Vote for the May/Jun 2016 "Originals" festival

[Hook]

I'm out too, I just can't bring myself to buy tapes and certainly not the gear to record on them. 10 of you must have your old 4 tracks so I'm looking foward to some good songs covered in tape hiss and 60 cycle    hum.
Rock on!

[ODH]

"Can I use your dictaphone?"

"Use your finger like everyone else"

Even the predictive text on my phone knew that joke.

I got rid of my old 90's Fostex 6 into 4 track cassette recorder only a couple of years ago on eBay. Buggered if I'm buying it back again. I think there is an old dictaphone in the drawer upstairs somewhere but that's it. That would be low tech in spades.

[64Guitars]

Voting closed. The winner is

OldSchoolStudio Fest

Record a new song using only tape recorders and techniques that were available in the days before digital recording. So no digital recorders, no DAWs, no soft synths, no ThumbJam, no GarageBand, etc. Hardware synths (even digital) would be okay as long as they're actually played, as opposed to being programmed with sequencers or other automation. You don't have to bounce, but if you do bounce, it must be done using only analog tape recorders, just like in the old days. Of course, you'll need to use a digital recorder or software to turn your final mix into an MP3 for posting. But that should be the very last step and it's the only time you can use modern technology. Everything that goes into your recording up to that final conversion to MP3 must be old school. As with all of our festivals, please post only new recordings. Don't post your old tape recordings from the 70s or 80s, for example. The idea is to make a new recording using old equipment and techniques. That could mean using your old Fostex 4-track cassette, for example. Or it could be as simple as getting an old portable mono cassette recorder with a mic and recording yourself singing and playing guitar live in the living room.

[64Guitars]

For those who don't have any old recording equipment, perhaps you could borrow some from a friend or relative. Ask around. Chances are that somebody you know has an old cassette recorder or reel-to-reel up in the loft or wherever. If you could borrow two tape recorders (not necessarily from the same person), you could do old school bouncing too. Getting some recording tape might be the bigger challenge. If your friend doesn't have any that they're willing to let you use, it could prove hard to find.

Another idea is to check with your local public library. You might be able to borrow an old tape recorder. Though, I guess nowadays they might not have them anymore. But it wouldn't hurt to ask.

[Oldrottenhead]

i'm currently scouring the 2nd hand stores for a tape recorder. i have seen a couple without built in mics but you can record via an auxilry input line in.  would it be cheating using a microbr as the mic via line in. i imagine it would be okay provided none of the effects where used. delay reverb etc but using it dry.

[64Guitars]

I think that would be okay as long as you're only using it as a mic and not using any of the Micro BR's features to enhance the sound.

[bruno]

Dug this out of the loft - it is ancient - and now I remember what a pain they were, cassette wow and fluster - blimey!

[steelguitar]

"video showing Mark Knopfler, who had recorded his share of albums digitally, back in the studio recording to analog tape using tube compressors to achieve the desired sound based on sound not necessarily the latest technology."

http://www.analogplanet.com/content/mark-knopler-cuts-new-song-analog-tape#fco8OUy4FzueJRKW.97

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7-cpV_H_z4

[cuthbert]

I still have an old four-track (with dbx noise reduction!) up in the attic. I hope it still works!

Otherwise, I've got a couple of portable cassette recorders that I can use to bounce back and forth, if necessary - hello, Hiss City!

[64Guitars]

OldSchoolStudio Fest

Record a new song using only tape recorders and techniques that were available in the days before digital recording. So no digital recorders, no DAWs, no soft synths, no ThumbJam, no GarageBand, etc. Hardware synths (even digital) would be okay as long as they're actually played, as opposed to being programmed with sequencers or other automation.

We've had a re-think and decided to keep the recording separate from the performance in terms of what's allowed. You can use digital technology in your performance but not in your recording. So that means that soft synths, the virtual instruments and effects in GarageBand and other apps, and digital hardware will be allowed provided that all of the recording is done on analog tape. While you can use GarageBand for its virtual instruments and effects, you can't record those sounds in GarageBand. Instead, you should connect the analog Line Out signal from your computer's sound card or audio interface to the Line In of your tape recorder and record your live performance to tape. And don't use sequencers (the piano roll of your DAW, for example) to program anything. Sequencers are, afterall, a form of digital recording. Sure, they don't record any sound, but they do record the notes digitally and that would be contrary to our Old School Studio theme. Drums are an exception to the rules. You can create your drum track using a drum machine, sequencer, loops, or whatever. Just make sure you record it to tape.

Hopefully, this change in the rules will allow more people to take part in the Old School Studio fest. You can, for example, create a drum arrangement on your BR, connect the BR's Line Outs to your tape recorder's Line Ins and record the drum track to tape. Then you could plug a guitar into the BR, dial up your favourite amp model and effects, and record the Line Out to tape. You can also connect a MIDI keyboard controller, for example, to your computer and play a soft synth, as long as the audio output is recorded directly to tape -- no sequencing or digital recording is allowed.

Having said all that, if you choose to go Old School on your performance equipment too, that would be a welcome bonus, but it's not a requirement. Either way, be sure to tell us as much as possible about what equipment you used and how you made your recording.