Reel to reel tape recording and SMPTE timecode | How did it work?

How does SMPTE timecode work? Fostex Model 80, Atari 1040ST & Unitor sync box. Notator software synchronizing it all through the setup.
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So in essence the thing about SMPTE time code is this: It's a way of synchronizing analog gear with digital gear. The way we used this in the 80s and 90s was to synchronize tape machines with MIDI sequencers. That way we could continue expanding/changing the MIDI sequence without loosing sync with sounds already recorded on tape. If a vocalist had done the vocals and you later wanted to change some of the sounds in the MIDI arrangement, you could. Because the tape and MIDI sequence were synchronized, through the means of the time code.
Some interesting facts about SMPTE:
SMPTE timecode was widely used to synchronize music in the 80s and 90s.
SMPTE is a set of cooperating standards to label individual frames of video or film with a timecode.
SMPTE timecode is presented in hour:minute:second:frame format
Sub-second timecode time values are expressed in terms of frames
SMPTE = Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers - typically 30 frames (24 for film)
EBU = European Broadcasting Union typically 25 frames
The use of SMPTE synchronization is now decreasing as analog tape is declining as a recording medium. Hard disk recording does not need any time code, since the DAW software can embed the timing information in with the data on disk and provide synchronization to other devices via digital mechanisms such as MIDI or DIN sync. SMPTE is needed only when the DAW is required to synchronize with an analog medium, such as audio tape, video tape, or film.
In the case of the Fostex LED counter, this is just that, a counter driven by the tape motor. It doesn't reflect the actual SMPTE time encoded on track 8 on the tape, hence it's not spot on with the actual time code. A more advanced tape machine would have the ability to show that. The tape machine is perfectly synced up with the sequencer though, just to be clear.
I've hooked up the ISLA S2400, Roland Alpha Juno, Yamaha TX802 and Juno-106 through MIDI, on the Atari. All the outputs of the synths are hooked directly into the line INs of the Fostex. So throughout this video you're hearing the Fostex preamps. After the recording you're hearing the sounds directly out of the tape and you can easily (even on KZbin) hearing the tape compression going on, especially on the drums.
If I'd fed the tape an even more hot signal, it would have compressed and distorted it even harder, but I didn't run the synths through a mixer so I didn't achieved that sound today.
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Growing up I listened to so much synth-pop and it's only natural that my own music takes inspiration from many of the acts I loved back then. I still love them and listen to them!
Howard Jones, Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, New Order, Erasure, Thompson Twins, Tears for Fears, The Human League, Propaganda. FGTH, Ultravox, OMD, Eurythmics, Duran Duran, Giorgio Moroder, Jean Michel Jarre, Jan Hammer, Alphaville, A-ha as well as loads of artists doing what is now called Italo Disco. And many more great acts like Nik Kershaw, Spandau Ballet, Wham, Dire Straits ++

[@hermeslord]

back in the 80s and 90s, this was the liberator for many musicians who could set this up at their bedrooms/garages and earn a living from doing stuff for low fi television - commercials, documentaries, films without having to spend tons at recording studios, and yet be clinically precise with the output. This helped launched many careers who are giants today. Those days constraints fuelled excellence, today with all these tools on fingertips, the well of inspiration is only the one that runs dry

[@Music4Movies-sr8vo]

Another beauty part of this is to record, vocals, guitars, and live instruments on your tape while your code pushes all your midi instruments at that point, using one sequencer with 16 mini channels, plus the seven audio tracks that you have left on the real real you’ve got 23 tracks on mixed down. I guess I was lucky but I never had any interference using track seven also to use for other tracks. The four track assets can run you into a little problem but I’ve noticed even the four porta studios if you record say a smooth pad you’re usually good to go on recording on the adjacent track from your time code. I also gave this a name back in the day recording on a limb, because later on in years, if you want to pull that mix back up, you would need to least have your sound modules to produce your other tracks. I love your program you explain things very clearly, and you know what you’re doing thanks.❤

[@ISLAInstruments]

We had the same fostex machine in my schools computer room along with a JV-30 and Cubase 3 on windows 3.1. It was from then on, I knew what I wanted to do!

