No really, wire recorders have a much warmer sound.....
Ah yes, spoken with the authority I once heard from a radio engineer* who steadfastly refused to swap out ancient reel to reel tape decks** for computer audio editing and serving. Or even to develop a plan to replace thirty year old mixing consoles (Penny & Giles faders in a McCurdy) for brand new ones that had actually been purchased.
Or the guy who claimed repeatedly that it was not possible to eliminate the "Buzz" in the audio chain that happened every morning at 10am. A subsequent engineer finally untangled and removed the mound of cabling behind the mixing board (3 feet wide x 2 feet deep!) and voila - no buzz.
I tend to stay one generation behind the latest and greatest in software and hardware, and have been known to rescue some pretty old machines, but I also understand that there comes a time when it makes no sense whatsoever to hold together old technology.
"We built systems 30 years ago that are still running" always sounds to me like "We've got a box of thirty year old components, some of which aren't manufactured any more, and the balance of which have been repaired several times."
* "Engineer" in North American broadcasting is not someone with an actual engineering degree. It's the guy who fixes stuff around the radio station.
** Actually, two very ancient and knackered Ampex machines were eventually stolen from deep storage. The insurance settlement bought four new PCs with audio software!
Biting the hand that feeds IT
