I use a Fostex 4-track Reel-to-reel tape recorder going to one of these,
Not the best quality but it has variable speech control for masking voices, and it creates some very interesting effects. Kinda ghetto but fairly cheap and easy to use.
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Why do you push the better sounding r2r down to that prosumer dictation recorder? Any analog mojo from the first has to be wiped out by the generation lost artifacts of the later?
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Cementimental wrote:
every tape recorder is a good tape recorder
No way!
In my experience, thick tape is nice, cassette tape is mostly garbage (but tracking to cassette in realtime sounds way nicer than commercial tapes which where burnt using super high speed dub) and most of what people hear as warmth on consumer cassettes is mild analog clipping and the huge noise floor muffing up the definition on higher pitch sounds.
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Nomad's Land
there's only one good tape recorder:
sooorry, couldn't resist 
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TX
what models of Yamaha 4-tracks are you using? In the way of 4-tracks, I've got a Tascam 414-mkII and a Fostex X-12.
Oh boy, we get to talk about tapes.
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TX
herr_prof wrote:
In my experience, thick tape is nice, cassette tape is mostly garbage (but tracking to cassette in realtime sounds way nicer than commercial tapes which where burnt using super high speed dub) and most of what people hear as warmth on consumer cassettes is mild analog clipping and the huge noise floor muffing up the definition on higher pitch sounds.
you're trying to be right but it won't work
Sorry, i don't REALLY mean to be a troll, but there's no need for this "what people hear as warmth" business, as if a sound could really be objectively "warm". I know exactly why cassette tape is an objectively worse representation of the source than thick tape or, for that matter, digital, but I still like it best for certain kinds of music. We disagree about what sounds nice and that is that.
Last edited by Brother Android (Nov 8, 2013 6:18 pm)
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matt's mind
my tascam portastudio 424 MKIII is maybe my favorite recording device i've ever had
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Austin, TX
herr_prof wrote:
Why do you push the better sounding r2r down to that prosumer dictation recorder? Any analog mojo from the first has to be wiped out by the generation lost artifacts of the later?
Simply to get the recordings onto cassette tapes that I can manipulate without fucking up the master recordings. I personally love the shitty quality that crappy analog recording devices can provide. Sometimes I'll take the R2R recording to cassette, then re-record the cassette onto a reel and start the process over. Every time it goes through, it adds a bit more fuzz and distortion to the sound. If I'm going for clear recordings I just run the R2R into my mixer and then to my Mbox/ProTools.
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Yea thats why I tempered the whole "in my experience angle". I spent the first 20 years of my life dealing with tapes as a terrible recording medium and im more than happy to see it die, but i feel that using prosumer equipment doesn't really add any mojo specifically, and telling impressionable people that is does is semi irresponsible I think. This is coming from a dude whos entire first 5 years of music was recorded on a 424 mk II.
Ive done everything with tape, from spliced cassette tape, and edits on 2 inch tape going through fancy mixing consoles, so im trying to talk a little less out of my ass than usual here.
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TX
Fair enough. I think "semi-irresponsible" is harsh, though. We're all just speaking from our aesthetic and workflow preferences here, and presumably the OP would be asking about digital equipment if he didn't think cassettes had some unique value.
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sweden
For cassette decks I would recommend going for Nakamichi, NAD, SONY, Panasonic, Yamaha etc..
For 4-tracks (and 8-tracks!) Tascam, Fostex, Yamaha.
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Brother Android wrote:
Fair enough. I think "semi-irresponsible" is harsh, though.
Glad I added the modifier then !
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Jelly Stone park, MD USA
Lots of good advice here, but thought I'd throw out a little known option, Hi-Fi VHS. the stereo track is an FM signal recorded deep below the video; has very high S/N and very low THD and flutter. The durability of the tape is really the let down, so try to find the best quality cassette.
Look for a deck with audio metering; some decks need a video signal, others don't. For the quality, the price is great.
Yogi
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UK, Leicester
Brother Android wrote:
what models of Yamaha 4-tracks are you using? In the way of 4-tracks, I've got a Tascam 414-mkII and a Fostex X-12.
Oh boy, we get to talk about tapes.
I've got a Yamaha MT120, it's not bad for something I saved from getting binned.
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I have a Califone A45 5270 and I really like it, the onboard mic is perfect for lo fi demo recordings of my band.
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Brunswick, GA USA
As far as media goes, I rank cassettes in order of quality:
Denon
BASF
Everything Else
Not that anyone asked.