New subject: PS: OT: Some funny note regarding to old faithful analog tape recorders -- was: "Audacity + persistent JACK ports -- was: DC offset"

1 Feb 2012

...
  Message: 3
 Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:38:54 +0000
 From: Fons Adriaensen &lt;fons(a)linuxaudio.org&gt;
 Subject: Re: [LAU] Audacity + persistent JACK ports -- was: DC offset
 To: linux-audio-user(a)lists.linuxaudio.org
 Message-ID: &lt;20120131133854.GB7388(a)linuxaudio.org&gt;
 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii 
...
  The second is the way Audicity manages its record
signal chain. It
 exists (or is active) only when armed for record. This emulates the
 low-cost tape decks of 30 years ago (where it was done to share the
 electronics). But even the more advanced consumer ones at that time 
 (those with a separate record head) had the record signal chain 
 active all the time, and for anything 'pro' it is really essential.
 You really want to be able to set up a recording session, check
 levels, create a monitor mix, etc. once and while stopped, and not
 having to repeat this each time you arm for record. 
I agree that for software today there should be better solutions, but
anyway, even with one head for both, the tape decks 30 years ago (not
all where alCheapo, even with one head for both only) didn't need
repeating the check of levels. OTOH "tape monitoring [1]" with one head
only is impossible ;) and even if an analog tape deck had separated
heads for rec and play, the monitor latency was something beyond of what
we'll have for DAWs today.

Re-doing leveling all the times is a no-go. If this is needed for
Audacity, it must be fixed soon. It wasn't an issue for the one head [1]
multi-track recorder I used in the 80s.

- Ralf

[1] We run into issues regarding to definitions. The kind of monitoring
and the number of heads :D. E.g. folks will see 2 heads in their
elCheapo tape decks ;D.