Can anyone help me identify this tape effect?

7

70ssound

Member
I was checking out some recordings of the '60s and this Scott McKenzie song came up. In the first 10 seconds of the song there's a lone bass guitar in the right channel. Every time the player hits a note, a weird, fizzy noise on top accompanies it. Like a kind of distortion. The recording is from 1967. If you can somehow shut off the left speaker so that only the right is coming through you'll hear it quite clearly. I thought maybe it could be Dolby A making those "breathing" noises I've read about, but I often times find myself getting that same effect when I record my bass guitar direct into a 3340 without any noise reduction.



I was surprised to find this sound on a professionally recorded release. It's by no means a pleasant, or desirable noise/artifact. I fight like crazy to get the bass to not do this, and other instruments as well. I've opened fresh reels of tape, thinking maybe the tape was worn out. I've mic'd, direct, you name it, and it's not easy to get rid of. Sometimes it magically isn't there(?)
 
I'm not sure I am hearing the same thing you are. What I hear is tape noise, with a bit of distortion on the bass. For me it would be a case of "welcome to the world of tape". The track is unusual in that the bass is only on the right channel. Most times, that was avoided for records as it makes it difficult for a stylus to track, but the level on the song is probably low enough that it didn't cause an issue (assuming that the original record was mixed the same way).


View attachment Rooms Bass.mp3

FWIW, I never really ran into a case of "worn out" tape in normal usage. There were some cassettes that I abused pretty heavily, but not regular reels. A good pass with a bulk eraser would leave a reel of tape as clean as new.
 
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I hear the hiss (either from the amp, electronics, or tape hiss, or combination thereof) but the sound I'm thinking about is a sort of "white noise" sounding out every time the guy strikes a note on the bass guitar. I thought it was an upright bass at first, but I think it's an electric bass, probably hollow-body? It's not so much a distortion sound, in my mind, as it is a white noise/fizzy type of sound. Thanks for turning the right channel into a mono clip, BTW :-)

As far as worn out tape goes I've certainly experienced it a few times. I had a batch of mid 1970s Maxell UD on 10-1/2 reels. I'd record with them and things sounded great. Then after enough time of recording over and over again, I started noticing actually a similar sound to what I've been trying to exemplify and describe. Tracks (especially bass) with an accompanying farty noise related artifact. One time I just about lost my mind, messing with levels, taking the tape machine apart, pulling cables, etc. Finally I got the idea to change the tape with something in less used shape and voila, the problem was gone. I've had much better luck using older 1.5 mil tapes from the '50s and '60s than I have with the '70s tapes. Not really sure why. It seems counterintuitive. Of course keep in mind the Teac 3340 seems to just beat the shit out of the tape. And for God's sake, why does the 3340 rewind so fast??? It's just abusing the tape needlessly. I really don't get it. I'm not in such a rush that I can't wait an extra 45 seconds.

Anyway, but getting back to the sound on the recording I shared, I've listened to countless '60s recordings and the bass guitar always sound gorgeous. I've even listened to isolated bass tracks from the era, but I've heard no weird artifcacts like on this recording. I was actually kind of relieved when I heard this the other day because I didn't think it existed outside of my own amateur recordings, but now I felt I could share this and other people can hear it and share what they think it might be.
 
Sounds very typical of a poor recording from that era. Just what we used to call 'woolly bass' - In fact I have a bass from that era that always recorded like that! If I put a dynamic mic on the single 15" speaker I used back then, and played with my finger tips with the mic plugged into my old Revox, I reckon that's the noise I'd still get. Not deliberate, just how some basses were in a chain with unsympathetic other items and a too quiet for the gain setting. Could even be made worse by heads needing cleaning and bias current setting up properly. Wong bias and wrong tape often generated wierd compression like artefacts.
 
I isolated the right channel and trimmed intro only, so it's easier to focus on what you're talking about.

All I really hear is layers of tape/equipment hiss, bleed from the acoustic, and a trace of the percussionist getting the shaker ready right at the end.
View attachment rc.mp3
 
Rob.... sounds like you're hearing that fizzy sound I'm talking about... It comes on with the note, and decays with the note. Improper bias crossed my mind, but I believe this album was done at Western sound or or the Sound Factory which would lead one to believe they set up their machines before every session.
 
If that is the case, why is that intro such a mess? If we re-recorded that song, we'd sort that bass double quick. I reckon it was recorded too low in level and bringing it up for the intro revealed it! Whatever caused it, I reckon it's a mistake, not an effect. Many mistakes eventually get repeated and become effects though - but bass and effects are much rarer than guitars.
 
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