I would like to ask you, I am about to buy a portastudio and I can choose between a Tascam 488 MkII, with 8 channels, and other 4-channel options. Don't the 8 channels reduce the quality by half when dividing the tape into 8 parts? Is that so? (my intention is not only to record on the portastudio but also to dump my recordings from logic pro to give them texture and warmth, that's why I'm concerned about dividing the tape into 4 or 8.) Thank you for your music, we listen to it here as if you were a classic from the 90s :)
This song does not use dbx and neither does any song on this album. I'm currently recording an album that uses dbx on about half of the songs. I go back and forth between using dbx and not using it. I've made a video about it before and I think my opinions about it have changed even since then. In that video I recommend not using dbx but I now think that it has its place. In regards to how I got the song so hiss free there are a multitude of ways. Number 1- Always track with compression so that your dynamic range on your recording is a little more controlled Number 2 - Always make sure that your peaks are in the +3 to +6 db range. This will prevent hiss, create tape saturation and prevent any crazy tape distortion as you're not recording TOO hot. Number 3 - Use a preamp with a hell of a lot of gain. I exclusively use dynamic mics (at this current moment) and almost always use a Golden Age Pre-73 as my preamp. I like how it sounds and it has so much gain that it negates any bad signal to noise ratio, reducing hiss. Number 4 - If it the high end sounds harsh or if there's too much hiss don't be afraid to put the high EQ at 9 o'clock on the offending track. Thanks for the comment and thanks for stopping by mothspleen.
Hey man, i love your videos and i dig what i've heard from you on bandcamp! Keep it up. I want to do something similar myself, with a cassette recorder. I have the chance to buy a tascam 414 or 424 (can't remember which one it is) - i was wondering what other equipment i would need to start making recordings of a similar quality to yours? I have an amp and pedals, no drum kit of yet, and a set of monitors. Could i use a pedal compressor and boss eq as a make shift preamp and eq for a mic setup? I'm curious. Or if you know any great reads to get some greater understanding of this sort of recording and equipement. Thanks dude!
Thanks for the compliments on the music. The 424 and 414 are both awesome. The Yamaha Mt4x also sounds maybe even better and is usually less expensive because it’s not the name brand Tascam. You should try to find a channel strip that is a built in preamp/compressor. I use a presonus studio channel a lot of the time. I wouldn’t use a pedal compressor myself for mic’d instruments as that’s not enough control for me. You want to attack/release/ratio settings. Be sure to record on type ii tape not type I. Used tape is perfectly fine. New tape isn’t hermetically sealed and is not much different from a used 20 year old tape, unless the used tape has been played literally hundreds of times or stored in extreme heat. Recording with dbx on will give you a darker, warmer sound. A lot of my sound comes from recording with old 70s electro voice mics but you don’t need those. Re-10 is the one I use the most but an sm57 would work fine. I also do lots of ping-pong recording which certainly contributes to the sound. I also push the levels into the red frequently.
@@Govierthankyou so much man for the reply. I’m from the other side of the pond in the UK so a lot of this gear is quite expensive and hard to come by. I loved this video but if you’d ever do a mini series or something longer going into more detail of process step by step of you recording a song and all its parts that would be amazing. But understand that would be so much work!! But mega appreciate your replies and I’m deffo digging deeper into your Bandcamp page. Thanks!!
That is jus a stereo cassette recorder. It only records at the standard speed of 1.875in/sec vs the 4-tracks that double that speed. I use it to mixdown my tracks from my portastudio decks. I couldn't use it to record songs as its only a 2-track deck and I'm a solo musician doing multitracking. You could use it to record full songs but you would need everything to be fully mixed going in and you wouldn't be able to adjust anything after it's been recorded. It could be done with a full band recording live though.
Nice work, shows that less can be more! The bass parts work well together by themselves. 👌
Thanks so much man! Yeah I was surprised by what I heard the first time I solod the bass tracks.
Sounds lovely!
