Papanate
Well-known member
Are those your Sonys? They sound different than the ones I’ve mixed on - you are getting a very bright sound -
Are those your Sonys? They sound different than the ones I’ve mixed on - you are getting a very bright sound -
Mark7
Well-known member
Nice stuff Renne. Nice to hear some good old fashioned Alt Rock being made by a young person 
TapeRoll
Member
Good feel to the song,... reminds me of something the band 'America' might put out. May be some phase issues on the cymbals. The 3:1 micing rule would remedy such an issue.
D
dogstarman4000
New member
an experimental record i recorded on my 424 mkIII (mostly songs and jams i recorded over the last year and compiled together.) inspired by GBV and Smog and Mogwai and various 90s ambient groups… not always the greatest sounding but have been using this as a project to experiment with my 4 track and just learn more as I Go. stoked to leaf thru this forum and see what other people are doing on tape.
christiandaelemans
Active member
hey y’all! here i present two songs: both are recorded on a tascam 38, and mixed using a tascam m512 mixer. absolutely all done out of the box, using an alesis micro limiter and effects are printed to tape only, no effects sends.
these are rough mixes, as i didn’t use the BEST quality patch methods to digitize these songs. but, i still think they sound pretty tasty. this is my first time using monitors to mix.
Noise (Can You Hear?)
Away, Away
hopefully it’s more impressive that i’m 19, i’m writing and playing and singing all parts of these recordings, and i’m pretty damn new to recording and writing in general. recorded my first song ever in january of 2024.
these are rough mixes, as i didn’t use the BEST quality patch methods to digitize these songs. but, i still think they sound pretty tasty. this is my first time using monitors to mix.
Noise (Can You Hear?)
Away, Away
hopefully it’s more impressive that i’m 19, i’m writing and playing and singing all parts of these recordings, and i’m pretty damn new to recording and writing in general. recorded my first song ever in january of 2024.
Slouching Raymond
Well-known member
They are both great, Christian. The 'band' is together.
If it is this good at 19, where might it possibly go in time?
I'm 66, but my best is yet to come.
christiandaelemans
Active member
thank you! the work you’re hearing is a product of dbx NR, a focusrite isa one preamp, a single condenser mic for every source (yes, drums are a single mic on those song) and a liberal use of double tracking guitar and vocals. stereo imaging is probably my favorite thing about songs and productions i really like, so i wanted to incorporate a ton of that. why have an 8 track machine if you aren’t gonna pan things all over the place?
here’s a picture of my cartoonishly “bedroom studio” esque set up. located in, you guessed it, my bedroom.
Scott Baxendale
Well-known member
Really good! The recording sounds excellent.
christiandaelemans
Active member
thanks! it’s really nice to get opinions about my recordings from people who actually record using analog tape, i genuinely don’t think i have gotten feedback from anyone who has before. most people in my music scene and bands we play with live (yes, i’ve assembled a band of friends to play my songs live and we’re actually from maryland, if any fellow MDers ever see the band “the homekeepers” around) have never even touched tape.
but i’m an old school music nerd through and through and usually find that i’m chatting about my interests with people much older than me, even with stuff like guitars and basses and drums. it’s par for the course.
R
R D Smith
It's as good as it is, for as long as it lasts.
They both sound really good. I think the vocals could come up a little because I had a hard time understanding the lyrics on "Noise", "Away" was better, but still a little low. I'm looking forward to hearing the finished mixes.
Mark7
Well-known member
Is that a 244 on the shelf above the 512? How long have you been recording? I'm not an expert (and I don't play one on TV), but those sound pretty damn close to professional demos.
christiandaelemans
Active member
i began recording on my literal iphone mic and bandlab (garage band equivalent) in january of 2024. fast forward to april of 2024, and i began using a tascam 244 to record EXTREMELY CRAPPY stuff. i was recording terrible levels, using terrible eq to tape and mixing with headphones on exclusively. here’s the result of that. if you don’t know, using eq choices and mixing decisions from headphones is a pretty bad idea.
but in september of 2024, i laid down a proper 244 recording here and mixed it on my new kali lp6 monitors. i have 2 units since my original 244 had transport problems, and the newer one has problems on channel 3. i run the tape outs of my “newer” 244 to the inputs on the older 244 that sits in front of my monitors, which makes it an overall more optimal system to record and mix using cassette.