[@EspenKraft]

I actually know how you felt! ;-)

[@chrisgalbraith547]

You must have been through the coolest school of all, then! 😎

[@tomryan6461]

How lovely to see that set up again. Exactly my 80s studio set up. Also stage but without the 80. Almost brought tears to my eyes.

[@williambyrne6855]

ah, the memories.. thanks for sharing.

[@OSHEIT]

WoW! Memories. I had the Cubase on my Atari. Then I bought the rack mount case for the Atari. I still have it in storage.

[@dietmarschlichtherle7061]

One year later I took my Atari and the Alesis ADAT and I have to agree....its a lot of fun to work with 🙂

[@PDG1956]

Ah, brings back memories of my first 8 track recorder which was the Fostex M80 with a matching mixing desk bought for the princely sum of £2000. I used the Atari 1040St, XRI XR300 SMPTE synchroniser and Cubase/MIDEX - driving a selection of synths and drum machines...

[@su5981]

It's been very interesting to know how songs were recorded back then. So complex yet intriguing, thanks for sharing it with us!

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks for watching!

[@su5981]

It's a pleasure

[@ClaudeLavender]

This is how I work today! I have the Fostex A8 and A8LR, and each track can be sent/received from the computer and tape deck through a 70s teac model 3 mixer using a couple different audio interfaces along with FX boxes an 1176 and La2a compressors and tube eq/microphones. I love it! So inspiring indeed! Very comfy vid and I loved that tune!

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks for sharing your setup. Cheers!

[@CoolDudeClem]

A reel to reel tape recorder and a vintage computer, this is right up my alley!

[@australianbloke3934]

Hi Espen. I found your excellent post because a couple of months ago I purchased a Fostex B16 along with about 90 X 10 1/2 inch reels of mainly Ampex 456 Grand Master tapes from a studio that was using this in the 80's 90's and some 2000. I managed to coax the tapes back to life by baking them in a food dehydrator at 55 degrees C for 8 hours each (the dehydrator perfectly fits 6 tapes). They all run smoothly now with no sticky tape syndrome and no shedding. My project is to do my best to archive the old 16 track recordings for the copyright owner. So far I have set up a system using a 2015 Macbook Pro running Logic Pro, with a couple of Focusrite audio interfaces to capture 16 audio tracks at once. I had to make significant cleaning and repairs to the B16, including machining a new brass capstan drive pulley on my lathe! I don't have experience with SMPTE on reel to reel, but most of the tapes are striped as you explained. What is confusing me is that I hear the time code when I play the B16 and record into Logic Pro, and can see on the Fostex that the code is recorded on track 16, but when I play my captured project back I don't hear any time code. I noticed on your recording that the time code was audible when you striped the tape but makes no sound on playback from your reel to reel. I have never used SMPTE on reel to reel so still have much to learn. I'm obviously missing something here.....The Macbook has no trouble recording the 16 tracks at once and sounds excellent on playback. Cheers from Australia, Don.

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks! I only enabled the SMPTE time code through the mixer so new audiences could hear the sound in this video. When the SMPTE timecode comes back you're not suppose to hear it. It goes straight into the syncbox so the computer/sequencer can pick up on it and sync up. That's all it does.

[@TheAstroKid]

Most wonderful setup, I never had a tape recorder, but midi setup and the cables mess, hahaha

[@Super8Rescue]

we used to do this in my studio on a daily basis back in the day. I still have an MTC unit for the Fostex and a Fostex R8 which still works.....

[@MattPicsET]

Fantastic demonstration! I had often read about how Bruce Swedien got the idea of using SMPTE timecode to sync multiple 24 track tape machines for the soundtrack to The Wiz in 1978. It seemed like rocket science to me at first, but this video really helps visualize the process. Cheers!

[@EspenKraft]

Multi tracking was expensive back then. ;-)

[@alexandragamingronyno2275]

Multitracking was also a workaround of not having multiple synths at the same time. While expensive, sporting a lot of synths in their prime was even more expensive.

[@donnied8127]

@@alexandragamingronyno2275 Unless you had Korg M1 ;)

[@argumentchannel]

I still use SMPTE, been using it since Steinberg Pro 24 days 👍

[@DonnDeVoreMusic]

I love the sound of magnetic tape in the morning... before the time of DAWs (the 80's and 90's), we used SMPTE for syncing fader automation systems in large mixing consoles. Flying Faders, Necam 96, VCA automation and such, some are still running on a 486 windows PC or a proprietary system like an SSL computer. it's similar to working with sequencers....where fader automation is essentially a sequencer that is limited to controlling only levels and mutes.

