Alessandro Cortini of NIN: Using a Cassette Recorder as an Instrument | Reverb Interview

Alessandro Cortini (Nine Inch Nails) plays a cassette recorder (Tascam Portastudio) and talks through his personal history with the instrument, and the ways in which he has experimented with the resulting sounds throughout his career both with NIN and in his solo work.
Read more: goo.gl/um21v1
The music featured in this video is from Alessandro's album, Avanti, available on PIAS Records: goo.gl/8c4YnB
More from Alessandro: goo.gl/Y5TzDo
Browse Tascam Portastudios: goo.gl/Pcui9n

[@RationalGaze010]

Reverb originally wanted to put up Boards of Canada for this video but they recently discovered that the Scottish duo actually turned out to be an Akai MPC60 plugged into a giant willow tree.

[@gobblegobble24]

RationalGaze010 extremely underrated comment!

[@mystereo9041]

perfect

[@elektrozil9728]

Yes, a tree that flowers about once per decade

[@sequentialcircuits4501]

Stupid comment. Dry unfunny twatster humor.

[@vcrheadaches5769]

@@elektrozil9728 Even more underrated comment than mine because that's a big ass mood.

[@moliver_xxii]

by himself, this guy managed to triple the price of all Tascam Portastudio four-track-cassette recorders on second hand market. bravo Alessandro!

[@YouLoveItBiatch]

😭 I was unemployed and owned two so imagine my delight

[@LfunkeyA]

not really, in case anyone wants to buy some. the price has actually dropped since 2020.

[@mmmdananananone]

Musicians with actual vision and the actual need to make music will do it with whatever they have to hand. The rest of us just dither around buying stuff and being slightly disappointed afterwards.

[@UltimateWobbleBoss]

Using only the room mic for his voice, very avant garde

[@MusicMindset]

It adds reverb...oh, wait :)

[@JohnsysChannel]

I wanted to like your comment, but it's on +180 and I didn't want to leave it uneven. Hilarious comment though :)

[@danielibarra1075]

what a bunch of dushes and here you all are feeding of a native and wont even admit its no wonder your brains are locked in a simply orginized way (no garde dada dont crocross the line cacacacuse your gona get in truber and get 20 lashes with a kornet.

[@danielibarra1075]

@@MusicMindset phraser when its on chorus ever messed with the mid bass hi on your receiver ever brought the mid up and checked how it sounds probably not depth phase in out compressed sound kits yeah thank the guy 20 years ago for showing me that hes name was mikeal hakcle son

[@amuletsmusic]

I remember watching Alessandro's live rig video from sonicstate 5 years ago and it totally changed my life. His use of the 4 track tape recorder blew my mind and revolutionized my approach to hardware based music. One tweak I made was I started using tape loops instead of standard cassettes because I got too impatient with recording long individual tracks to tape. Anyways, just want to pay tribute to my inspiration - I have taken this technique and gone bat shit crazy with it. Thank you Alessandro! 🖤

[@AlessandroCortini]

AMULETS 🤗💪

[@amuletsmusic]

@@AlessandroCortini 🙌🙏

[@Johnnyguitar145]

AMULETS Alessandro inspired you and you inspired me right back! Thank you . Hope to see you in Portugal one day and have The oportunity to talk to you.

[@tesssssssssssting]

@@Johnnyguitar145 AMULETS same here, I had this same tascam, which I bought from a friend as a bargain but never had enough time to record on it (or maybe I just wasn't really sure of what I wanted to do with it). After watching some of your videos I realized the potential it had as part of an analog setup, specially given my few synths, and decided to incorporate it to my performances and my creative process. Then I ended up noticing Alessandro was doing the same thing, it blew my mind. Thanks for inspiring others to create! I really admire your work. Hoping to check out yours, Johnny!

[@Ndecline]

Wow.

