Transcripts
1. Introduction: Take a listen to this clip. Can you guess how these
sounds were made? I'm guessing you
didn't think that this was two ukuleles
played forwards and backwards but it perfectly
demonstrates how cassettes can bring you to
some interesting sonic places. My name is Lancelot Hueston and I'm a musician and producer. I played in several bands
and I also teach music. I recently released my
first full length album, where in the process of making the record I learned how
to use tape effects. Tape effects are various
techniques that turn cassette recorders
into synthesizers. I like using tape because it
provides a warm lo-fi feel and an alternative
workflow that can really enhance your
musical projects. In this class, you will
create an original piece of music using at least
one tape effect. Throughout the process, we
will cover different types of cassette recorders and how to choose the right
equipment for you. Plan a workflow depending on what the end goal
of your project is. Use cassettes more
like synthesizers make tape loops and use them
to create repetitive, rhythmic musical patterns
or dense layers of sound. How to record and reverse, which can create tension and
add texture to your music. Finally, how
manipulating speed of your recordings
affects the quality and changes the
key of your music. If you're interested
in recording music but are tired of sitting in front of a computer
screen to do so, then this class is for you. By the end of it, you'll learn how to navigate
analog recording and experiment with the
many different ways you can create sounds
with cassettes. All you need is a
cassette recorder, tapes and an instrument of
your choosing to get started. I hope you find this
medium as inspiring as I do. Now let's play some music.
2. Class Orientation: Today we're going
to learn the ins and outs of recording onto cassettes and a couple of different approaches on how
to create tape effects. At the end of this class you'll have made a
recording that I hope inspires you to keep
creating and experimenting. You'll need a few
things to get started. First, you'll need some
type of cassette recorder. The type of cassette recorder
you have is going to limit what type of tape
effects you can create. I'm going to give you
examples of how to use both a standard
cassette recorder and a four track recorder
for your project. But to really unlock
the full potential, I recommend using a four track. You'll need blank
recording because that's. Either type 1 or type
2 cassettes that's depending on what type
of equipment you have. You'll also need an
instrument to play. I'll be demonstrating
on a guitar, keys, ukulele, and percussion. In this class, we
will cover how to develop a successful
workflow for your project. Here we're going to discuss the different types of
recorders and the basics of what you'll need to know in order to complete your project. How to record audio in reverse. Recording parts backwards is
a great tool for creating tension in your music and is used in production all the time. How changing the speed affects the quality and feel
of your tracks. Making and using tape loops. Tape loops are a great tool
if you're interested in using cassette recorders more like
a sampler or a synthesizer. Now let's discuss how
cassette recorders function and what you're going
to be able to make with the gear that you have.
3. Equipment Overview: The type of equipment
you have is going to determine what
effects you can make. We're going to compare a stereo cassette recorder with two different types of
four track recorders. We're also going to
compare different types of cassettes and how they
function with the recorders. But before we get
into all of that, let's talk about
why someone would want to use cassette tape
for a recording project. Tape has warmth that is
great for lo-fi recordings. Sometimes recording digitally
sounds a bit too perfect, and using analog tape is a great way to balance
the sounds of your track. Cassettes are also
a resurging medium, it's becoming more and more
popular to see musicians and bands at all levels
doing cassette releases. Another benefit of using
cassettes is that you don't need a computer or have to look
at screens to create. Lots of tech problems
are avoided and you never have to worry about
compatibility issues. I also find using cassettes to be an interesting
medium to work with because you limit your options when you record with
analog equipment. Sometimes having
all the tools that a DAW or digital workstation and provides can be a bit debilitating because you
had too many options. Well cassettes lend
themselves towards experimentation because
of their limitations. Now with that all being said, there are some pretty obvious
downsides to using tape that make it not ideal for
all recording projects. Most notably tape hiss. Now there's a couple of
ways to combat tape hiss, but anyone who uses
this medium will have to be okay with at least
some hiss in their tracks. Another downside to using
tape is that it degrades. The quality of tape will diminish every time
you record onto it, but it will also degrade
