Tape’s shortcomings are well known, but that hasn’t stopped the humble cassette and its relatives from making a new generation of friends with the 80s on their mind. We get the sound.

Musicians recording at home is nothing new, but in the pre-computer studio age the revolution really took off at the dawn of the 80s when Tascam brought out their 144 Portastudio. This cigar box sized device combined four tracks of recording to cassette and a simple mixer for routing and mixdown in one box.

Recording For All

Before streaming and sharing, cassette tapes were the musical currency among music fans the world over. This cheap analogue medium gave you up to 120 minutes of music with two tracks (for stereo) running in one direction and another two in the other accessed by turning the tape over.

For recording musicians, TEAC/Tascam developed a range of machines using cassettes and ‘open reel’ quarter-inch tapes. These used all four available tracks in one direction only on their ‘studio in a box’ Portastudio mixer/recorders, or high quality stereo or 4-track recording and playback on the standalone ¼ inch machines.

These tools were a revelation for recording musicians trying out ideas or doing demos ahead of studio time with an engineer. The very best of them made music that went on to be released. You can read more about working this way here in Russ Hughes’ article.

The Catch?

While the range of tools developed around cassettes and prosumer tape formats made things affordable, the inevitable caveat of miniaturised studio gear was reduced audio quality at a time when bigger was actually better. Narrower, thinner tapes had more noise (tape hiss) less headroom, and less stable pitch than their big studio equivalents.

What these formats lacked in depth and fidelity, they made up for by producing characterful facsimiles of anything that passed through them,

T-RackS TASCAM Tape Collection

IK Multimedia have modelled four officially certified versions of classic machines and given us five tape formulations with their new T-RackS TASCAM Tape Collection. Of the formulations, two are brand new to the collection, and three are from the company’s T-RackS Tape Machine collection for when you need large-format tape finesse.

Machines

• The TEAC A-6100 MKII open reel high quality stereo mastering recorder from the 1980s

• TEAC A-3340S open reel 4-track recorder- the 1970s international artist’s weapon of choice at home.

• TASCAM 388 open reel 8-track mixer/recorder- highly sought-after model with lots of mixer real-estate.

• TASCAM PORTA ONE cassette 4-track recorder with a choice of 2 cassette tape formulations: Type I and Type II. Lo-Fi heaven.

Tapes

• 35: Modelled after the BASF LPR35 - optimal balance between warmth and precision on the TASCAM 388.

• 911: Modelled after the BASF SM911 - optimal balance between warmth and precision on the TEAC A-6100 MKII and TEAC A-3340S.

• 456 - classic 1974 Ampex studio tape formulation.

• 499 - Ampex formulation approaching the limit of super-high quality to tape.

• GP9 - later Quantegy formulation with best-of-both performance.

The 80s Sound

Using tools like the T-RackS TASCAM Tape Collection is a great way to get into the shoes of artists using the only tools they had. Judging by the legacy of the tracks they made, having basic gear and using it well will never harm your music’s longevity. While even the most meticulous recreation of classic demo-to-studio hardware can’t write you a hit, it can certainly get you the aesthetic and character of music that has stood the test of time.