The Museum of Obsolescence
I have always been behind the curve of technology. You might say that my cutting edge needs sharpening. For one reason or another, my studio has always been populated with items I found perfectly serviceable but which might also be considered antiques. My recording techniques are purely retro, no matter what devices I replace. But the devices themselves read like a laundry list of hard-to-find collectibles.
Recording has fascinated me ever since I was ten years old, when I got my first cassette recorder from Radio Shack in 1976. My early attempts at multitracking involved using another cassette player for the overdubs, a pretty crude solution that only afforded two or three tracks before the tape hiss became overwhelming. In 1983 and through 1984, an Akai sound-on-sound reel-to-reel tape recorder emnabled me to expand my arrangements; for a two-track machine, that was an excellent piece of equipment. I used it until the very end of 1984, when I purchased my first 4-track cassette recorder, a Tascam Portastudio 244. I loved that unit. It was destroyed in a flood in 1993.
In 1994 I bought an 8-track cassette recorder, a used Tascam Syncaset 238 (which I hooked up to a Mackie CR-1604 16 channel mixing board). Even after extensive maintenance, it still chewed up my tapes. As it turned out, the Syncaset was unable to play back my 4-track recordings correctly; I replaced it in 2001 with yet another 4-track Tascam Portastudio, the 424mkIII.
None of these devices had any on-board effects. Until 1988, I was using stomp boxes for chorus and delay and an old PA head to achieve reverb. When I finally got a digital reverb unit (a Roland SRV2000), it enhanced my sound options. Unfortunately, I knew nothing about signal routing and recorded all my tracks wet, adding the reverb up front and not in post-production. I made the same mistake with my first digital effects processor, the Yamaha REX50 Multi Effector, which I started using in 1989. All the music I recorded onto tape suffers this handicap.
I've also used an unlikely series of drum machines, starting with the onboard rhythms found on the Casio MT-40, a miniature keyboard from the early 80s. Its successor was the Roland TR-606 Drumatix, which I used until 1987, replacing it with a Korg DDD-1. In 1989 I found some sound cards for the Korg, mostly of gated percussion effects and exciting woodblock noises, but by late 1990 I would be using the Alesis HR-16, probably the only drum machine I've ever really liked. It was damaged in the flood of 1993, but the bass drum sound could be programmed to work as a metronome and all the pads could still be played manually. I used it this way, playing drum patterns live onto tape and supplementing my tracks with homemade percussion instruments, until 1996. Finally in 2001, I purchased Roland's Dr. Rhythm DR-770, which I still use today (when I have to).
The first instrument I ever played on and recorded was the acoustic piano I learned on, a Baldwin Hamilton from 1975, but the first electric piano I ever used was a suitcase model Fender Rhodes, the very heavy one with the stereo speakers. This was my main keyboard for recording and live performance from the early 80s, along with the very unlikely Realistic Moog Concertmate MG-1, an analog synthesizer from Radio Shack. It was small and noisy, but it was a genuine synth which allowed me to create all of my lead and bass and flute and french horn sounds, not to mention a bunch of silly sound effects. I also used the Casiotone MT-40 for extra keyboard sounds until 1987, when I got a Roland Juno 2. That same year I started using a Korg SG-1D for my acoustic piano and Rhodes sounds. In 1991, I added the Yamaha TG-77 tone generator to my setup. I still use this sound module occasionally today.
In 1997, I purchased a Kurzweil PC88mx, a decent keyboard with a few quirks. (I hardly recorded with it, but I played live with it everywhere. It died on a gig when I had to use the wrong AC adaptor under emergency circustances.) In 2006 I started using the Roland RD-300sx, which I still use today.
I've used so many different types of microphones that it's impossible to list them all, but my favorite was a Sennheiser MD421 that I used as a vocal mic for years before discovering that it really was considered a drum mic. Now I use a Sterling Audio ST-55, a good sounding phantom-powered vocal microphone.
In the fall of 2009, I purchased a Korg D3200 digital multitrack recorder. It's very good for converting analog tapes into digital files and it has many good onboard effects. It's comfortable to work with, having many old-fashioned faders and dials and such. Maybe I've been waiting for digital technology to gain an analog sensibility before starting this project of mixing down all my old tapes. I am, and always have been, low-tech.
As a footnote, I recently purchased a Yamaha Motif and an iMac, but I am still employing older methods in incorporating these new technologies into my work.
Thank you for taking this tour of The Museum of Obsolescence.
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