I can't believe this is you... I heard Eyes on Fire by you about 3 weeks ago out of pure coincidence. I must have come across your post with it while looking up analog stuff. I literally kept the link to this song on my tabs for like 3 days.... I love this man!! This was one of the things that really pushed me to get a 4-track, seriously.. What'd ya mix it in?
So would you recommend getting 5 of the Maxell's for $32? They come in a pack, but if I understand what you're saying, in theory I only need like 1 since my songs will come out to like 20 minutes in total (for now). Any suggestions for cheap practice tape? I assume it doesn't have to be high bias or type 2?
Thanks. I'm glad I was able to help with your decision to get a 4-track. Those things are so often dismissed by so many because of their alleged "poor quality." But I think if you pair them with good gear, good musicianship, and good recording skills, they can sound pretty darn nice.
I mixed "Eyes on Fire" on the 424 using an Alesis Nanoverb for the reverb (the only outboard processor I had at the time---I have more now
). I just recorded it to my DAW (either Reaper or Tracktion---can't remember) because I don't yet have a 1/4" 2 track R2R. Then in the DAW I used a mastering plug-in just to try to give it a little extra sheen.
Somewhere in another thread is a play-by-play rundown of the whole process (tracking and all). I'm sure you could find it if you search "Eyes on Fire."
Oh, nevermind; I found it. (In case you're interested):
Recorded in my basement studio. It's a pretty decent size room (app. 26x16) with concrete floor, and it's been treated with absorptive panels and bass traps that I built with either Owens 703 or mineral wool. It's set up kind of like the "dead end/live end" situation, with the mixing desk in the dead end.
The signal chain was the same for every track recorded:
one
Octava MC-012 (small diaphragham condenser)
--->
M-audio DMP3 mic pre
---> old
DOD rackmount R-825 compressor (actually a pretty decent compressor, back when DOD made decent stuff)
--->
Tascam 414
Acoustic: Alli's
Martin - It's a
DXM I think? It's the low end Martin with no binding or inlays or anything, but I think it's still a nice-sounding guitar
Reverb:
Alesis Nanoverb
Track 1: me on acoustic, her lead vocal, and my harmony vocal all at once. That was actually all I planned on doing, just to demonstrate the quality. But we liked the vibe so much, we decided to flesh it out.
Track 2: Alli overdubbed low vocal harmony (that's her doubling with the low "AH" melody in the intro, not me --- my vocals don't come in until "I'm taking it slow"), and I played a hand-made shaker (beads in a medicine bottle). I backed off the mic a good bit for the shaker.
Track 3: Alli overdubbed a few lead vocal doubles in some spots and added one of the countermelody "AHs" in the second chorus (I guess you'd call it), and I played the organ solo. For the organ sound, I ran through Mackie Tracktion on my computer in order to access a synth plug-in called "Lazy Snake" (which is freeware) and sent the monitor out to the 414 direct. This was the only thing recorded direct.
Track 4: Alli overdubbed high vocal harmony and doubled the "AH" countermelody. After that, I overdubbed the "xylo-pupofone," which is my 11-month-old son's toy xylophone (shaped like a puppy!) to double/complement the organ solo.
The pupofone was a jumbled affair though, because it only has 6 notes: scale steps 1-6 in the key of C (C D E F G A). But the song was in C minor. So, I sped up the 414 a whole step so it sounded in D minor. Then I was able to play the pupofone as the first five notes of a D minor scale (D E F G A) with an extra low b7 note (C). That limitation of notes greatly influenced what I chose to play.
Overdubbing this part made me realize how rusty I was on my 4-track recording chops! I accidentally erased the very beginning of Alli's harmony on the final "AH" melody outro bit. I was overdubbing the pupofone by myself, and I didn't give myself time enough to get back and push stop! You can hear it in the right speaker if you listen for it. After the organ solo, her "AH" harmony doesn't come in until the second note or so. ooops!
I mixed down into Tracktion on my cpu. The only thing I added after that was a mastering plug-in, which did help to add a bit of sparkle that wasn't present on the original recording.
That's pretty much the lowdown. I did the best I could on the engineering end, but truth be told, it wouldn't have sounded nearly as nice if it wasn't for my wive's beautiful vocals. She really makes the song.
I'd go ahead and get the pack of Maxells assuming that you're not super-strapped financially or anything. That way, you'll have extras when you're ready to record more songs. And yes you can use a normal bias tape for practice. They still sell them at a few stores around me like Best Buy, Walgreens/CVS, and maybe even Walmart, so I'd try there. It doesn't really even matter. Something like this from Best Buy would be perfectly fine for practice:
Maxell - UR Type I Audio Cassette - 108510
