This was the pinnacle of reel to reel digital recording. I tracked many live performances with a pair of these in my Artisan Mobile remote truck. Dozens. The only drawback was that you had to have a crew of 4 very strong people to load them into my truck. In their cases, I think they were pushing 800lbs, maybe more, each. Superbly reliable, sounded great. Perfect metering. $325,000 apiece if I remember correctly.
Now we're modelling digital tape machines? What's next, the virtual Soundblaster? I personally don't miss the crappy noise floor and converters of my M-Audio 2496 soundcard back in the day, but perhaps someone will make a plug-in simulating that stuff too. Yes I'm kidding. I get that it's all bout added color.
I’ll take it!!! If only just to have in my small home studio to pass down to my Granddaughter and Grandson, they are 7 & 5 and learning the studio and instruments!
3348 had been in use for a long time. The sound changes from recording to overdubbing and then to mixing time. This is because the PCM-3348 corrects the digital errors. We were constantly plagued by this change. But with SSL and 3348, we can work faster than with the current box. It was a good time, despite the problems.
All digital recording formats include error correction. I believe about 20% of the bits recorded were there just for EC. CDs also have very robust error correction which is why they sound so great still today.
I remember these very well, we used loads of them for many years, then many years a later I remember seeing 2 of them in a skip outside a rental firm called FX rentals. What a load of balls “I’d still be using them today if they did 96k”
As a boomer and Vinyl DJ I recorded my best mixtapes on a VHS HiFi Stereo Recorder built by Grundig in the 80s. I just had to plugin a video source via Cinch into the Scart Adapter. Easy as 1 2 3, ABC 😘
We guinee pig'd the predecessor to the 3348 in '84 at the Record Plant. All of us young guys loved it, all the old guys hated it. Us because no wow/flutter/noise, old guys because no bottom end. We relistened to those recordings 20yrs later, yep, no bottom end. We continued with the A800's for a few more years.
I ran ProTools 1.0 in 1992. It was Heaven and Hell at the same time. The first DAW I had ever used, and could do unheard-of things. But - it crashed 12 times a day. Now, it has other problems. I won't use it.
Funny, five years after he bought this, I got my first version of sonic foundry acid and had unlimited tracks and simple drag and drop editing and looping. An unlimited LA TA and 1176 compressors :-) and I’m pretty sure I downloaded all of it for free. This guy still hung onto tape for 10 more years after that. He really should’ve switched to ProTools in the Mid90s. But of course, who the fuck am I and look who he is so doesn’t matter
Tape is like using an abacus, it works and sounds nice but good preamps and a daw cant be beat. Even mixing down in the digital environment sounds great. Theres room for both kinds of recording but there isnt much tape to go around.
To whoever's gonna make the next 140 Chris Lord-Alge level jobs with it. There's an obvious reason for a Bruce Springsteen to give the machine to the guy who makes the machine sound professional and results in more great quality albums and singles on the radio. Music Video was 48/16, that's Broadcast standard, it all makes sense to give Chris Lord-Alge the gear since he's the one guy who makes that equipment result in high quality great music. Ya know? If you then need him to do a one of remix for your music video, he's the guy to go to make your single sound beyond great through a CRT TV all the way through to providing a great quality mix for a movie to then crush down to ac3, at 48/24 or higher. It makes sense to give those things to Chris Lord-Alge, not really anyone else. Do the next 140 jobs that professionally, and you're maybe worth the gear you're using.
I thought they sounded terrible. We had one in Studio A at one of the places where I officed, and it always sounded thin and sterile. When I got my first generation Alesis ADAT I thought that sounded better. No thanks
Wow so that machine was the sound of the 1980’s? At first I thought you were talking about 4” analog tape. How much was the retail on that thing new? I did read this wiki article to get an overview of it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Audio_Stationary_Head.
This was the pinnacle of reel to reel digital recording. I tracked many live performances with a pair of these in my Artisan Mobile remote truck. Dozens. The only drawback was that you had to have a crew of 4 very strong people to load them into my truck. In their cases, I think they were pushing 800lbs, maybe more, each. Superbly reliable, sounded great. Perfect metering. $325,000 apiece if I remember correctly.
Now we're modelling digital tape machines? What's next, the virtual Soundblaster? I personally don't miss the crappy noise floor and converters of my M-Audio 2496 soundcard back in the day, but perhaps someone will make a plug-in simulating that stuff too. Yes I'm kidding. I get that it's all bout added color.
I still use my M-Audio , but that Virtual Soundblaster is tempting me hahaha
Doing your session on tape is an unique experience. And it's a great way to build any song arrangement.
