Analog Mix Tutorial in 10 Steps - on a Cassette Portastudio
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- čas přidán 13. 07. 2024
- Hey, I've broken down the mixing process here of one of my songs called 'Guilty Head' into 10 main steps. Although I'm using a Tascam 688 cassette portastudio the same concepts would apply to most hardware units.
Please check out my new facebook page in you like this kind of content / multitrackcassettereco...
0.00 Intro
0.10 Step 1 - Drums
0.56 Step 2 - Bass
1.32 Step 3 - Rhythm Guitar
1.43 Step 4 - Adding Effects
2.45 Step 5 - Combining Effects
3.16 Step 6 - Full Rhythm Section
3.52 Step 7 - Vocals
5.52 Step 8 - Checking The Mix
6.13 Step 9 - Guitar Solo
7.47 Step 10 - The Final Mix
#Tascam 688
#Tape Recording
#Retro recording techniques - Hudba
I am amazed at the overall quality of the production. The song had a nice groove to it as well. Great job! As they say across the pond .. " Brilliant ! "
Thanks a lot for checking it out and glad you liked the groove of the song! Do you have a tape machine too?
HELL YEA
I was always a bit skeptical of Tascam squeezing 8 tracks onto a cassette tape, but wow this sounds great! Good job with the EQ carving and the way you use reverb and delay.
Thanks very much Peter! Yes, it's impressive they managed to get such a lot of audio squeezed onto a standard cassette tape! I believe it' has a lot to do with the mix of a staggered head configuration and DBX noise reduction?
I produced 20 cd releases for various artists on that exact machine - I still have it - I think after hearing this that I need to drag it back out and get it humming again... hope I can find parts for it still .. Enjoyed your video immensely
Oh yeah, you should definitely pull it back out again! You can find parts with a bit of searching (Tascam Ninja is a good place to start). Glad you enjoyed my video too! 🙏
That broken screen blakens my heart. Good tutorial though ,I have to rewatch it to fully comprehend everything
I know, I bought it like that but have managed to find a replacement screen (just need to get someone to fit it). Great to hear you liked the tutorial! 👍
@@wehappyfewmusic I’m curious- how can you record with a 688 at all without the screen functioning? Isn’t it necessary to choose which tracks to record on/set either mic or line/choose groups?
@@welcometocircuscamp6540 it’s a bit limiting but I have to stick to the presets, mainly number 10 which lets you record each channel to the corresponding tape track. For mix down it’s preset 12.
@@wehappyfewmusic thank you so much for replying! It was a huge help :)
Great sound and awesome track too. The low end is perfect. I love both rhythm and lead guitar sounds, really good job man!
Much appreciated man, and great to hear you dig the guitar sound! 👍
Wow must be the mother of all portastudios
Haha, yeah I think it might be the biggest. It certainly weighs a lot!
HELL YEA...I bought 2, now...how to it it. One needs a belt and the other is pristine!
@@mtf347 Amazing, always good to have a spare too!
2cd listen...each time better...thanx!
Many thanks for checking out the video!
@@wehappyfewmusic HELL YEA!
@@mtf347🙌
Awesome!
Cheers for watching!
Fun stuff! 😀
Thanks Travis, yeah I love playing with all the hands on controls on this thing! 😀
👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks 🙏
Great mix
Many thanks 😊
I’ll be there!
Brilliant, thanks dude!
Excellent work and catchy tune. The 688 is my favorite cassette machine. I see the screen being broken hasn't hindered you one bit!✌️❤️
@@DaveZula Many thanks, David, and yes the 688 is such a nice machine! ❤️ I’ve found I can get on fine with the broken screen, as long as I stick to the presets. 👍
Love it! Happy new year, thanks for these videos. And thanks for your help as well, I got my 377, it’s a beauty, ordered in some new tapes and metal reels. Taking an already mastered track and running it through didn’t really improve anything if I’m honest, but it will definitely add character to instrument groups before mastering. I also had an issue twice with the left channel dropping out for .1 sec, but I was using old old tape since my new ones haven’t came in yet, so maybe that was the problem?
