The world’s top recording studios still provide analogue recording…

Analogue recording dominated the music industry for the best part of fifty years and just as it reached a state of near perfection, ironically, it suddenly disappeared? Well not completely, because many musicians and engineers still use it, but as far as the manufacture of professional multitrack tape recorders goes it’s as good as dead. However, pro reel-to-reel tape recorders continue to fetch high prices on the second-hand market. For example, a Sony APR24 will set you back around £5,500; a Studer A827, nearer £16000. So what’s the attraction?

The superb Studer 827 Gold Edition is last of the great 24-track 2-inch analogue tape recorders; seen here complete with autolocate and meter-bridge.

Head to head

On a pro reel-to-reel machine tape passes over three heads: erase, record and play (in that order) and the waveform is stored as a magnetic field. This is a continuous process and many top engineers claim smoother results and better highs compared to digital recorders which sample audio as slices, a non-continuous process (although as sample rates continue to improve, the argument begins to pale). Dyed-in-the-wool rock producers also claim better reproduction of the complex waveforms typically associated with crash cymbals, distorted guitars and instruments which produce multiple harmonics like 12-string guitars and acoustic pianos.

But curiously, it’s the limitations of magnetic tape that contribute to the mystique of analogue recording and enhance its desirability. For example, recording high signals (meters in the red) results in ‘tape saturation’, a mild distortion, sometimes used creatively, to thicken the sound of drums and guitars. ‘Tape compression’, a result of magnetic tape’s limited dynamic range is also considered desirable on vocals and drums.

Other side effects are less desirable; tape hiss (caused by non-aligned magnetic particles) being the worst offender. The lower your recording levels, the louder the noise. Wow and flutter (slow and fast tape speed variation) can also cause problems. However, analogue recorders underwent continuous refinement during their life span and in the 70s and 80s these problems were all but eradicated with improved tape transport mechanisms and high tape speeds.

As you probably know, audio is recorded onto tape as tracks. And wider tracks yield better signal to noise ratios than narrow ones. So, the wider the tape the better your results are likely to be. High-end multitrack recorders use 2-inch tape to record either 8,16, 24, 32 or 48 tracks although 24 is the most common (some studios use two 24-track machines together, one as a slave). These machines run tape at speeds of 7.5, 15 or 30 ips (inches per second). The faster the speed, the better the sound quality with less hiss and increased pitch stability. Other common tape widths are 1-inch, for 8, 16 or 24 tracks; 1/2-inch for 4, 8 or 16 tracks and 1/4-inch for 2-track stereo and 4 and 8-track recording.

Hiss off

Semipro machines like the Tascam MSR 16 (16 tracks on 1/2-inch tape) run at a maximum speed of 15 ips, half that of a pro tape deck, and as a result, add tape hiss to each track recorded. An accumulative process it’s more noticeable at mixdown with each track contributing to the overall noise. To solve the problem manufacturers added Dolby and dbx noise reduction units to their machines. Audio is compressed (encoded) during the recording process and expanded (decoded) during playback. Put another way, the compressor boosts the quiet passages (music) during recording and the expander reduces the volume of noise (tape hiss) when the quiet passages (music) are played back. During loud passages of music nothing happens because the hiss can’t be heard anyway. Both Dolby and dbx systems were very effective and it’s a matter of personal taste as to which sounds best. Pro studios though usually record without noise reduction at a speed of 30 ips.

The Tascam MSR-16 offered affordable 16-track recording on 1/2-inch tape during the late 80s and early 90s

When setting up an analogue recording system it’s common practice to match the recording console’s meters with those on the tape recorder. There’s a simple reason for this. Once done, you only have to watch one meter, usually the console’s. You do this using a steady 1kHz tone provided by a frequency generator.

Analogue tape recorders are sophisticated pieces of machinery, requiring periodic maintenance and regular cleaning. A layer of tape oxide quickly builds up on the heads and tape guides which, if not removed, will interfere with the tonal quality of the recorded sound. Cleaning them before every session is vital. Fortunately it’s an easy job requiring just cotton buds and a cleaning solvent.