anyways, as far as reel to reel goes, i bought it serviced from a dude in july of 2024, and spent the rest of the year buying cables, patch bays, dbx NR units, learning how to best use the machine and getting good signal to tape. i found that the tascam m512 for some reason could NEVER put good signal to tape using the pre amps, so i used the focusrite isa one as the pre amp. i recorded my first song on it december 27th, 2024. those 2 songs on my initial post were largely recorded in march of 2024, vocals recorded in april. only 6 songs total have recorded on the machine, about 24 minutes of music.
i really appreciate the kind words, it affirms what i feel as though is an innate talent i have for recording, arranging, and mixing my own concepts. music is so friggin good, and i want to show people in my scene what someone is capable of if they have the drive to make something good. too much mediocre music is being made around me, and people spending tons of money to “lay down some studio drums” for their mediocre song that could be done better at home with more initiative.
sound wise, i feel like i’m mixing together 2 sources. the first, known to many, is the boston debut LP and tom sholtz’ fantastic work as an arranger, recorder, engineer, and all the amazing choices he made on that record. 2nd is the FANTASTIC home recording work of mac demarco, and his luscious sounding LP “2”. listen to this song and tell me if it sounds like 1/4” tape from a fostex 8 track machine. i have DOUBLE the tape width, a way better mic preamp, and possibly a more mixing professional board than his fostex 812 used on this song and yet it sounds so crisp. a lot of older folk will look at this young guy and think he’s using sneaky tricks, but absolutely not. that song is the sound of dolby C, 1/4” 8 track tape at 15 ips, and a fostex 812 mixer with alesis outboard gear.
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christiandaelemans
Active member
as for that mac demarco guy, i should also state that i actually have much of his gear too. i have the same guitar he used back in the day for this impeccable lofi noise project, i have the same microphone used on his “2” LP (a roland dr80c condenser microphone), and i employ the same alesis microverb 4 effects unit as him, and run my 2 track stereo mix output through an alesis micro limiter like him as well.
to me, he is the apex of great indie music done on analog tape. when i first listened to him a few years ago, he almost struck me as a guy lost in time using 70s mixing techniques to create a phenomenal sounding album that i didn’t know could still be made.
seriously, i wish more people talked about him on this forum.
to me, he is the apex of great indie music done on analog tape. when i first listened to him a few years ago, he almost struck me as a guy lost in time using 70s mixing techniques to create a phenomenal sounding album that i didn’t know could still be made.
seriously, i wish more people talked about him on this forum.
christiandaelemans
Active member
thanks! yeah, i agree with you on that. it’s also tricky with some of these songs because on noise, and 2 more which aren’t posted, the guitar solo is located on the vocal tracks and the vocals use HEAVY eq from the tascam to make them fit so well in the mix. so it’s about doing a little choreographed fader and eq thing to make sure you don’t blow anyone away when the solo kicks in.
please let me know what you think of the bass guitar. i kid you not, i am boosting both 50 and 100 hz at about 2 o clock and i’m wondering if it’s going too deep and into the bass drum region. on my monitors, i’ve defaulted to those frequencies because they simply “fill things in” it seems like.
TalismanRich
Well-known member
Overall, I think the songs are pretty good. It's not easy to write good songs. My biggest issue is that the guitars have too much "fuzz" for my taste, and are pretty loud in the mix so that they bury the vocals. That's a pretty common trend I hear a lot, guitars that sound "good in the room" can sound like a distorted mess when recorded.
I like your vocal treatment. The bass isn't a problem to me.
I like your vocal treatment. The bass isn't a problem to me.
christiandaelemans
Active member
yeah, i’ll have to tame them in the real proper mix down. though, it’s certainly a style i’m going for with vocals that sometimes almost sound elusive and hidden behind the curtain that is some of the double track guitar noise. but it needs to be pleasing to the ear as much as possible, without a build up of fizz or anything.
the vocals have a hint of alesis microverb 4 slapback delay, double or triple tracked and it gives a pleasing sharpness to them while still sounding like they aren’t sung in a dry closet or something. they sound “more pro” or whatever that may mean. oh and i also tracked them with a micro limiter compressing them nearly into the red.
AND YES!! oh my lord, when you have so much cool equipment around you, you feel guilty not writing a song you think is the best it can be. songwriting is fun, but tough and sometimes tests your ability to just get crap down. sometimes you just gotta load up the tape and lay it down and see where it goes.
Scott Baxendale
Well-known member
Your tascam sound brings back a lot of nice memories for me.