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In Reply to: RE: Is the Alesis Masterlink still the gold standard for vinyl ripping ? posted by Ross on March 14, 2012 at 05:01:04
Hi, Ross:
A couple of comments regarding the use of the Alesis Masterlink ML-9600:
First of all, someone else mentioned that with the 30 GB drive @ 44.1 sampling that they only got "3.5" hours of recording time? Nonsense! You get far greater amount of time on that machine recording at say 44.1 kHz and 20-bit rate.
I believe that the Alesis Masterlink ML-9600 is not only a superb tool for live recording (I use it often for such purposes), but the converters in it, albeit a bit old by now, are more than decent for such tasks as recording from your lps. What I like about the machine is that it is mostly so all-inclusive. Everything you need is right there in one package. The basic drawback was that Alesis never brought out a series 2 with other features,such as USB connectivity, etc. It might be cool to add some of the famed Alesis reverb functions, too! They also could have placed a second drive right inside the same box, because if you have ever open up an ML-9600, there is more than sufficient space for one. What irks me and others is that if you are unfortuante enough to place a blank CDR in the drawer upside-down, the machine will not immediately reject the disk. There is an unpublished routine to get the ML-9600 to spit out the disk. They should have included this as a trouble-shooting routine in the owner's manual for goodness sake! One time, because I did not know how to get the disk out, I dismantled much of the deck and actually removed the disk drive and opened it up to remove the upside-down silver CDR. What a pain that was! Then, after bugging Alesis for the correct way to reject the disk, they told me about holding down a couple of buttons simultaneously! I also asked them why in the world they never provided what we call "pin-hole access" from the front panel to mechanically reject a trapped disk! DUMB! Too much cost involved in re-tooling the machine? Sure!
When I transfer from vinyl sources to the Masterlink, I sometimes use a Yamaha C-50 preamp, which is not only dead quiet, but has options to specially load the cartridge, if that matters to you. (It matters to me!) I often transfer old 78's and when doing so, select a proper preamp with the correct eq curves for that task.
The other secret weapon I use for lp transer is to use one of my vintage Shure Brothers M-65 tube phono preamps. They sound absolutely terrific!
With a Masterlink ML-9600, you can select any combination of sampling and bit depth you want, though I hardly ever go beyond say 48 kHz and 20-bit. I never use 24/96. You can increase or decrease overall gain, change eq any way you want, insert limiting and compresion to your heart's or ear's content, etc. Splitting tracks is easily done. Also, there are options of quick editing, cutting a track into several portions, removing the track you have created containing the noise you want deleted, and then re-combining the elements together as one.
BTW, you should hear the master recordings I get on my Masterlink from live concerts I am hired to record here in the SF / Bay Area!
This weekend I have this to capture: http://www.musicatkohl.org/
And the Masterlink ML-9600 will be there, along with my Aphex 1100 mic preamp and a pair of lovely new Milab DC-196 microphones.
Can it get any better than that?
You tell me!
Richard Links
Links Sound
Berkeley, CA
Follow Ups:
What are the buttons to press in case of placing a CD-R upside down
I was the one who said I can only get 3.5 hrs of recording time. I must have been wrong about the hard drive size, because even after I format the hard drive (using the built-in utility), the front panel display says I have 3.5 hrs of recording time. Perhaps my unit is one of the early ones with only a 3 - 4GB hard drive.
It's not a big issue for me, as I tend to record a few LPs, make CDs of them, and then erase the recorded files on the Masterlink.
rlindsa
Hi, rlindsa:
I originally wanted to comment that yours must have been the very first version of the Masterlink. Most owners later replaced/updated their internal hard drives. I recommend that you also do this and as another poster mentioned, if you plan to keep the machine, now is the time to obtain extra hard drives for future replacement as well as new CD RW drive units. I understand that these are not at all difficult to change out.
I love my Masterlink and have recorded many a wonderful live performance on it as well as transfer material not only from lps but some old analog tapes, as well.
So far, so good, as they say!
Richard Links
Berkeley, CA
I can't imagine they are too hard to change out.
rlindsa
Hi, rlindsa:
Best advice: contact the folks at Alesis for a list of recommended models to choose from and then go hunting on eBay or elsewhere. There is also the Alesis Masterlink Users Group to consider approaching.
Shop around!
Richard Links
Berkeley, CA
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