![]() ![]() Beyond that, other factors have a bearing on the sound of an analog recording, some of which are unique to each particular machine. In the day, a recording studio's model of multitrack tape recorder was considered as intrinsic to its sound as their acoustics, console or microphone collection.Ī multitude of factors influence each machine's characteristic sound, beginning with the tape heads, amplifiers, and other electronics. Each of these manufacturers' different models became loved (or despised) for their mechanical attributes and characteristic sound. Although a handful of smaller manufacturers, including Stephens, Aces, and a few others also entered the fray, Ampex, Studer, 3M, MCI (later owned by Sony), and Otari became the dominant brands. By the early 1980s, Ampex was no longer the dominant multitrack manufacturer, facing stiff competition from MCI, Studer, 3M, and Otari. Recording at slightly hot levels to analog tape can also produce a nice distortion that works well with certain types of music such as rock, soul, and blues.Īs multitrack recording evolved, a number of different manufacturers began to emerge. Tape warmth adds a level of color to the sound, primarily softening the attacks of musical notes, and thickening up the low frequency range. Probably the most commonly cited characteristic of analog recording is its "warmth”. It's a process that creates some interesting byproducts, many of which directly influence the sound of the recording. The tape machine head exerts a charge on the oxide, which polarizes the oxide particles and effectively "captures" the signal. In the simplest of terms, magnetic tape consists of a thin layer of Mylar or similar material coated with iron oxide. But for the sake of this article, we'll focus mainly on multitrack analog tape, the most sonically revered recording medium of all time. With the prevalence of home and project studios and digital technology in the late 1980s and 1990s, a number of other tape formats emerged, including various multitrack on-reel and cassette configurations as well as multiple digital tape formats. ![]() MCI followed in 1968 with 24 tracks on two-inch tape, and the two-inch 24-track became the most common format in professional recording studios throughout most of the 1970s and 1980s. Scully also introduced a 12-track one-inch design that year, but it was quickly overshadowed by a 16-track version of the MM-1000, using two-inch tape. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.Īmpex responded to the demand the following year, introducing the revolutionary MM-1000, which recorded eight tracks on one-inch tape. ![]() The format evolved from two tracks to three and four, and although Ampex built some of the first eight-track machines in in the late 1950s, most commercially available machines were limited to four tracks until 1966, when Abbey Road recording engineers Geoff Emerick and Ken Townshend began experimenting with multiple machines during the recording of Sgt. Paul had already been experimenting with overdubbed recording on disks and, quickly realizing the potential for adding more channels and additional recording and playback heads, came to Ampex with the idea for the first multi-track tape recorders. One of the first Ampex Model 200 recorders was given to guitarist Les Paul, who took the concept of audio manipulation to a higher level. Crosby immediately saw the potential for prerecording his radio shows, and invested a small fortune of $50,000 in a local electronics company called Ampex to develop a production model.Īmpex and Mullen soon followed with commercial grade recorders. Mullin brought the two Magnetophons back home after the war and demonstrated them for Bing Crosby at MGM Studios in 1947. It was the first time audio could be manipulated. The format offered two major advantages over the acetate disks of the day: a recording time of more than 30 minutes, and the ability for recordings to be edited. But when American audio engineer Jack Mullin discovered a pair of German Magnetophon machines during World War II, he knew right away he was on to something big. Analog recording, of course, predates tape - with everything from wax cylinders to wire being used to capture a performance. ![]()
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