[@KC-te5ck]

The messed up audio fits the whole lo-fi theme in the video

[@chacaron03]

It is ridiculously messed up. Not even using the wrong mic. So many artifacts lol

[@largepoodle6036]

@@chacaron03 i wouldn't say it's messed up. Those artifacts provide highly sought after textures. This is why NIN is so revolutionary to music in general.

[@kdbrown777]

Finding and working with this guy is one of the best things to happen to NIN. Love Alessandro's stuff!

[@missingsincemay]

what a thrill to be alive to witness a musical genius like Alessandro Cortini

[@MakeSomething]

This triggers so many ideas. Inspirational!

[@romanrandall2106]

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[@francopedro4910]

@Roman Randall instablaster =)

[@romanrandall2106]

@Franco Pedro Thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site through google and Im in the hacking process atm. Looks like it's gonna take a while so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@romanrandall2106]

@Franco Pedro it worked and I actually got access to my account again. I am so happy:D Thank you so much, you saved my account !

[@francopedro4910]

@Roman Randall happy to help xD

[@MSNGR415]

An older buddy of mine used to do something similar to this back in the 90’s because he said he didn’t know how to play and instrument and didn’t really want to learn . He would play tapes on a four track and vhs on vcrs ran through guitar pedals in his band as well.

[@strangersun7721]

Just saw him perform live with Nine Inch Nails. Awesome guy. Awesome group. Much love.

[@achuck8245]

In case anyone is wondering: The track is Perdere from his Avanti album.

[@KrisHalpin]

A Chuck thank you!

[@xlnyc77]

thank you, going for the deep dive here

[@nomad1517]

I wish he either made a book, or a show on how to get started with hardware, how he got started, and how to compose songs, from beginner, intermediate and advanced, that would be really cool. Because I love his insights, and of course the fact he toured with Trent, and has been in the industry for many years. But I doubt that would happen.

[@genocrisp6689]

Got a tascam 424 mkii yesterday for 100$ because my best friend got it for free! What a great dude. Anyway it’s never been used.... the original wire wrap was still on it after all these years... ALSO!.. Alessandro Cortini was a teacher I had at Musicians Institute back in the day, he is so great! Thank you Alessandro! I was actually there the day he got the job with NIN... He came to class all dressed cool n goth n shit... Then gave us the great news. Congrats Alessandro! Keep the great sounds flowin.

[@j0bey1]

I also had a Tascam 424 MKii arrive yesterday, so weird that I've just seen this comment. I paid £150 ;-)

[@bu.re_6460]

pretty rad that he explained his rig in detail. transparency is such a beautiful thing. 😌

[@MrSulfor]

Hearing that intro to "Came Back Haunted" then listening to him just riff with it.. was so awesome.

[@Richie086]

Alessandro Cortini is one of my favorites! thank you so much for posting this!

[@ivybasement]

I saw him perform an Avanti set on a similar setup to this (I think he had different pedals?), and it was pretty clear that the simplicity & control he had was very effective. Closed my eyes and got transported to his planet. The small deviations in pitch and the resulting dissonance amplified and echoing back on a loud system in a tiny room was...stunning. Definitely cried a little, it was that good. Support this beautiful man!!!!!!

[@russellszabadosaka5-pindin849]

Well, I have that 4-track, that mixer, that laptop and half of those pedals so now I guess I have to try this.

[@andrewlarking7492]

Russell Szabados what mixer is it?

[@morganwheeler3194]

@@andrewlarking7492 an old tascam 141 i think

[@breakalime]

Andrew Larking the mixer looks like a Mackie VLZ4

[@petenamlook18]

His most recent album Avanti is one of the best albums I've heard in the past few years

[@eento06]

And his live @Atonal just incredible

[@thomasraven]

Cool to see that old Tascam unit again. I was doing something very similar in live performance back in the late 90s.

[@anodyneinstitute]

Whenever I crave 'My Bloody Valentine, but Synthesizers and Instrumental', which is always, I turn to Alessandro Cortini.

[@usernameuser5573]

Man I love Allesando. SONOIO and Modwheelmood have such a cool sound and his solo work is rad. I hope he never stops making music!

