Straight to tape

On the 9th of august we were invited to record a local Melbourne band, Batz at soundpark studios in Northcote. We were challenged to record this band using only Analog Tape. this tape project was a good insight into how a professional studio is run. It was also a good insight into how record were made before the digital revolution and the logistical issues you run into when recording straight to 24 track 2 inch tape. I found that because we had access to so much unique and different outboard gear including the tape machine, the quality of our end product was more professional than anything i had produced before.

Soundpark Studios in Northcote are a well renowned recording studio that caters for many different genres and recording styles. They offer full digital tracking with pro tools, plus full analog recording through a Studer 24 track 2 inch tape machine. This was the first time i had recorded with a Tape machine so the setup of the studio was different to anything i had been in before. Some other ways Soundpark differed from other studios i have been in was the layout of the tracking room. It had 4 main rooms that were all unique in their layout acoustic qualities. The Largest and main tracking room had high ceilings and was fully sound treated with carpets, wood cutoffs and foam. There were 3 smaller rooms connected to the large room that were coincidently named “Wood”, “Dead” and “Mid” each referring to its acoustic qualities. Some of the stand out gear that was on offer was a EMT 140 Plate reverb, Roland RE-201 Space Echo, 6 Neve preamps, Giles VMP-2b preamp, Ampex 351 tape machine that we used for preamps, and Coles 4038 ribbon Mics.

The main difference between digital and Analogue recording that i found after having this experience is the simplicity and physicality that comes from using tape. The path of the sound always followed a linear path. I found it easier to understand what we were doing to the signal when it came to tape. Maybe because it is so spread out and not “In the Box’ i could wrap my head around what was happening to the signal at each stage and where in needed to go next. So for me i could concentrate on shaping the sound the way that i wanted rather than worrying that it is going to the wrong bus or channel. The other main difference that i found was the obvious warmth and sparkle that tape can give a sound. I found that not much needed to be tweaked after the first take. Microphones didn't need to be moved and gear was constantly being tweaked. I found tape more forgiving than digital tracking. Another thing that benefited us when recording to tape was the amazing job that the band did. It is essential to have a well rehearsed, tight band to record to tape because of the obvious editing issues that come from physical tape.

On recording day we arrived at 9am to set up and learn the signal path in the new studio, as well as learning how to use the tape machine and each of the new mics we had on offer. We arrived with a well thought out plan on where each instrument would be placed as well as what mics we would use on the day. The mics that we ended up using did differ from the original plan but i think it is good to adapt quickly to the environment and tools we had at our disposal, which we did. My role on the day was producer and to oversee everyone was doing the jobs that needed to be done before band arrived. I was lucky to have a great group where i didn’t need to direct many people at all and everyone was excited and pitching in.

For the guitars we set up 5 different amps in the “wood” room to see what the band wanted to use when they came in. all we had to do was move the two Royer 121, SM57 and Beyer M160 to the chosen amps. We ran each mic through an API Preamp.

In the ‘dead’ room we decided to have the bass guitar amp setup. We ran the signal through a DI and split the signal to the amp so we ended uip with a clean DI signal and a signal coming from a Neumann U47 in front of the Bass Amp. We ran both the wet and dry signal though the Giles Preamp.

In the ‘mid’ room we had the vocal mic set up. We used a Shure SM7B microphone and ran it through one of the MCI preamps in the console.

We left the large room for the drum kit, and the Farfisa. This was also where all the band members would stand so they could vibe off each other excluding the vocalist who was in her own little booth. We used Coles 4038 for the room mics because they have a darker sound than the Neumann U67, which were our other choice. My favourite sound that come from the kit was the snare. We used a Sennheiser MD441 for SnTop and a Neumann KM86 for the SnBtm both mics were ran through Neve preamps and the snare top was run through a Plate Reverb. The combination of these two mics sounded really nice and it almost gave Batz their iconic grunge sound.

We only really faced two major problems on the day. The first being a minor patchbay mistake that caused a ripple effect of mistakes in the patch bay. After sending everyone out of the room and going through each link step by step, the problem was quickly found and resolved. The other issue we ran into came from the inexperience we had using a tape machine. A few times the tape was stopped early and didn’t catch the reverb tails. And some miscommunication meant that the tape was cut halfway through a take. None of these mistakes really jeopardised the project but it did mean we had to do other takes and use up time that could be spent creatively later on.