Thank you
Sounds lovely… I’ve thought about busting out my viola many times to add some flavor but have yet to do it. :)
Thanks for stopping by and commenting
I would like to ask you, I am about to buy a portastudio and I can choose between a Tascam 488 MkII, with 8 channels, and other 4-channel options. Don't the 8 channels reduce the quality by half when dividing the tape into 8 parts? Is that so?
(my intention is not only to record on the portastudio but also to dump my recordings from logic pro to give them texture and warmth, that's why I'm concerned about dividing the tape into 4 or 8.) Thank you for your music, we listen to it here as if you were a classic from the 90s :)
Sounds amazing, are you using dbx? If not how do you get it so hiss-free!
This song does not use dbx and neither does any song on this album. I'm currently recording an album that uses dbx on about half of the songs. I go back and forth between using dbx and not using it. I've made a video about it before and I think my opinions about it have changed even since then. In that video I recommend not using dbx but I now think that it has its place.
In regards to how I got the song so hiss free there are a multitude of ways.
Number 1- Always track with compression so that your dynamic range on your recording is a little more controlled
Number 2 - Always make sure that your peaks are in the +3 to +6 db range. This will prevent hiss, create tape saturation and prevent any crazy tape distortion as you're not recording TOO hot.
Number 3 - Use a preamp with a hell of a lot of gain. I exclusively use dynamic mics (at this current moment) and almost always use a Golden Age Pre-73 as my preamp. I like how it sounds and it has so much gain that it negates any bad signal to noise ratio, reducing hiss.
Number 4 - If it the high end sounds harsh or if there's too much hiss don't be afraid to put the high EQ at 9 o'clock on the offending track.
Thanks for the comment and thanks for stopping by mothspleen.
Are you using type 1 or 2 casettes? In my experience the hiss stands out more in type 1. It also stands out more if I record with slow speed.
Hey man, i love your videos and i dig what i've heard from you on bandcamp! Keep it up. I want to do something similar myself, with a cassette recorder. I have the chance to buy a tascam 414 or 424 (can't remember which one it is) - i was wondering what other equipment i would need to start making recordings of a similar quality to yours? I have an amp and pedals, no drum kit of yet, and a set of monitors. Could i use a pedal compressor and boss eq as a make shift preamp and eq for a mic setup? I'm curious. Or if you know any great reads to get some greater understanding of this sort of recording and equipement. Thanks dude!
Thanks for the compliments on the music. The 424 and 414 are both awesome. The Yamaha Mt4x also sounds maybe even better and is usually less expensive because it’s not the name brand Tascam. You should try to find a channel strip that is a built in preamp/compressor. I use a presonus studio channel a lot of the time. I wouldn’t use a pedal compressor myself for mic’d instruments as that’s not enough control for me. You want to attack/release/ratio settings.
Be sure to record on type ii tape not type I. Used tape is perfectly fine. New tape isn’t hermetically sealed and is not much different from a used 20 year old tape, unless the used tape has been played literally hundreds of times or stored in extreme heat. Recording with dbx on will give you a darker, warmer sound. A lot of my sound comes from recording with old 70s electro voice mics but you don’t need those. Re-10 is the one I use the most but an sm57 would work fine.
I also do lots of ping-pong recording which certainly contributes to the sound. I also push the levels into the red frequently.
@@Govierthankyou so much man for the reply. I’m from the other side of the pond in the UK so a lot of this gear is quite expensive and hard to come by.
I loved this video but if you’d ever do a mini series or something longer going into more detail of process step by step of you recording a song and all its parts that would be amazing. But understand that would be so much work!!
But mega appreciate your replies and I’m deffo digging deeper into your Bandcamp page. Thanks!!
I see you have a tape deck also in the rack- what model is it and don’t you use that for recording ?
That is jus a stereo cassette recorder. It only records at the standard speed of 1.875in/sec vs the 4-tracks that double that speed. I use it to mixdown my tracks from my portastudio decks. I couldn't use it to record songs as its only a 2-track deck and I'm a solo musician doing multitracking. You could use it to record full songs but you would need everything to be fully mixed going in and you wouldn't be able to adjust anything after it's been recorded. It could be done with a full band recording live though.