[@soundinmind]

I saw Modwheelmood and SONOIO. He is a genuinely great person.

[@cheetahlion79]

Suddenly the price of Tascam tape recorders spike on reverb.com. I am amazed by Alessandro's creativity.

[@DeathTrapProductions]

Kevin P they went way up online a few years ago. It’s ridiculous for antiquated equipment to be honest. Best to stick to garage sales and the like.

[@Reprodestruxion]

Get the Yamaha mt instead

[@neuzethmusic131]

Alessandro Cortini, Alessio Natalizia and Caterina Barbieri! They are my holy italian trinity of synth magic and source of limitless musical inspiration! Grazie mille!!!

[@yourmaw8790]

literally couldnt agree more. Barbieri is an absolute genius

[@ultramet]

I can watch this video all day long. Amazing

[@ANewYorkerLostInFlorida]

Alessandro is one of my favorite people to have ever lived. 💙

[@ANewYorkerLostInFlorida]

2 years later i still thank the universe for Alessandro. I love and play synth because of this cool dude.

[@damiensmith371]

This was awesome. Thanks for sharing team

[@mrclaytron]

Awesome. I love everything Alessandro does! Great video

[@-k-b-]

Kind of side note, I hope tapes make a come back, I really love the way they sound. Also this has opened my mind to unique ways of making ambient tracks, super dope!

[@samuelcastelli5782]

Yes, I really do hope tapes make a come back, I think it's really sad they've started to fade recently

[@jerrycabarloc3728]

The pitchbends remind me of MBV's Loveless.

[@Lowerhaightstreet]

I love checking the Ebay prices of the 414 mkii back in February and then, the day after March 12.

[@imsotiredzz]

If you ever can catch this guy in concert or listen to his solo stuff it’s amazing. He was in Philly in 2012 when he was touring with Ladyron I am a huge Alessandro Fan! I still have the Sonoio shirt from that concert. It was a great concert. He was awesome live!

[@CluckyBaby]

I could listen to him talk all day.

[@my4trackmachine]

This is great! I used to do this in college when i was experimenting with tape. If you add in some drones recorded on a separate tape recorder and add some delay and looper pedals, you can have an ambient field day.

[@usernameuser5573]

man I want to hear the stuff you made back then

[@kmdaykin]

That's how 10CC made the choir wall on 'I'm not in love'. Pure genius, I love this guy.

[@danielibarra1075]

he a genofobius im goona grow my hair like him dame guys why didnt we think of that we must be dumbasses

[@424Recording]

So dope, Alessandro! Thanks for the inspiration. Time to go run some new experiments with my 4-tracks 🤓

[@LuigiForte]

I don't know what he's doing, but is awesome.

[@raavenstark5905]

Basicly, turning knobs. It's not a critic, i make the same kind of music ahah. You wrote a melody with a synth with for example 4 variations. You record the first melody on the first track, the second on the second etc. And then you mess around with it. It's pretty cool to do :) Check Amulets with you like this kind of stuff, he is a big reference in tape stuff :)

[@Terrible_Peril]

Prices on 4tracks suddenly skyrocket. Thanks, reverb! ;)

[@raavenstark5905]

No, 4 tracks always cost an arm actually ahah ^^ We are tons of people using tapes machines since many years. The Tascams are the most expensive, but you can find cheaper ones from other brands. I have 2 four tracks, one at 150$ and an other one i had for 250$ (because is the cheapest Tascam model). But yes, i think Reverb and Alessandro will not help to make the price lower ahah

[@usernameuser5573]

stonks :)

[@meddle333]

Always so expensive... always. Super strange though... how the value of my OG/mkI Tascam 2488 only seems to depreciate with time...🧐 It was the first digital one... that means it's better, right? Yeah, it's a complete mystery...

[@Terrible_Peril]

​@@meddle333 yeah i hear you. I had one of the older digital ones as well. Nothing special. I’d happily use rtr tape if it wasn’t so cost prohibitive and labor intensive. I’ll settle at this point for a Strymon Deco processing just about everything before it hits the box (or in my case the iPad).

