I grew up in a digital era.
When I only started getting into music, most people already used computers for home recording.
However I was never excited about idea of using computer for music. Messing with that software just never inspired me.
From beginning I was inclined towards standalone recorders.

My first piece of recording equipment was Zoom R8 digital portastudio that I bought 10 years ago.
Decent specs and features.
But at that time I found it too complicated (required menu diving) and I eventually sold it without making any real records.
Since then I made a long break in recording, decided to get back into this only years later.

And I heard about 4 track cassette recorders quite a lot.
I almost forgot about cassettes as a media, but was really curious to try.

There is an epic thread on this recording technology:
The Astounding Quality of Four Track Cassettes...
I see there are lots of controversial opinions. And there are interesting examples of real music albums recorded on 4 track cassette machines.

Two years ago I was lucky to get Yamaha MT4X recorder in new old stock (unused) condition.
I really love this machine.
Straightforward, good functionality, immediate to use, no software/plugins needed.
I have completely DAWless setup.
And I use well known Canadian tapes from duplication.ca.
I mix it down with digital stereo recorder Tascam DR-05.
To me, Yamaha MT4X sounds great even at regular speed (4.8).
I don't usually use higher speed (9.5), cause punch-in recording becomes more difficult at this speed.
I always use built in DBX noise reduction.
I did some testing cassette/digital vs pure digital 24 bit, and I don't hear quality reduction with cassette compared to pure digital.
Synth sounds probably become a bit softer on a cassette and I love it.

I am a songwriter, but not a singer.
This is the big new project (Urban Decay album) that I recently recorded entirely on MT4X.
Worked with a new vocalist and I think she did a great job.
Genre: electronic rock, post-punk, darkwave.
I need to admit, voice was digitally pre-recorded and edited before putting on a tape.
I always stay away from bouncing to achieve better sound quality.

This new release is here:

Bandcamp:
https://shadowcreektx.bandcamp.com/album/urban-decay

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/2zst7...4g&dl_branch=1

Apple Music:
https://music.apple.com/us/album/urban-decay/1584256632

Video with the opening song:


What do you think about 4-tracking in 2021? Who still uses this technology?

Another 4 track cassette record from early 2021.

Last things first:

You do not need no plugins, you are not able to use plugins. That' a big, big difference.


Have your ears checked. Or your speakers. No. Have everything checked. Twice.

I think you have a problem, if your main motivation is to be different, for no good reason as only narcissistic reasons. The sound you produce is lo-fi at best. with the important difference that it is when using a DAW an artistic choice, you have to live with the b*******. You have no alternative. You are trapped. And its your own fault.

But you knew better... good luck with that crap.

Thanks!

Yeah, I expected a typical "Gear Space D'bag" response like that guy above...your response was classy.

Sounds cool...if you like how your synths sound on cassette compared to digital...great!

Sometimes the microphone with the "best" frequency response is not always the best choice...so it is with recording mediums.

I bought a Yamaha MT4X to use in conjunction with a DAW but wound up buying a reel to reel so I haven't used it.

(It's for sale...belt and some buttons replaced by a professional, PM me)

I was thinking that I would use it without DBX and use the plugin Brushfi to take out the noise.

(Amazing plugin, by the way, I recorded a clarinet duet and used Brusfi to take out the A/C noise. It did so and left all the room ambience)

What I was going to do with my MT4X was record one instrument on all 4 tracks simultaneously and then record that into the DAW. That way I could improve the signal to noise ratio and get more "fidelity" by using more tape.

Nice ideas!

I have a Portastudio 424 mkii that I am trying to put to use.

I really liked the idea of making pad or chord or loop or arpeggio tapes and then "playing" the tape back into a recording (i guess it has to be of non-tempo sync importance), that I saw in another thread on here.

I think the video they shared was:

If I snap off one of these plastic sliders I will be sad!

But in a 2022 artist - consumer context, making a unique tape that was part of your recording that you could sell to fans for like $100 or something is probably cool to someone.

But yeah, I'll probably never use it and put it up for sale someday, as well.

