Post Your Analog Recordings Here...

  • Thread starter Thread starter jedblue
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I seem to have done a run of songs lately about the brutality of life in a particular fictional universe, so here's another one.

(9:55)

This song is interesting in its own right because I have attempted to play electric bass for the first time. It's still a little shaky because I've only had the bass for one month and perhaps I tried to do this a little too soon. Even so, by virtue of the auto punch-in feature on the TSR-8 I have been able to muddle my way through by sheer brute force.

The mix may be a little iffy since I managed to break the Fostex TP20s I usually use and the other headphones were awful. Still, it sounds okay on speakers.

The icon is a photo of the tape loop used on the second chorus, it literally is "an endless loop of strife" as per the lyrics. (Yes, I had to adjust it a few times to make it match the tempo.)

Instruments and recording info:
JV1010 and MVS-1 (bass synthesizers, polysynth)
Creamware ASB Minimax (bass and lead synth)
Mike Pinder mellotron samples (8-voice choir, flute, Chamberlin Female Choir)
MVS-1 'squashed organ' (see also the entire 'Clone' album by Threshold)
Hammond XM-1 organ module with Rotosphere leslie sim
Waldorf MicroWave ('phaseout' solo)
Korg Triton EX (drums, fender piano, gong)
Zoom RFX-2000 vocoder
Diode ring modulator (featuring dad's old function generator)
Encore E4 bass, DI'd into the mixer through a Reotube G2

Recording was done on a TASCAM TSR-8 for vocals and bass and transferred to a TASCAM MSR-24 which was also used for tracking the computer-controlled instruments. The gong was taped and modulated with the jog shuttle on a Studer A807. The Endless Loop of Strife was played on a Revox B77 as the Studer pitched a fit over playing a tape loop. Again.

(Hmm, I probably want to rerecord that first verse again)
 
Mark7 said:
Dang, those are good. What's your set up and track usage?
Click to expand...

Thanks so much!

It was fairly simple. Crane Song Spider straight into the 388. We used these miss:

Vox: Shure SM7
Acoustic guitars: AKG C451B
Electric guitars: Goldtone mic'd w/ Royer R-121
Steel: Goldtone mic'd w/ Royer R-121
Bass: Sansamp RBI
Drums: Mono using the Royer R-121
 
Here's a song I tracked on my Otari MX80....then mixed direct from the MX80 through my analog console, down to my 2-track Otari 5050 BIII.
The only time anything hit my DAW was when I transfered to final mix from the 2-track so I could convert to a digital file for uploading.

Here it is in the MP3 Clinic:

La Luna Pasa
 
miroslav said:
Here's a song I tracked on my Otari MX80....then mixed direct from the MX80 through my analog console, down to my 2-track Otari 5050 BIII.
The only time anything hit my DAW was when I transfered to final mix from the 2-track so I could convert to a digital file for uploading.

Here it is in the MP3 Clinic:

La Luna Pasa
Click to expand...
Miroslav,very well done recording.I like the open airy feel of the entire mix but especially the drums,...which,as you may agree,should always be recorded on tape if possible.This style of music is right down my alley as I am a huge Santana fan.

A question that I do have is,what analog console are you running your signals through?

Thanks for posting,...it's always good to hear a good analog recording in a modern world of 1's and 0's.
 
Thanks for the comments!

It was mixed through my TASCAM M-3500 console. I only use a few pieces of outboard for the mix...an Overstayer Stereo VCA comp on the mix bus...followed by a Nightpro EQ 3D, which may be helping with some of the "air" you mention as it does have the often praised Air Band. I had the the Air Band set for 40kHz, with a small amount of boost.
Other than that, I used an AD&R limiter on the lead guitar just to tighten it up a bit...and the reverb for the mix was provided by an old Roland unit, though I only added it to the lead guitar, on of the rhythm guitars, piano and the acoustic guitars that provide the single note riffs between the lead section.

You've got some nice songs too on your Soundcloud page. Not sure which are the 1" and 2" tracks, there's no notes on the page....but they all sound pretty good, especially lthe Rock/Folk tracks.
 
How expensive is a session on the 388? How much bang for the buck, tapewise?
 
...

A 7"-reel/1200' of tape @ 7.5 ips runs 32 minutes, and costs about $25, dealer price.
A 7"-reel/1800' of tape @ 7.5 ips runs 48 minutes, and probably costs about the same.
However, depending on where and from whom you buy tape, price could vary a lot.
That is a lot more than I've spent on 7" reels of tape, and they may be found much cheaper.

A good condition 388 should hopefully cost no more than about $450, but price could vary significantly. It may be more expensive for a mint low use unit, perhaps less for a well used beater, or sweetheart deal.

:spank::eek:;)
 
reckharpering.bandcamp.com

My first attempt at 4-track recording. I tried to do acoustic and vocals (double tracked) at the same time to add more texture, and the vocals came out really uneven (which is a problem for me).
 


Recorded around 1993 on Tascam 488. Guitars direct into channels. Bass and drums are programmed on the Korg M1 sequencer. Alesis MIDIVERB. Imported into daw around 1998, used L1, eq, rolled off some high end. Bounced and concerted to 128kb mp3 for maximum fidelity. Lots of goofups and the bg vocals are all pitchy, but still sounds pretty good to my ears.
 
Hey guys, here's my cover of The Beatles' "Yes It Is", recorded on a Tascam 424 mk ii. I did add some compression in Reaper, so it's not 100% analog, but what is nowadays? Thanks for listening.

 
If anyone's interested I have made a substantially improved version of this song:
https://soundcloud.com/dougtheeagle/born-with-wings-take-2

The bassline is new, the organ has been rerecorded and overall I find the mix a lot better.

Tracking was done to a TASCAM MSR-24 and a TSR-8 for the vocals and bass. Mixing was done on a Soundcraft MFX20 to a Studer A807 on SM900 tape.
 
stasz said:
Hey guys, here's my cover of The Beatles' "Yes It Is", recorded on a Tascam 424 mk ii. I did add some compression in Reaper, so it's not 100% analog, but what is nowadays? Thanks for listening.

Click to expand...

It sounds a lot like the way Chris Knox/Tall Dwarfs might have done it back in the 80s. Cool :D
 
stasz said:
I dig it. I liked the part after the guitar solo where the drums drop out and the tambourine/handclaps come in.

Only thing I would have to say constructively is that the background vocals are, at times, a bit out of tune.
Click to expand...



I hear ya there!:o
All the vocals are pretty bad.I think Im gonna go back and rerecord them.
Thanks for listening.


Update.....Redid all the vocals.Sounds a bit better.
 
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