Post Your Analog Recordings Here...

Guys, it has been a while. A lot of the music I've made since I last posted here has been...gasp...DIGITAL! :spank:

That's changed now, I broke out the Tascam 244 for use during a 48hr Film Project in Denver and I thought I'd pass some stuff on. These are 3 pieces I made while they were shooting just to give an idea what I was feeling based on the script, what I saw them shoot, etc.

Absolution-Mood Pieces by Joseph Irvin | Free Listening on SoundCloud

I used a recorder with a lot of breaths (and percussive hits), as well as my Arturia Minibrute and a borrowed Minimoog.

I'd like to write about my experience on this too. The production borrowed a house for the weekend, and it had a music room in the basement, reasonably soundproof, so I just carted all my stuff in there and slept on the couch for the weekend. We didn't know what we were going to be doing until Sunday night, I woke up in the morning and they were already getting ready for their shoot (12hr day) so I put some pieces together to see just how long it would take me to get the music done. I think I used tape just to see if I could (also although I now have a Mac with Pro Tools I don't have a recording interface...luckily there was a Focusrite at the house that I borrowed, but we ran into complications and I ended up having to record in one room and then cart the portastudio into the living room so I could use the TV as a monitor, so that's how I dumped everything to digital). For the 9min of music here it took me 7hrs to complete, from laying the first track to final mix and output.

For the next day when recording the actual score I started with a fresh tape and the editing got really behind, so I was extremely stressed out and the version I turned in for the film wasn't near what I wanted it to be but deadlines and stuff. Also, channel 1 on my 244 has completely dropped out and I'm trying to figure out what's wrong but that threw me off too; the final film score really has only 3 tracks and the mix is very sloppy (I cleaned it up last night), dunno if I'm allowed to post that or if it needs to wait until after the film screens. Either way I'll be back to share that one when I can. Hope everyone here is holding the faith!
 
Neat, sounds like you were having fun with the filter resonance there. Overall it has a nice horror movie vibe going there.
 
Neat, sounds like you were having fun with the filter resonance there. Overall it has a nice horror movie vibe going there.

"Filter Resonance" might just be my favorite term :) Also varying levels of Brute Factor, which is an internal feature so you don't have to loop the headphone out to the external audio in. I've been playing this thing for nearly 5 years and I still don't understand all the ins and outs.
 
Time Tunnel (take 1) by dougtheeagle | Free Listening on SoundCloud

So. This thing is a medley of songs from different time periods. I've tried to use period-correct recording techniques, e.g. 4 track with bouncing for the 1968 section, 16 tracks for 1973, 24 tracks and bucket-brigade delays for 1983, and so forth. I considered using a DAW for the 2003 segment, but in the end did it on 24-track anyway. Everything has been recorded to 1/4" and spliced together with razorblades.
Recording equipment used was mostly the Otari MX80, TASCAM TSR-8 and Studer A807.
 
Well if we're all getting in the mood for posting tracks then here's something I just finished*
Context, instruments recorded on my Yamaha MT4X and mixed in Protools, vocals completely digital, just works out better for me that way.
Really don't know what to make of it, I didn't have any reference points for it neither in songwriting or mixing, I just played it, recorded it and mixed it. My friends know that I play guitar and was in bands, but for years now I've kept it quiet, but i'll share the dirty little secret with you total strangers.

Impossible | Max Doubt

Also there's a "video" on youtube but I think whatever bandcamp uses to stream sounds better than pootube

YouTube

*bandcamp says release date was 2017, but it was an older track I just replaced with a new one...because i dunno
 
These are recordings I made back in 1992 that I thought were long lost until an old friend told me last month that she still had one of the original cassette releases we made. I got her to send it to me and recorded it out into a BOSS BR1600, did a bit of EQ and compression and exported it as a WAV file. I was really surprised at how they came out, I thought they'd be a wobbly, dull, old pile of rubbish after so many years but maybe not? All but one of the 11 tracks on the album were salvageable. It was made in my first home studio which had a Soundtracs 16-8-16 desk, JBL 4412's, Perraux 3000B, Tascam TSR8 1/2 8 track, Korg DDD-5 drum machine, Ensoniq SQ1 synth, various guitars & amps and a few SM58's & 57's. There was a couple of BOSS Micro effect units and maybe an ART Multiverb rack unit as well. I think we used live drums on the first track as well as the drum machine. It was mixed mastered to a stereo VHS recorder then dubbed onto 2 dual recording Technics tape decks for 4 cassettes at once. All that remains of the day is this cassette (now digitized) and one of the Technics cassette decks. All original works by an old friend and some great memories of a much earlier time. G.

The Outskirts by Geoff Columbus | Free Listening on SoundCloud
 
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Hello again guys, I'm back to post the final film version if anyone is interested in taking a look. Up at the top of the page was the music for the film and the demo ideas I'd come up with during production. Here's the finished product:

edit: evidently the film isn't officially released yet, though putting it on Vimeo with no password counts as a release in my book! So here's a link to the director's website instead.

