Xref: utzoo rec.music.makers:9513 rec.music.synth:14786 comp.music:1638 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!chaph.usc.edu!alcor.usc.edu!alves From: alves@alcor.usc.edu (William Alves) Newsgroups: rec.music.makers,rec.music.synth,comp.music Subject: Re: Sync'ing a Sequencer to a Tape Recorder Message-ID: <10948@chaph.usc.edu> Date: 20 Jul 90 23:53:44 GMT References: Sender: news@chaph.usc.edu Followup-To: rec.music.makers Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA Lines: 36 In article apolivka@x102a.harris-atd.com (polivka al 60047) writes: >I would like to hear from anyone who has synchronized their sequencer >with a tape recorder i.e. by recording a sync signal on one of the >recorder tracks and (analog) music on the other channel(s). This >allows playback of the sequenced music directly out of the >synthesizers in synchronization with the recorded part(s). > >In particular I'd like to know: > 1. did you have any problems (e.g. crosstalk of the sync signal into > another channel, loss of sync, etc.)? First of all, there are several types of sync: you're probably talking about FSK (Frequency Shift Keying), but there's also SMPTE, which is much more powerful, but I haven't had as much experience with it. In addition I've done some stuff with Synclavier's godawful 50 Hz sync tone. I've had some problems with FSK, but not too often. The most common problem has been tempo drifting because of tape playback or other problems. Crosstalk is potentially a problem, but normally I record the tone at -15 to -20 VU and then crank up the playback level. You should also record it on an out- side track. > 2. what type of recorder did you use? I've mainly used 1-inch or 2-inch tape. I used 1/4 inch one time, and cross- talk was more of a problem. I've never used it on 4-track cassette, but I'd be pretty wary of that problem if I were you. > 4. did you have any noise reduction (Dolby, dbx) enabled on the sync > channel of the tape recorder? > Never! I believe that the Tascam Portastudio, for example, lets you defeat dbx on channel 4 just for this purpose. Hope this helps. Bill