In Honor of Tapes

The thing is, the comment about tape sounding like you sound is not really about "tape" per se, but the recording process they employed.

You can utilize an old-school process with a digital rig and skip all the processing/nudging/cutting/pasting you know? I really appreciate what he is saying but its missing the best part about tape which is what I like to call the "mess"; distortion, non-linearities, colorization, input does NOT equal output, etc.

I really like the "tape process" (i.e. recording straight and trying to get it right with a straight take, and if I can't get it right being happy with it not being "right" and trying to do better the next time...or go woodshed to get it right), but my favorite parts about using tape are the "mess" and the aesthetics (reels turning, tape threading, tape smell, mechanical sounds, etc.)
 
Agreed. Im fully aligned with the approach that if it cant be recorded in one take, then you probably arent ready to record anyway. But the digital thing has made it so that if the instant gratification crowd can manage to capture 10 seconds of material they can turn it into "something" with enough use of the cut and paste shortcut keys. Probably part of the reason most stuff being "produced" and marketed is crap.
 
mdainsd said:
Agreed. Im fully aligned with the approach that if it cant be recorded in one take, then you probably arent ready to record anyway. But the digital thing has made it so that if the instant gratification crowd can manage to capture 10 seconds of material they can turn it into "something" with enough use of the cut and paste shortcut keys. Probably part of the reason most stuff being "produced" and marketed is crap.
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Yes, tape don't lie.
 
There's an interview with Dave Grohl about how when he was talking to Butch Vig about going all tape

“Butch said,” Grohl remembers, “‘If we run into any real trouble we can always dump it into Pro Tools.’ I said, ‘No no no no, dude. No fucking computers. Not one computer. None.’ Personally, I’ve always preferred using tape, because I like the sound of human performance. I don’t like the mechanical, perfectionist attitude to making music. He said, ‘Y’know, I’m gonna have to get out my razor blade for editing.’ I said, ‘I’ve seen you do it before, I know you can do it.’”

Great man that dave grohl is. Did you guys know he kept a bunch of the floor boards from the original sound city before they tore it up? Oh yeah the console too :thumbs up:

Foo Fighters: Recording Wasting Light
 
That's a good read. What I think is interesting about it is it highlights the front end process. I think another facet of the digital process (in general) is to record straight to the digital media with as little processing as possible so the tracks are as clean as possible for messing with later. OTOH in the article there is a crap-ton of $$$ gear between the mic and the tape on the way in. It takes experience to know what to use and how to use it to get the results but once its set and tracked its committed to tape. You got whatchoo got and that, to me, is also part of the mentality of tracking to tape. You can do the same thing tracking to digital and of course many do...or typically do I suppose. Anyway, blahblahblah.
 
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