Max The Tape
Recorder's Sixth Album
More technical infos
My fun with the "Max The Tape Recorder"
albums is to recycle and record on old tapes (reel-to-reel, cassettes
etc...), often made for "consumers" and not necessarilly for
professional applications (although I sometimes use pro ones too, and
the tape quality varies depending on the era it was made), and I try to
get the best out of them using multi-track recorders.
I generally try to calibrate the machine
as best as I can for the tape used, although sometimes I may also
experiment on this side:
of course the Tascam 238 8-track
recorder for cassette tapes was made to use only CrO2 Type II chrome
tapes, other types of tapes can also be used with a few technical
tricks.
These albums are where I go crazy and
experiment with the technical aspects, and the music also.
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Track 1: "Nature first"
Tape: BASF LGR 30P in a generic 7"
reel
Tape's state before recording:
used
Machine used: Fostex E-8
Recording speed: 30 ips
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Very good quality tape.
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Track 2:
"1-2-3-4"
Tape: TDK
1200 SD
Tape's state
before recording: new but opened (unrecorded)
Machine
used: Fostex E-8
Recording
speed: 30 ips
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Very good
quality tape from the early 70's.
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Tracks 3 to
6: 4 segments:
3. (1) Cute tea
4. (2) QT
5. (3) Cue T
6. (4) Cue tips
Tape:
Unknown brand
Tape's state
before recording: used
Machine
used: Fostex E-8
Recording
speed: 30 ips
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This tape,
which probably dates from the 60's,
was already separated in 4 segments with leader splices,
so each
piece I recorded is the length of each segment.
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Track 7:
"Oh! dId I tell you?..."
Tape: TDK
Endless Cassette - 3 Minutes (at normal 1 7/8 ips speed)
Tape's state
before recording: new
Machine
used: Yamaha MT120 - 4 Tracks
Recording
speed: 3 3/4 ips
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The Yamaha
MT 120 is calibrated for CrO2 (Type II) tapes, and this tape
is of Normal Position (Type I);
I didn't
bother to recalibrate the machine to Type I Position (if it's even
possible), I only played with the EQ in the mix and all was good;
The cassette
used here is an endless one probably made for phone answering machines,
recorded at double speed (3 3/4).
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Track 8:
"For Missy (toy synth)"
Tape: Scotch
111 - 4" Reel - 400 feet
Tape's state
before recording: used
Machine
used: Fostex 80
Recording
speed: 15 ips
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This piece
was recorded using a small toy synth.
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Track 9:
"Go FAQ yourself"
Tape: TDK
tape in a Sony reel in a Maxell box
Tape's state
before recording: used
Machine
used: Fostex E-8
Recording
speed: 30 ips
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Track 10:
"Let's shake things out (attaway) (orgasmic psychosis)"
Tape:
Unknown brand in a 2 3/8" reel
Tape's state
before recording: used
Machine
used: Fostex E-8
Recording
speed: 30 ips
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This is
actually the smallest reel I've ever seen: 2 3/8 inches;
It actually
fits in the middle hole of a 10" reel ahah!
At 30 ips
(inches-per-second) I barely had just a little more than 1 minute of
recording with 1.5 mil tape...
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Track 11:
"Big no-ease"
Tape: TDK
C-40LN
Tape's state
before recording: used
Machine
used: Tascam 238
Recording speed: 5.3 ips (Both of the machine's pitches at max)
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Track 12:
"In dust-trial times (and DOS
trial-times 2)"
Tape: Tracs
Tape's state
before recording: used
Machine
used: Tascam 238
Recording speed: 4.2 ips (Pitch on the front of the machine at max)
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Track 13:
"Learning to sing (patience needed)"
Tape:
Unknown brand
Tape's state
before recording: used
Machine
used: Tascam 238
Recording speed: 5.3 ips (Both of the machine's pitches at max)
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This is a
budget tape dating from around 1980 probably sold 3
in a plastic bag with no jewel case;
I have 3 of
them from when I was a child where I talk with my family and
friends. ;)
(I found
this one recently though).
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© 2015 Max Songs Club