after it's recorded onto. Many artists before
digital technology tried to finish mixing immediately after recording
on the tape because they knew that was the best
opportunity for the best sound. Editing is also
difficult on tape, especially when compared
to the capabilities of editing on a
digital workstation. Also in the same way
that tape can be inspiring because
of its limitations, it can also be frustrating
when you run into issues. There is no undo button when
recording onto cassettes. So you often have
to explore ways to creatively embrace
your mistakes. Now, let's talk about the different types
of cassette tapes. Type I tape is the most
common cassette tape. In general, these
tapes are compatible with most standard
recorders and players. Know that many standard
recorders and players have a switch that allows you to toggle between different
types of tape. You'll see Type I tapes
referred to as normal bias. Type I, is the standard quality in cassettes and is used in many applications like
mass music duplication or for voice recording. Type II tape is less
common than Type I. In general, these are the tapes used for, for
full track recording. You'll see them referred
to as high bias. Type II is a
higher-quality tape that is mostly used for music
production purposes. There are also Type
III and Type IV tapes, both of which are pretty rare. Type III is a combination of materials used to make
Type I and Type II tapes. I've never seen or used
a type III cassette, and I don't think they
have many practical uses in music production. Type IV are metal tapes, they are used for
situations where you do not want the audio
quality to degrade. They are high-quality and
fairly expensive tape, but many reporters aren't biased to record
onto Type IV type. Now let's compare 4-track
and standard recorders and discuss how they differ. The most common type
of cassette recorder is a stereo standard recorder. They can be simple
and inexpensive, like the type of record
or someone would use to record voice memos
or interviews. These types of recorders feature an internal microphone
to capture sound. Standard recorders can
also be complicated and desired models
can be quite pricey. Pictured is a Miranda PMT 420. Quarters like this, not only feature a microphone internally, but they can also receive direct audio signals in ways that are familiar
with most musicians. This particular model features both quarter-inch
and RCA inputs. And some, I've seen a
feature XLR inputs. Standard recorders function by recording two track
simultaneously, known as a stereo track. The main limitation of a
stereo recorder is that it only records the
audio from one source, so multi-track recording
isn't an option. To understand this further, let's take a look at how a standard recorder and
player reads a cassette. Cassette contains
four tracks on. When a standard
recorder or player is reading the left and right
tracks on a cassette tape, it's only able to read two of
the four tracks at a time. That's why when we listen
to an album on a cassette, it has a Side A and Side B. Once the cassette plays through the stereo track on side a, then we have to flip
the cassette over in order for the player to read the other stereo
track on Side B. Now let's compare that with
how a 4-track recorder works. Here is how a 4-track recorder
reads like a citation. Now, with a 4-track, we gain the ability
for the recorder to be able to read all
four tracks at once. I could choose to record onto one mono track and then
overdub instruments later. Or, you can record multiple instruments
at the same time. This allows for much
more flexibility compared to standard recorders. Here's the look at how
both the 4-track and the standard recorder are
reading the cassette tape. We can see that there are a few different ways of
looking at these tracks. Four mono tracks,
two stereo tracks, or looking at it as a
left and right channel. Now, I want to compare
the different features of the 4-track recorders that I'm going to be
demonstrating on. The tascam Porta O2 mini studio and the tascam 424 Porta Studio. First the mini studio. This machine has somewhat
limited features, but it's known for
its great sound. There are two quarter-inch
inputs, no variable speed, and a limited mixer featuring
volume and panning knobs. The mini studio is an excellent model for
beginners and pro's alike, starting at around $200. Next the four to four. This Portastudio
features most things that anyone could ever want
out of a cassette recorder. Has six channel strips
and multiple options. It allows for things like
multi-track recording. Can record at both
high and low speeds, which can be fine tuned
with a variable speed knob. There's also a mixer with an EQ, effects loop, dvx
noise reduction, and many other features
that make this a great tool for cassette
music production. Functional models usually
run about $500 or more. I'll cover these models and features in more detail
throughout the class. Now that you have
some insight on the different types
of recorders, let's get into some
best practices when establishing a
workflow for your project.
