ANALOG TAPE STUDIO SETUP - RECOMMENDATIONS?

Hey everyone!

How you all doing?

Just wondering if you could give some advice if you guys have time to reply. As im getting a bit stuck with the best step to take forward?

EQUIPMENT LIST
Apple Mac Desktop
DAW = LOGIC 8
MONITORS = KRK ROKIT 8s
AUDIO INTERFACE = MOTU 828 MKIII
MIDI INTERFACE = MOTU MIDI EXPRESS XT
MIXER = TASCAM MIDISTUDIO 688 (8 CHANNELS)
DRUM MACHINE/SAMPLER = MPC 3000
SYNTHS = ROLAND SH-101/ YAMAHA DX7/ KORG M1/ KORG POLY 800
EFFECTS = ROLAND SPACE ECHO RE-150/ BOSS DISTORTION PEDAL
MIDI/CV CONVERTER = KENTON PRO SOLO MKII

Ill try to explain as clear as possible, but basically what i want to achieve is a studio setup where i can have....as follows

1) ALL 8 OUTPUTS OF MPC 3000 FED INTO INPUTS OF ANALOG MIXER
2) ALL OUTPUTS OF SYNTHS (7 IN TOTAL) FED INTO INPUTS OF ANALOG MIXER
3) ROLAND SPACE ECHO + OTHER EXTERNAL EFFECTS ROUTED INTO MIXER SO I CAN SEND EACH CHANNEL OF THE MIXER INDIVIDUALLY TO THESE SENDS ( SO I CAN CONTROL THE WET/DRY SIGNAL AND HOW MUCH EACH CHANNEL IS AFFECTED BY THE EFFECTS)
4) OUTPUTS OF MIXER ROUTED INTO INPUTS OF MOTU 828MKIII (FOR TRACKING AND SO I CAN DO MORE COMPLICATED ARRANGEMENTS IN LOGIC
4) AFTER THE PROJECT IS FINISHED IN MY DAW, SEND A STEREO OUT TO MY TASCAM 688 AND RECORD THE FINAL MIXDOWN TO TAPE CASSETTE)
5) CONVERT THE AUDIO ON THE TAPE CASSETTE ONTO CD (FOR DEMO PURPOSES)

What i am struggling with, is that i need more than a 8 channel mixer for all these inputs of equipment. So was wandering what would be a good 16channel analog mixer to purchase which can be fully integrated with my DAW, possibly via firewire. I was looking at the Mackie Onyx1640i, unless anybody has a better suggestion....as these are rather pricey.

Also say if i did have a 16 channel how would i send the 16 outs of the mixer to my MOTU 828 MKIII as it only has 8 in/out?

Another thing is how would i send the final mixdown of my project in logic 8 to the tascam 688 to record on to tape and also does anybody know the best way to convert tape cassette to CD?

I know theres a lot to go through here and work out, but if anybody could shed any light on this it would be greatly appreciated and i just want to achieve an easy workflow that wont hinder any musical creativity.

Cheers
Nic

Just givin' you a heads up- you'll get a much better response with just one thread, instead of spreading it out to two threads. I took care of the thread in the 60/3000 section since this issue pertains more to this section here.

Hey dude, cheers for the help, yeah your probably right, that this topic is only in one area on the forum!!

Thanks, lets hope people reply as i could really do with the help

Dude, I wrote you the sickest write up ever for yoi.But then it got moved and deleted all I wrote. Wtf. Sorry don't have the energy to do it all again.

To sum it up: it's clear you want to go all analog but your holding back because your used to the functionality of a DAW. Take a leap my friend you'll never look back.

NicDefn wrote:Hey dude, cheers for the help, yeah your probably right, that this topic is only in one area on the forum!!

Thanks, lets hope people reply as i could really do with the help

No problemo...

You'll get the most helpful answers if you post your budget range. Sooner or later, someone will recommend an SSL AWS 900 or something.

As for your i/o issue, you can easily add the 8 i/o you need with an optical unit like the Alesis Ai3 or (don't judge me here) the Behringer ADA8000 which gets good reviews in blind tests up against much pricier units. (just look it up on gearslutz)

About recording to tape, I'd imagine you'd just go stereo out of your interface, into your tape unit, no?

m56p87 wrote:Dude, I wrote you the sickest write up ever for yoi.But then it got moved and deleted all I wrote. Wtf. Sorry don't have the energy to do it all again.
.

