Post ASOn8XgDPS6WuwTGfQ by benda@stoners.social
(DIR) More posts by benda@stoners.social
(DIR) Post #ASOMFSTiRwzs38hKrI by etherdiver@ravenation.club
2023-02-06T04:39:04Z
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Right now I have, in my possession, a #Roland #MKS50, a #Kawai #K4r and an #Ensoniq #ESQ1 (all synths, in case you don't know). I've got a #Tascam 414 (4-track cassette multitrack recorder), a #Yamaha #REX50 (effects unit, basically an SPX-90 with added distortion algorithms) and an #Alesis #Quadraverb (more effects). All I need is an SR-16 drum machine and I could make an album like it was 1990 again.#MusicProduction #VintageGear #1990 #GenX #GearOfMyYouth
(DIR) Post #ASOMFT0KUh5JgHxNh2 by etherdiver@ravenation.club
2023-02-06T04:41:40Z
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Also have a great #vintage #ReelToReel #tape #recorder for #mastering and a bunch of high-end #cassette decks to burn copies. Real 1990s me would have been insanely jealous.
(DIR) Post #ASOMFTSgnFln6FE1tg by simon@toot.supertonerecords.com
2023-02-06T04:43:56Z
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@etherdiver What’s the reel to reel? Love em…
(DIR) Post #ASOMJY17nZ36O1H5Ye by etherdiver@ravenation.club
2023-02-06T04:44:42Z
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@simon TEAC A-4300SX
(DIR) Post #ASOmgm942BzxfkizYm by etherdiver@ravenation.club
2023-02-06T04:47:41Z
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@simon
(DIR) Post #ASOmgmi9vi4TQb91GK by Splinters@ravenation.club
2023-02-06T08:43:51Z
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@etherdiver @simon Oh yeah that's a nice machine. I have repaired a old Uher Royal Deluxe C from 1968 and am about to finish my recapping and repairs of a Revox A77 MK 4.Tape is a nice medium but I often use my Tascams and r2r preamps as distortion boxes.
(DIR) Post #ASOms33DWHefI2MgzY by simon@toot.supertonerecords.com
2023-02-06T09:42:15Z
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@etherdiver @Splinters TEAC, Uher and REVOX all great machines! I am looking for an AMPEX 1/2” at the moment but they are hellishly expensive 😬
(DIR) Post #ASOn8VKs7pqLeATC7c by benda@stoners.social
2023-02-06T05:43:52Z
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@etherdiver @simon I would love to hear about your tape deck mastering process. I have a similar machine lying around that I'm going to start playing with. curious to know about your inputs/outputs and signal flow.
(DIR) Post #ASOn8Vw5tRcLVbsv8i by etherdiver@ravenation.club
2023-02-06T05:48:16Z
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@benda @simon Happy to talk about it but you aren't going to be impressed LMAO. My "Cassette Mastering" process is this: pick a good tape. A solid model and brand, yeah, but one that vibes right mainly. (I use nearly exclusively used tape, so sometimes I choose based on what is currently recorded on the tape.) Pick a deck (have tried a few, but settled into my Akai GX-M50 for cassette mastering; as far as Reel-to-reel goes, I just have the one. Then...
(DIR) Post #ASOn8WRe08r35Se7Jg by etherdiver@ravenation.club
2023-02-06T05:50:29Z
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@benda @simon SLAM the signal into the tape way hotter than recommended, but not so hot it gets turned into noise. That's the trick really, and you just have to learn how to feel it out. You want it to get saturated as hell and start to distort, but not come apart completely and turn to noise, or just lose all detail and be a big, saturated smear. You want to be a big, saturated smear but one with discernible detail and some nuance.
