An analog question for those who record


I am going to buy either a reel to reel or a VHS recorder to record my vinyl onto for repeated playbacks. Is recording vinyl possible by simply hooking my preamp up to a VCR hitting record and dropping the needle. This would be ideal as it has a long run time via the VCR tapes. I have heard VCRS have good analog sound. Should I just go with a reel to reel? Cassettes arent really an option but I have heard some recordings from vinyl onto cassette that sound great. I also am aware of digital recording using audacity and have used it hundreds of times. However I like analog and if I want digital I will just pop in a cd. Do you think there would be a huge difference in the quality one way or another.
davidnboone

Showing 1 response by goofytwoshoes

A Canadian magazine, UHF (Ultra High Fidelity), at one time recorded on VHS tape for playback at audio shows so they could play high quality music without interruption. They have discussed this in several issues of the magazine. You need a VHS machine that has record level controls, which was rare, but I have seen such machines in local thrift stores for $20 or less, as recently as 3 or 4 months ago. I was thinking of using this format, but decided not to add another piece of equipment to my audio rack. I still have a Nakamichi 550 2-head cassette deck that I bought new in the mid 70s. Tapes that I made back then still sound terrific today. IMHO, a 2-head Nakamichi will make better sounding tapes than other manufacturer's 3-head decks.

Somewhere, I have a UHF mag that has good info on recording to VHS - how to do it, why it is better than cassette or reel-to-reel, etc. If you are still interested, send me a private email and I will find the magazine and scan the appropriate pages.