[@on_certainty]

that song is so crazy evocative so perfect

[@goldmoon_music]

This is very inspiring, great vibe overall !!

[@tricko2286]

Milli Vanilli used to use one of these as a “Playback Device” for live vocals ... way ahead of their time 😉

[@poisonfruit7357]

super avant garde stuff

[@ZeroCool_Numbers]

SO INSPIRATIONAL! I have one this exact model, but I never thought about using it like this!

[@liftmanproductions]

Glad to have bumped into this.

[@animehair]

Ive seen 4-tracks used similar to this before, but this is mastery level!

[@jamesforrest9837]

this is my favorite video of all time

[@daemonelectricity]

Alessandro is a legend and has probably inspired a lot more of my gear choices than Trent, from modular to my Jazzmaster. I snagged one of these Tascam 414s off of eBay a couple of years ago when he demoed the multitrack on Sonic State.

[@igorfedik5730]

This lo-fi sound reminds me of the Boards of Canada

[@keithklassen5320]

Ignore the toxic insecure nonsense, you're in good company. The first tracks sound tonnes like BoC.

[@keithklassen5320]

@Isaac Dweck I was gonna say something about how you should have fun dying at 30 of cortisol overdose, but the best way to deal with people like you is to put down the phone and go do something enjoyable. Kbye

[@SharedVision333]

Isaac Dweck so many old heads sold the model d remake by Moog for the cheaper Behringer version. It sounds exactly the same LOL I’m sorry but were you trying to impart some wisdom or are you here because feeling good isn’t an option and parasitic behavior is all you understand?

[@raavenstark5905]

It's because Boards Of Canada use this a lot too :)

[@die-cry-hate]

Reminds me of Tobacco. Love that sound

[@turdferguson9190]

This is brilliant!

[@TheArchivesOfficial]

Been recreating this method on my videos recently. Trying different techniques of tape looping and chord changes. Satisfying results!

[@dominikwirth9852]

Oh. My. God. Simply awesome! I recently got into tape recording. This is so inspiring! :)

[@Gezira]

Bravo Alessandro, grazie.

[@axnyslie]

I remember way back on the Pretty Hate Machine tour. They used a 4-track cassette deck to trigger recorded samples & FX and it constantly broke down on them. Ironic he has a Sad Mac icon tattoo.

[@MitchGurowitz]

Alessandro is wonderful. Please have him do a video for Make Noise and Verbos modulars, he has an amazing command over them too!

[@nonprofit7163]

beautiful

[@manyviceslifeincrisisahuma3054]

Great sound 👌 love it

[@waterwoodguitars6871]

Well this was pretty damn cool. Never thought of using a 4 track as an instrument, but after seeing him do this, it really makes sense. Very inspiring and great thinking on his part. Very nice!

[@Hoscitt]

Fascinating!

[@railcity871]

Cool vid - i've seen a fair amount of ppl do this on yt but really great explanation of the thought process

[@jessepinkeye2339]

Same. Idk how to do this tape loop or tape performance session and none of them can show exactly how it is done.

[@stjhnn8592]

Alessandro, you are the true Renaissance man!! The Leonardo da Vinci of Los Angeles!

[@christoroppolo8742]

Originality is a fierce power in sound design. And pioneers are always the most interesting artists to follow inevitably as well. Peace Christo👽🎶🐕❤️

[@ryanwhitley5427]

Amazing!!!!

[@lucianonotarfrancesco4443]

I wish some company started making new 4-track tape recorders like these...

[@SarahEHowson]

But not actual tape because of the hiss. Some kind of controller like this would be hectic though.

[@lucianonotarfrancesco4443]

I want the hiss, the saturation, the wow and flutter and all the artifacts of tape, that's the point. It could be an emulation, but actual tape is ideal.

[@SarahEHowson]

@@lucianonotarfrancesco4443 I want all but the hiss!

