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Who'se been sniffing paint?


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I've been reading that "cassette" thread and you guys are beginning to scare me. Is there a gas leak somewhere or has someone found an old can of lead-based paint. Anyway, how come no one offered to share some with me?

 

Now if I could just get my TRS-80 working again....

 

 

Michael Oster

F7 Sound and Vision

http://www.f7sound.com

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Originally posted by f7sound@gte.net:

I've been reading that "cassette" thread and you guys are beginning to scare me. Is there a gas leak somewhere or has someone found an old can of lead-based paint.

 

 

If vibes on a message board are like a pendulum, I believe this board just went way, way, way, into lovvvvvvvvvvvve territory!!! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gifhttp://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

 

Scary, ain't it?!?!? http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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>>I know, I'd expect a thread like that to be started by Connecting Dots, not Craig ;-) <<

 

Hey, the host gets to have fun too! I had no idea that an attempt to provide a few phrases of comic relief would end up getting all those replies...

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Well, it was damn funny, that's all I can say! I was cracking up so hard I was speechless, and as anybody knows, it takes a lot for me to be speechless! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

 

--Lee

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I know Craig, I was just kidding of course ;-). Actually, I think it's great that this forum is so kicked-back in it's "vibe". Keep the freaky post coming!

 

-Dylan

 

Originally posted by Anderton:

>>I know, I'd expect a thread like that to be started by Connecting Dots, not Craig ;-) <<

 

Hey, the host gets to have fun too! I had no idea that an attempt to provide a few phrases of comic relief would end up getting all those replies...

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I HOPE EVERYONE ISNT RAGGING ON ME BECAUSE I'M TRYIN TO DIRECT RECORD TO CASSETTE. I'LL CHANGE TO DIGITAL WHEN THE PRICE COMES DOWN, FOR NOW I'M JUST HAVIN FUN. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif

 

------------------

Skynyrd fan forever!
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Actually, if you look at my post that started this whole crazy thread, I was not dissing cassettes, but marvelling at how they were inexpensive, got that "analog" sound, blah blah blah, and trying to pretend like they were some new kind of technology.

 

The same rule remains in effect here at SSS, which is, no rules! Use whatever works.

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Technische daten:

 

I mailed one of those cassettes to Dan South, and gave one to DJ Lorne, and they both marvelled at the sound quality, as did Craig, so maybe I should share some details with the rest of the class...

 

They are Maxell MX-S 60 audio cassettes, 60 minutes (2 X 30), position IEC Type IV metal. I mixed the songs from the VS880EX directly to one of those tapes, with no NR. I used that as a master to dupe to identical cassettes on a Sony TC-WR565 dubbing cassette deck (the same one used for mixdown actually), using the normal speed dubbing setting with no NR.

 

These are the best tapes that I have found for this purpose in my 20+ years of using cassettes. You can hit them hard (+4 dB peaking) and they don't distort. Since they're only 30min/ side, they are less prone to the wow and flutter that results from stretching in longer cassettes. And they sound really phatt. They are not cheap, though: at $4.99 a pop + tax, they are over five times more expensive than blank CDs. I bought a bunch of them at 60% off at an HMV store that was going out of business.

 

I still don't have a CD burner, so if someone wants to hear outtakes of a work-in-progress, they get a cassette. When I finish these songs (which will be any decade now), I'll get it mastered to CD at a local studio that has a much bigger budget than mine does, and thus can afford a CD burner.

 

Life during wartime...

curvedominant

Eric Vincent (ASCAP)

www.curvedominant.com

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>>>Topic:   Who's been sniffing paint?

 

-----------------------------

 

I HAVE....I HAVE!!!!!!

 

Oh wait a minute.....it says paint....I thought it said panties... http://cwm.ragesofsanity.com/s/cwm/erm.gif

So Many Drummers. So Little Time...
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Curve, you talk like a friend. A while ago i met a very successfull producer. He lives and works in Florida.

 

He told me when he's mixing, he records directly from the multitrack to a cassette sometimes. When he compares this cassettes to the CD that is released months later, most of the time he likes the cassette more.

 

Funny huh?

 

Peace

The alchemy of the masters moving molecules of air, we capture by moving particles of iron, so that the poetry of the ancients will echo into the future.
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>> marvelling at how they were inexpensive, got that "analog" sound, blah blah blah, and trying to pretend like they were some new kind of technology.>>

 

I believe that cassettes hold the equivalent of more than 1.5 G of musical material on them for only $2.00 (high bias!). They're the wave of the future!

 

------------------

Ken/Eleven Shadows/d i t h er/nectar

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

music*travel photos*tibet*lots of stuff

"Sangsara" "Irian Jaya" & d i t h er CDs available!

http://www.elevenshadows.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Originally posted by sign:

Curve, you talk like a friend. A while ago i met a very successfull producer. He lives and works in Florida.

 

He told me when he's mixing, he records directly from the multitrack to a cassette sometimes. When he compares this cassettes to the CD that is released months later, most of the time he likes the cassette more.

 

Funny huh?

 

Peace

 

And you think Floridians are a good judge of things? Just look back to the November 2000 election!

 

Michael Oster

F7 Sound and Vision

http://www.f7sound.com

Tampa, Florida USA

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That's no joke, actually. These cassettes that I'm mixing to are phatt. You can hit these suckers hard and they won't distort. I had one song I was mixing where at one point I forgot to ride the levels at a crescendo, and the meters peaked at +6dB and briefly up to +8dB. I kept it rolling, and at playback it sounded fine, fantastic actually. The place I thought would go over played back at an even +4dB with zero audible distortion.

