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Author Topic: 4 track cassette tag team overdubs. possible?  (Read 2420 times)

recall

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4 track cassette tag team overdubs. possible?
« on: January 31, 2010, 11:15:38 AM »

Hi Guys,

Working on an album at the moment and have had the idea of doing some cassette 4 track tag teaming. Lots of my friends are really comfortable with cassette 4 track machines and don't feel intimidated by them like they do computers.

My idea therefore is to place a mono reference track or loop down to track one of a cassette and then sending that cassette to friends to fill up the 3 other tracks with their ideas.

Its kind of a wild card idea to add some different spices to the mix. I'm wondering though if it is possible to do this say, if a friend has a different machine?

Just to say - I'm fully expecting and wanting badly/charmingly recorded ideas. If I wanted it recorded properly I would go myself with a proper setup.

I haven't really used 4 tracks myself in the past to any great degree, but am definitely going to be getting one on ebay just for textural effects.

So to recap: record my track to track1>send to performer who adds his/her ideas on tracks3/4/5.

Any tips or suggestions?

Cheers,

Iwan
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Iwan Morgan
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www.westwalesgothic.co.uk

0dbfs

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Re: 4 track cassette tag team overdubs. possible?
« Reply #1 on: January 31, 2010, 02:01:43 PM »

You should be able to transfer and line the tracks up in your DAW after the fact.

The 4trk playback will probably have issues with playing back at a consistent speed and there will however be drift. If your buddies can do their overdubs in sections (like verse, chorus, intro, etc), you can edit and nudge each section easier. Editing or assembling the different takes into time probably wouldn't be too hard but it will most likely be more involved than transferring and lining up the beginning.

The different machines shouldn't be an issue (other than them being different machines with varying sonic characteristics). It sounds like that would be desirable in your situation.

Best,
jonathan
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Jonathan Burtner
Music is Everything!
Audio is Everything Else!

recall

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Re: 4 track cassette tag team overdubs. possible?
« Reply #2 on: January 31, 2010, 02:47:25 PM »

Hi Jonathan,

Thanks for your info.  I am not too worried by a bit of drift, it is by its nature an experiment, and its the very nature of chance occurrences I am interested in.  Also these overdubs are not going to be lead things like Vocals, bass lines etc just extra layers of synths, guitar washes etc.

I could probably use melodyne or elastic audio in pro tools if anything really is necessary to sync to an exact setting.

Just thought it would be a nest idea from which unique sounds could emanate.
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Iwan Morgan
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www.westwalesgothic.co.uk

NelsonL

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Re: 4 track cassette tag team overdubs. possible?
« Reply #3 on: February 01, 2010, 01:29:06 AM »

Some of the decks you and your friends have access to may run at different speeds, I know I used to use a cheapo Tascam that only ran at 1 7/8 ips. Later I used a Fostex machine that, as I recall-- it's been about 13 years, could not run that slow.
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j.hall

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Re: 4 track cassette tag team overdubs. possible?
« Reply #4 on: February 01, 2010, 12:01:19 PM »

drift should be pretty minimal.  i wouldn't worry too much about it.  tape speed is an issue, although, you could end up getting some really cool stuff that way.
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