Leader tape lengths for mixdown tape?

Hi guys,

I'm getting close to finishing a refurb of an analog 2 track deck for use at mixdown and am curious about the typical lengths of leader tape folks use at the head and tail and between tracks. Is there a "common" standard or is it all over the map? Thanks.

Steve

My safe spot is usually three widths of the machine I'm infront of.

I usually use 10 sec. of leader, more or less, at the head and tail. Extravagant, but it lets me cue up several seconds ahead of first audio, so the deck has a chance to settle down once started.

I don't put leader tape between tracks, but magnetic tape which has been recorded with no input signal. The continuous low-level hiss I find preferable to its suddenly starting and stopping.

Jac Holzman, of Elektra, used to go that one better -- he's use tape with room tone on it as his leader tape between tracks.

Peace,
Paul

i don't use exact lengths but like to put a healthy few turns in between tracks so that the leader is very clearly visable for each track separation then a good two or three times that at the head and tail (it saves me having to go and re-spool so often when the engineer forgets to stop rewinding or fast-forwarding). more is more for me!

I use fairly LONG lengths between tunes on a multitrack, but for sequenced album masters, I too use erased-and-biased blank tape on analog machines, and the length is "exactly what FEELS the right length". -It will be trimmed and tweaked a few times.

These days, I ALWAYS record room tone on my live recordings, and it's room tone which goes in between tunes, though I work digital for all of that stuff.



Bob Katz once took be out back during a mastering session, and gave me a twenty-minute kicking because I didn't give him enough room tone to use as leader... since then, I've always done it... -He's got a mighty right boot on him as WELL as a good set of ears and a brain, that bloke! :wink:

Keith

Thanks guys! I appreciate the tips. This will be the first time for me using a mixdown deck for a project and not a computer. Looking forward to it.

Steve

It's a feel thing for me, I'll put in a couple "turns" of a reel as I see fit.

I would be scared using recorded room tone tape as leader, especially between say, record pad and tones. So often I use the white tape as a reference.

Knowing me, I would probably go 30 seconds into 1K client tones on accident if record aligning a machine for that reel. :?

For mastering it makes perfect since, however honestly I have never heard of the practice.

I always leader the head and tail of tape. Depending on the type of leader tape involved I will usually write a lil information like

Tones at head, tones at tail.


I leader between tones and record pad- and again label depending on the type of leader tape.

At the moment I have not been putting leader between songs as most clients are using tape as an effect to run to and back from when recording to the DAW. Nothing beats dumping audio to tape only to have a gap in recorded sound due to the leader in the way.

Recording and editing Via DAW then dump to tape for Warmth or as I refer to it dump to tape to add noise. I feel this doesn't help the recording sound any better after all you have already limited your dynamic range and frequency response when you first started due to recording via DAW anyway. If anything it does do some physiological mojo on people.


room tone between songs on a 2 track master, I'll have to try that one.

I like a few of turns of blank tape before the leader at the head and after the leader at the tail. Tape grabs onto the hub better, less slippage. BTW I like paper leader the best. Oddly I find it sounds best. No kidding. Plastic sometimes collects static electricity. The clear stuff is a real PITA on machines with an optical sensor. The machine comes to a stop. I suppose that's the point but I hate it.

I hate leader tape with direction arrows on it. Usually people will put it in where the arrows are facing the wrong direction

I like a few of turns of blank tape before the leader at the head and after the leader at the tail. Tape grabs onto the hub better, less slippage.

Plastic sometimes collects static electricity.

Click to expand...

I used to leader the head and the tail also, but found just leaving the head or tail where it is grabs better. If a client wants a head/tail leader, I'll splice in a piece of black tape, just to hold onto the hubs.

I knew there was something weird going on with plastic tape!

Definitely not using tape for an effect. I track to an Ampex 440C-8 and mix to a small Harrison line console. From there I've been using the computer as a simple two track recorder. No editing ITB. I really just hate computers. I figure since I'm recording for my own amusement and enjoyment I ought to be having fun. I just don't have fun recording to a computer. I love the ritual of maintaining, cleaning and aligning my tape machines. Love the smell of tape. Love the nostalgia I get when I use them. It's about the process for me.

Steve

[quote author="guitarmaker"] I love the ritual of maintaining, cleaning and aligning my tape machines. Love the smell of tape. Love the nostalgia I get when I use them. It's about the process for me.
[/quote]

Under no circumstances go near a lathe. You won't be able to control yourself.

I have two wood lathes

Steve

About three widths of the machine.

First tape of an album from the head; white leader; red leader; tones (2 1/2 minutes); red leader; program

at the tail program; red leader; RECORD pad; white leader.

And for the program red leader around master takes. Other mixes white leader (i.e. vocal up, tv etc...)

The red leader means "warning, be very very fucking careful"

Ok,

maybe I am too much in digital world ...,
but what is the room tone ?

Room tone is simply the sound of the room you're recording in. You find it used a lot in movies to fill gaps between bits of dialogue, or for shots that were shot MOS (without sound)--that kind of stuff. I'd never thought of it for song leader until this thread, but I think it's a great idea.