"Remastering" and adding tracks to mixed-down demo

[peege]

Hi,

About 15 years ago my friend and I made some demos with a four-track analog recorder, mixed them, slapped them on a cassette and gave them to our parents for Christmas. Now they're clamoring for CD/mp3 versions, but we'd like to go back and add some things to them - somehow make them sound better.

So two questions:

1. Given that we no longer have the tracks - it's just one track now on a 15-year-old cassette - how can we enhance what we have from a cassette? (We'll probably import into a PC/Mac and use Audacity or Garageband, unless there are better free/cheap choices nowadays)

2. What's the best way to add some additional tracks - say, a violin or additional harmonies - without it sounding like crap? (Disclaimer: We're not shooting for professionalism here - just something our parents can listen to and enjoy.) Any special considerations or techniques for achieving the best result, or is this just impossible?

Thanks so much!

 

[Armistice]

I would imagine, given the source is a cassette that it's going to be very difficult to get anything that sounds like it "fits" because the new stuff is going to sound bright and shiny and your source is going to sound like it came from a cassette... poor dynamic range, loss of high end etc.

So you have two tracks on your cassette, not one, BTW. Left and right. I'm not sure about Audacity in terms of VST plugs you could use to "remaster" your cassette stuff, but I think if you got a "real" DAW (Reaper - free download) then there are probably some useful plugins (that you may have to get separately) that might help clean up your existing tracks to some extent, but don't get your hopes too high, and what they are, I don't really know... someone with more mastering experience might chime in soon.

In terms of adding stuff to this, then the aforementioned problem with dynamic range and loss of high frequencies, if it were to work, I'd be trying to use tape simulators and lots of compression to try and match it, sonically, to what you already have.

But then, as the Irish man said when asked for directions, "I wouldn't be starting from here..."

Don't suppose you can re-record it at all? Way more fun. Way better quality...

 

[mixsit]

Part 1 is going to depend a lot on what you have, it's qualities (or lack of). For the most part you typically can't 'undo damages done. You're going to have to listen and ask the sort of questions- where are we now, and what might be done as in options. Once you get it into the computer you could also post it here and get some opinions.
Part 2 'What's the best way to add some additional tracks - say, a violin or additional harmonies - without it sounding like crap?' Well, not sure where you're going with that little tiddy Not impossible', anywhere from totally easy to..
That 'll be... depending on who's 'driving
So where are we at this point? The intent I might imagine is to have some fun with it maybe.
Do you have some idea as to how this works' or what you have in mind as to what you need and how to proceed?