Tape Gear!

Equipment
#924

hey,
I just recently got into tapes and i love the foxtex x28 like so much… it has so much connectivity and the extra mixer section really kills it, also preamps sounds really intense when overdrived…

i wanted to share this sound, just recorded a take here…
recorded the plinky on 2 tracks in normal speed, pitched it down and run it through plinkies shimmer reverb 100%, pitched it up again and played it along the live bd from model samples, running the whole mix through shimmer again with overdrive, creating a feedback…

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ch7Lh8Bqx3A/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

2 Likes
#925

Interested but the link doesn’t work for me

1 Like
#926

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread. I have spent quite a while working my way through it and there is a wealth of knowledge here.

I have just picked up a tascam 414 mk2 which I am very excited about! I am really excited to see how i can integrate it into my live and recorded processes. I have also picked up a bunch of 2nd hand ‘used once’ type II cassettes to start playing with. I was surprised at how expensive these go for.

So my questions are:

  • if i am making tape loops with an experimental/noisy mindset, will type I cassettes be just fine?
  • Or can i put type II tape into type I cassettes? Then i could make a whole bunch of looping cassettes from 1 type II cassette. I understand there is a notch in the back of the cassette that tells the player which bias/EQ to use.
  • am i overthinking things and i should just try some things out and see what happens!?!
7 Likes
#927

So my questions are:

yes, yes and yes

8 Likes
#928

haha - ok thank you :smile:

1 Like
#929

Looks very nice! Do you perhaps have scematics or build instructions for this? I got my tapedeck modified with a PWM pitch control, but would love to build in a cv input as well. Hope you can help me in the right direction :wink:

1 Like
#931

Where are you located? Someone here might be able to suggest a place to have it worked on.

#932

Thank you very much !
I didn’t took notes for the modification, and it is different for every brand, I modified that one and another I tried different things. Sadly I sold them, so I can’t help you precisely…
I have two other from Sony but I am stuck so I have to scratch my head a bit more.

3 Likes
#933

wild performance here from Valerio Tricoli (2017)

revox b77 as instrument, plus what looks like some ppooll use too :slight_smile:

6 Likes
#934

Thanks. I googled for cv on tape decks and it got me further. I’ve got several decks laying around. I hope I get one working with the cv.

1 Like
#935

Sorry, this was a while ago… i put it down cause i felt like confusing my arts world audience on my other account

and i made this new acc just for random gear clips

sooo, reposting this just for you :slight_smile:

fostex x 28 plinkly and model samples

#936

I recently rescued a Sony TC-W490 from my parents’ house and replaced the belts to get it functioning again. It’s a dual-deck but neither side has 3-heads, so I don’t think it’s useful for setting up tape loops.

Other than just recording audio or dubbing over and over again to get some tape generation loss, are there other experiments I can try?

1 Like
#937

had this exact deck when I was a kid

don’t need three heads to do tape loops, they will go just fine in this deck. plus you can play two at once

2 Likes
#938

It was at my parents’ house when I was a kid, but I didn’t pay it much attention as I had their older tape/vinyl combo player in my room.

I didn’t know it could play cassettes on both decks at the same time. I’ll have to try that!

If I’m understanding correctly I still need 3 heads if I wanted to to do tape delay loops, right?

1 Like
#939

oh, yeah. if you want to do delay I believe you would need 3 heads. still tho, regular loops are great

2 Likes
#940

You can always use two open-ended tapes, record on one and play on the other one :wink: You have four heads there, after all!

I do that with a cheap-ass portable recorder and walkman.

9 Likes
#941

This is quite a fascinating presentation of a very particular computer-controlled reel-to-reel - somewhat unique and very Hainbach!

3 Likes
#942

A question regarding Yamaha MT4X: When playing one side of tape (channel 1 and 2), the sounds from other side (channel 3 and 4) would leaks a little. Those leaked channels are switched off and fader are off too.

Is it a common issue or just mine?

#943

The head probably needs azimuth adjustment.

4 Likes
#944

Any opinions on most repairable cassette 4-track? Portastudios seem to be most popular so I assume parts are more available but I could be wrong. I’m fairly technical so I’m ok with getting something that requires maintenance but am looking to avoid buying something that breaks and then parts not being available.

1 Like