6 ms·

Can I get a DSP filter or something to simulate tape and skip the tape :-) It seems like everything about records and tape is not really technically superior a

Can I get a DSP filter or something to simulate tape and skip the tape :-) It seems like everything about records and tape is not really technically superior and the sound signature could be emulated.

squidsoup 4y ago
Yes, there is some great tape emulation out there (uHe's Satin is killer https://u-he.com/products/satin/ https://u-he.com/products/satin/), but tape machines aren't desirable for the sound alone - they can be instruments in their own right. Allesandro Cortini from NiN is an artist that uses tape very effectively in his live performances for example (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdbgEHsPkes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdbgEHsPkes).
- trynewideas 4y ago
  See also looping tapes: https://www.guerrilladigital.cc/2021/03/10/i-spent-the-last-two-weeks-researching-and-making-endless-cassette-loop-tapes-and-this-is-what-i-learned/ https://www.guerrilladigital.cc/2021/03/10/i-spent-the-last-... and anything AMULETS does: https://cdm.link/2017/01/heres-make-tape-loop-cassette-tape/ https://cdm.link/2017/01/heres-make-tape-loop-cassette-tape/ https://www.youtube.com/@amuletsmusic/videos https://www.youtube.com/@amuletsmusic/videos
  - inasmuch 4y ago
    See also DJing (TJing?) tapes! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urGmmkUDi20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urGmmkUDi20
UncleOxidant 4y ago
Yeah, I really don't get the nostalgia, but maybe it's because I lived much of my life in the vinyl and then cassette tape eras. There are so many downsides to both. Vinyl records take up a lot of space and they degrade just a little bit every time you play them unless you have a very expensive laser player and even then...). Cassettes also degrade quite quickly and the sound was never that great with cassettes. Of the two, though, vinyl nostalgia is a bit more understandable because you can watch the record rotate and the theory of operation is quite simple.
kid64 4y ago
How do you figure? An analog impression directly mirrors reality, digital is just an approximation. So digital seems inherently inferior.
- caned 4y ago
  An analog signal recorded to tape is subject to all manner of distortions that don't apply to digital recordings, including frequency-dependent phase shift, crosstalk between tracks, print-through, tape hiss, and saturation. I can never buy the argument that analog recordings are better _because_ they are more faithful. I do think they can sound very beautiful and be aesthetically pleasing, however.
- arielweisberg 4y ago
  The two analog mediums I mentioned are both pretty flawed and difficult to get clean sound out of. Digital isn't inherently bad. There was a time when recording engineers salivated over stereo CDs and all the problems that just went away. Sure we use compressed audio now, but I can't really tell the difference in any real listening scenario if I am being honest. Even with a headphone amp and some nice headphones.
  - crmd 4y ago
    One of the non-obvious reasons vinyl albums often sound better than their digital counterparts is that the mastering process for cutting vinyl is extremely “hands on” and is typically performed by senior mastering engineers working with top of the line equipment. The very act of having an old set of ears listening critically to each track, and making subtle changes like shelving equalization, surgical multiband compression, and stereo width reduction in the low end (to keep the needle from bouncing), will often improve the sound of an album before it’s even sent to the vinyl cutting machine.
    - ubermonkey 4y ago
      This is underacknowledged. A bunch of early CD pressings were pretty bad, because they just issued CDs with the mastered-for-vinyl recordings without considering how the medium affected playback. Fortunately this mostly got resolved in the first 10-15 years of CD; I think the last domino (at least for people my age) was when the first Zeppelin box set finally dropped. Listening to those tracks was stunning -- the new remastered discs sounded SO MUCH BETTER than the original mid-80s CDs we'd all had previously.

squidsoup 4y ago

Yes, there is some great tape emulation out there (uHe's Satin is killer https://u-he.com/products/satin/ https://u-he.com/products/satin/), but tape machines aren't desirable for the sound alone - they can be instruments in their own right. Allesandro Cortini from NiN is an artist that uses tape very effectively in his live performances for example (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdbgEHsPkes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdbgEHsPkes).

trynewideas 4y ago
See also looping tapes: https://www.guerrilladigital.cc/2021/03/10/i-spent-the-last-two-weeks-researching-and-making-endless-cassette-loop-tapes-and-this-is-what-i-learned/ https://www.guerrilladigital.cc/2021/03/10/i-spent-the-last-... and anything AMULETS does: https://cdm.link/2017/01/heres-make-tape-loop-cassette-tape/ https://cdm.link/2017/01/heres-make-tape-loop-cassette-tape/ https://www.youtube.com/@amuletsmusic/videos https://www.youtube.com/@amuletsmusic/videos
- inasmuch 4y ago
  See also DJing (TJing?) tapes! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urGmmkUDi20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urGmmkUDi20

UncleOxidant 4y ago

Yeah, I really don't get the nostalgia, but maybe it's because I lived much of my life in the vinyl and then cassette tape eras. There are so many downsides to both. Vinyl records take up a lot of space and they degrade just a little bit every time you play them unless you have a very expensive laser player and even then...). Cassettes also degrade quite quickly and the sound was never that great with cassettes. Of the two, though, vinyl nostalgia is a bit more understandable because you can watch the record rotate and the theory of operation is quite simple.

kid64 4y ago

How do you figure? An analog impression directly mirrors reality, digital is just an approximation. So digital seems inherently inferior.

caned 4y ago
An analog signal recorded to tape is subject to all manner of distortions that don't apply to digital recordings, including frequency-dependent phase shift, crosstalk between tracks, print-through, tape hiss, and saturation. I can never buy the argument that analog recordings are better _because_ they are more faithful. I do think they can sound very beautiful and be aesthetically pleasing, however.
arielweisberg 4y ago
The two analog mediums I mentioned are both pretty flawed and difficult to get clean sound out of. Digital isn't inherently bad. There was a time when recording engineers salivated over stereo CDs and all the problems that just went away. Sure we use compressed audio now, but I can't really tell the difference in any real listening scenario if I am being honest. Even with a headphone amp and some nice headphones.
- crmd 4y ago
  One of the non-obvious reasons vinyl albums often sound better than their digital counterparts is that the mastering process for cutting vinyl is extremely “hands on” and is typically performed by senior mastering engineers working with top of the line equipment. The very act of having an old set of ears listening critically to each track, and making subtle changes like shelving equalization, surgical multiband compression, and stereo width reduction in the low end (to keep the needle from bouncing), will often improve the sound of an album before it’s even sent to the vinyl cutting machine.
  - ubermonkey 4y ago
    This is underacknowledged. A bunch of early CD pressings were pretty bad, because they just issued CDs with the mastered-for-vinyl recordings without considering how the medium affected playback. Fortunately this mostly got resolved in the first 10-15 years of CD; I think the last domino (at least for people my age) was when the first Zeppelin box set finally dropped. Listening to those tracks was stunning -- the new remastered discs sounded SO MUCH BETTER than the original mid-80s CDs we'd all had previously.