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General Discussion / Analog Album Advice...
« on: November 10, 2014, 10:07:18 AM »
Greetings,

Some of you may or may not recall a few years ago myself and a musical collaborator/partner had designs to record and release an album entirely in the analog medium (I had been posting updates on a thread on this forum). As sometimes happens, the project lost momentum, and eventually our collaborative musical efforts also ended (though we remain friends). The tape album as it was initially conceived is simply not to be. I still, however, have several tape machines in storage, and have recently been toying with the idea of resurrecting the concept. At this point I'm more or less just a guy with an Otari 8 track in his basement, not a member of an organized and cohesive musical team, which may or may not be as interesting to any following any progress I make (or experiencing the end result). I am an artist myself (and always have been) so I have my own material - it's just more difficult to do this kind of thing on one's own.

I am still terribly interested in the process of recording in analog (I am apparently young enough where by the time I got into studios, no one was using tape anymore) and would like to use the equipment I have instead of letting it sit and deteriorate. I guess my questions to this group, as the only community I know who is consuming music on this format new, revolve around logistics to a degree. In short, is there even any interest in someone recording/releasing an all analog album, given it will be the amateur work of an individual without the expertise to produce a sound quality remotely close to TP tapes? And secondly, and maybe more pertinently - given that I have 8 tracks at my disposal, and am working on my own, I've considered using electronic beats in lieu of a drummer. I enjoy the aesthetics of this style of music, and it doesn't require me to find a competent drummer and use up half of my tracks for drums and etc. It does however mean that there would be a small amount of digital elements recorded onto the tape. Does this then defeat the purpose of an analog album? My interest is also to record music that inspires me and an audience, and if a small amount of digital signal will improve the quality of the music does that justify it? Or does that create an album that really no one wants (since it's neither digital nor analog in a way)?

I appreciate your thoughts. I don't promise to follow all of your recommendations (haha) but I appreciate hearing what this forum may have to say about it. I face a dilemma as an artist - I realize you don't necessarily write music for any purpose other than for your own fulfillment, but I'm at a point in my life/career where to make something that I know no one will ever hear or enjoy doesn't sound particularly fulfilling. Perhaps it's always a balance.

Forgive the rambling and unprofessional nature of this message. I'm just a guy who's trying to figure out if it's worth it to put time and effort into producing some variety of an analog album or if that window has well and truly passed. Thank you for your understanding and tolerance.

Be Well
-nick

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I have no formal affiliation with this film (obviously) but found the newly released trailer to have some interesting scenes that look to be delving into the issue of how music is being recorded in the modern age. Given the accompanying visuals, it would seem there will be some commentary on analog vs. digital recording, and their resulting effect on the way we experience music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HQoOfiLz1G4

-apologies if this film has already been brought up in these forums. I didn't find it in my searches. Be well...

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General Discussion / 2012 All Analog Album
« on: February 21, 2012, 05:09:51 PM »
As noted in another thread the small independent record label I am affiliated with is anticipating the recording of an entirely analog album to be released (via reel to reel - among other formats) in the not too distant future. It was suggested a new thread documenting the process be created.

As I mentioned, being a small organization (and admittedly new to analog recording), at this point we will be utilizing relatively pedestrian analog equipment (though pairing it with professional quality studio preamps and microphones stolen from our digital studio) but promise to deliver as compelling and musical a performance as we are capable of producing.

We started the project with the exciting and somewhat daunting task of acquiring actual analog equipment. To begin, we have procured an Otari MX5050 8-track, to utilize for multitrack recording. As the pinch roller rubber had long since disintegrated, the roller has been sent (today, in fact) to Terry in Michigan for a re-construction. We realize it isn't going to sound like 2" tape, but given our limitations, we felt this was a reasonable solution for multitrack recording. We hope to maximize any good qualities possible from the 1/2" format. I should add that the machine came with a Telcom c4 noise reduction unit. Please note in the attached picture, the 3M tape formulation is not what we will be utilizing - the reels came with the deck, and are just on for show, at this point.

Up next, likely building some custom cabling to comply with the unique XLR pin configuration. More to come.

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Raw Tape / SM911 or SM468 for tracking?
« on: April 30, 2011, 01:47:22 PM »
I've looked through the forum, and I apologize if this has been succinctly answered already. I'm looking into doing some tracking to tape (1/4" 2 track and 1/4" 4 track) and was wondering which formulation the experts here might recommend for tracking acoustic and jazz/style (i.e. not super loud stuff) live music? I'd love to have it end up on the 468, so I can keep my machine calibrated for tape project tapes, and the tapes I complete, but I hadn't come across much for people tracking to 468.

Thanks, as always, for your patience with stupid questions. I enjoy this forum and this community.

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Reel to Reel Tape Machines / My new mx5050
« on: April 10, 2011, 09:00:50 PM »
So... To this point I've primarily been listening to 3 3/4ips 1/4 track tapes on an old akai reel to reel. While certain elements were quite nice, in general, it was semi-noisy (despite rigorous head cleaning - and the machine itself just powered on is noisy) and really didn't sound a whole lot better than my vinyl setup (at times perhaps worse). Seemed like tape was interesting, but I hadn't necessarily heard enough to be fully convinced. This week I came across an MX5050 BII, jumped on it, and spooled up one of the few 7 1/2ips tapes I have for the first time this evening. Now I see what people were talking about. Much much improved sound, and much less noise. The machine itself is vastly different - quiet, smooth, and far higher quality. I'm very very pleased, and can't believe how different the entire tape experience is with this machine.

I realize this post isn't necessarily informational - merely wishing to express my excitement with a community that can empathize. Thanks for getting me into all this...

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Suggestion Box / Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Wilco
« on: February 09, 2010, 11:28:37 PM »
A group known for their affinity for and dedication to classic guitars and equipment, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, perhaps? Maybe something like "Damn the Torpedoes" (MCA 5105). I'd love to hear those drums on tape...

I think I've read that the Wilco albums were tracked to tape, but may have been bounced to pro-tools for mixing(?) If there's some kind of un-digitized master of those albums, I'd be very interested in hearing/buying them.

Of course I heartily second a Pink Floyd selection, though I realize the licensing may prove difficult.

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