4. Recording Do's and Don'ts: Whenever you're
working on a piece that involves analog recording, it's always good to consider what the end goal
of your project is. Are you balancing your tracks
to a digital workspace? Are you're going to
do your mixing and mastering on the 4-track
recorder itself? Maybe you're working
with a combination of both digital and
analog recording. Whatever the case
is, you'll need to know a few things
before you get started. Let's go over some
best practices when recording onto tape. First, it's important
to rehearse the part you are about to play
before you record. Every time you record over
the same section of tape, the quality of that
tape will diminish. If you record too many times, you'll begin to hear noise and crackling that
can be distracting, especially if you're
trying to go for a cleaner recording sound. Another thing you're going
to want to pay attention to is the arming and
disarming of your tracks. It's really easy to accidentally
record over something because of just moving too fast and forgetting to
disarm the recorder. I personally have made
this mistake many times. Next, I want to discuss signal splitting
and why in general, you want to avoid splitting the signal of your instrument. To understand signal splitting, you need to understand
the concept of panning. Panning is the act of placing or moving a sound anywhere
in a stereo field. If you're not familiar
with panning, I recommend grabbing
some headphones for this next section, where I'm going to demonstrate
this a bit further. First, let's take a
look at this 4-track, now let's take it and
split it down the middle. Now, what you have is
a left and right side. I'm going to refer to
these sides as channels, these sides are much
like a left and right earbud on a
pair of headphones. Panning is basically placing where the sound is going to play in your headphones either to
the left, right, or center. Recording with a 4-track
works in a very similar way, we can choose to
record to the left, right, or center of the 4-track. Here's an example of how it sounds when you're
recording to the left, if you're wearing headphones, this ukulele part that
you're about to hear will only be in your
left headphone. Same with this part recorded
and played on the right. Now we'll take this
audio and place it in the middle or the center. Now, what we have done
is we split the signal, meaning rather than
playing a mono signal at full force or strength in either the left or
the right channel, we've taken this signal, we've cut it in half, and placed it in both the
left and the right channel. This isn't necessarily
a bad thing but what's important to
remember when recording with 4-track is that if I decide to record
an instrument in the center or sometimes you'll see it referred to as direct, then you'll lose the ability
to place that signal in either the left or right
channel at full force. But if you decide to initially record to the
left or right channel if you choose to place
that instrument in the center later on
and split the signal. That's okay because
it was recorded with its full signal strength
on the left or right side. That's why it's best to avoid signal splitting
when recording, it allows for more
options down the road. With keeping workflow in mind, I want to play a
part of a piece I recorded using a 4-track
cassette recorder. I'm going to break down which
instrument is recorded on which track and what decisions I made with grouping
signals together, known as busing, and rendering that audio into a final product
known as bouncing. Now, let's break it
down track by track, on the first track,
we have drums. Track 2 is guitar, Track 3 features base and Track 4 is ukulele. I decided to record the
drums and bass on tracks 1 and 3 because those tracks
record to the left channel. I knew I was going to
bust those instruments together because they represent the lower register of the mix. Keeping them on the same channel ensured the cleanest
bounce as possible. Same with the guitar and ukulele on tracks 2 and 4 of
the right channel, those instruments represent the higher register of the mix. Bustling those signals
together was the right move in terms of getting a successful
mix down the road. Now that we've covered the ins and outs of recording
on the tape, let's record the first
track of the class project. I chose a Korg synthesizer
to play my first part. Now that we've recorded
our first part, let's dive into tape effects and how to approach
cassette recorders, more like a synthesizer.