[@EspenKraft]

Good point, thanks for sharing!

[@dale116dot7]

I still do it that way, my home studio is on a two inch.

[@kentaccordionist]

Never got into SMPTE, but that Atari takes me back to the 1990s and early 2000s I use to use composer, and cubase. Oh happy memories.

[@FilipMilerX]

This demo song is superb, deserves more work!

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks! It goes into the drawer for something in the future. Maybe. ;-)

[@itsJoel59]

Is it weird that I feel the 80s nostalgia and yet I was born in 95? 😂😅 Maybe its not real nostalgia then 🤷‍♂️🌃🌌 Love the content as a synth noobie!

[@EspenKraft]

Cheers!

[@MrJC1]

I have that Fostex Model 80, reel to reel recorder. Haha. I love it :D. Never used sync.

[@AndrewAHayes]

I remember a VCS being released that had SMPTE, Tony James of Sigue Sigue Sputnik used them to sync video clips in live shows

[@rozz3r]

I studied on almost exactly the same rig at college (Professional Sound & Video Technology) - Atari ST, Notator, and an 8 track reel-to-reel (Tascam I think). Of course, as soon as I finished college it was all obsolete. Still loved it though.

[@dmomcilovic9185]

Lol same for me , in 1991 finished the music tech course and everything was obsolete. Love it still (wednesbury UK)

[@pumodi]

I wouldn't say tape machines are obsolete. Maybe some of the other gear but there are plenty of studios that still maintain MTR's nowadays.

[@djf1162]

takes me back...used two 2" tape machines at college nearly 30yrs ago and it was awesome to watch! (and use)

[@Mr_A_Mia]

Thank you for taking the time in making this video. This is absolutely fascinating to me.

[@EspenKraft]

Cheers!

[@bobjoe7508]

This sounds fantastic, Espen! This is such a cool piece of gear.

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks man!

[@Netm8kr]

Great Job Espen. Sharing the ways of old with the young inspiring minds to come.

[@EspenKraft]

Many thanks!

[@afterjoe3042]

Such an amazing insight. Loved every minute!

[@EspenKraft]

Cheers!

[@qlyde]

Really interesting, watching this as I’m waiting for my first Reel to Reel to add the my studio now, I plan to just run my mixes through it for some character but this was awesome! Very thankful for how easy it is now lol, the things we take for granted today..

[@EspenKraft]

Cheers!

[@sylvainfortin841]

It's a huge work to learn all this stuff ! Great demonstration !

[@EspenKraft]

It can seem overwhelming to see it all happen at once, but in the 80s we learned bit by bit. ;-) Cheers

[@rickjames2043]

Espen, your knowledge is just amazing!! Play it again maestro!!!! As always take care and be safe, Rick!!!!

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks Rick!

[@TheResistorNetwork]

This is awesome. Nice technical deep dive and demo track. Love me some reel to reel!

[@EspenKraft]

Many thanks!

[@RobDimeo]

You did a really fantastic job with this Espen! Love the musical Atari ST stuff :)

[@EspenKraft]

Cheers!

[@chondublin]

Fascinating demonstration of old school SMPTE! When I was in collage in 1992 in Sound Training Center Dublin we had an Akai S1000 sampler, Alesis HR16 drum machine, Fostex 16 Track Reel to Reel recorder, and a Roland R8 drum machine! We recorded a master to the new fangled thing at the time Sony DAT!

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks! Yes, I still have all my old DAT tapes on the shelf.

[@apislapis]

Thoroughly enjoyed that video and being transported back in time, cheers Espen. I always dreamed of owning a Model 80. I had to content myself with an X-15. Still I had hours of creative fun with it, back in the 80s.

[@EspenKraft]

Cheers!

[@FLH3official]

Seing a Notator screen, 30 years after. A lot of memories reemerge. I still have my 1040 STe and its B&W screen, works well, but the Notator dongles are gone since a long time (exchanged for update to Emagic Mac) BTW your set up was a real dream for me in these times: 8 tracks reel to reel, Unitor...

