Lo-fi cassette reggae recording

[meterman]

Today I have mostly been recording reggae music on a cassette 4-track, heavily influenced by Jackie Mittoo, Augustus Pablo and King Tubby. 
 

Hi-fi studio folks best look away now...

 

 

[Reggaebass]

Love it meterman ☝️, how did it turn out 

Edited August 14, 2022 by Reggaebass

[meterman]

57 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Love it meterman ☝️, how did it turn out 

Not very hi-fi. The 4-track has no EQ controls. And I used a Boss overdrive pedal as a mic pre, which shouldn’t really be done. And it’s in mono! 😂 But I’m handing in the masters tomorrow and it’s coming out on a 45 soon enough anyway so it’ll probably be alright.

 

The A-side sounds like Jackie Mittoo circa ‘68 playing through a knackered music centre, and the B-side sounds like Augustus Pablo with Jackie Mittoo on Hammond, playing through a knackered music centre. Proper roughneck.

 

I’ve got Pro Tools and Logic but this kind of stuff always sounds too clean and antiseptic when I try to do it in a DAW. It’s quicker and easier to just bash it out on a 4-track. The end result is always grittier 👍

[Nail Soup]

That is as basic as four track cassette based recording got!

 

Be interesting to hear the recording (if you have any way to make an audio file 😉)!

[meterman]

16 minutes ago, Nail Soup said:

That is as basic as four track cassette based recording got!

 

Be interesting to hear the recording (if you have any way to make an audio file 😉)!

Yes super basic, and if you couldn’t afford that you’d either use a recording Walkman or a piece of string and a tin can. Similar sound quality either way 😂

 

There’ll be a limited run of 30-odd lathe cut 45’s for the folks who still want physical tangible stuff, plus digital downloads for all the modern folks. But the vinyl will be a nice little thing to have - 45rpm 5” single in a picture sleeve, with both tracks exclusive to that edition. 
 

Shouldn’t be long before I get a copy then I’ll put it on the YouTube 👍

[Dad3353]

18 minutes ago, meterman said:

...There’ll be a limited run of 30-odd lathe cut 45’s for the folks who still want physical tangible stuff...

 

S'been a very, very long time since I could play any of that stuff..! 

[meterman]

25 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

 

S'been a very, very long time since I could play any of that stuff..! 

I briefly thought about putting the old “Not The 9 O’Clock News” gramophone sketch up as a reply, but then realised you wouldn’t have anything to watch it on! 😂

[PaulThePlug]

Woofers and tweeters....

[Reggaebass]

My cassettes used to sound great through my wharfedale Airedale’s, wish I still had them 

[meterman]

40 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

My cassettes used to sound great through my wharfedale Airedale’s, wish I still had them 

I wish I’d kept my Wharfedales too. Linton, they were. Sounded ace 👍

[Reggaebass]

1 minute ago, meterman said:

I wish I’d kept my Wharfedales too. Linton, they were. Sounded ace 👍

I’ve still got my lintons and they are still going strong 

[SumOne]

Nice! That's a good idea, unfortunately I got rid of my tape recorder a long time ago. Recorders like yours and reel to reel seem relatively cheap at the moment, I've got a feeling as they get more rare their prices will go up as there's unlikely to be enough demand for companies to start making them again but there will always be some demand for things like you are doing.

 

What mic would you recommend for melodica and percussion?

 

I'm doing home recording of Dub/Reggae with some drums (mostly just Kicks and snares) being samples from vinyl then recorded/sequenced on an MPC One, and the Bass is recorded from my Bass Guitar>Pedalboard>MPC One, and have amassed quite a few small instruments (Bongo, Conga, Steel Tongue, Kalimba, Shakers, Guiro, Harmonica, Melodica etc.) that I've been recording to the MPC via a vocal mic. It's starting to sound sort of how I want - getting away from a 'Clean and exact' purely DAW produced sound with imperfections in the playing/timing and recording actually helping to make it sound more like what I want (70's grimey dub rather than 2020's 'clean' steppers stuff that seems to dominate nowadays).

Edited August 17, 2022 by SumOne

[Reggaebass]

This is my original sharp 777 , I bought some new cassettes a while back and I might have a mess around doing some recording 

[meterman]

3 hours ago, SumOne said:

 

What mic would you recommend for melodica and percussion?

 

Use what you’ve got!

 

Seriously, don’t spend money on more gear, if you’ve got a mic just use it. Dynamic, condenser, diaphragm, whatever, they’re all just mics and will record whatever you put in front of them. You can always EQ the recorded sound afterwards anyway. I used to have a collection of so-called ‘classic’ old mics (I also had a whole studio but that’s another story) and a lot of the time I’d end up using a cheap Shure dynamic mic or a Radio Shack PZM for everything, vocals included. In fact my favourite used to be an old Sony electret (battery powered) condenser mic that I got off ebay for £2 or something. I used it on everything for years until it stopped working. There’s no rules. Use what you’ve got and make it work.
 