5. Synth: Recording in Reverse: Recording audio in reverse is a powerful tool and it's used in music production
all the time. I'll give you some
insight and how to avoid common issues and
some best practices. First, let's talk about the most common uses of
recording audio in reverse. Recording parts in reverse is often used for creating
tension in music. One example that most people probably have heard is
the reverse symbol. We will often hear
symbols in reverse right before the
beat drop of a song. This is impactful tool
for transitioning from a low dynamic part to a high dynamic section
of your piece. Another commonly used
technique is reverse delay. Musicians often
use reverse delays to create ambient textures. Reverse delay is a feature that is seen on
many delay pedals, where it takes the signal and flips it backwards
or in reverse. I'll be demonstrating on how to get the same effect on tape just by recording on the
opposite side of your cassette. Now let's move on and discuss
how to record reverse audio and the common
issues you may run into. In order to create this effect, you'll have to use
a 4-track recorder. The reason being is
that standard recorders are not designed to read
or write backwards. Let's say you're recording onto side A with a standard recorder. When you flip it over to side B, it won't read side A, because standard recorders can only read two tracks at a time. The opposite is true when you flip a cassette in a 4-track, it'll read all four tracks and any audio already recorded
will be played in reverse. Another important
thing to remember is when you flip
the cassette over, the four tracks will
read in reverse order, meaning the audio will
relocate on your machine. Let's take another look on how a 4-track reads the cassette. Note the placement
of tracks 1-4. Now you'll see once the
cassette is flipped, the tracks are now inverted. Anything recorded onto track 1 is now on track 4 when
played backwards. Track 2 is now on track 3, track 3 is now on track 2 and
track 4 is now on track 1. Now that we've gone over
how to record in reverse, I'm going to record
two reverse parts onto my class project, a cymbal part and a guitar part. Now that we've experimented with recording audio in reverse, let's try another
often used technique, speed manipulation.
6. Synth: Speed: One thing that analog recording is actually better at than digital is changing the speed
at which your tracks play. If you have a recorder
that has variable speed, you can change the whole vibe of your track just by
turning a knob. Manipulating the speed
of your track can change your music in both
significant and subtle ways. Note that this is
only an option if you have variable speed
on your recorder, which is a feature
that can appear on both standard and
for track recorders. One reason a producer might use analog equipment to
change the speed of a track is because it adjust
via mechanical mechanism. It leaves no audio artifacts. An artifact in terms of audio is unwanted sonic
material resulting from the editing of sound. Using digital
technology to change the speed will either stretch
or compress the audio, which results in the
creation of artifacts. Now, we're going
to look into how recording and playback speed
will affect your track. Starting with recording speed. The faster you set
your recording speed, the higher quality
the audio will be. This means less tape
hiss on your track. But like most things when it
comes to analog recording, this benefit comes
with a few cons, including less bass response
and more tape being used. Inversely, when recording
at lower speeds, the quality decreases and more hiss will be on your track. But with this, you'll have better base response and
you're going to use less tape. Now, let's talk about Playback. If you speed up your recording, you'll have an increased tempo, an increase in the high-end
or travel frequencies, and a decrease in the total
run-time of your piece. If you slow down the speed, you will have a decreased tempo, an increase on the low-end
or bass frequencies, and an increase in the total
run-time of your piece. Now that you know the basics, let's look at a couple of
ways to use variable speed in your recording by making either subtle or
drastic adjustments. One of the most common uses of speed manipulation
is to give your vocal track a unique quality. Most would use this
in a subtle way. Your vocals still sound
like the vocalist, but at a certain unique
sonic characteristic, some may choose to make a
bigger speed adjustment, which will result
in sounding less human, but certainly unique. Another often-used technique is recording your song at
a different tempo and key and then adjusting the speed to reach the desired
tempo and key. For example, an artist
might choose to record a piece a
half-step higher, slightly faster tempo,
and then slow down the audio to reach the
desired tempo and key. Another creative way to use speed is to have the effect of actually changing the speed within the song to
change the key. We decide at some
point we want to have a key change of
a whole step higher. We can use speed to
make that key change. Let me play you an example. Next, we'll dive into
one of my favorite tools in music production
with cassettes, and that's tape loops.
