Sorry I don't mean to rant, but... The A77 is one of the worst possible recorders for this kind of work: it's almost impossible to reach the heads with the pencil so you can't make a clean mark. Cut the tape at 45 degrees, not 90, even if you work at 15ips on a half-track tape. The only reason to use a 90 degree angle is to add lead-in or lead-out tape or cut the end of a tape so it doesn't curl up as much. Don't get finger prints on the splicing tape. Stick the tape on the razor blade and pull it off the roll, then stick the tape onto the edge of the cutting block or something, to cut it to size. Then use the blade again to pick it up, to align it and to put it on the audio tape. If there are no fingerprints on the glue of the splicing tape, it'll work much better and last longer. Use a short piece of slicing tape (1/2" to 3/4" is enough), otherwise it'll just get more difficult to align it with the audio tape; it definitely positively shouldn't stick out on either side, or it will hit the mechanics, cause wow/flutter and leave glue on your heads. Clean the finger prints off the audio tape when done. If you don't, guess where the oil and grease on your hands will end up. And finally, going from 4 bars of intro to 3 bars doesn't improve things, if you ask me. Going to 2 bars would have been better but then it's too short. Powers of two for the win. Oh, one more thing: if the result is precious, make a copy as soon as you can. Eventually, the glue might start seeping out of the splicing tape and spill onto the next layer of tape when it's wound on the reel and stored away. It'll make a mess of your mechanism and heads and may jerk the tape in the player when you play it 10 or 20 years later.
what Jac said, all of it. (except the bit about the musicality or otherwise of the actual cut!) the A77 & B77 are dreadful machines to cut on, unless you have one of the flat-decked variants. all that stuff about handling the tape.... here's a test you can do: just find a passage on the tape where there's a lot of top end- cymbals, sibilant vocals, synthesizer white noise, whatever, & wipe the end of your finger on the business side of the tape a few times. now listen to it. see? I saw Rob W's comment below too- yes, we've all done hundreds of edits on A77s. well done. doesn't alter the facts- there are plenty of better machines for the job, & if it IS your job to cut tape, you wouldn't choose to do it on a revox. studer, yes.
Michael Hill: Elton John refused to have MCA edit His 5 min plus songs in the 70's and our local stations had to edit thier own. They were pretty much Butchered.
I found myself equally being fascinated the entire time and also endlessly thanking modern technology for existing so we don't have to do this unless we want to. I may have cursed at Logic Pro today, but at least it's not having to cut tape!
It's by no means the easiest machine to work on, but if it's all you've got then you find a way. I used this machine for many years and did thousands of edits on it, each edit usually taking about a minute.
its very easy to go off beat by doing this, I cannot ever imagine editing this on tape, I have always used computer software which accurately edits exactly on beat
You better slice your tape at an angle, than its more a nice flow of sound. And the splicetape can be a bit shorter. So I've learnt...😊 The longer the splicing is, the more you hear the splice.... 😢 And also the splicingtape must not stick outside the tape, that causes trouble sticking to the underlined tape on the reel were it sticks to. You can hear that wen playing. And it picks up dust... 🙂 Good luck next time.
Nice. Takes me back! I used to edit loads of mono (speech) audio back in the day - and the 45 deg angle cut was great for to give a fast crossfade. Of course, a no no for stereo music!
hi used to do the same with the same model went over to a otari mtr 12 better to get my body under it for editing and using 1/8 inch tapes pancakes in spool mode i had 1/8 inch rollers made full track mono masting
Huh. Didn't you usually splice using the angled (45°) edit point? That way, as I imagine it, the edited portion of the tape is more robust and it also provides you with a fade/crossover point.
Only 45 degrees for speeach and classical. For anything with drums we always cut 90 degrees on the bass drum beat so the edit remains inaudible. (Tricks of the trade) ;)
It is very convenient to mount the splicing block onto the head nest cover (double sided tape) so that you can just flip the tape out and onto the block rather than pulling it several inched away as in the video. You will be surprised how much time you save after doing lots of splicing. That's why in practically all studios you see the splice block bust above the heads. And yes, the Revox is hard to get the grease pencil into there. I spent countless pre-digital years splicing narrations, etc on an Ampex 350 and what a great splicing/editing machine.
Thanks for sharing, I am teaching my students about the evolution of recording and I sifted through dozens of videos to find one that was concise and easy to understand!
On some 70's songs you can Plainly tell where the edits are, and they were Professionally done in a studio. A couple examples, Closer To Home from GFR, Dark Horse from George Harrison. Those were pretty bad, but possibly couldn't be Perfect.
One Way Ticket from Eruption, the initial version is the maxi version, the short one for radio, compilation and juke box single was done by shortening. When you are familiar with tape edit, you can hear it.
Some edits would work only done on the multitrack tape. But for this you had to make a copy of the multitrack tape and to edit it, to get a shorter Jukebox/Radio version.
