VDAT - what do you use it for ?

[dante]

Finally got to trying out VDAT for a tape restore project. I like the interface. In some ways seemed overkill as it reserved 8 tracks where I only needed 2. Then I had to use Cubase to join back up the 2 mono tracks into stereo ( left and right ). Didint seem like there was a way to export a stereo mix out of VDAT itself, although I imagine thats not its design intention. I note the 'Select Wave Editor' button implies you gotta supply your own.

So what would it ideally be suited for ? Recording 8 stems from a live mix ? Or digitising 8 tracks from an 8 track tape recorder ?

[astroman]

funny you mention it, as I just received an Alesis BRC in perfect condition with cable and manual that I scored dead cheap last week.
Now trying to make it work with VDAT...
at least some buttons and forward/backward transport react.

first of all one should take VDAT for what it is: a virtual Adat, apparently up to the very last bit
when it was designed there were way more of such tape recorders in duty than today, so imho it's a pretty smart device.
Without manual it's a complete nogo - as an original Mac user I usually refuse manuals by default, but in this case it was hopeless.
Btw it's not an 8-track recorder. With the VRC128 and the respective number of virtual tapes it acts exactly like the bunch of hardware my BRC manual repeatingly refers to: 128 tracks. (they must have been damn proud at Alesis)

I don't mind the prerecorded empty space.
Even with only 2 tracks 'needed' it doesn't hurt to have one or two alternatives (or backup).

My preferred use would be a recorder that just loops through 20-30 minutes of tape
(when it comes to the end it begins again to record from start)
Which is what Adat locators 1 and 4 are supposed to do in auto-mode.
I would then open the tracks in SAW Studio to builds the (waveform) display data and mark/name those regions I consider worth keeping or arranging.
SAW very fast and convenient in that domain.
And it doesn't load the entire file but just the positon information of the regions after that 'preprocessing'

cheers, Tom

[dante]

Ok, instead of looping back to the beginning, I wonder if theres a way to make the second 30 minutes go to tracks 3 & 4, the thrid thirty minutes to tracks 5 & 6 and the fourth 30 minutes to tracks 7 & 8. Probably not - just an idea.

[astroman]

you can displace tapes by a defined amount of time (at least in the minute range), but tracks only up to 999 ms.
On the other hand I wouldn't have a problem recording master of song 1 to tracks 1+2, master of song 2 to tracks 3+4 ...
While VDAT is the most convincing recording mode for a Scope mix, there's still the (much discussed) difference once you process it in the native domain.
If one wants control over the final sound beyond the walls of the studio, one has to deal with that anyway.
VDAT may sound better, but just on your very own monitor system.

cheers, Tom

ps btw it seems to be such a 'realistic' virtual item, that it even disengages the tape in regular intervals
(which looks like it's loosing sync)

[dante]

Also like the real thing tapes can get stuck !! I noticed that in order to release the tape for native processing I needed to either delete vdat or close scope, otherwise the OS locked the files - wouldn't let cubase open them.

[astroman]

Ok, instead of looping back to the beginning, I wonder if theres a way to make the second 30 minutes go to tracks 3 & 4, the thrid thirty minutes to tracks 5 & 6 and the fourth 30 minutes to tracks 7 & 8. Probably not - just an idea.

No, can't do that - and there seems to be another difference to the hardware (BRC) controlled version.
Looks like they planned to implement the 'automatic group recording' and provided an entry field 'Group Size' which is above the 'Set Group' button and not pictured in the VRC128 documentation.

On the Adat this recording process means you define a 'group size' of 1-8 channels which is applied during looping.
As an example you want to record 8 tracks in 4 stereo pairs, so you'd set size=2 and arm all those 8 tracks.
In the first pass of the loop it records channels 1+2 on tracks 1+2, during 2nd pass channels 3+4 etc, engaging and disarming channels as required and setting the proper monitor signal.

The BRC actually seems to work correctly with VDAT except some differences in the 'frame' position part.
I've set the system to 48khz and use only the 9pin sync cable.
VDAT followed the procedure above (as set on the BRC) correctly.
To be honest after reading the BRC manual in physical form (which is rather small anyway) the VDAT controls have become much clearer to me...
It's too early to call this BRC thing reliable yet, but it feels very convenient to control tape functions, enter positions, set locators and arm tracks (for 100 bucks...)

cheers, Tom

[Immanuel]

Which hardware version do you have, Tom. Mine is quite early, and I can not get it to work well.

[astroman]

hi Immanuel, pleased to read you
it's from 96, software revision 2.04
as I just tried to find the version (under midi/util), I noticed it recognizes the VDAT file as a valid tape for the first time.
Before it usually commented 'tape not loaded' even though it was able to control most of it.

Nevertheless I find it quite tricky, too - mostly due to the lack of experience ...
One thing I've changed is that I strictly avoid the first 3 minutes of tape, as that's where the BRC stores content data.
Maybe I should try to save something there and read it back.
(did rewind but then complained 'must load tape in first machine, oops - but under utils the tape is still present)
If it really turns out reliable I might setup a micro itx board as a dedicated recorder or looper for guitar/bass.
I've traded my Boss RC 50 sometime ago because I found it too cumbersome to operate, a true pity that Boss didn't invest a tiny bit more into the concept. Starts great but fails half the way.

cheers, Tom

[dante]

For me, the VDAT makes the perfect cassette tape restoration tool except for the lack of a stereo WAV export (have to use native to join up the left and right). I wasnt able to get the VRC or BRC remote controls running - they just error'ed out.

But VDAT is good for what I managed to do with it, I would use it in a live setup where I couldn't be bothered firing up anything native and just wanted to use Scope.