Audio cassettes

[fluffy_little_something]

I suppose it depends on the heads used, their width per track.

[Numanoid]

I suppose it depends on the heads used, their width per track.

But as the tapes every 4 track machine use is the same (as far as I know, the regular Philips compact cassette), wouldn't the heads have to be the same as well.

[fluffy_little_something]

Yes, the tape width as such is standardized, but maybe not how the specific head of a given 4-track device divides the width of the tape.

[Numanoid]

It would be quite counter-productive if it was so.

I mean, in the "old" days an artist could put down tracks in one studio, take those tapes to the next studio, load the tapes, and then continue recording, and doing overdubs.

Without standardisation that would not be possible.

Who would buy a 4 track, knowing if it got broken, the recordings made on it would be unplayable on other 4 track devices?

You can even play a 4 track recording on a regular tape deck, but as 2 tracks are on the b-side, those will be played backwards.

[fluffy_little_something]

Those cassette-based devices were not intended for professional usage. Thus I doubt things were as standardized as with professional studio equipment.

[Numanoid]

Those cassette-based devices were not intended for professional usage.

Bruce Springsteen recorded Nebraska on a 4-track, sold over a million copies.

[fluffy_little_something]

Those cassette-based devices were not intended for professional usage.

Bruce Springsteen recorded Nebraska on a 4-track, sold over a million copies.

A cassette-based 4-track like those cheap Tascam or Yamaha thingies of the 80's?

[Numanoid]

Tascam Portastudio 144

[fluffy_little_something]

Those machines were meant for demos and other amateurish purposes, not studio recordings.
Here it says how much trouble they had with the Tascam:

"So I gave that cassette to an assistant and told him to copy it onto a good piece of tape. Then we went around to four or five different mastering facilities, but no one could get it onto a lacquer - there was so much phasing and other odd sonic characteristics, the needle kept jumping out of the grooves. We went to Bob Ludwig, Steve Marcussen at Precision, Sterling Sound, CBS. Finally we ended up at Atlantic in New York, and Dennis King tried one time and also couldn't get it onto disk. So we had him try a different technique, putting it onto disk at a much lower level, and that seemed to work. In the end we ended up having Bob Ludwig use his EQ and his mastering facility, but with Dennis' mastering parameters. And that's the master we ended up using."

http://tascam.com/news/display/226/

[Numanoid]

Those machines were meant for amateurish purposes, not studio recordings.

I think you just have answered your own OP.

Why would consider using tapes as storage when it is so as you claim in the quote above.

Because you are an amateur, who think more about saving a buck than audio quality.

[fluffy_little_something]

Those machines were meant for amateurish purposes, not studio recordings.

I think you just have answered your own OP.

Why would consider using tapes as storage when it is so as you claim in the quote above.

Because you are an amateur, who think more about saving a buck than audio quality.

No, saving a buck is no motive at all, I have more money than I can spend. But I like and miss the analog times somehow, for merely sentimental reasons. I am aware that cassettes sound inferior. Indeed, I am an amateur.

Plus, I was not asking about cassettes for recording my own music, but for recording from the radio, TV etc.

By the way, Nebraska is playing on YT and it really sounds crude, the music is very basic. Basically a minimalist live recording without drums, synths, brass, and such challenging instruments.

Well, have to go to bed, good night

[Bombadil]

I am concerned that it will finally kill my 4 track Tascam, which has already been overhauled once (in 1998)

But in case, couldn't you buy another 4 track, and play the tapes on that?

I only owned one 4 track in my life, but wouldn't a tape recorded using a 4 track machine, play just as well on another 4 track model?

Yeah, as mentioned, these things were not really standardized, and if things aren't very closely aligned with my current unit, the DBX noise reduction will screw the sound up horribly. Think it is the DBX encoding, anyway. Never had an issue with a non DBX'ed tape.

I think, given what I know now about recording, and given that I have a decent pre-amp, compressor and a couple of very good mics, I could make a pretty good sounding cassette track. I've thought of doing it, but my pre/comp are plugged into the axonal mess that is merely held at bay behind my desk.

[deastman]

I digitized a bunch of my old cassette recordings from the 80's a few years ago, and didn't have any issues. They sounded a little rough around the edges, but I was expecting worse.

[someone called simon]

No, saving a buck is no motive at all, I have more money than I can spend.

I can help you with that problem.

[BertKoor]

No, saving a buck is no motive at all, I have more money than I can spend. But I like and miss the analog times somehow, for merely sentimental reasons. I am aware that cassettes sound inferior. Indeed, I am an amateur.

Plus, I was not asking about cassettes for recording my own music, but for recording from the radio, TV etc.

Again you answered your own question.
Go ahead and buy some old stock tapes.
Take that small risk and see what happens.
Nothing to lose, only fun to gain, and maybe something to learn.

Btw: taping for private purposes never was a legal issue with copyright, at least not here in Holland. And how would it be enforced?