I did this in the 90's. You can use an answering machine message tape, which is an endless loop. There will be a dropout at the loop point, but you can shmear it through reverb a and/or delay.
@@mmmofti in the early 2000s I had started playing guitar and a guy I knew just gave me one. They weren't really worth anything as DAWs were becoming more popular. Wish I still had it, but lost it in a house fire about 15 years ago.
@@mmmofti The 424 was one of the higher end models but I believe Tandy's sold Radioshack branded equipment that wasn't as expensive. Or if you bought an old one second-hand they were very cheap ( you could get a used one for under £100 if you were lucky ).
I found out when RU-vid issued a content ID strike against this video and diverted monetization for this video to them. I appealed with RU-vid and got the strike dropped. I posted about it on Reddit and their management reached out to me to discuss compensation but then ghosted me after a few emails. Pretty sketchy guys honestly.
.....unabridged. I LOVE THIS VIDEO. Those chords are so gorgeous great job man keep it up! Would love to hear more of this with some more parts (beats, etc.)
Great video ! I saw the original a couple years ago and had the same reaction you did . I had a friend who'd taken a similar route , but he performed with 4 track and drum machine . one track was an old inspirational lecture , 2 tracks for main melody and bridge , last track for bass . it turned out like super cool lofi hip hop....but in the early 00's . I'm thinking that if you cranked the channel gain knobs way up and the master volume down you could use that artificial clipping to take advantage of the natural distortion . I think NIN had used that with compressors at one point , but I'm not really clear on that .
I did a similar thing using a Tascam DA-38 and an Alesis Studio 32 mixer. I recorded all the song elements from my pc to the DA-38 8 track tape, then basically mixed the recorded sounds live. I combined the 8 tracks of audio with drum loops from my Casio RZ-1 drum machine. Delay and reverb were added as part of the live mix. Fun stuff!
That was really good. I just found out the vocal backing for 10cc's "im not in love" was recorded in a similar way, with 13 individual vocal notes recorded on a loop of 16 track tape, then played back with 4 people working the faders. This reminded me very much of that.
Awesome video! I think it's safe to say that the Tascam part of Sonicstate's interview with Alessandro blew everyone's mind. Thanks for taking the time to share this! I'm looking forward to more videos from you :).
I just bought a 414 MKII for recording demos... I'm so glad I came across this video. Got a couple of nice pedals so I'll hook them up and give this a go. Keep making stuff like this!
Great job!! I use a Yamaha 2816 digital porta studio all the time as a sampler ,looper and effects loop . Digital quality and 50 + effects and compressors make it crazy-versatile. Ambient pad pieces are easy to mix and control with this superb piece of equipment. I see them on ebay all the time for 1 or 2 hundred$$$ .I use mine every day.
Sounds freaking amazing!! Why did we think digital stuff sounded good back in the day and stuff like this sounded bad? I kick myself for selling my mk2 . Now I produce with no computers and really miss the character these older tascam machines had.
thank you so much for making a video like this. that video of allesandro had me curious, i even saw them on that tour and could never pick out when or if that tape deck was being used
I seen the same video about Cortini´s live set up and the most interesting thing was the way he use the tascam so thanks for make this explanation video.
Beautiful ! thanks for reminding me of the 4 track days, i used to record on a Fostex 4 tracks,..the last one was XR-7,..and the sound was unforgetable maybe ill go for one again as it sound so alive
Oh, this makes a lot of sense, I have been playing with this same idea, but instead I've been using casette players all plugged into a mixer. Casette players are generally really cheap and widely available at used stores and such things. They all have their own artifacts and little problems that can really add to your palate.
Hello! Alessandro is one of my favorite musicians. I must say, after finding out the exact model of his Tascam, I went and bought one. I've been into Tape Based Machines for years now and he blew me away with that machine. Thanks for the video, man. Very awesome example of endless possibilities! :)
cool stuff. i used to slow mine right down and then run really far ahead of it. some times very far away and hide. its brilliant to come back to the recording and speed it up and imagine your self running really fast while you left it to record. some times i wouldn't come back just to throw something extra into the mix
or what's more fun - you can record a differnt pitch drone on each track and then 'play' it like a keyboard... that's sort of how 10cc did their ethereal vox parts for their hit song 'I'm not in love' - look it up - the documentary is here on youtube.
