Incorporating Reel to Reel in Recording

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Gregg Juke
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Post by Gregg Juke » Fri Mar 24, 2017 7:43 am

Don't forget to try and get bass and bass drum to "edge" tracks (usually track 1 & 2, but could be 8 ). The outer tracks of the multi-track tape lose high-end, so are sort of pre-programmed as "low pass." More "sparkly" stuff (hi-end) should be on the inside tracks.

GJ
Gregg Juke
Nocturnal Productions Music Group
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A.David.MacKinnon
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Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Fri Mar 24, 2017 8:02 am

Here's a record that I tracked through a tape machine (using the repro head method)

https://mattfoy.bandcamp.com/album/tte

The artist plays everything so instruments were recorded one at a time. I had three mics set up - a close mic, a medium distance room mic and a really far/crushed room mic. I would make a blend of all or some of those mics for each instrument and bus it to tape. The tape send was split. One version went right to the daw. The other went to tape and then to the daw off of the repro head. Because of the delay on the tape tracks getting into the computer we used the straight up digital tracks for the headphone mix. Once each song was finished I deleted the digital only takes and used the tape tracks for the final mix.
I mixed back to the tape machine by way of a beautiful pair of Magnatech tube limiters. So much fun.

jimjazzdad
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Post by jimjazzdad » Fri Mar 24, 2017 5:06 pm

Listening to it right now - sounds great! Very 70s. (That's a compliment in my world.)

What tape machine? I have a Tascam 32 that I am reconditioning and plan to try this approach.
Jim Legere
Halifax, NS
Canada

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A.David.MacKinnon
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Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Sat Mar 25, 2017 4:07 am

It was an Otari MX5050 2 track. All the instruments were tracked in mono through once channel.

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