The Joy of Tape: Re-discovering 'TFC' Cassette
May 21, 2017 12:05:33 GMT 2
Post by xxxx on May 21, 2017 12:05:33 GMT 2
Since I started making music and recording in my own studio nearly 20 years ago, the focus has always been on the 'Hi-Fi' recording, a pristine digital environment that is supposed to be the crowning glory of any engineer's mix resume, but lately I've moved back to the format I grew up with, tape. Since full 24 track 2" tape machines are expensive and somewhat rare, I've been bouncing down lots of things to 'lo-fi' cassette 4-track machines to get some of that tape gritty-ness that seems to round out instruments and mixes so much more than any plug in emulator I've unfortunately tried.
Anyhow, all this got me back into listening to actually cassette tapes again and WOW, what a world I have missed. The full bottom end on 'The Final Countdown' recording comes alive on the cassette more than the sterile CD or digital version could ever produce. I heard parts of the recordings that are subtle but add so much more to the songs than I ever would have imagined. I've always enjoyed the mix on OOTW but did feel it was missing some bottom end, so now I am on the hunt for an OOTW cassette to enjoy this album again. Another thing I've notice is that I tend to listen to a whole album more by putting on a cassette. Much like vinyl, there is a ritual around putting the tape in the deck and hitting play, sitting back and going to another world.
Anyhow, all this got me back into listening to actually cassette tapes again and WOW, what a world I have missed. The full bottom end on 'The Final Countdown' recording comes alive on the cassette more than the sterile CD or digital version could ever produce. I heard parts of the recordings that are subtle but add so much more to the songs than I ever would have imagined. I've always enjoyed the mix on OOTW but did feel it was missing some bottom end, so now I am on the hunt for an OOTW cassette to enjoy this album again. Another thing I've notice is that I tend to listen to a whole album more by putting on a cassette. Much like vinyl, there is a ritual around putting the tape in the deck and hitting play, sitting back and going to another world.