Every few days or weeks, depending on usage, the tape path has to be demagnetised. A magnetic field builds up over time and causes all kinds of nasty problems including high frequency loss, and extra tape hiss. Using a degausser each tape head and guide has to be demagnetised one at time. Although not a difficult task demagnetising is a rigourous process and has to be performed to-the-letter to avoid potentially disastrous results and costly repairs.

Get in line

Every so often tape machines need aligning. Again the time interval depends on the use. It’s a skilled job involving manual adjustment of the heads, to line them up in a position exactly relevant to the tape path and calibration of the electronic circuitry. In a busy commercial studio this is carried out by a specialist maintenance engineer armed with an expensive test tape. Specific frequencies are recorded to these tapes which are used to precisely set up the machine. In the heyday of analogue recording a busy studio would do this before every session.

Analogue tape recording is something of an art. Conventions and procedures abound and there are right and wrong ways of doing everything. For example, it’s traditional to wind tape off the machine at playback speed to avoid unevenly spooled tape which is what happens if you use fast-wind mode. Apart from looking untidy, unevenly spooled tape is easily damaged at the edges and remember, in a commercial studio the clients are looking on. Tapes are also stored tail out (on the take-up reel) to help minimise print-through, the phenomena whereby you hear a faint pre-echo just prior to the start of a recording.

Work on a song invariably takes place in different studios and it’s common practice to splice on a couple of meters of green leader tape before the recording, to reduce static. A red trailer tape is spliced on at the end.

Splice and dice

In the old days editing was a tedious process involving demagnetised razor blades (single-edged of course), splicing tape and editing blocks but skilled engineers were remarkably good at it. Nowadays analogue recorded works are more likely to be transferred to ProTools for editing.

Visit the world’s top studios and as well as the ProTools rig you’ll find a couple of Studer 24-tracks tucked away in the machine room. These dinosaurs are kept alive because many of their clients demand them, just as they also expect classic Neumann mics and so on. But are the recordings made on these big old beasts any better than those made using state-of-the-art digital equipment? The arguments for and against will rage for some time yet but maybe the answer is a matter of choosing the recording format to suit the style of music. After all, many different styles of popular music now coexist which wasn’t always the case in previous eras.

Many top rock and acoustic musicians still opt for analogue recording and transfer the material to digital for editing and mastering whereas pop acts and producers of loop based music use the digital medium throughout. But as far as the consumer is concerned, it’s a digital world. Affordable analogue recorders for home use are not made anymore.

However, if you’re interested in recording the old fashioned way you can still buy second hand machines. At the time of writing a Fostex E16 (£310), Fostex R8 (£150) and a Tascam MSR 16 (£550) could all be found on e-Bay. Be careful though, overworked multitracks from commercial studios are best avoided. But lovingly-cared-for machines from home studios do turn up and can be easily integrated into your digital system using SMPTE time code. And compared to many digital machines they’re easy to use and recording levels are not so critical.

Running costs are a major consideration. For semi-pro recording, a reel of 1/4-inch Quantegy 456 (formerly Ampex) costs around £20. 1/2-inch and 1-inch tape 456 tape costs £35 and £55 respectively. 2-inch tape is very expensive and a reel of 456 costs around £116. The best, Quantegy GP9, costs £150; rock star prices.

To mark the end of an era, sadly, Studer have decided to cease production of analogue tape machines but if you happen to have £23000 to spare you can still buy one of their A827 Gold Edition models (while stocks last) complete with autolocate and meter-bridge. The future of recording is digital, without question, but discerning musicians, producers and engineers will also be recording on machines like these for many years to come.

Tech Terms

Gap - On a tape recorder’s record-head, a thin break in the electromagnet that contacts the tape.

Azimuth - On a tape recorder this is the angular distance measured between the head gap and the tape path. It should be 90 degrees. But it alters over time and the mechanical adjustment of the record and playback heads is known as Azimuth Alignment.

Splice - As a verb, the joining together of two lengths of tape with a third blank piece of leader tape. As a noun, the the taped joint itself.

Splice block (or editing block) - metal block for securely holding tape whilst you’re editing it with a razor blade.

More Information

Showcase International’s list of the world’s top recording studios. Follow the links and you might be surprised at just how many of them use 24-track analogue tape recorders.

Copyright 2006 Keith Gemmell

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