[@ralphups7782]

You have the setups , I would of died for in the 1980's. even now I still love you studio, one day I will have a copy of your studio and you wold a schooled me how to use all of it. thanks you're the greatest. :-)

[@EspenKraft]

Cheers!

[@newoldstock_]

Great stuff as always, Mr. Kraft. I still have my Atari ST and Midex, but I never could afford a multitrack reel-to-reel. A lot of work doing it the old way, thank you for preserving this!

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks! :D

[@frequincyrecording4286]

Love these videos! I really enjoy working with this kind of equipment. I use ProTools in a commercial studio everyday, but my personal time is spent with this kind of equipment ❤️

[@EspenKraft]

Many thanks!

[@timweinheimer1]

Thanks Espien for another great old school 🏫 gear project 👌

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks Tim!

[@timweinheimer1]

@@EspenKraft your are welcome now just got to get my Yamaha MTX MK Ii multi track tape mahine out of my garage thanks for the inspiration may one day lol

[@melvinriga465]

Awesome stuff man 👍👍

[@EspenKraft]

Happy you liked it. Thanks!

[@meneerjansen00]

Thank you for this very nice informative video that I've been looking forward to. :)

[@EspenKraft]

Many thanks! :D

[@adkywun]

Excellent!! Thanks Espen, this really bring back the memories, back then I got the G16s in the studio. and a motu mtp to strike the smpte. (slave to external sync) hahahah Those were the days.... Thanks again Espen.

[@EspenKraft]

Cheers!

[@dontcallmejon]

i like that bassline man

[@EspenKraft]

Cheers!

[@gcoudert]

Wow, what a trip down memory lane! I remember doing all this back in the late 80s. Never again, though! I'll stick with my Mac and Studio One! 😂

[@stringsnare]

this is so awesome.

[@sikdrumz5752]

So awesome, thank you!!!

[@VladoT]

Great video!!

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks!

[@alieustiansamateh6401]

Thank you for sharing this knowledge :)

[@EspenKraft]

Cheers!

[@DIPProjectIOFFICIALCHANNEL]

Amazing video guide to 80`s!!!!!!! Thanks

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks!

[@mr_floydst]

A superb and well-presented explanation.

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks man!

[@piercaramel3103]

I have the same Fostex and love it...

[@maurumsynthwave618]

Usé esa fostex es hermosa!!!!! Que buenos recuerdos... Saludos

[@theklangcollage4113]

Very nice video (again)! I think I had just missed the time of reel to reel multitrack recording, just played around with a 4-track cassette recorder, but soon moved on to record in MIDI only (Atari 1040ST) and recording the final mix on stereo cassette and later on DAT. Well, never a need to record acoustic instruments or vocals. I had heard and read a lot about SMPTE being the professional standard, but never knew, how it really works. So thanks a lot for this explanation!

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks for saying! :D

[@dilliot2k]

Thank you so much for sharing this.

[@EspenKraft]

Cheers!

[@samprock]

Reel-to-reels are so cool! I also like to hook the end of tape in the reel gap ... though i glued red/white tape to the ends for not to damage (eventually) the beginning of the first track ..... CRAZY! that was the really worry too :)

[@rty1955]

Never use glue on tape. Use splicing tape instead. And never begin a track right at the beginning of a reel. I would leave 30 seconds of blank tape or special plastic leader tape at the head. Also reset your tape counter either at first sound or end of leader tape. This way your always consistent. Some people record a tone at the beginning of recordings. This is a good way to properly adjust levels during playback. I use first control track signal on video tape.

[@torarinvik4920]

Love it. All the tracks should be bounced to reel to reel. It sounds so much better!

[@EspenKraft]

Cheers!

[@urh8523]

I did have two wonderful eight track reeltape recorders. It was Fostex reeltape recorders. They did had a wonderful warm sound. But some years after they did not work and i send them to the workshop. After they got fixed the motor or driving plate on the tape recorders broke and the reeltape recorders could not do anything. Today i don't have them anymore. To hard and expensive to maintain them. But i do still have the reeltapes with a lot of recorded material.

[@xaelgolden7134]

That's the REAL WORLD work in the HARD worked music days!!! And it should be practice as an OLD and MAGIC art!! Thanks for that Session Espen. YUK01

[@EspenKraft]

Cheers!