I’ll take it!!! If only just to have in my small home studio to pass down to my Granddaughter and Grandson, they are 7 & 5 and learning the studio and instruments!
gave mine to bruce back in the early 90s. 🤘👊🤙
3348 had been in use for a long time. The sound changes from recording to overdubbing and then to mixing time. This is because the PCM-3348 corrects the digital errors. We were constantly plagued by this change. But with SSL and 3348, we can work faster than with the current box. It was a good time, despite the problems.
All digital recording formats include error correction. I believe about 20% of the bits recorded were there just for EC. CDs also have very robust error correction which is why they sound so great still today.
This is incredible stuff!
I remember these very well, we used loads of them for many years, then many years a later I remember seeing 2 of them in a skip outside a rental firm called FX rentals. What a load of balls “I’d still be using them today if they did 96k”
Yeah I don't believe this for one second.😅
@@cd3949 it’s the gods honest truth, phone FX rentals up, I think their still going. No need for them & new boards aren’t made any more so their junk.
please drop me off in the year 1994. I CAN'T STAND PRO TOOLS !!!!!!!!!!!
Protools sucks, i hate it more than almost anything.
@unknownadventures6248 So you've never used a 4 track? 😅
@@cd3949 LOL
That was the time you need a Neve to record on the 3348to color a bit the thin digital sound … and mix in ssl
As a boomer and Vinyl DJ I recorded my best mixtapes on a VHS HiFi Stereo Recorder built by Grundig in the 80s. I just had to plugin a video source via Cinch into the Scart Adapter. Easy as 1 2 3, ABC 😘
We guinee pig'd the predecessor to the 3348 in '84 at the Record Plant. All of us young guys loved it, all the old guys hated it. Us because no wow/flutter/noise, old guys because no bottom end. We relistened to those recordings 20yrs later, yep, no bottom end. We continued with the A800's for a few more years.
That was that thin tiny sound of the 80’s. Def Leppard, Melencamp, Squire, and all the synth pop stuff. 1st cd’s?
I ran ProTools 1.0 in 1992. It was Heaven and Hell at the same time. The first DAW I had ever used, and could do unheard-of things. But - it crashed 12 times a day. Now, it has other problems. I won't use it.
Actually there is a 96k, 24 bit version. But the tape is unavailable and most of the tapes full of errors.
Funny, five years after he bought this, I got my first version of sonic foundry acid and had unlimited tracks and simple drag and drop editing and looping. An unlimited LA TA and 1176 compressors :-) and I’m pretty sure I downloaded all of it for free.
This guy still hung onto tape for 10 more years after that. He really should’ve switched to ProTools in the Mid90s.
But of course, who the fuck am I and look who he is so doesn’t matter
I still use the 3348 😎
Tape is like using an abacus, it works and sounds nice but good preamps and a daw cant be beat. Even mixing down in the digital environment sounds great. Theres room for both kinds of recording but there isnt much tape to go around.
You know nothing
@@BUGZYFANG lol
TONS of great music was cut on the Sony 3348. So sorry to see that tape is gone.
The sad thing is that their resale value is something like $5k.
well why would anyone want one of those now? It' got all the hassles of analog, and none of the sonic benefit.
I wouldn't pay more than $100.
First, and I don't know what I would even use it for in my studio.
Kind of like an old tape data drive? He seems to be saying the A D converters combined with the old gear made for great sound?
So.. your giving this away right?
To whoever's gonna make the next 140 Chris Lord-Alge level jobs with it. There's an obvious reason for a Bruce Springsteen to give the machine to the guy who makes the machine sound professional and results in more great quality albums and singles on the radio. Music Video was 48/16, that's Broadcast standard, it all makes sense to give Chris Lord-Alge the gear since he's the one guy who makes that equipment result in high quality great music. Ya know? If you then need him to do a one of remix for your music video, he's the guy to go to make your single sound beyond great through a CRT TV all the way through to providing a great quality mix for a movie to then crush down to ac3, at 48/24 or higher. It makes sense to give those things to Chris Lord-Alge, not really anyone else. Do the next 140 jobs that professionally, and you're maybe worth the gear you're using.
I thought they sounded terrible. We had one in Studio A at one of the places where I officed, and it always sounded thin and sterile. When I got my first generation Alesis ADAT I thought that sounded better.
No thanks
NOTHING sounds better than digital tape! Peace.
I would just use it to snort the bugle off of it
And still garbage in, garbage out.
Garbage digital, this is what gave digital a bad name back in the 80s-90s.
I've turned down 3 of these in the past few years for free, they just have no value.
Wow so that machine was the sound of the 1980’s? At first I thought you were talking about 4” analog tape. How much was the retail on that thing new? I did read this wiki article to get an overview of it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Audio_Stationary_Head.
In the six figures range back in 1989, IIRC.
There's no such thing as 4" tape.