And a word of caution: have your equipment's functioning tested with scratch tape prior to putting the real stuff in! My experience is that some tapes of that age may be played only once.
There are sophisticated restoring techniques for deteriorated audio tape but they can be pricy for an individual ... have you asked RTE yet? :-)

Good luck
AKS

Subject: RE: Tech: reel to reel
From:
Date: 30 Jun 04 - 02:59 PM

BTW, there are a number of previous threads which might give further answers:

Help: Old 4 track reel to reel tapes
Need tech help
Multitrack Cassette Recorder Repairs?
Tech: Creating music files on a PC
Tech: reel to reel tapes

Note, there are LOTS more which could be useful too.

Subject: RE: Tech: reel to reel
From:
Date: 30 Jun 04 - 03:07 PM

Oh, that last thread I linked to, sounds like the SAME project you're talking about here. Mostly the same answers, BUT there is the bonus on that old thread of links to PAST threads on various topics tied into the questions you asked last October and now. Have a look at that thread in particular.

Subject: RE: Tech: reel to reel
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Jun 04 - 03:53 PM

Thanks for all the info. I knew the Mudcatters would not let me down.
Now to get kitted out and get going.
Thanks again.

Subject: RE: Tech: reel to reel
From: Rapparee
Date: 30 Jun 04 - 04:30 PM

Guest, I have about 60 reels I have to do, including my brother's collection of versions of the musical "Hair" and the Electric Prunes' "Mass".

Good luck! I know what you're going through, and good wishes go with you.

Subject: RE: Tech: reel to reel
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Jun 04 - 04:46 PM

Good question! I'm setting this one on the tracer so I can come back to it. I also have reel to reel tapes, from my father. I recently was given a nice reel to reel player by my aunt, and hadn't figured out how to make an electronic connection between devices yet.

SRS

Subject: RE: Tech: reel to reel
From: cobber
Date: 01 Jul 04 - 03:33 AM

I'm having the same problem at the moment, though in my case, I've got the recorder but the computer's broken. (I'm at work at the moment)I asked around and got an offer from the local community radio station to convert them onto disc. Most local radio stations have the older equipment, often old studio gear that's been superceded.

Subject: RE: Tech: reel to reel
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Jul 04 - 03:02 PM

Thanks for the good wishes Rapaire, I'll probably need plenty of good luck. I have located some good equipment in Bristol (UK) The website is www.electrofix.com He's got some nice equipment.
Thanks again

Subject: RE: Tech: reel to reel
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 06 Jul 04 - 10:34 AM

Back to basics - this subject ain't that hard - unless you want it to be. You need:

- A PC with a soundcard that has mini stereo jack
- An external playing device, radio, VCR, turntable, cassette deck.
- An audio cable to connect between your playing device. In some cases the output device will have a mini stereo socket (for headphones) or a pair of RCA sockets - that'll cover 95% od cases. Check at your local audio shop, Radio Shack or PC shop. Many new PC's are sold with RCA to stereo mini plug leads, so you may already have one.
- Some simple sound recording software, eg Sound Recorder.
- About 5 Mb per minute of proposed recording time on your PC.
- Windows 3.1 or better.
- A CD Burner or some form of removable media such as Zip Disc or Memory Stick.

Simply connect the audio lead to the AUDIO OUT socket/s of your playing device, with the other end plugged into AUDIO IN of your soundcard. Follow the instructions for your sound recorder software, but basically it's the same process as recording a record onto a cassette tape:

- Select the recording options.
- Start the recorder
- Start the player output device.

The Wave File recorded on your PC will be at least as good as any non-commercial recording produced prior to 1990.

If you can get the above to work as a trial. it's just as easy to record from any other playing device you might want to use in future.

Regards, John

Subject: RE: Tech: reel to reel
From: wilbyhillbilly
Date: 06 Jul 04 - 03:18 PM

And if all that fails, give me a shout at vinyltransfer.me.uk and I can probably give you a hand. (No charge of course).

Good luck