It was cool checking out your tracks, OP.

Full respect to the DAW-less.

I'm 47 and it amazes me that people really want 4 track recorders.. I can assure you if people were given the option of a DAW on a cheap laptop when I paid $500 for my Tascam 424 in 1992 - there would have never any sales at all for 4 tracks.. lol digital was a dream and struggling musicians were priced out of digital until damn near the year 2000... I don't understand it.. Technology is to be encouraged and embraced - everything else is nostalgia.

People are embracing technology. 4-track cassette technology.

I mostly record to a DAW with high resolution and virtually no noise.

But I also use 4-tracks for some things, because I find it entertaining. It has a sound. There’s no undo. You can drop a cassette in the mail to a co-conspirator.

It amazes me that people still make music with acoustic guitars and electric guitars.

Hello people! Ever heard of MIDI guitars? C'mon....100 to 300 year old technology? Really?

Pianos?!?
Hello...the 1920s called and they want their player pianos back...ever heard of a synthesizer with MIDI?

I don't understand it.. Technology is to be encouraged and embraced - everything else is nostalgia.

As long as one doesn't think that a four track cassette machine is equivalent to what Sgt Pepper was recorded on I don't understand raining on the parade of people who enjoy the cassette multitrack format.

While there are differences between the absolute cheapest and the best of the cassette four trackers (some are more limiting than others) just like with any format much of the quality or lack thereof is about knowing what you are doing with it.

I certainly have heard some decent stuff recorded with them.

Thanks.
First of all I love 4 track because of the workflow.
And I love the limitations of this equipment at the same time.

This recent video sums it up perfectly.

Also 4 track is naturally a good fit for me as I make underground music and want to achieve more raw and lesser polished sounds. Those accidents mentioned in that video is what I also love.

A Tascam 234 running at 4 ips (pitch all the way up) with chrome tape has better specks than many reel to reels running at 7 1/2 ips. There is a huge convenience factor compared to any reel to reel as well. I think the stuff the OP posted sounds great. I have close to a hundred NOS chrome tapes sitting in a box, so I may look for one in actual good shape, just for the hell of it, and the unique sound. It would be fun to find a band that would be willing to experiment with lofi 234 recording. The instruments live to two tracks, and overdubs and vocals in the other two tracks. Like the old days, mixing basically at the recording stage.

That was perfect! Couldn't have said it better.

Shadow Creek has a whole roll-out campaign for this thread and I dig it.

I swear I was going to post about how a Tr-505 to cassette is great in my post above, but thought that was too esoteric to bring up lol, and there it was in your video.

Four track guy here ..dozens on my channel are 4 track cassette mixed on two track cassette. I dig tape!

This guy recorded full album on 4 track cassette recorder.
I haven't checked all the songs yet, but sounds pretty interesting...

A four track thread! Good for you Shadow Creek for embracing the technology and getting your music out there. Before more digirati naysayers jump in I want to add that, yes we are spoiled for choices in 2021. Those choices include WORKFLOW and AESTHETICS. I too had a Tascam 424 mk2 in the mid-1990s and was very productive with it. I never found a good workflow with computer-based composition, and I really tried for years. Don’t let anyone scoffing at 4-track recording influence your choices.

Thank you!
I still love 4 track

I managed to find a 4 track on a facebook marketplace ad in my neighourhood no less. Now as with most things the resale market for these is incredibly dry in Australia so I was stoked to nab one for just $100 and love it to pieces.

I even recently had to do a bit of surgery on it since track 4 gave up on me and wouldn't playback but a bit of a clean did the trick on it.

I try to use it for just about everything at some stage of writing, even if it's just dumping an instrumental onto 2 tracks in stereo and then doing vocals over the top, but I have the best time doing songs start to finish on it.

Earlier this year I put out an album which is essentially just a love letter to John Maus' first album, which is partly where my obsession with tapes and 4 track recording stems from in the first place.

Internet Safety Briefing | Scarnon

Love finding others keeping this esoterica alive and well

Wow this track in the link sounds really awesome!

