what's the difference between...

i've been researching old cassette camcorders that have RCA inputs and record to cassette and have the options of recording in either 12-bit or 16-bit.

Will those old camcorders give you the same 12-bit sound that popular 12-bit samplers do?

Some people have told me no, because the cassette camcorders are digital, but the Akai S900 & S950 are digital samplers, so what is the difference?

I was planning on (if they do give off the same 12-bit quality as popular 12-bit samplers) recording drum breaks and samples onto the camcorders cassette tape, in 12-bit and then run the output of the camcorder into the MPC.

You could record for a LONG time on tape, as opposed to 2-3 seconds on those Akai and Emu samplers.

So, what are your thoughts on those old 12-bit cassette camcorders, compared to Akai/Emu 12-bit digital samplers?

no it wont be at all the same... but do it anyways because who cares about the same... what matters is if it sounds good.

Yeah I dont think its gonna sound any like those old samplers but as debauch said - do it because it sounds good (if it does).

You can't overdrive such tape I believe, notice like too much wind on recording makes clipping.
I think you would get better results, by saving file as 12-bit or less bit, than saving again as 16-bit (for mpc to handle) and recording to VHS tape with much gain to drive it hard.

wind on any microphone does that... clipping is clipping.... the question is, how does the particular video cam handle it.... maybe it sounds dope maybe not. Just the way it sounds like shit to overdrive the input on your computer most of the time... it doesn't always sound like shit to overdrive the mpc 2000 classic all the time but sometimes it does.

If the guy has the gear and the eagerness to experiment, that is what sound design is all about.... doing something that a by the book orthodox engineer or producer would maybe not try is what it's all about.

i have a vcr, but it only has mono input and output. there's a couple of recorders that mention 12-bit that are on eBay right now for $100+. IDk, I'll see what I can do. Just trying to come up with cool ways to make my stuff sound a little unique.

Thanks all for the input.

mr_debauch wrote:wind on any microphone does that...

I don't know, never recorded wind in analog domain but on vcr I had to hit at 0db and and +12 to get it sound on tape at all or even more to make it saturate - long lasting **** ...rewind...

StayKrushN wrote:i have a vcr, but it only has mono input and output. there's a couple of recorders that mention 12-bit that are on eBay right now for $100+. IDk, I'll see what I can do. Just trying to come up with cool ways to make my stuff sound a little unique.

Thanks all for the input.

you know what? mono would be fine to record things like drums or bass... which often are originally recorded in mono. Once the result is recorded back to the daw or machine of choice... you can then pan them or apply what ever stereo effects you feel they might need.