#124 - 13th August 2024 - Where has all the hi-end gone? Long time passing!

It is gone. And I guess in that sense the experiment was successful.

I don't know what difference different tapes will make. But what I hear is sufficiently gorgeous.

Tonight, I lego'ed a little piece of music from different sample loops, mangled it all in one go through my outboard gear and eventually ran the stereo mix down in the tape recorder.

Three times. Each with different input gain.

It's here. The first variant is the original "digital" stereo file.

So what do I think?

1) With not enough input gain, the tape hiss/noise is quite audible.

2) There is a hefty filter on it. Lowpass, highpass, hi-mids.

3) The saturation is very pleasant. Even at parts where there is a very audible distortion. So I am already very fond of the preamps.

4) With more saturation, the low mids become a bit too fat. But this could be fixed through reducing bass and low mids in the original file, thereby decreasing low end saturation and creation of harmonics based on low end content. Haven't tried it yet, but this should keep the mix cleaner, less boomy and crowded in the lows/low mids.

5) Such a pleasant workflow. Sitting there and waiting for the tape to eat the sound you feed - it's delightful.

6) Maybe a little electronic EP with distinct lo-fi character is due.

7) Kinda unrelated, but the Walrus Meraki ❤️ jesus, what a tasty delay...

8) Into my beloved CxM 1978. Match made in heaven.

Best of nights!