This is exactly what I do. However, when the recording I have digitized has significant value to me and my family, I retain the original source recording in the best condition I can (tape wound to one reel, stored on its end in a cool, dry place, far away from magnets) without EVER using it. If I could, I would keep the most important tapes in a climate-controlled storage unit.
This way I can preserve the original in good shape, and when I want to enjoy the sound I just listen to one of my digital copies.
Of course I've digitized and thrown out a large number of tapes from my old tape collection, but all of this was music or audiobooks where I didn't care too much about the replaceability or decay of either my source materials or my digital copies.
In one case, I recorded my grandfather playing the piano in 2000, but I did it all-digital, with spotty results. (Unfortunately, he has died since, so we're stuck with what we have!) I've ALREADY begun to experience problems with the original CDs, and now that I've transferred them all to new copies and to hard drives, I'm considering making an analog copy of my digital recordings, just to have a sort of 'ultimate backup,' so in case disaster strikes I would still be able to resample.
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This is exactly what I do. However, when the recording I have digitized has significant value to me and my family, I retain the original source recording in the best condition I can (tape wound to one reel, stored on its end in a cool, dry place, far away from magnets) without EVER using it. If I could, I would keep the most important tapes in a climate-controlled storage unit. This way I can preserve the original in good shape, and when I want to enjoy the sound I just listen to one of my digital copies. Of course I've digitized and thrown out a large number of tapes from my old tape collection, but all of this was music or audiobooks where I didn't care too much about the replaceability or decay of either my source materials or my digital copies. In one case, I recorded my grandfather playing the piano in 2000, but I did it all-digital, with spotty results. (Unfortunately, he has died since, so we're stuck with what we have!) I've ALREADY begun to experience problems with the original CDs, and now that I've transferred them all to new copies and to hard drives, I'm considering making an analog copy of my digital recordings, just to have a sort of 'ultimate backup,' so in case disaster strikes I would still be able to resample.