(DIR) Post #ASOn8X0NuydypCtrSy by etherdiver@ravenation.club
2023-02-06T05:53:12Z
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@benda @simon I chose the Akai because its inputs saturate and start to break up nicely. The Nakamichi I have, on the other hand, takes a hotter signal before it starts distorting, but has very little (maybe no) "sweet spot" where it saturates but does not break up. Tape wise, I like TDK SA or SA-X but have similar results, if I am being honest, with Maxell -- maybe slightly less elastic, but pretty close.
(DIR) Post #ASOn8XgDPS6WuwTGfQ by benda@stoners.social
2023-02-06T05:56:58Z
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@etherdiver @simon excellent!but how are you wiring it up? I'm assuming your mix is on the computer, right? do you just run 1/4" TS to RCA cables straight into the reel to reel and then the same thing back to the soundcard? or do you use a passive DI or anything?
(DIR) Post #ASOn8Y65rEnwDCZw0G by etherdiver@ravenation.club
2023-02-06T05:58:24Z
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@benda @simon straight out of the mixer, into a patchbay, into the tape machine. Impedance and level matching be damned.
(DIR) Post #ASOn8Yp79qoiSpdtB2 by etherdiver@ravenation.club
2023-02-06T05:56:16Z
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@benda @simon The reel-to-reel can take a crazy hot signal and sounds good almost no matter what, but also tends to impart less color that cassette (though I could run it at lower speed). It's probably better for a "clean" master but clean isn't what most people are after with tape these days.Otherwise, that is it. No outboard gear. No compressors, no EQ, nothing. Just out of the mixer and into the tape deck (through a patch bay). Primitive, but it works well enough for what it is.
(DIR) Post #ASOn8ZxIwsxjyWTwa8 by benda@stoners.social
2023-02-06T06:04:48Z
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@etherdiver @simon damn. learning to engineer correctly has made me quite the timid producer. imma take this thing for a spin and see how it turns out. thank you for the reply!
(DIR) Post #ASOn8aUcwzcLds4YWO by etherdiver@ravenation.club
2023-02-06T06:06:38Z
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@benda @simon Yeah, I am no engineer. I come from the "plug it in and see what happens" school of audio/video production.
(DIR) Post #ASOn8b9OVQE9gJ9744 by etherdiver@ravenation.club
2023-02-06T06:07:19Z
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@benda @simon As long as I'm *pretty* sure it won't start a fire or explode, I'll try it.
(DIR) Post #ASOn8bFm7hKc068D0i by etherdiver@ravenation.club
2023-02-06T05:57:35Z
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@benda @simon If I could afford a decent limiter/compressor to try out I would try it, but part of the appeal of using the tape to master is letting it handle all of that. Definitely do not get the same kind of loudness though, but you can always add digital limiting later if desired.
(DIR) Post #ASOnP00LrmHHOljkfI by simon@toot.supertonerecords.com
2023-02-06T09:48:12Z
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@etherdiver @benda I miss the tape compression with digital for sure. Back in the day that’s all there was of course. A Studer 2”, 16 track machine is the best drum sound you will ever hear. Push it all into the red and you have it.
(DIR) Post #ASOnorXPy4CafWXIG0 by Splinters@ravenation.club
2023-02-06T09:52:52Z
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@simon @etherdiver Oh yes, the ATRs go for what now - 20k in questionable condition? The one drawback apart from not being able to afford them is the multitrack setup you have to do every time you want to record. Studios just used inters for that a couple of hours before recording 😏
(DIR) Post #ASOoQDlgHPjoKR1O1w by simon@toot.supertonerecords.com
2023-02-06T09:59:38Z
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@Splinters @etherdiver I remember it well. I did my first professional guitar session in 1976. We were using 24 track then. The 1/2” I am referring to above would be a two track machine for mixing down to. We don’t do plug ins, the only one we have is the power socket 🤣🤣 https://supertonerecords.com/equipment
(DIR) Post #ASPkAVO4naIdgLBuVc by Splinters@ravenation.club
2023-02-06T20:46:40Z
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@simon Ha, that's nice! Since I'm making electronic music I like to get best of both worlds. :)