I did the Teac 3340 thing in the 70s. Never did the cassette, but it always seemed cool - and a hell of a lot lighter than that R to R machine!
To the naysayers: I also spent ten years of my life doing serious photography, using a 4x5 camera and high res film. But I also played with Polaroid too. The format is small, the resolution is meh, and there's no re-do. But it has its own qualities, its own aesthetic. Lo-fi is a thing, people. There's no right or wrong.

What enhancements do you use to improve sound quality of 4-track mixes? This year I bought Aphex Exciter Type C from 1980s, and this effect works great. I've been using it quite a lot lately. It definitely can improve clarity of the mix.

Are there any effect boxes that can improve stereo width of the mix?
Of course I am aware of the classic methods of stereo widening.

For that reason I might consider digital 24 track machine (Tascam DP-24SD). With larger amount of tracks I will be able to do double tracks, etc. But I am not sure how it affect the workflow...seems it requires some menu diving.

Do you have a decent hardware reverb? There are some you can get used like the Alesis boxes or some of the older budget Lexicons.

Have you seen the Tascam Model 12/16/24 mixers? These have a few more knobs and might be a bit less deep on the menus than the DP24. They record internally (SD card) and can also be a USB interface that can get all individual channels to your computer if you choose to go that route instead.

I have Lexicon and TC Electronic processors. They cover my reverb needs pretty well. For guitar I prefer mostly analog effects (BBD chorus, flanger, delay). I also sometimes use spring reverb with guitar and synths.
Yes I'm aware of those Tascam mixers/recorders. At the time when I was interested in them, they had zero reviews. I might look again. But DP-24SD has lots of great reviews. I might tolerate menu diving this time, cause I became more familiar with recording process due to 4 track. But I still really love 4 track, don't get me wrong.
For the external enhancers I was thinking about Roland Dimension D or something like that. There are many modern clones and reissues of that effect but I mostly hear that the modern clones don't provide exactly the same magic effect as the vintage one. I don't really want to spend on vintage unit though. I also would like to get analog BBD reverb...

There's a youtube channel called 424 recording and the guy (me bad with names) is a huge fan of the Model 12. The way he phrases it he sees the Model 12 as sorta the modern day 4 track.

He's got plenty of videos going in depth of how it all works and how he uses it in conjunction with a 4 track and DAW. Might help you get a better idea of how the Model 12 and DP24 stack up against each other.

I've been eying both of them off for curiosity's sake but in my opinion I feel like the DP24 would be tremendous overkill, especially considering that I could just use a DAW.

I use an Otari Radar 2 24 track. I like standalone recorders too. I plan to get Pro Tools going some day as well. Get them integrated together.

Was also talking to a buddy the other day...and was spec'ing out a unit for him and his kids. I pointed him towards the Tascam DP-24SD Porta studio. Looks pretty nice for what he needs. Modern day digital porta studio.

I could believe that. I fully restored one not long ago and couldn't get over how nice it sounds. It's a shame that my 4-track days are gone now though, and my main plans for it are just digitizing old tapes.

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/tascam-model-12
This review covers both model 12 and 24.

DP24 seems more mature model to me.
It even has mastering options.
And pretty deep editing capabilities.
But I don't want to derail this thread.

Let's post more 4 track music here (recent records).

Well, I took the plunge and am buying from a guy that owns 5 Tascam 234s. He has restored scores of these machines and is guaranteeing the machine for 10 years after he completes the restoration. Says heads will be 80% or better. My plan? Record 4 tracks on the 234. Transfer them to digital. Then put a rough mix of those tracks back on track 1 of the 234. Then fill the remaining three tracks, transfer those to digital, and line them up with the previous 4 tracks and so on. I care not what anybody says or claims. I love the sound of 4 track cassette running at more than double speed (the way I use then is turn pitch all the way up at all times so it runs at 4.2 ips). I can't wait to get that machine.

if you want the 4 track experience why not play a game? limit the track count in your DAW to 4 tracks, and just bounce them down when you run out, the constant commiting to sounds may make you a better musician/engineer and producer, remember what swedien said, it's all about the MUSIC first always.