[@yoandorian]

yess it was!!!! Memories....

[@suadcokljat1045]

I had Fostex R8 with MTC1 Sync Box dedicated synchronizer for R8. It featured controlling of the transport, recording, or autolocate functions of the tape deck over MIDI. Cheers! S

[@EspenKraft]

Cheers!

[@ProSimex84]

This is all pretty exciting, I don't use a DAW since I find it too cumbersome. Your previous video with tape sync really got my mind working on what capabilities my QX5 and 3340s had that I wasn't using. Now I wish there was a direct port of Notator for windows or linux I could use instead of my qx5. It seems like such a straight forward program! More sequencers! More tape! More synths!

[@EspenKraft]

Happy you liked it! :D

[@dg9576]

You could run it in an emu no sweat. I would be advised that these can be more time consuming and more irritating than you think. The only benefits are its limitations which can breed innovation.

[@dg9576]

Notation/or cubase or any atari tracker I mean, not the emulator.

[@djf1162]

Is it not possible to run a current DAW with all of this too? Now that would be interesting, getting real bass saturation.

[@amonster8mymother]

Ok. I want to try this. 😎

[@Substance242]

As (former) Atari ST/Falcon user and fan, never used SMPTE, but I enjoyed this topic very much, really cool to see it working. I was wondering why starting at minute 59, later it was all clear. :-)

[@EspenKraft]

Cheers!

[@fredbrenno]

Great video. I miss my Atari ST1040 with Creator/Notator by C-Labs-sequencer . . .

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks!

[@kemek3000]

Hey, you're wearing Paolo's Tokyo shirt! It's funny how small the KZbin community is.

[@EspenKraft]

I like his videos. ;-)

[@CorbenEdward]

COOL HAT!

[@EspenKraft]

Cheers

[@josecarlosramolete6109]

Amazing how Beat It was fixed from a messed up recording of Eddie Van Halen's solo to put into the SMPTE code.

[@davetbassbos]

Interesting, I never used any of the early computer based sequencers, I went directly from playing everything into a 4 track to using a DAW. From this video the early sequencers weren't as scary as some people made them out to be, lol!

[@patrikknoerr9777]

Oh how I miss my Fostex R8 :(

[@stringsnare]

your 16 bars of music were better than anything ive heard in past 10 years of pop music, lol. i believe the limitation has a large part of it. being forced to use just few instruments and come up with nice chords, layers, etc.

[@AndersEngerJensen]

Looks and sounds great! Now, when do you wanna borrow my Tascam TSR-8 ½” machine? 🥸😁

[@EspenKraft]

Yes! :P

[@Garflips]

I still have that 1/2" Tascam in great condition - plus the Midiizer. I was just wondering the other day if I couldn't use the Midiizer with a digital multitrack that did not have any sync capability. I imagine as long as it's the master, it should work.

[@aphexon.]

Fredag :D

[@whaleguy]

@Anders Sometimes it feels like Espen is the best showcase for your gear 😁

[@topa1798]

Hi,im cant sync my acoustic drum,electric guitar and Bass with my DAW click track when i dump my tape recorded track back to my DAW,Can i use SMPTE using MOTU midi express xt or MOTU micro express to align my Acoustic Drum or Electric guitar time exactly like my DAW time signature or click ?

[@foreverseethe]

Great content. Thanks so much Espen. Just one question. Does the Foster have a phono audio out? A lot of old mixers that I use have "2 TR In" and I never figured out what it was meant for.

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks! I go through that in the video, I show you the back where there are 8 phono/rca jack for the inputs and 8 for the outputs. One for each track. This is a 8-track machine, not a stereo master tape machine.

[@fernandopablopinedarojas9008]

Espen!! what a great teacher and master you are!! I have a question: I want to do the same thing as you show as in your video, but I haven't got the Atari... Instead, a Mac book (With Logic Pro) and an Irig Duo device. My Analog synth is a tiny Korg Volca Keys, and my tape machine is a Fostex R8 ¿Do you think I can make it? ¿Do I need a sync box necessarily?? Thank you so mucho for shearing your sabiduría!!!

[@EspenKraft]

You must have a SMPTE generator and reader of course.

[@FedeFlores]

thnxs a lot !!!!