Thanks for checking out the tutorial, much appreciated!! Glad your 377 arrived safely and you've got stuck into doing some tests. From my experience with the 377, different tape made a massive difference in the results. I had a batch of old ones, and a newer tape I used in my previous video. Most of the old reels had loads of drop outs and had gone sticky or flaky. Please let me know how you get on with the new ones!
377?
@@Mark761966 it’s a reel to reel by Sony. I used it in this video Mixdown Shootout - Metal Cassettes vs 1/4" Reel 2 Reel
@@Mark761966 Sony TC-377, I’ll be releasing a video on it this week if you’re interested!
This is awesome. Did you track with any compression? Was always curious if that was even possible on these machines
Thanks very much, yes I’ve got an external focusrite compressor which I used when tracking some parts.
this is so awesome! just curious, how did you recorder the drums on this song? was it a (very well-placed) two mic set up or multiple mics running into another mixer and out to those two channels? regardless, they sound GREAT!
Thanks very much! We actually programmed the drums on this track and recorded them to tape. The other parts were then overdubbed on the 688.
@@wehappyfewmusic very nice! i was convinced it was an acoustic kit. love what the tape adds to it :)
@@brainbonkk That’s good, I think the tape warms it up a bit and helps the drums to sit better in the track (or that’s what I was hoping 😊).
Sounds great! Is the 688 you're favorite portastudio?
Many thanks, yes it probably is, but it’s a close run race.
Hey my friend , I read that the drums were made with a drum machine And was curious which drum machine you used ? They sounded really great as does the whole mix !
Best,
Ethan
Hey Ethan, thanks for your question and checking out the video. I used Ezdrummer on this tune and recorded it over to tape. I’ve also used a Akai MPC occasionally when I’ve not used/wanted a live drum kit.
so useful thank you! quick question: what delay pedal is that and how are you setting it up? and also do you have the noise reduction ON? if you don’t mind please. best to you
Thanks for having a listen and great to hear the tutorial was useful! I’m using a Dan-Echo pedal by Danelectro on one of the aux sends. I’ve also put a 3 head cassette deck in line with the pedal for an extra bit of tape saturation and slap back effect. So essentially it’s a mono jack lead from the aux send on the 688 into the delay pedal, then a double mono lead from the pedal to the record input on the tape deck, and finally a stereo phono lead from the tape outputs back to the aux return. Ive got noise reduction ON with the 688. Best regards.
@@wehappyfewmusic thanks so much! best regards
Nice big drum sound. Try adding some echo for even more bigness!
Thanks, and great idea! I’ve just ordered a hifi VHS recorder so am going to experiment with using that as the master recorder for the next mix. 👍
I would like to pick up an analog tape multitracker, because they are charming. Really about the sound this tech and not a sceen all the time. But the lack of spare parts holds me back. Perhaps a serviced machine would be an option. Don´t know.
They are great fun, but I understand your concerns. There are surprisingly a fair few people who still service and repair these machines. It’s definitely safer to get a serviced one if you can, and go for one of the more popular models, as there will be more parts available.
I have but don't no how to use I only use it as a normal mixer
I did this tutorial which might help you get recording on your 688? czcams.com/video/YoaEy937ffI/video.html
Any more of those analog cassette EPs left?
I think I’ve got the first ‘test’ version still, but seem to remember it sounded fine.
It’s the source!
🙌
What model Tascam is this?
It’s a Tascam 688.
Hi 5
Cheers ✋
Giving that you hav 8 track on those tiny tape width... it sound good... but its tully nostalgia induces...as you could probably do do the same stuff time 20 with a simple tascam model 12... fidelity give you a lot...you can always downgrade the signal... i work on a studer 24 for years... it was great...but a casette isnt really hi fidelity whatever speed you run it. You can actually keep that workflow..and hands on on modern equipement downgrade your signal to caette warm or whatever... but you can go the other way up... personally when i realised that i sold all my old portastudio... wich cost me thosand to maintain,,, allign etc... i always wonder why in the photography world.. that analogue crap never really hold on... evreyone move on... must be the fact they actually to had red room with chemical to devlopped their analog film..... while we Old dinosaurs... just had to push play... they embrase digital way better then us.. with no contreversy... yet looking at a vinyl turning is better then a cell... on spotify lol
Hey thanks for having a listen and that’s an interesting comparison with analog photography.