7. Synth: Tape Loops: Loops are a great way of
bringing unpredictability and experimentation into
your music production. But before we talk about all the possibilities
available with tape loops, let's talk about what a
tape loop actually is. A tape loop is a cassette
tape that has been modified to be used
to create repetitive, rhythmic music patterns
or dense layers of sound. Tape loops are compatible with both standard and
4-track recorders. Tape loops are made
from small splices of cassette tape that are usually
about 5-10 second long, depending on what type of loop. They are made by taking apart a cassette and routing
the splice of tape, which can be done in
a few different ways. First, let's take a look
at the standard tape loop. It's the simplest to make. If you're just
getting into this, I recommend starting
with a standard. These are about five seconds
long and they're routed in a fairly straightforward manner as indicated by the arrows. Next is the Chandler loop. These are around
eight seconds long, and you can see the routing
is a lot different in order to compensate for
the longer length of tape. Here's another version of
the Chandler loop that features a reel
that still has much of the original
tape on it but it's been closed off and taped, so its only function is
to be a bigger reel. The routing is the same as
the previous Chandler loop, but the larger reel allows for an additional
couple of seconds, so these loops are usually
around 9-10 seconds long. You might be asking
at this point: Why would anyone use tape loops? I like to describe tape
loops as either a sampler, a synthesizer, or both. They're like a sampler, in a sense, because
you can create short, repeatable excerpts or riffs, except it's in an analog format. They're also like
synthesizers because they generate a slew of
unpredictable sounds. Most tape loops have a
time-warping effect caused by when the recorder reads over the splice made to connect
the loop together. I'll talk more on this
in the next section. Another way tape loops
are like synthesizers is that they often
are used as drones. With all these factors combined, it makes sense that
tape loops often lend themselves towards
experimentation. Here are some examples of tape loops from my
own collection. The trickiest part of tape loops is learning
how to make them. Next, we're going to look into that process and
what you'll need.
8. Making Tape Loops: Making a tape loop
feels very much like an arts and crafts project. Who most likely have to try a few times before
you get it right. But once you do, the sonic
possibilities are endless. Here's what you'll need to
get started with tape loops. You'll need scissors,
masking tape, scotch tape, or splicing tape. I highly recommend using the red label scotch tape because it has a
much stronger hold. You'll also need a
Phillips head screwdriver. You will also need a cassette. I use a combination of Type
1 and Type 2 cassettes. Type 1 for the parts, and Type 2 for the tape itself. The first step in
making tape loops is to open up the cassette shell
by removing the screws. I prefer to remove
the plastic sheets on both sides of
the reels as well. You can see one of
those sheets still in the cassette shell
of this picture. Next, you'll need to
cut the tape from the reels using scissors to cut the plastic
strip that actually holds the tape to the reel. If you're looking to make one of the 9-10 second
chandler loops, then you would only cut the reel without the tape
spooled onto it. Otherwise, you're going to
cut out all of the tape, so only the reels remain. Makes sure the cut is as close to the plastic
as possible. You want the reels to be
as smooth as possible to ensure a tape routes through
the cassette with ease. Next, take a splice of tape that you're going to
make the loop with. Remember, you'll need to decide whether that is Type
1 or Type 2 tape, depending on your equipment. Then take that splice and
run it through the loop. Take a look at these images as a reference on how to
route your cassette tape. Once you have run the
tape through the loop, now we're ready to cut the
tape to the proper length. I keep the tape in
the cassette and then overlap both ends of the tape. I usually add a little slack and make a single cut to
get the right length. Some people just
measure the length of the tape rather than running it through
the cassette first. But personally, I've had much more success with the method that I'm
explaining here. Now that we've cut the tape, let's take the tape out of the cassette and connect
the loop together. This is done by cutting
a small piece of scotch tape about the width
of the cassette tape. I usually cut the length of the scotch tape about
a half-inch long, but this doesn't
need to be perfect. Next, you'll need to
determine which side of the tape is the front and
which side is the back. The easiest way to tell
is to lay the tape on its side and then see
which side curls inward. The inside of the curl will
be the backside of the tape, which is the side that
you're going to want to attach the scotch tape too. Now you're ready to attach both ends of your tape
to make the loop. As long as both ends
of the cassette tape are securely taped
together without a gap, then you should be all set. The main issue to
look out for is to make sure that your
loop is not too tight. If it is, the recorder
either won't be able to run the loop or it'll run, but there'll be a
loud screeching sound coming from the recorder. You'll want some slack on
your loop because once it's played in a recorder the
cassette will tighten up. Don't worry about if you don't get it right
on the first try. It took me several times to get a feel for how
to make these. Tape can just be a
really fickle medium. Now that we've
learned how to make both a standard and
Chandler tape loop, let's look into a technique
that goes hand-in-hand with these tape loops called
Sound on Sound Recording.