[@EspenKraft]

Cheers

[@larryroyovitz7829]

Is there a modern smpte generator/reader to MTC box available? In the past I've used a Midiman Syncman, and then also a smpte slave driver with my old pro tools rig. Now there doesn't seem to be anything other than used, IF you can find them? I have a fostex R8 and I want to sync it to my more modern DAW.

[@dietmarschlichtherle7061]

I remember those days....I`ll never use that again :-)

[@EspenKraft]

Sorry.

[@user-xv8yg1li2t]

Sounds amazing! But have you had an experience with another reel to reels? I wanna buy r8 for mosly 2 track stereo recording but there are many opinions behind teac models (x10r, 1000, 2000), revox 77 and some others. Expencive Studer or Otari is from another financial dimention and I don't need super clean sound, I need a life and glue from tape. Cassete deck works pretty fine for me at this moment. But reel to reel seems much cleaner. What do you mean about that? Only for master DA - AD stereo track. Thanx!

[@EspenKraft]

The wider the tape, the better separation, and thus better sound. Big studios with 24-track machines, with 2" tapes were the thing. I've used a lot of different machines, but I cannot advice you what you should get today. With these comes a lot of maintenance.

[@dannydaniel8975]

Cubase has a sympte plugin but I can't get it to work my 4 track cassette recorder

[@relic985]

I've always wanted to run a smpte-synced r2r in my studio ever since learning about it years ago. Unfortunately, I've never had a machine with more than 4 tracks to use it on :'( I love how beautifully the Unitor connects with the Atari ST too! I use a Mac SE in my studio for midi shenanigans. I wonder if there's something similar?

[@relic985]

Just realized that the Opcode Studio 3 I have already supports smpte! All I need is that 8-track r2r now...

[@nealtucker7299]

I had / still have my ATRI with the Steinberg SMPTE version called MIDEX, with 4 extra MIDI outs, we used a Tascam 244 (cassette 4 track) long gone now, we followed a magazine hack to cut a wire in the recorder to disable the DBX noise reduction on track 4 only as the time code signal would not be accurate and drop out, this worked a treat, so we had 3 tracks to record vocals, live bass and guitar, and synths/drums ran live for a stereo mixdown again onto a 2 track tape machine as a master then copies made from this, after all this the results were not as bad as one would think, and it was great fun.

[@lennyice4586]

Hi Espen. Yesterday was my birthday. I remember the 90's like a radio operator. The vinyl the cassettes dat and md. You could explain in a future capture Roland and adat with 8 tracks? Thank you. Regards

[@EspenKraft]

I will show ADAT in the future, just don't know when. ;-)

[@Sonikbytes]

that is what so cool about and an unique way of doing things that younger generation are not very likely to touch this anytime soon ... it is intimidating ;) So non SMPTE tape gear can be synced with modern DAW, sequencer? dont remember whether you have previously shown that.

[@EspenKraft]

No, that's not what I said. If you're going to use tape you have to use some sort of time code to sync it up. I showed simple tape sync in the previous video in this series. ;-)

[@puffpuffin1]

Does this apply to digital tape or HD recorders too? If I use an Alesis ADAT or HD24 with a BRC for ADAT/SMPTE interfacing with the Atari/Notator/Unitor, do I still need to stripe a track for SMPTE time code? If so, do I need to waste another track in order to have buffer track between the SMPTE timecode track and the audio tracks? Great video BTW. I always wanted to try this out but could never afford the equipment back in the day.

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks! Most pro recording gear had some sort of synchronizer that could generate and read SMPTE. The ADAT system had the BRC yes. These boxes were often expensive and you didn't have to have them. I never did and thus had to use one track on one of my ADAT machines for SMPTE.

[@krystianseibert6610]

Thanks did this video - really interesting. Peter Hook of New Order talked about SMPTE in his book about the band, and it was only briefly explained, but now I get it! One question I have, sort of related - before the MIDI sequencers arrived in and around 1983-84, what did bands like Depeche Mode and others use to sequence and arrange their songs, especially when they were starting out and didn’t have money for more expensive stuff like the Roland MC-4 etc?

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks! They did use sequencers, just not MIDI sequencers. Pre-midi sequencers used CV and gate signals to trigger and sync. They then committed one or several synced sequences (mostly rhythmically elements) to tape and from there it was manual overdubs.

