Help Me Start, Please!, Need advice on what to buy. :-) Options

[ibnabouna]

Hello,

I have a question for all of the professional audio buffs that hang around here.

On my not-so-spare time, I build and run the web site at http://www.coptichymns.net/ , which is dedicated to the digitization and preservation of rare hymns of the ancient Coptic Orthodox Church (talk about niche market, huh).

Anyway, I currently encode all of my audio in RealAudio format via RealProducer Basic. I have a USB iMic connected to my DP G4, which, in turn, is connected to my stereo's headphone check. This is an extremely simple setup, I know.

I would like to begin doing more "hardcore" digitizing. My major concern at this point is that cable going from the stereo's headphone jack to the iMic. I think I would get better performance and quality from an RCA cable instead, right? Unfortunately, my stereo doesn't have that jack, so I guess I need to buy a completely new tape deck to play these ancient tapes and get the best possible quality for further optimization.

Now that you have my story, can anyone suggest a good quality tape deck that works well with Macs? Any other suggestions as to how I can make this endeavor more productive?

Thanks so much in advance.

[Presto]

You don't waste time do you. I should imagine if you had done very thorough research into what equipment would be best for you, you may have found that the time could have been better spent on getting the work done on more hastily acquired equipment (which may turn out to be the best anyway). Anyway, if you buy mail order or on the web, you probably have the right to send the stuff back within 7 days if you don't like it (depending on what country you live in).

I was a beginner only a few months ago. I'm quite satisfied with the Mbox for my needs but it's true your needs are different and you don't need the 48V mic power (yet). If formatj says you don't need a preamp either then he's probably right (I have no idea). PTLE is quite simple to use so PT Free must be too, and I suppose so are the OSX audio apps. I have no means of comparison, and only know the Mbox/PTLE solution for my songwriting and mic recording needs.

Still, I really don't think 96KHz is a good idea. Also, if you're going to put your results on CD you'll need a good plugin to get back down to 16bits and 44.1KHz.

Formatj. I imagine a pianissimo with hiss, then suddenly silence with no hiss, then suddenly more pp with hiss. Does the hiss eating function in SparkX analyse the hiss found in the 'silence' areas, then get rid of (or attenuate) the same hiss throughout the recording (without getting rid of too much useful sound)?

Yes! Good plugins are probably going to be very useful. Be careful to get the ones that will work with the app you use, or even the app that works with the plugs you want. There may well be an appropriate plugin thread somewhere on here. I've noticed there's a thread on cleaning up vinyls. Use the MacMusic 'search' button.

Also, don't be surprised if your topic gets moved to another place. You put it in the OS9 forum, you prefer OSX, and you asked about Audio Hardware choices ;-) If you'd put it in OSX you may have got more OSX solutions. I think its always better to choose first the most appropriate software tools for the job, and only then the hardware that they need.

Good luck! I'll be interested to see how you get on with the restoration. Have you done a search for restoration articles on the web?