@@stephenhall3515 Complete and utter nonsense. I have never used the straight ut in 60 years of editing. And a Revox A77 is ANYTHING but "rare" Must be some 20 year olds.
Never cut the tape on the 90 degree as it may introduce a pop, Use the 45 degree angle cut. even on tight beats it is still acurate enough. Best to do music editing at 30 ips so you can use the 45 and still get the most accuracy. Use of a tape dispenser helps when handling and cutting the splicing tape.
Cutting at 90 degree on kick drum gives a 'clean' and invisible edit. Only use the 45 degree for classical music and speech where a 'smooth' transition is required.
Jim Brown: I get that "Pop" every once in a while using my Adobe Audition program and either have to use the Pop-Click remover or Overdub the same part over it to fix it. I wish there was still a need for editing, I could have made some money doing it. lol.
Wouldn't it have been easier to just run 2 decks, one with the master and the other tape blank, then while transferring it to the blank, just pause it at your edit points, then restart it again ? If it fails to get a Clean Edit, just Overdub it and replay it to check the new edit.
Sorry I don't mean to rant, but...
The A77 is one of the worst possible recorders for this kind of work: it's almost impossible to reach the heads with the pencil so you can't make a clean mark.
Cut the tape at 45 degrees, not 90, even if you work at 15ips on a half-track tape. The only reason to use a 90 degree angle is to add lead-in or lead-out tape or cut the end of a tape so it doesn't curl up as much.
Don't get finger prints on the splicing tape. Stick the tape on the razor blade and pull it off the roll, then stick the tape onto the edge of the cutting block or something, to cut it to size. Then use the blade again to pick it up, to align it and to put it on the audio tape. If there are no fingerprints on the glue of the splicing tape, it'll work much better and last longer.
Use a short piece of slicing tape (1/2" to 3/4" is enough), otherwise it'll just get more difficult to align it with the audio tape; it definitely positively shouldn't stick out on either side, or it will hit the mechanics, cause wow/flutter and leave glue on your heads.
Clean the finger prints off the audio tape when done. If you don't, guess where the oil and grease on your hands will end up.
And finally, going from 4 bars of intro to 3 bars doesn't improve things, if you ask me. Going to 2 bars would have been better but then it's too short. Powers of two for the win.
Oh, one more thing: if the result is precious, make a copy as soon as you can. Eventually, the glue might start seeping out of the splicing tape and spill onto the next layer of tape when it's wound on the reel and stored away. It'll make a mess of your mechanism and heads and may jerk the tape in the player when you play it 10 or 20 years later.
Yes, extremely difficult, but when it's all you've got....
@@richardcoppen2306 Mastering the machine, this is what you do. Congrats
what Jac said, all of it. (except the bit about the musicality or otherwise of the actual cut!)
the A77 & B77 are dreadful machines to cut on, unless you have one of the flat-decked variants.
all that stuff about handling the tape.... here's a test you can do: just find a passage on the tape where there's a lot of top end- cymbals, sibilant vocals, synthesizer white noise, whatever, & wipe the end of your finger on the business side of the tape a few times. now listen to it. see?
I saw Rob W's comment below too- yes, we've all done hundreds of edits on A77s. well done. doesn't alter the facts- there are plenty of better machines for the job, & if it IS your job to cut tape, you wouldn't choose to do it on a revox.
studer, yes.
I'd like to add simply... avoid bubbles in the splice tape... Just like your eye can see it, the heads do too from the other side
My radio days, editing commercials and news for my station. Sweet!!
Michael Hill: Elton John refused to have MCA edit His 5 min plus songs in the 70's and our local stations had to edit thier own. They were pretty much Butchered.
Nice! I always wondered how that was done. I once owned a cassette splicer but it was for fixing broken tapes, not editing, and it was hard to use.
Make sure to demagnetize the razor blade to avoid a "pop" on the tape. Tape heads should be demagnetized, too.
I found myself equally being fascinated the entire time and also endlessly thanking modern technology for existing so we don't have to do this unless we want to. I may have cursed at Logic Pro today, but at least it's not having to cut tape!
Thank heavens those days are over!
Terrible machine to edit on? I did over 10,000 edits on the A77 without any problem.
It's by no means the easiest machine to work on, but if it's all you've got then you find a way. I used this machine for many years and did thousands of edits on it, each edit usually taking about a minute.
that you have done 10,000 edits on an A77 doesn't make it a good machine to edit on. big deal.
its very easy to go off beat by doing this, I cannot ever imagine editing this on tape, I have always used computer software which accurately edits exactly on beat
Great! Now, try editing 2-inch master tape, like on a Studer A-800. That's even more fun!
Uncle Vince rememberings... old good years at CKRL..
You better slice your tape at an angle, than its more a nice flow of sound. And the splicetape can be a bit shorter. So I've learnt...😊 The longer the splicing is, the more you hear the splice.... 😢 And also the splicingtape must not stick outside the tape, that causes trouble sticking to the underlined tape on the reel were it sticks to. You can hear that wen playing. And it picks up dust... 🙂 Good luck next time.
