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
Davidnboone, if you are doing cassette you will have to find a machine and get it refurbished. Pioneer made some very interesting high-end machines that used Dolby S about 20 years ago- very nice sound, very quiet. Otherwise a Nakamichi is the thing. Nakamichi parts are probably getting a bit tricky as they have been out of business for a while, but you can get belts from Russell Industries. They also can refurbish old idlers and the like. They bought out the old Projector-Recorder Company. Here's the link:

http://www.russellind.com/prbline/index.html
Davidboone your killing me. Never expected to be making analog copies again until this thread. Now I have a cassette player permanently installed in one room, am putting a new belt on my 1/2 track tonight. Life would be so much simpler if I could just be happy with an I-pod.
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.
It's not my fault that youse guys can not duplicate the sound of vinyl with your PC.