[@krystianseibert6610]

@@EspenKraft Ah OK - that’s the bit I was missing, the use of tapes as part of it. They sure managed to achieve some pretty complex stuff that way - had to be nimble and inventive!

[@krystianseibert6610]

@@EspenKraft Ah OK - yes that makes sense. I heard that Depeche Mode used a single synth and drum machine for their first few songs before they got a record deal. Would’ve involved lots of overdubbing on tape - probably couldn’t have afforded a sequencer back in 1980!

[@UN0333]

In Notator or Creator v3.1 you was even able to control the R8 with sysex mididata.

[@EspenKraft]

Just to be clear, in this video is the model 80, not the R8. Just to avoid confusion. ;-)

[@abydos-musique]

I feel old looking my old stuff, 4 tracks, 8 Fostex tracks

[@EspenKraft]

If you're my age, you ARE old. ;-)

[@abydos-musique]

@@EspenKraft 1964

[@texacomann]

I did that for years before 1995

[@poofygoof]

Thanks for part 3! Do you know if Notator can generate SMPTE while playing? A tape deck chasing a computer is one of my "holy grail" projects.

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks! No, outputting real-time SMPTE time code is not how this works. You have to record the time code in a particular way first, as I show in the video. It's the time code on tape that drives Notator later, not the other way around.

[@ldjpro]

I Espen great tutorial however I have purchased a C-Lab unit n dongle but don't have 2.2 of notator software for synchronising to tape where can I get a copy of notator?

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks! You have to search online. There used to be sites that had the original files for download. As long as you have the dongle they will work. No idea how it looks out there now as I have the original boxed package myself.

[@IHSisable]

miraculeus how you hook up an atari from the days and it work right away and just fine - is there a way to hook up this recorder to an windows system with smpte ?? because i have an alesis 24 that works with the same system, and i like to use it to record trough an analoge mixer but run it with an computer simultanious (pardon my grammar)

[@EspenKraft]

You mean the HD24? You don't need SMPTE on that, it can be driven through MIDI, MMC works fine.

[@IHSisable]

@@EspenKraft oh thank - yes i need to check it out some more - and better - cause i also have that big remote comtroller, and maybe i can it all hook it up once so i can all control it trough a computer - but as you mentioned - it becomes hard to get in my room with all these cables everywhere

[@jeffevansmusic]

Steinberg made a very similar unit which also plugged into the side of the Atari. It had 4 extra Midi Outs as well plus room for 4 Atari dongles. It was better in this regard. I was using Cubase V3 on the Atari. It was very reliable. I manage to get 50 to 60 synths all playing live into mixers etc and I used the other 7 tracks for live stuff such as drums, solos and vocals etc.. Its silly printing synth stuff back to the 8 track. Waste of valuable tracks. Might as well get them all playing live. I mastered everything onto a Revox B77. It all sounded excellent and I ran that setup unchanged from 1985 to 1998. Did over 200 soundtracks for TV, film and theatre that way. I was running a Tascam model 58 (1/2") with external Dolby C noise reduction. Considerably better than the 1/4" 8 track machines.

[@EspenKraft]

It's not silly recording synths to tape if you want a particular sound, in this case it was to show the tape compression and saturation.

[@jeffevansmusic]

@@EspenKraft I know but when tape tracks are in very short supply and you have got 30 synths all playing at once which is often what I did, I never printed anything very often. I did sometimes if I wanted to use say my Oberheim or Moog for two parts in the music. Also the synth tracks coming in live direct to a mixer sound way better than them being recorded. (like on the tiny track widths of the 1/4" 8 track) Tape sound or not. But overall I reserved the tape tracks for live things. I don't miss any of this now. Very nostalgic video though.

[@EspenKraft]

Sure, I understand what you mean and for most situations that's what I did as well. Only used the tape for vocals, guitars etc.

[@bamwu9233]

Can two Tascam 388 machines be synchronized like this, so that drums are on the tape in machine 1 and everything else is on the tape in machine 2? I'm trying to come up with some sort of scheme to avoid the need to bounce tracks to make room for more.

[@EspenKraft]

Can't remember how the 388 is made and what external sync boxes you could get for it.