I have the exact same Tascam. They turn army green after being in a 130 degree summer attic for several years. However, the electronic part is just as crappy as when I bought it new.
My first 4 track cassette recorder was a Tascam Porta One, but I also borrowed higher end models like the Porta 424 in the mid-late 90s. I also had a Yamaha MT-400. Then after that I bought a laptop and from then on I have recorded everything digitally but I have always and still do release alums in cassette format.
Yep, sampled without permission or payment. When I emailed with their manager, they ghosted me. Now it’s their #1 song with 12 million streams. When they posted the album, RU-vid issued a copyright strike against my video because they thought I was using their song in my video. THAT’S how little the modified the audio from my video!
@@exploringaudio1999 I've been following this story for years now, and I watched your video around the time it was posted even more years ago. I don't know how legal things work, but I'm sure with a decent lawyer you can fight this thing. If you ever do some sort of funding campaign for legal fees, I would be happy to chip in.
Alessandro's live rig is truly impressive. I'll need to grab myself one of those. I've got a Tascam Portastudio as well but it's the smaller silver one, with one input.
I saw the Alessandro Cortini video and thought the tape thing was cool but that I would never bother with it. After seeing this you have inspired me, I just bought one from Ebay. Thank you for making a great quality video. Keep them up. I subscribed.
I've wanted to hear an example of this since seeing Cortini's live rig. Thank you. Sounds amazing by the way. Now off to track down a 4-track cassette recorder
Sounds so beautiful. I really wish mine had a tape speed switch that jumps an octave up /down instantly like yours. I feel like that has so much potential.
I bought this same model because the Portastudio MKII and MKIII don't have the Tape Slow toggle. I'm now experimenting! Haven't touched cassette tapes in probably 25 years.
I saw the same video couple of months ago and was intrigued by the same thing! Started looking into it after that..your video definitely helps - thanks!
Love it ! I just got the same 424 yesterday and it's a whole new world to me. I know your video has been posted few years ago but if you are still around I might have a couple of questions: - when you use tracks 3/4 the TRK meters seem to be still associated to tracks 1/2 (which are SIDE A left/right, if I'm not wrong), but how did you manage this ? - does it means 3/4 aren't on SIDE B left/right anymore ? - oh and just for the sake my own curiosity...could u tell me what was your plugin on Ableton ? (it actually sounds great, especially the high tone on track 4 !) thanks :)
Switching the tape speed was cool, I loved the low speed, but when you went up to the highest speed, it sounded almost Pipe organ, reminded me of Interstellar sountrack! Very cool!
Now I gots to pull the 488 out of mothballs! Really well done. We did performances similar to this with a few stereo tapes for a mates music seminars. Never thought to do similar with the 488
A quick play with my DP008EX shows you can do much the same, but with the exception that you can loop back the output to the input and use one (if mono) or 2 (if panning/stereo) to record on with the same device. With the SD card to store mixes and tracks, overlayering is possible and transfer to/from the PC very easy.
Cor, I had a Tascam. Mine was black. The sliders eventually went a bit crackly - yours seem to be in much better condition. It was good fun though, I think the main limitation at the time was synchronisation. Of course nowadays a second-hand ThinkPad plus Ableton Live plus a bunch of VST instruments is a lot more practical (and cheaper, too, depending on the version of Ableton you buy).
I'm happy to see this video, but I've got mixed feelings because I've been messing around with my 424 as a performance instrument for years and I feel like someone's giving away my cool tricks. I was surprised you didn't mess with the midrange sweeps knobs. The 424 has a rudimentary analog bandpass filter in each track. Also, the overdrive these things can produce is great!
WOW!!! My only brand is Tascam when it comes to multi-track recorders. I did this once but with grouped sampled loops. on 3 tracks of which I bounced together in a switch channel mix down to track 4. Great minds think alike.
What all is being used here? - Tascam Portastudio 424 - Abelton live (?) - a blank tape - and those two "it needs something" effects on the right (delay and reverb?) Is that it? Very nice, by the way! It's so deep and lush. Like a film score.
I have the tascam 424 mk II. The cassete player is broken so I have been useing it as a mixing board to my android for recording my own music. I like the eq on it.
Good video, good ambient stuff! I've got a Fostex X-30 4-track. I once used it with TR-707 as sync box. Tape to MIDI clock for Commodore Amiga 500 playing MIDI synths and samples with a track on the tape... ahh the technology! :)
