24 Tracks for $100...Good or Bad?

[bigroy]

I happened upon a fellow in Indy who advertised three blackface Adats and eighty 42 minute tapes, all for $100. All are in good working condition, with 1650, 1500, and 1200 hours respectively. I'm thinking about racking them and using them to record live and studio stuff in my modest (read spare bedroom) studio.

I only paid $100 for all of the above. I also have a M Audio Fast Track Ultra 8R staring at me as I type. I have a decent laptop to go with the Ultra, but I'm not sure how it will work with multiple tracks.
If I keep the Adats, I'll need some kind of mixer and some outboard gear. But to me the big advantage, being 60 years old, is my familiarity with tape machines and large format mixers.

I'm thinking I want to buy a used mixer and keep the adats. Maybe use the Ultra with PT (which is still back ordered) for just another tool.

Any thoughts on the subject would be appreciate, including a mixer recommendation.

 

[madstrat]

do you have the brc?

if you keep the adats buy one

 

[Shon Kornfeld]

the A/D converters in those ADATs are actually pretty good, ive seen guys use em JUST as converters going into Pro Tools, etc... so yea, for $100 id grab em

 

[drbob1]

Yeah, 24 convertors of decent quality for $100? That's a killer deal! And, think of all the great music that's been recorded on ADAT! There is the storage issue with tape, and you do need a mixer and outboard gear (since you can't add effects inside the box) or you need an interface that'll take 3 ADAT inputs so you can fly the tracks to your computer to process. For an old guy, having something that resembles a real recorder and mixer is a blessing (and why are there no DAW programs that have a simple screen with a mixer in one part and a transport in another with simple track and monitor assign matrixes like a patch bay)?

 

[loudboy]

Get a used MOTU 2408, and send the converter I/O of the ADATs into your computer. This works VERY well.

 

[bigroy]

Thanks Loudboy, that would solve the mixer issue as well...

 

[alotawatts]

What is the availablilty like for new/fresh tapes these days ?

 

[guitardr]

As far as fresh tapes, contact Sweetwater down by you or Full Compass in Madison, WI.
Sounds like a plan...

 

[bigroy]

There seems to be a good supply of tapes, both new and used. And they came with 80 tapes that had been used once.

Unfortunately, my wife has detected this activity and is asking questions. :Spank

 

[screamtone]

Unfortunately, my wife has detected this activity and is asking questions. :Spank

I HATE that.

 

[Edmundo]

We're only talking $100 here, right?