Difference between revisions of "Recording Studio Co-op"

Latest revision as of 12:26, 2 May 2021

The Problem/Opportunity

I have a lot of musical and recording equipment which I currently (and for the foreseeable future) don't have any room to set up. I also can't quite afford to rent working space in which to set it up, and I'd have limited time in which to use it -- which means that maybe other people could be using it when I'm not.

Perhaps, then, there is some way to work a trade with others who have the cash and/or interest in having access to recording equipment, with cost scaled to what folks can afford (down to and including free, or in trade for work or eggs or whatever).

I have carpentry tools and would be willing to put in some work (and perhaps lumber) helping to make a space suitable for recording.

I can also help with pretty much anything electronic, especially computer-related. If circumstances are right, I might even be able to contribute some computer recording equipment, e.g. the M-Audio/Delta 66

The Equipment

definitely usable

vintage late 1970s Fender Rhodes, in good shape (all keys present); some case-related issues, but usable
lightweight Yamaha keyboard with about 100 sounds, including a decent grand piano
TEAC A-2340SX 1/4" x 7" 4-track analog reel-to-reel
Tascam DA-30 DAT recorder with digital I/O
Funky old 1970s portable analog organ, with (apparently) individually-tuned oscillators (very non-digital sound)
Moog Opus 3 quasi-digital early 1980s organ/synth (cheesy and a bit digital-sounding, but with actual knobs and sliders)
Moog Rogue analog synthesizer
Moog / Radio Shack analog synthesizer (much like the Rogue, but with a polyphony source)
Portable vertical stand suitable for 2 mid-sized keyboards
One or two nice old hi-fi amps which would be fine for low-powered (by some standards, anyway) listening
At least one pair of mid-sized (not terribly hi-fi, but not cheesy either) hand-boxed speakers (cabinets could be re-built for improved audio quality)
2 tall equipment racks, 2 short equipment racks

need evaluation

88-key weighted MIDI controller (may have a couple of keys dead; haven't had room to set it up properly)
Ensoniq EPS-M 12-bit rackmount sampler, with lots of discs (haven't tested them to see how many have survived since last use in 2001)
Ensoniq Mirage keyboard, probably working, with lots of discs (same caveat)

items definitely needing work

Tascam 80-8 1/2" x 10" 8-track analog reel-to-reel, with mostly-working Dolby unit
- solenoid to activate the play motor seems to have died
- one channel of the Dolby seems to be dead
Quantum mixing console -- a relic of the 1970s.
Emu Emax sampler & MIDI controller: I actually like this better as a controller than as a sampler. Don't know if it works at the moment, but I've repaired it once or twice before.
Yamaha Clavinova digital piano / controller with stand and pedals (this is actually Harena's, bought for the kids many years ago, but she got another one): several keys broken, but electronics all seem ok. Just need the new keys from somewhere, and figure out how to get the old ones out...

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ==The Problem/Opportunity==
-[[category:woozle ideas]]I have a lot of musical and recording equipment which I currently (and for the foreseeable future) don't have any room to set up. I also can't afford to rent working space in which to set it up. (We're already shelling out over $100/mo. just for storage space.) I also have limited time in which to use it, although ''if it were set up'' I probably would be making at least some use of it -- and recording an awful lot more than I am [[The Cheap Imitation|currently]].
+[[category:woozle ideas]]I have a lot of musical and recording equipment which I currently (and for the foreseeable future) don't have any room to set up. I also can't quite afford to rent working space in which to set it up, and I'd have limited time in which to use it -- which means that maybe other people could be using it when I'm not.
-'''Perhaps''', though, there is some way to work a trade with others who have the cash and/or interest in having low-cost access to recording equipment.
+'''Perhaps''', then, there is some way to work a trade with others who have the cash and/or interest in having access to recording equipment, with cost scaled to what folks can afford (down to and including free, or in trade for work or eggs or whatever).
 I have carpentry tools and would be willing to put in some work (and perhaps lumber) helping to make a space suitable for recording.
-I can also help with pretty much anything electronic, especially computer-related. If circumstances are right, I might even be able to contribute some computer recording equipment, e.g. the M-Audio 66 (4 analog in/out, 96 kHz / 24 bits; digital I/O).
+I can also help with pretty much anything electronic, especially computer-related. If circumstances are right, I might even be able to contribute some computer recording equipment, e.g. the [[M-Audio/Delta 66]]
 ==The Equipment==
 ===definitely usable===
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 * lightweight Yamaha keyboard with about 100 sounds, including a decent grand piano
 * [[TEAC A-2340SX]] 1/4" x 7" 4-track analog reel-to-reel
-* TEAC 80-8 1/2" x 10" 8-track analog reel-to-reel, with working Dolby unit (one channel seems to be dead)
+* [[Tascam DA-30]] DAT recorder with digital I/O
-* Tascam DA-30 DAT recorder with digital I/O
 * Funky old 1970s portable analog organ, with (apparently) individually-tuned oscillators (very non-digital sound)
 * Moog Opus 3 quasi-digital early 1980s organ/synth (cheesy and a bit digital-sounding, but with actual knobs and sliders)
-* Moog Rogue analog synthesizer (power supply currently missing, but worked when last powered up)
+* [[Moog Rogue]] analog synthesizer
 * Moog / Radio Shack analog synthesizer (much like the Rogue, but with a polyphony source)
 * Portable vertical stand suitable for 2 mid-sized keyboards
 * One or two nice old hi-fi amps which would be fine for low-powered (by some standards, anyway) listening
 * At least one pair of mid-sized (not terribly hi-fi, but not cheesy either) hand-boxed speakers (cabinets could be re-built for improved audio quality)
+* 2 tall equipment racks, 2 short equipment racks
 ===need evaluation===
 * 88-key weighted MIDI controller (may have a couple of keys dead; haven't had room to set it up properly)
-* Ensoniq EPS-M 12-bit rackmount sampler, with lots of discs (haven't tested them to see how many have survived since last use in 2001)
+* [[Ensoniq EPS-M]] 12-bit rackmount sampler, with lots of discs (haven't tested them to see how many have survived since last use in 2001)
-* Ensoniq Mirage keyboard, probably working, with lots of discs (same caveat)
+* [[Ensoniq Mirage]] keyboard, probably working, with lots of discs (same caveat)
 ===items definitely needing work===
-* Quantum QM-128 mixing board -- a relic of the 1970s. I was told that REM used it to record their "first 2 releases" at Mitch's Drive-in, but I have no independent confirmation of this. I started rebuilding the patch bay, but life intervened.
+* [[Tascam 80-8]] 1/2" x 10" 8-track analog reel-to-reel, with mostly-working Dolby unit
+** solenoid to activate the play motor seems to have died
+** one channel of the Dolby seems to be dead
+* [[Quantum mixing console]] -- a relic of the 1970s.
 * Emu Emax sampler & MIDI controller: I actually like this better as a controller than as a sampler. Don't know if it works at the moment, but I've repaired it once or twice before.
 * Yamaha Clavinova digital piano / controller with stand and pedals (this is actually Harena's, bought for the kids many years ago, but she got another one): several keys broken, but electronics all seem ok. Just need the new keys from somewhere, and figure out how to get the old ones out...