9. Synth: Sound on Sound: Sound-on-sound
recording is a way to record multiple times on the same track of a cassette without erasing the
previously tracked audio. It's a way of adding
sonic layers to create big sounds by
modifying the cassette tape. To utilize this technique, you'll need some masking tape. You may recall that
when I was going over the materials
to make tape loops, I included masking
tape on that list, and this is the reason. You'll need to take
your masking tape and cut a strip long enough to fold over each side of the cassette like you
see in this image. Before putting the masking
tape on the cassette, add three additional
layers of masking tape to the inside so that it's covering the bottom
section of the cassette. This should not have any
sticky parts exposing or else it'll get caught on the cassette tape
that's running through. The only part that is sticky
will be the strip that sticks to the sides of
the outer cassette shell. The reason for adding this to the cassette shell is so that the masking tape
blocks a part of the recorder called
the eraser head. When operating regularly,
the eraser head clears anything on the tape before
the signal is recorded. By blocking the
eraser head, now, you can add as many
layers to track as you want without erasing
over the previous layer. This is helpful for
creating dense sounds. It's also important when
recording onto tape loops. If you don't block
the eraser head when recording a tape loop, there's going to
be a small section of your loop that's blank. That's why I enable
sound-on-sound recording for all
of my tape loops. Now I'm ready to record
onto my tape loop. For this particular loop, I'm actually going to record
onto both Channels 1 and 2. I'm just going to
do a simple G chord that I'm going to sustain for
the entirety of the loop. You see that I have
my standard loop in the cassette player. I'm going to mentally count to five seconds when I know that the loop
has been completed. Here we go. I have my
signal coming through, and it levels on one. Now. I'm going to
enable my recording. Let's see if that worked.
Remember after recording, you always want to put your
player back in safe mode. Now let's see what we got here. That's a successful tape loop. Now let's make use of
the sound on sound recorded by adding
another sound layer. My first chord was a G. Now I'm going to do
the same exact thing, record on tracks 1 and 2. We're recording over what
I already recorded on, but now I'm going
to do a D chord. Let's see if it worked. Here we go. I'm going to remove the piece
of tape for sound-on-sound recording just so that the playback functions
a little smoother. There you have it.
Now you can clearly hear that there's two
cords going on at the same time. That's all folks.
10. Class Project: Final Mix: At this point, we've learned a few
different tape effects. Now, let's put it together and I'm going to show
you my finished project.
11. Conclusion: Congrats on making it to
the end of this class. We learned how
analog recording can inspire a unique way
of creating music. How limitations
within a workflow can lead to some
interesting sonic places, and how to use cassettes like
samplers and synthesizers. I hope you use the lessons in this class to continue to
experiment and create. I had so much fun
creating this class, and I hope to see you in some of my classes in the future.
Lancelot Hueston, Musician - Producer