Just remember that with percussion, anything like maracas or tambourines can make your signal peak into the red real easy, so experiment with mic positions and distances to avoid them distorting horribly. Depends on your room as well but mic positions are still important.

 

And if you’re working in a digital format there’s always tape plugins available that you can use for individual instruments or you can run a whole mix through. Or preferably run a mix down onto a cassette deck with a high input signal if you have access to one. It’s not hard to avoid the clean steppers vibe. If you’re familiar with Pachyman have a look at some of his videos on YouTube, there’s always ideas you can get from them. Taggy Matcher is another one who can nail the classic old sounds 👍

[meterman]

I apologise because I forgot about this, but for @Reggaebass and @Nail Soup and anyone who might have been interested, the finished record sounds like this:

 

 

and the B-side is like this:

 

 

It got released as a limited edition 5” lathe cut which plays at 45rpm. Not compatible with all turntables (particularly automatic ones) but it sounds fine on mine. 
 

I know people tend to moan about lathe cuts not being super hi-fi, or how mastering in mono is a waste of time in this day and age, or whatever, but they can laugh at how basic it sounds or cry into their half-speed mastered Steely Dan reissues for all I care. 😂 DJs have already played it in clubs, it made a profit on the first day of release and as long as it makes folks do monkey dancing when it comes out of a big sound system I’m happy. A label in the UK has already sent off the masters for a vinyl follow up, so... job done 👍

 

If anyone has doubts or second thoughts about whether or not what they’ve recorded is good enough to release, don’t sweat it just do it. Go with your instincts and crack on. Don’t fret about whether or not your music sounds ‘pro’ enough. It probably is. Just put it out there. And keep doing it.

Anyhow. Hope everyone’s doing alright and looking after themselves. All the best to yers!

[Reggaebass]

Really great work meterman  , I’m liking the B side, I’ve subscribed to your Channel ☝️

[Beedster]

That has made my flipping day @meterman

[meterman]

21 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Really great work meterman  , I’m liking the B side, I’ve subscribed to your Channel ☝️

That is really kind, I appreciate it thank you 🙏 When the 7” comes out I’ll let folks know.

[meterman]

10 minutes ago, Beedster said:

That has made my flipping day @meterman

Thank you @Beedster - I really appreciate that 🙏

[sammybee]

Loving the 'B' Side - shoulda made it the 'A' side

 

[Beedster]

Just now, sammybee said:

Loving the 'B' Side - shoulda made it the 'A' side

 

Double-A side mate, just like the old days 👍

[Frank Blank]

On 14/08/2022 at 20:53, meterman said:

Today I have mostly been recording reggae music on a cassette 4-track, heavily influenced by Jackie Mittoo, Augustus Pablo and King Tubby. 
 

Hi-fi studio folks best look away now...

 

 

Now that's pukka recording kit! Good man. I now have melodica gas...

Edited October 12, 2022 by Frank Blank

[meterman]

1 minute ago, Frank Blank said:

Now that's pukka recording kit! Good man. I now have melodica gas...

I’m still looking for a Hohner Alto melodica, the red one. Or a Hohner Pianica with keys rather than buttons. Melodica gas is definitely a thing!

[Frank Blank]

27 minutes ago, meterman said:

I’m still looking for a Hohner Alto melodica, the red one. Or a Hohner Pianica with keys rather than buttons. Melodica gas is definitely a thing!

If I succumb to this bout of melodica gas it'll be my third. This is the one I fancy...

 

Suzuki PRO-37V3

 

[Nail Soup]

2 hours ago, meterman said:

I apologise because I forgot about this, but for @Reggaebass and @Nail Soup and anyone who might have been interested, the finished record sounds like this:

 

 

and the B-side is like this:

 

 

It got released as a limited edition 5” lathe cut which plays at 45rpm. Not compatible with all turntables (particularly automatic ones) but it sounds fine on mine. 
 

I know people tend to moan about lathe cuts not being super hi-fi, or how mastering in mono is a waste of time in this day and age, or whatever, but they can laugh at how basic it sounds or cry into their half-speed mastered Steely Dan reissues for all I care. 😂 DJs have already played it in clubs, it made a profit on the first day of release and as long as it makes folks do monkey dancing when it comes out of a big sound system I’m happy. A label in the UK has already sent off the masters for a vinyl follow up, so... job done 👍

 

If anyone has doubts or second thoughts about whether or not what they’ve recorded is good enough to release, don’t sweat it just do it. Go with your instincts and crack on. Don’t fret about whether or not your music sounds ‘pro’ enough. It probably is. Just put it out there. And keep doing it.

Anyhow. Hope everyone’s doing alright and looking after themselves. All the best to yers!

I love both of those tracks - good job!

You really capture an authentic feel. Good luck with the vinyl release.