Sorry about that- just another reason to make only one thread, Nic.
Perhaps your browser saved your text if you hit "back" to get back to that page? Worth a shot...

Hey guys

cheers for replying

@ m56p87, yeah i would love to lose the computer, as thats what im ultimately striving for, but just worried that with out a DAW i wont be able to really get in there and manipulate audio. If i was to go all analog, how would i keep everything in sync, what would be my master clock (the mpc?) also how would i record midi synth patterns and be able to fine tune then without a DAW?

@ b.read, in terms of price range for a new 16 channel mixer i would say £500 to £1000. About getting a further 8 inputs added via optical, im just worried that if i dont get something that is MOTU then the compatibility may not be there between the MOTU 828 MKIII and the Alesis Ai3 (as you recommended) I was looking at the MOTU 8pre (but its pricey! and only has 8 ins and not 8outs as well )

also if anyone knows how to convert tape cassette into cd, im all ears?

Cheers Nic

I don't think the Motu will be biased to other manufacturers gear at all...but I could be off here.

NicDefn wrote:also if anyone knows how to convert tape cassette into cd, im all ears?

figure this out on your own before you spend any money.

consider it homework.

you're talking about diving into a whole world of possibility and complication - id figure out the basics first.

@tapedeck, hey mate, just so i dont research aimlessly, what would you say the basics are that i need to gain a further understanding of?

I know this thread is a lot to ask, but if anyone feels they have the time to explain things, would really appreciate it

Cheers

Well in my super awesome reply that got deleted
I brought up the idea of using a mixer/recorder combo like the akai DPS series which is actually the original type of "DAW". It has midi Sync/start or you can move the tracks around like a DAW, I think the DPS series is the perfect niche for someone like you coming from a DAW because it's a similar workflow but grounded in hardware instead of software. Sometimes I use my Dps12 to make whole tracks by recording synths and instruments and sometimes I just use it to recall fader positions & EQ settings. its a great answer to the previously temporary state that analog projects are/were in. I sync everything from my DPS but often times Ill take my DPS to a friends record a bunch of shit then sync it up or resample into my MPC. It's a fantastic tool and I highly recommend that over a very tedious hybrid setup.

Also, you can load up The stems out of the dps into your DAW if you still want to manipulate.

Edit: yo nic check your PMs

@ m56p87, yo dude! check your private message

cheers Nic

NicDefn wrote:@tapedeck, hey mate, just so i dont research aimlessly, what would you say the basics are that i need to gain a further understanding of?

I know this thread is a lot to ask, but if anyone feels they have the time to explain things, would really appreciate it

Cheers

props homey - i know it can seem daunting and it seems like easy to just come to an internet site and ask for an exact answer - but i am very old school and i feel the best way to learn something is to just start trying it.

so i would say the thing you need to gain further understanding of is how to get audio into your computer. because from there you can burn a cd, right?

so a cassette deck spits out audio just like anything - a mpc, microphone, synth, whatever. now knowing that - how would you get the audio from your synth / mpc / etc into the computer? you see you can just replace that thing with the cassette deck and do it the same way.

i hope that helps you see the bigger picture here.

@tapedeck, yeah im totally of your opinion that its good to go through the process of trying everything out and just learning that way

but just this forum is such a good resource for info, so i thought id see what everybody else thinks?

i know how to get audio in to my DAW via my audio interface, but now the problem is that i need more than 8 inputs, so was looking for a good 16 channel analog mixer, that has either USB or firewire capability.

NicDefn wrote:i know how to get audio in to my DAW via my audio interface, but now the problem is that i need more than 8 inputs, so was looking for a good 16 channel analog mixer, that has either USB or firewire capability.

i was referring to your specific question -

NicDefn wrote:does anybody know the best way to convert tape cassette to CD?

good luck on the mixer

Here's how i do it...

I have a mackie onyx 1640i that i use for mixing my music. You can connect it via firewire to the computer (imac in my case) and track all 16 channels at once into logic... if you're willing to neglect your interface, this could be a good option.

Personally i don't use this method tho... i mix "out of the box" and record the final result to tape (revox B77 2-track) from the main outs of the mixer. Then i record the tape into the computer with my apogee duet.

The question is, do you really need to mix the music on the computer after you've already done that on a mixing desk?