Need Some Recording Advice...

  • Thread starter Thread starter timandjes
  • Start date Start date
Bruce, can we compromise and say cassette multi-tracks are
capable of being used as professional lo-fi devices then?
Sorry if I've been sounding like an attorney with all this.
Never (well almost!) can resist a bit of lively discussion you know.
Especially when you get "free" lessons here from experts!

P.S. Have you received any recordings made from portastudios
for you to mix and/or master that were WORTHY of release?
 
chessparov said:
P.S. Have you received any recordings made from portastudios
for you to mix and/or master that were WORTHY of release?
Click to expand...
Not one... (so far...) -- if someone wants to test it, send me your portastudio stuff! (mind you , that isn't free!!) ;)

:D :D
 
What blows my mind about casette multitracks still in use is that casettes aren't even considedered good enough for distribution quality anymore.

VHS is the only tape format still in use for distribution and even home movie people know to use MiniDV or Hi8 for better quality.

You would think even as hobbiest musicians and audiophiles we would be slightly ahead of the curve compared to the average person. Using casettes for ANYTHING is a huge step back,

Unless you are just using it for the 'effect'.

Sorry to offend anybody using casette but come on, the 80's are LONGGGGGG gone ;)
 
Tex, except "That 80's Show" of course-not that I watch it either.
And Bruce- I was expecting you to turn any cassette opus into Nebraska!
Anyone can hit the recording "lottery"....
 
In another post, I asked why my recordings sounded GREAT in my headphones, but not so great after I mixed down and played the tape in other tape players. The replies I got were that headphones can't be used as trusted monitors for mixing down. I can easily believe that because I heard the difference myself....... But here's a question: Where did that GREAT sound in my headphones come from? Did it not come from my analog 4-track?

Granted I've been unable to get a mirror image of that sound mixed onto the final tape as of yet, (I'm a recorder of no more than 2 months experience), but since I heard it to begin with.... it must have been in there.

If in the future, my mixing skills improve and I'm able to duplicate that absolutely AWESOME headphone sound (that was playing from a 4-track analog source), perhaps the new question will be this.... If the pro's could still tell a slight difference in the quality, would increasing that minimal sound quality difference be proportional with the cost difference of their gear and my "budget" gear?

Perhaps the pro's would disagree that the sound difference would be slight? We'll, as a non-pro studio recorder..... I guess that makes me pro-everyday-joe..... So, then perhaps another good question is: Who's my band's audience anyway? A bunch of everyday joe's or a bunch of pro recorders?

While I do want the best sound I can get, (& I appreciate ALL of your input), my mission is to get my band's sound out to the people so that my band can progress... Not necessarily to get my recording skills out to the people so I alone can progress.... (That's a good thing, huh..... Otherwise I'd better not hold my breath, huh?)

If I can accomplish this mission with gear thousands of dollars less than the pro's, it sort of seems like the budget gear was the right tool for the job...
 
The most practical approach probably is to treat your Tascam 414 as a
musical sketchpad. Then when your band has things nailed down go to
a professional studio, and have someone, like Bruce, with the experience
to do a proper job for you by recording the band properly.
If you get something decent together on your 4 track, you can bring it
to the studio to give them an idea of what you want.
 
I first started recording on open reel two track and then "graduated" to a Tascam 238 eight track cassette recorder. I used to marvel at what I percieved to be the totally pro sounds I got from it when I played my cassettes in the truck. I'd tell a friend of mine who owned a pro studio about my set up and he'd just smile and mumble "yeah, that's a nice set up". When I finally got a decent monitor set up and I listened back to all my old masterpieces, I realized that they were none to "professional" as I thought they were at the time. When I got my first Blackface ADAT and was able to A/B old recordings to stuff I was able to do with it I almost spit up a lung. The point is, you can do wonderful stuff with cassette based multi track machines but damn near any of the digital machines on the market now will blow them out of the water in terms of band width and dynamic range, BUT, it's the quality of the music that really decides what "sounds good". A slouch on the finest recording set up known to man is still a slouch.
 
chessparov said:
The most practical approach probably is to treat your Tascam 414 as a
musical sketchpad. Then when your band has things nailed down go to
a professional studio, and have someone, like Bruce, with the experience
to do a proper job for you by recording the band properly.
If you get something decent together on your 4 track, you can bring it
to the studio to give them an idea of what you want.
Click to expand...

I second that. If your main aim is to help the band, not to become a sound engineer, this is the way to go and the gear you have got is adequate for making pre-production demos.

One of the best things about doing a demo before you go into a studio that will be costing money is that you have the luxury of taking your time to sit back and listen critically to what's being played and work on the arrangements.

Listen for parts that are fighting each other. Listen for uneasy gaps where nothing interesting is happening other than everyone waiting for the hook to come around again.

You will also be able to hear who is playing sloppily and get an idea of who can track in one take and who takes 15 shots plus drop-ins. That way you can make sure that everyone is well practised.

Listen for who needs to get their rattley drumkit or humming guitar amp fixed. Listen for who gets bad fret buzz. Listen for who takes breaths in the middle of words or hangs on consonants when they sing (not that either of those seem to be considered to be faults these days).

When booking the studio, discuss with the engineer how the recordings will take place. Also discuss the demo and say what bits the band likes and what bits need improvement.

All this work will save you bags of time (money) when you get to the studio and ensure a better result at the end.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top