[@bamwu9233]

​@@EspenKraft I see. Maybe I can state the question more generally... Can 2 tape machines (of any type that you can think of) be synchronized so that you can have more tracks, (14, in my case... 8 + 8 - 2)? And I guess that all hinges on a couple of things... Can a tape machine not just lead but follow? ... and, if it's following, how? Are the motors speeding up and slowing down dynamically to keep in sync with the incoming code from the other machine?

[@EspenKraft]

That's what I meant, you have to check the manual to the 388 to see what infrastructure Tascam developed back in the day to facilitate that. Remember that even high end 24-track 2" machines couldn't necessarily do that.

[@ciegodehashis]

What's the ips on tape? Sounds so good! this all is awesome , the music , the sync , your studio!!!!!

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks! I can't remember now.

[@adamsansom4822]

How do i program a sync track to the Alesis XT ?

[@EspenKraft]

Exactly the same way. You stripe one of the tracks with SMPTE.

[@adamsansom4822]

@EspenKraft Thank you very much 🙏 I have found software that creates an SMPTE WAV. file which I will send to the ADAT recorder. 😀

[@timothydahlin5321]

Did any of the old tape reel units have an autoloader like old reel tape drives?

[@EspenKraft]

You mean threading the tape through the reels and pass the play/erase heads? Must be done by hand on the machines I know of at least.

[@timothydahlin5321]

@@EspenKraft yes. Old mainframe 1600/3200 tape drives had it.

[@rty1955]

@@timothydahlin5321 he was referring to AUDIO tape machines not mainframe data tape drives. On the IBM mainframes they were the 3240 tape drives.

[@KarlBate]

Espen what is the voice thing going on a 12.42 in the video. Are you trying subliminal audio tricks? Very spooky

[@EspenKraft]

Ha-ha... no, the truth is less spooky... when I film my clips I speak or whisper what I'm actually doing, so when I do the voice over later I know exactly what I was doing when I filmed the different clips. I never script my videos. I do the voice over in one go, totally unscripted, but I listen to my initial "mock" voice over to know why I did this or that. Videos are often shot much earlier than the edits. Here I felt it necessary to keep some ambient sound from the camera, but some of my "mock" talking or in this case, whispers, came with it. :P

[@stringsnare]

Espen, can you recommend me a RTR record? I'm working on an album, almost done my first song (if it helps I can load a sample on YT). It's like 80s sort of rock/soft rock, using many VST emulation of things I can't afford :D. I recorded and edited in my DAW, but I REALLY want to run it through tape. Is there something you recommend me? I found a local shop here that services RTR, but I don't know what to look for.

[@EspenKraft]

Can I recommend you a car? Same thing, too many unknown factors at play. ;-)

[@stringsnare]

@@EspenKraft You could recommend me a car, because you're intelligent I might consider it. Budget: $2500 USD Use case: outputting from DAW, print onto tape, back into DAW Colour: I heard recordings on youtube shootouts between 15 ips and 7.5 ips, and I liked 7.5 IPS in some cases, 15 was nice in others. Style of music: rock/soft rock

[@EspenKraft]

I don't work in rock. If you're going for rock you want a whole lot more outboard and recording gear outside the scope of what I'm doing.

[@stringsnare]

@@EspenKraft no problem thanks for replying.

[@orientmob]

HEllo, great Video how we sync it with Logic Pro or Cubase 12 ? What Hardware we need for it ?

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks! You need a SMPTE-USB generator/reader hardware box to do that. It'll work exactly as I show in this video, but in a more modern form.

[@orientmob]

Thank you for your time and answer, can you recommend one to me?@@EspenKraft

[@EspenKraft]

I don't use SMPTE with tape any more so I don't know what's out there for modern DAWs. A quick Google search should give you some ideas though.

[@orientmob]

@@EspenKraft thank you for your tips 👍👍

[@orientmob]

I see in Cubase is a SMPTE Generator ...can i record this signal to Channel (maybe Channel 8) on the Fostex 80 to Sync it ?@@EspenKraft

[@ralphups7782]

and I noticed that, you still had the seventh channel . was it a clean channel or did you have time code on it too.?

[@EspenKraft]

No, like I said in the video, the track next to the one with time code should be empty, to avoid having crosstalk into the sync track, messing that up. You only have time code on one track.