[@TapeCollageForEloise]

Not having it use actual tape would detract from all the creative potential and lo-fi fuzziness that is unique to the format. And if you want less hiss you can always try recording your sound source a lot louder or maybe look for a system with a noise reduction feature (though personally I always find noise reduction to be detrimental to the sound). If you take the tape element away but want this kind of physical control interface then just buy a small mixing desk and run digital tracks through it.

[@raavenstark5905]

I'm not sure is a good idea. For an already used it's 500$, brands can sell new ones at 700$ if they want. And it would be a big big scam.

[@Poopscipade]

There's something reassuring about a big-time music channel having issues with their audio. Just goes to show that it happens to everyone.

[@nickaborr]

Wow that's a really creative idea!

[@s3th3d]

tanta stima per te, alessandro

[@Hell_Inc]

I LOVE THIS

[@parsecwaves]

This video blew my mind!

[@MasonGuevara]

This is exactly why tape is my instrument of choice.

[@MrCosmicVictory]

sooooo cool!

[@YannGuillermou]

So glad there's an avalanche run coming my way as I see this :)

[@probotdrummer]

The man is a genius and humble too, Thanks for sharing Alessandro :)

[@peterdanner2336]

And...4 Track Sales about to get revived in Tandam with all of us who are annoyed we threw out our 4 tracks many years ago.

[@MrKylederp]

These things are all over Instagram, they're already expensive!

[@arrakisstudio3317]

I used to have that exact one! I made my first 4 tracks in Middle School on it using my band teachers instruments.

[@bobsbigboy_]

A true legend!

[@thegroove2000]

Old and new a perfect match up.

[@johannsimonot]

This man is on another level, respect!

[@charlotteice5704]

Wow, I never thought about cassette recorders like that.

[@galihgori]

Omg, sooo beautiful

[@earthmoversbiggloom1907]

That intro was fucking amazing..

[@heatherbarnes2353]

That's my old 4 track lol. So old school. Love it.

[@bucksmoonlightrevival]

Love all these sounds! We just finished a concept album recorded on the Tascam 488 Portastudio. It's alt-folk style music with some experimental sounds like tape loops, musical saw, synths, field recordings, etc. It's uploaded on our channel if anyone wants to check it out!

[@MyVidMix]

Track: Perdere Album: AVANTI

[@maddwopp]

it took a LOT of scrolling but thanks!!

[@Chucksguitargeekery]

Oh man, I had that same tape recorder in high school. It stopped working a long time ago, I've been trying to find another one.

[@blues61]

Brilliant.

[@morgellon9449]

They are a lot of fun with a tape loop in your cassette. You can do a lot just using feedback loops with a few cables running from the outputs back into the inputs in different ways.

[@SamlaleoSingh]

Awesome

[@silverdunes5279]

Only watched this 3 times this week.

[@EricAndre615]

Always enjoyed using tape machines as instruments like this. Also having several tape machines all around the room that you walk around and manipulate constantly (cheap surround) and sending different channels of a mixer out to FM transmitors. All fun stuff, but nothing new. These days, I feel like using some Make Noise Morphagenes is far more interesting and give you infinitely more options, but still a very similar workflow/effect.

[@colinbrash]

Reminds me of Howard Stelzer, a cassette tape god. No idea if Alessandro will see this but it would be super cool to hear a colab between you two.

[@danielpalmer643]

That's cool! I have that Tascam mixer thing, but haven't used since I got a computer!

[@whatrhimeswithorange]

And the prices of tascams jump even higher

[@BenHelweg]

I found one on the street once!

[@nickpopov5051]

very nice setup

[@xlnyc77]

my god its beautiful

[@nclsrfn]

Maestro.

[@ClaireMahaDream]

This gave me fucking chills!!

[@kenshininoue7648]

...and because of this video it took me one and a half year to get one of these for me

[@darkcrystal999]

Whatever he is smoking I wanna have it too! He's creative in soooo many levels.

[@Nico-np9bh]

Amazing! Back to simplicity!

[@jw112mail]

So damn cool.