 

I really truly may skip mixing to DAT this time, and mix to one of these cassettes, and take it and the deck to the studio for mastering to CD. I just can't believe how beautiful these mixes are sounding, especially after reading Howard Massey's interview with Gus Dudgeon in the March issue of EQ last week, which really made me approach mixing in a whole new light.

 

le curve

Eric Vincent (ASCAP)

www.curvedominant.com

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Originally posted by Curve Dominant:

That's no joke, actually. These cassettes that I'm mixing to are phatt. You can hit these suckers hard and they won't distort. I had one song I was mixing where at one point I forgot to ride the levels at a crescendo, and the meters peaked at +6dB and briefly up to +8dB. I kept it rolling, and at playback it sounded fine, fantastic actually. The place I thought would go over played back at an even +4dB with zero audible distortion.

 

I really truly may skip mixing to DAT this time, and mix to one of these cassettes, and take it and the deck to the studio for mastering to CD. I just can't believe how beautiful these mixes are sounding, especially after reading Howard Massey's interview with Gus Dudgeon in the March issue of EQ last week, which really made me approach mixing in a whole new light.

 

le curve

 

What cassettes are you mixing to and what deck are you using?

 

 

Michael Oster

F7 Sound and Vision

http://www.f7sound.com

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"And you think Floridians are a good judge of things? Just look back to the november 2000 election!

 

Yo Michael, that was really a disaster, but you know Le Curve has a good point. You should try to mix to a Nakamichi 582 cassettedeck with a really good cassette and then tell me what sound you like best, your DAT/CDR or the cassette.

 

Just try it and then speak again, i'm afraid the Nakamichi is the winner, not bad for a 1/8 inch tape with 4 tracks and less than 5 cm/sec huh?

 

By the way, the producer i was talking about is not an American, he works with great and famous bands and knows exactly what he's talking about, no joke.

 

Peace.

The alchemy of the masters moving molecules of air, we capture by moving particles of iron, so that the poetry of the ancients will echo into the future.
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Originally posted by sign:

"And you think Floridians are a good judge of things? Just look back to the november 2000 election!

 

Yo Michael, that was really a disaster, but you know Le Curve has a good point. You should try to mix to a Nakamichi 582 cassettedeck with a really good cassette and then tell me what sound you like best, your DAT/CDR or the cassette.

 

Just try it and then speak again, i'm afraid the Nakamichi is the winner, not bad for a 1/8 inch tape with 4 tracks and less than 5 cm/sec huh?

 

By the way, the producer i was talking about is not an American, he works with great and famous bands and knows exactly what he's talking about, no joke.

 

Peace.

 

What was really a disaster was when during late November of last year when my wife and I were on vacation deep in the mountains of North Carolina and the mountain people were making fun of us because we were from Florida!!!

:-) I voted - just not sure for who.

 

If I get access to a Nakamichi deck, I'll try a mix to cassette. Instead, I'll have to give it a shot on my good 'ol Tascam 112. However, I'm not usually happy with a mix to a standard 16 bit DAT or CD-R. My mixes here are mostly a bounce to a 24 bit file OR sent to CD-R via Apogee converters which do make a huge difference. Your producer friend probably has been doing the cassette mix as a "best kept secret" thing which now is public. I'll keep it in my bag of tricks from now on!

 

 

Michael Oster

F7 Sound and Vision

http://www.f7sound.com

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Yo Michael, you do that.

 

I agree the Apogee's make a huge difference, but i'm still not happy with it.

 

This cassette thing, even on the 582 Naka is just nothing when you compare it to a 1/2" Studer, Otari or other pro master machine, have you ever tried a tube Ampex?

 

The Nakamichi 582 will beat most 'consumer' tape machines, even the Revox B77 and that's extraordinary i suppose. I remember a test many years ago where they compared it to a Tandberg TD20A high speed machine and they found out the sound of the Naka was as good as the TD20A whitch is the best sounding consumer tapemachine ever made.

 

So when guys are making jokes about cassettes i must laugh too of course, but i always keep in mind that some cassttes/deck combinations sound really great.

 

Have you visited www.digido.com or www.johnvestman.com yet? Look what they have to say about 1/2" machines.

 

Peace.

The alchemy of the masters moving molecules of air, we capture by moving particles of iron, so that the poetry of the ancients will echo into the future.
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Originally posted by sign:

Yo Michael, you do that.

 

I agree the Apogee's make a huge difference, but i'm still not happy with it.

 

This cassette thing, even on the 582 Naka is just nothing when you compare it to a 1/2" Studer, Otari or other pro master machine, have you ever tried a tube Ampex?

 

 

Peace.

 

 

Well, when you bring 1/2" into the mix it changes the game! In keeping with the title of this thread I must say that NOTHING replaces the smell of an analog tape machine at work. Add a few tubes into the equation and you've really got an aroma! I'd sit in the studio and sniff that all day. What a rush.

 

I've been to digido.com, but it's been a while. I'm sure Bob Katz is really into 1/2" as a mix format and I don't blame him. For folks like me who are a bit farther down on the financial food chain, I'll be sticking to Apogee and digital. BUT, I will give the old cassette a shot and see (or hear) what the fuss is about.

 

Michael Oster

F7 Sound and Vision

http://www.f7sound.com

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