Ha! I was a broadcast major in college (early '70's) and this was a required skill back then.
Nice. Takes me back! I used to edit loads of mono (speech) audio back in the day - and the 45 deg angle cut was great for to give a fast crossfade. Of course, a no no for stereo music!
Would they have stored the music as Mono signal and difference signal, it could work.
Good lord dude you can't even put the splicing tape on staright, lol...
Fascinating process. Thank you for sharing
Glad you enjoyed it Fiona!
hi used to do the same with the same model went over to a otari mtr 12 better to get my body under it for editing and using 1/8 inch tapes pancakes in spool mode
i had 1/8 inch rollers made full track mono masting
I watched a video, where the skipped part was rolled on an empty reel.
The edit was not the best way to do it you should have cut on the angle….less detectable…!
What kind of song is playing?
А что за песня играет? Кто исполнитель?
I will never complain about editing in logic pro lol after seeing this.
Ha ha. We have it easy today don't we.
@@richardcoppen2306 Yeah really! Literally, anyone can do the cutting and joining music tracks or videos nowadays with just some clicks.
Huh. Didn't you usually splice using the angled (45°) edit point? That way, as I imagine it, the edited portion of the tape is more robust and it also provides you with a fade/crossover point.
Only 45 degrees for speeach and classical. For anything with drums we always cut 90 degrees on the bass drum beat so the edit remains inaudible. (Tricks of the trade) ;)
@@richardcoppen2306Cool. So to better catch the transients?
It is very convenient to mount the splicing block onto the head nest cover (double sided tape) so that you can just flip the tape out and onto the block rather than pulling it several inched away as in the video. You will be surprised how much time you save after doing lots of splicing. That's why in practically all studios you see the splice block bust above the heads. And yes, the Revox is hard to get the grease pencil into there. I spent countless pre-digital years splicing narrations, etc on an Ampex 350 and what a great splicing/editing machine.
Thanks for sharing, I am teaching my students about the evolution of recording and I sifted through dozens of videos to find one that was concise and easy to understand!
how times have changed - great vid
So much easier and quicker now.
Takes me back wish I could get my Teac repaired.
Cool song.
Hi Richard nice footage. Do you mind if I use of few shots of this video in a documentary I am working on?
Of course you can. Please just credit Panther Studios as the source. Thanks.
On some 70's songs you can Plainly tell where the edits are, and they were Professionally done in a studio. A couple examples, Closer To Home from GFR, Dark Horse from George Harrison. Those were pretty bad, but possibly couldn't be Perfect.
One Way Ticket from Eruption, the initial version is the maxi version, the short one for radio, compilation and juke box single was done by shortening. When you are familiar with tape edit, you can hear it.
Some edits would work only done on the multitrack tape. But for this you had to make a copy of the multitrack tape and to edit it, to get a shorter Jukebox/Radio version.
Good lord what a terrible machine to edit on. and why are you editing with a straight cut????? That's like the first rule of tape splicing, lol...
Rules of tape splicing - Always use straight cuts when editing music on the beat. Angled cuts for speech and classical music. :)
@@richardcoppen2306 Right!!
@@richardcoppen2306 is entirely correct in this. Why else do you think splicing blocks have angled and straight slots?
@@stephenhall3515 Complete and utter nonsense. I have never used the straight ut in 60 years of editing. And a Revox A77 is ANYTHING but "rare" Must be some 20 year olds.
Brilliant!!!!
jesus christ get a fresh razor
And make sure you demagnetize the razor!
whats the song. pretty cool.
The Weird Things 'Colin' (see end credits).
seems like a bit of a hassle :D
It was all we had at the time!
Never cut the tape on the 90 degree as it may introduce a pop, Use the 45 degree angle cut. even on tight beats it is still acurate enough. Best to do music editing at 30 ips so you can use the 45 and still get the most accuracy. Use of a tape dispenser helps when handling and cutting the splicing tape.
I guess the manufacturer was ignorant to put a 90 degree angle cut on the splicer. ¨accurate enough¨ doesn´t sound too convincing.
Cutting at 90 degree on kick drum gives a 'clean' and invisible edit. Only use the 45 degree for classical music and speech where a 'smooth' transition is required.
Jim Brown: I get that "Pop" every once in a while using my Adobe Audition program and either have to use the Pop-Click remover or Overdub the same part over it to fix it. I wish there was still a need for editing, I could have made some money doing it. lol.
I can do that with my Adobe Audition Program, now. lol. No need for splicing ! Bet you couldn't spot my edits either !
Wouldn't it have been easier to just run 2 decks, one with the master and the other tape blank, then while transferring it to the blank, just pause it at your edit points, then restart it again ? If it fails to get a Clean Edit, just Overdub it and replay it to check the new edit.
It doesn't beat the quality on the source tape. It'd be a copy, and R2R copies degrade after every generation. It's not like a computer.