do old analog 4 tracks have any creative uses besides recording?

[miroslav]

For me...tracking to tape is different than tracking to DAW....and I do use both and enjoy both, so I'm not on either side.

What it is about tape is a certain immediacy of tracking. It's very straightforward and it has a more "direct" feel.
Somehow, when tracking to DAW, it's more protracted....though I've been tracking to tape for such a long time, but still, I know my DAW well, and I'm not fumbling with it or anything...it just always ends up more involved.

With the tape deck...there's really not much to the process once you turn it on and thread the tape....and I don't have to look at the tape deck. I trigger the track and patch my signal to it. I have my cue points marked on the tape with a push of a button, and with the push of another, it always RW to that spot, and I just hit REC...it all just ends up being very transparent. Some people will say you have to wait for all the RW/FW...etc...but I'm never standing there waiting.
The very short time it takes to RW/FW gives me just enough time to quick check my guitar tuning or adjust the amp or take a sip of coffee...etc. I mean...it's just a very fluid process.

I find the DAW always ends up being a too visual a process. Sure, you can set up a lot of ranges/markers/takes...but you always end up staring at it, moving the mouse cursor to the right spot, clicking...maybe having to name the takes, or as many people do, fiddling with plugs to get those cue mixes right for the next set of takes/tracks...etc
I just seem to move quicker and smoother tracking to tape than DAW.

I also think that the audio coming off the tape as you are tracking, and the cue mix of the already recorded tracks...has a much more appealing "rough" mix than what you get with a DAW without taking a lot more time in the DAW to apply processing/effects...etc.

Once all the tape tracks are transferred to the DAW, then it's a different thing, but then, the tracking stage is over, and it's not the editing/comping/pre-mixing stuff...and for that, the DAW kicks-ass.
Also...as someone said, with tape, IMO, there's a stronger feeling to really perform, to nail the take from start to finish...without having to stop the tape. Sure, you could do the punch-ins, but it's something about not wanting to yield to that....something about not wanting to stop the reels midway.
With DAW tracking...I find that you're much more easily open to doing things in bits-n-pieces. I know you don't have to...you could track the same way, with out stops, without punch-ins...etc....I'm just saying that's the difference...tape just makes you work as though it IS a live performance, while the DAW has that virtual atmosphere going on, and it's not the same.

Anyway...just my thoughts...that's how it is for me, and I also tend to track to DAW like tape, but again, that visual aspect of DAWs is IMO more disruptive than a tape deck.

 

[RFR]

Having spent a lot of time with tape, and being new to daws, i agree with ALL points above.

Tape is cool. Once you're set up it's 'plug and play'
Daws are killer for editing.

 

[mdainsd]

My opinion only. But if a band, or a band member can't do a straight through one take, then they aren't ready to record, period. They are not serious players. Ok, maybe a little edit tweak, but minimul. This to me, is what is wrong with a lot of todays music produced by the instant gratification crowd. "Oh fuck it, we will just copy and paste it", and that is exactly what it sounds like...copy and paste, quantify, time stretch, whatever.
A tape machine doesn't add any sort of pressure to the process. It could be housed away in another room and never seen by the artists (as they were in pro studios). Yeah, there is a small pause between rewinds, but seriously it isn't much with a proper machine.

 

[RFR]

^^^^
Preaching to the choir.

 

[miroslav]

A tape machine doesn't add any sort of pressure to the process.

I kinda feel it's less pressure...or maybe more transparent is a better word.
Not sound-wise, but work-wise. You don't need to put it in another room. I mean, I find I need to pay very little attention to the tape deck...it just does its job.
The biggest thing is to make sure I'm arming the right track if I'm doing multiple takes...but that's just a button-flip.