Arturia Minibrute, Minimoog, recorder recorded on the Tascam 244, mixed in Protools.

Guys, it has been a while. A lot of the music I've made since I last posted here has been...gasp...DIGITAL! :spank:

That's changed now, I broke out the Tascam 244 for use during a 48hr Film Project in Denver and I thought I'd pass some stuff on. These are 3 pieces I made while they were shooting just to give an idea what I was feeling based on the script, what I saw them shoot, etc.

Absolution-Mood Pieces by Joseph Irvin | Free Listening on SoundCloud

I used a recorder with a lot of breaths (and percussive hits), as well as my Arturia Minibrute and a borrowed Minimoog.

I'd like to write about my experience on this too. The production borrowed a house for the weekend, and it had a music room in the basement, reasonably soundproof, so I just carted all my stuff in there and slept on the couch for the weekend. We didn't know what we were going to be doing until Sunday night, I woke up in the morning and they were already getting ready for their shoot (12hr day) so I put some pieces together to see just how long it would take me to get the music done. I think I used tape just to see if I could (also although I now have a Mac with Pro Tools I don't have a recording interface...luckily there was a Focusrite at the house that I borrowed, but we ran into complications and I ended up having to record in one room and then cart the portastudio into the living room so I could use the TV as a monitor, so that's how I dumped everything to digital). For the 9min of music here it took me 7hrs to complete, from laying the first track to final mix and output.

For the next day when recording the actual score I started with a fresh tape and the editing got really behind, so I was extremely stressed out and the version I turned in for the film wasn't near what I wanted it to be but deadlines and stuff. Also, channel 1 on my 244 has completely dropped out and I'm trying to figure out what's wrong but that threw me off too; the final film score really has only 3 tracks and the mix is very sloppy (I cleaned it up last night), dunno if I'm allowed to post that or if it needs to wait until after the film screens. Either way I'll be back to share that one when I can. Hope everyone here is holding the faith!
 
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Recorded using a Otari MTR 90 Mk III 30 IPS and mixed on a Ramsa WRT 820 Mixer with a Soundcraft efx12 side car mixer. Mixed with 4 hands going through a Pultec EQP 500 and Dbx160VU printed on 1/4" Otari MTR 10 @30 IPS
Lots of bouncing! Performed Live!

FULL SONG AUDIO: 20/20 | Allen Michael

VIDEO ON A HALF SPEED RECORDING TECHNIQUE:

 
When you said "wind up"...I thought you meant the effect of having the piano start at a low octave/slow speed...and then winding up to the correct speed.

So you're basically talking about recording at a slower tempo, lower octave, and then bring it up to normal tempo and getting the correct octave.
I've done that with other stuff...not necessarily a piano backing track...but yeah, if it's the sound you're going for, it's a nice way to change things up a bit.

From what I could see in the background of your video...you have a nice looking setup and space. Do you primarily work on your own music...or do you use it for outside/commercial work too?
 
When you said "wind up"...I thought you meant the effect of having the piano start at a low octave/slow speed...and then winding up to the correct speed.

So you're basically talking about recording at a slower tempo, lower octave, and then bring it up to normal tempo and getting the correct octave.
I've done that with other stuff...not necessarily a piano backing track...but yeah, if it's the sound you're going for, it's a nice way to change things up a bit.

From what I could see in the background of your video...you have a nice looking setup and space. Do you primarily work on your own music...or do you use it for outside/commercial work too?

Primarly my music...sometimes others' if I like it. Oh and about the "78" its 22k w/ ship included
 
Recorded using a Otari MTR 90 Mk III 30 IPS and mixed on a Ramsa WRT 820 Mixer with a Soundcraft efx12 side car mixer. Mixed with 4 hands going through a Pultec EQP 500 and Dbx160VU printed on 1/4" Otari MTR 10 @30 IPS
Lots of bouncing! Performed Live!

FULL SONG AUDIO: 20/20 | Allen Michael

Nice! Rather Supertramp, especially during the second half.


It's been a while since I've posted something, so here's a thing:
YouTube
 
Cool, I see you have smpte locked on both machines! what are you using to sync them?

TASCAM ATS-500. The Otari runs as master, just providing timecode. The TSR-8 follows. I usually record the vocals and bass on the TSR-8 using its auto-punch-in features and dub it to the Otari when I'm happy with it, using the synchronizer. Way back when I was using two TSR-8s, but having to have them locked during mixdown complicated things.
 
When i had a fostex R8 and it worked for one session with one old maxell metal master tape before its plastic guides caused new tape to scrape oxide dust everywhere and ultimately trashed the machine and made it impossible to use. i got this 2 minute test recording out of it

Vocaroo | Online voice recorder
 
The results of using the Mackie Cr1604 into a 424MK3. mixed down through an Alesis Microlimiter to a Tascam 112rmkii with dolby B. Im getting some interference on the mixers main outs that happens with other equipment from time to time but oh well. the sources arent exactly the most noise free thing anyway. i had to collaspe a bunch since my 238 is out for repair but i still got it done!

Vocaroo | Online voice recorder
 
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