My New Setup

Is the 144 working 100% and all?

And I commend your choice! The less options you have, the less time you spend on decisions. :)
 
famous beagle said:
Is the 144 working 100% and all?

And I commend your choice! The less options you have, the less time you spend on decisions. :)
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It is working across the board; I bought it as recently serviced. The only issue I've had is the speed went totally slow, which was resolved by turning the whole machine on it's side then putting it back in position. Not sure what happened there, but figured a belt was slipping and worked its way back into place or something. It's pretty complex inside the deck, so I don't want to attempt to open it up unless I have to (even then, I'd probably send it off to a tech)!

... and Thanks! After all the gear I've been through over the past few years, my "requirements" for a recorder were: 1-multitrack, 2-analog, 3-portable, 4-'70s. I toyed with the idea of using a 3340, but went with the 144 based on workflow considerations (overdubbing/bouncing on a 3340 can be challenging), and the built-in mixer/smaller size. I've also never used one of these before, so it's novel and has a charming sound to it.
 
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Liking the look of that old school gear, what's on the top of the stack on the left hand side?

I'm thinking about adding a reel2reel (or some old vintage gear) into my studio to add some character and dustiness..
 
Funny, recently I have been eyeing off some of the retro gear I have stored at the studio and am thinking of building a small retro recording setup in the spare (not really spare LOL, it's full of gear) room using my old TEAC 3340 (with matching dolby unit) and buying a suitable analog mixer from the same era. I still have a Otari 2 track mix down deck to go with it and plenty of retro mics, I even have some Auratone cubes and my old Sony 1970s hifi speakers that I used to mix with. I have a few old cassette decks too?

You have inspired me to do it, now to find the mixer, oh and some 1/4" tape stock LOL.

Alan.
 
Damn dude, that really is downsized! :O

Out of curiosity, what happened with the Fostex? And what will the portastudio mean for Magic Hero vs. Rock People?
 
I went for an experiment in downsizing as far as I could go.

Recorded the whole band at once using just a tascam dr-22WL.

The "mixing was done by placement of the recorder to the drums, then the placement of the cabs and PA to the recorder and adjusting the levels on the individual pieces of equipment.

Single takes all the way through, no editing and no effects, looking for that organic sound. Its all up to the setup, the room and the band.

Some of those tracks are getting air play. Go figure.
 
Hammerstone said:
Damn dude, that really is downsized! :O

Out of curiosity, what happened with the Fostex? And what will the portastudio mean for Magic Hero vs. Rock People?
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Yeh sure is!

We did a lot of recordings on the Fostex ... but they ultimately weren't coming together very well in my opinion, so I shelved it. I honestly think the Fostex just didn't have any kind of vibe to it. Though there were certainly other creative and personal factors of considerable influence.

I've put a lid on Magic Hero, and am now working on new songs on the 144. Not sure exactly what will come of it yet, but I like the way they're coming together. Most important thing to say is that I feel inspired for the first time in awhile. The biggest factor in my failure to get any songs together in a releasable way over the past 3 years I think was the lack of inspiration in the songwriting and recording process. I remember I was working on the Fostex, I was doing and overdub and literally felt bored. That's basically when I decided to shelve the project. I do have to admit in some ways I feel like I took the whole thing as far as I could doing things the way that I was doing.

It's taken awhile, but getting rid of everything and starting over from scratch has been liberating. I feel much more in tune with things creatively, particularly in the songs themselves.
 
mdainsd said:
I went for an experiment in downsizing as far as I could go.

Recorded the whole band at once using just a tascam dr-22WL.

The "mixing was done by placement of the recorder to the drums, then the placement of the cabs and PA to the recorder and adjusting the levels on the individual pieces of equipment.

Single takes all the way through, no editing and no effects, looking for that organic sound. Its all up to the setup, the room and the band.

Some of those tracks are getting air play. Go figure.
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I heard somewhere that recordings come together when the equipment "disappears". So that would make sense for that scenario!
 
Sorry to hear that the recordings never came together, and I'm sure it's hard trying to record an album on a Fostex once you've used an Ampex AG-300. It's a bit disappointing that we probably won't get another Magic Hero album, though hopefully you can still mix what you do have at some point. You have digital copies I hope? As far as the 144 goes though, it's a bit like going back to your roots I guess, hope it works out for you. You know I'm always about getting anything you put out so let us know when you have a new album ready!

lonewhitefly said:
Yeh sure is!

We did a lot of recordings on the Fostex ... but they ultimately weren't coming together very well in my opinion, so I shelved it. I honestly think the Fostex just didn't have any kind of vibe to it. Though there were certainly other creative and personal factors of considerable influence.

I've put a lid on Magic Hero, and am now working on new songs on the 144. Not sure exactly what will come of it yet, but I like the way they're coming together. Most important thing to say is that I feel inspired for the first time in awhile. The biggest factor in my failure to get any songs together in a releasable way over the past 3 years I think was the lack of inspiration in the songwriting and recording process. I remember I was working on the Fostex, I was doing and overdub and literally felt bored. That's basically when I decided to shelve the project. I do have to admit in some ways I feel like I took the whole thing as far as I could doing things the way that I was doing.

It's taken awhile, but getting rid of everything and starting over from scratch has been liberating. I feel much more in tune with things creatively, particularly in the songs themselves.
Click to expand...
 
Hammerstone said:
Sorry to hear that the recordings never came together, and I'm sure it's hard trying to record an album on a Fostex once you've used an Ampex AG-300. It's a bit disappointing that we probably won't get another Magic Hero album, though hopefully you can still mix what you do have at some point. You have digital copies I hope? As far as the 144 goes though, it's a bit like going back to your roots I guess, hope it works out for you. You know I'm always about getting anything you put out so let us know when you have a new album ready!
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Ah Thanks, I appreciate it!

Actually no digital copies of anything, but I have the tapes of course. If I ever decide to do something with them, I can get ahold of a deck and put something together. Though I don't think most of the songs and recordings are really on the level of the previous Magic Hero albums, or the new stuff I'm doing ... so not sure if it's something I'd want to revisit.
 
witzendoz said:
Funny, recently I have been eyeing off some of the retro gear I have stored at the studio and am thinking of building a small retro recording setup in the spare (not really spare LOL, it's full of gear) room using my old TEAC 3340 (with matching dolby unit) and buying a suitable analog mixer from the same era. I still have a Otari 2 track mix down deck to go with it and plenty of retro mics, I even have some Auratone cubes and my old Sony 1970s hifi speakers that I used to mix with. I have a few old cassette decks too?

You have inspired me to do it, now to find the mixer, oh and some 1/4" tape stock LOL.

Alan.
Click to expand...

Yeh the 3340 is a pretty serious machine in many ways. I think it sits firmly in the area between a "real" studio machine and a 4-track cassette. I'd bet if someone compiled a list of the records recorded on that deck, the results might surprise people.
 
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