Analog Recording Tascam MSR 16

[@jitterjay27]

this is a valuable resource for someone like me. I am interested in analogue recording, but was born in a time where everyone records and produces on their computer.

[@TwinCreekAudio]

I am back after the move and setting up new studio rooms. I'll have more videos coming soon. Thank you so much for your comment.

[@davidtonline2010]

Love analog recording.

[@TwinCreekAudio]

Me too and the MSR-16 with dbx sounds good and has a cool vibe.

[@marcelb7259]

The doubling of the guitar with over-saturated organ sound was brilliant ! The result in just tremendous. Thank you for sharing and cheers from Canada.

[@TwinCreekAudio]

Thank you! I liked the sound that organ added to the heavy guitars. Another trick is double guitars with piano but this was more unique and cool. Thanks again!

[@DoctorDrayhorse]

nice setup, and I like the analogue sound. cool ending too.

[@TwinCreekAudio]

Thank you! I just make up little song ideas for the videos but I think my friend and I are going to develop this one into a full song for a new project we are recording. I think there will be some videos showing the process too.

[@lj5899]

Grady all your videos are great and for me, incredibly educational! THIS ONE is one of the best as I am wading through the process trying to record a couple of originals the same way. The MSR16 sounds terrific as always! Keep it up sir!

[@TwinCreekAudio]

Thank you! I have a new video coming soon with the MSR-16. I am also planning a video with details on it's use and some of the features I haven't mentioned in other videos.

[@MsLittleVillage]

That sounds amazing! Great punchy sound and a cool musical idea. I absolutely like the sound of the MSR 16. Btw...nice playing dear Grady! Thanks for sharing :-)

[@TwinCreekAudio]

Thank you! I haven't had as much time to record any of my songs so I recorded this short version for the video. I am glad I was able to play well enough to record with analog where editing is difficult.

[@torocruz1192]

This is soooo dope! I am Subbing and thank you this is inspirational, many layers, recording, composition. Ace my G!!!!

[@TwinCreekAudio]

Thank you! I was worried about recording on tape again and having to get each part right for the video as well.

[@oceansiderecordingstudio]

Sounds great Grady. Enjoyed the vid. Cheers

[@TwinCreekAudio]

Thank you! I really enjoyed making the video.

[@Vernk1980]

Very cool! Sounds great and the song is awesome.

[@TwinCreekAudio]

Thank you! I really appreciate that.

[@bob4analog]

I have a TSR-8 and thoroughly enjoy it! I'll put it up next to a digital anyday. Doesn't need firmware upgrades, doesn't crash.. It just works! Would love to have an MSR-16 tho. Great vid! 👍

[@TwinCreekAudio]

Thank you! I love using tape but its too expensive to use for most clients. The MSR-16 is a great machine provided you can find one in good condition. A lot of them have been broken in shipping too so I'd try to get one you can pick up personally.

[@ClaudeLavender]

Sounds great! Time to mix to two track and slap some vocals on there 😎

[@TwinCreekAudio]

Thank you! I'm hoping to record a full length version of this when I have time. It's hard writing lyrics though. lol!

[@ClaudeLavender]

@@TwinCreekAudio lol I feel ya there

[@thallrudedjentstorm1756]

beautiful song!

[@TwinCreekAudio]

Thank you! It was just something I made up real quick for the video. Maybe I should turn it into a full song?

[@MrHachasGonzalezDjAndre]

Genio tu trabajo es como el de un artesano del sonido!! Saludos desde Uruguay

[@TwinCreekAudio]

Thank you! I am glad you like it

[@topa1798]

My dream recording studio🙌😍😍🙌🙌🙌🙌

[@TwinCreekAudio]

It is not hard to find MSR-16s. I had to do a lot of work on mine but now it works perfectly.

[@topa1798]

@@TwinCreekAudio my country it's difficult to find an affordable analog tape,thank you for sharing your experience

[@alexandraschindler5808]

Wow great Grady☺

[@TwinCreekAudio]

Thank you! It was just a small idea. Musically it's strange but I thought it had 2 different sounds to hear with the MSR-16, quiet and louder. Thanks again!

[@bear-headstudios1212]

love the videos!!!, I was gifted a tascam da 20 mk2 .... I tracked drums through it but Im a noob with analog gear lol

[@TwinCreekAudio]

Awesome! I've made a lot of videos about using analog gear and even more on KZbin. I love working with analog gear! It's a great way to work creatively and get cool sounds.

[@bear-headstudios1212]

@@TwinCreekAudio you definitely have helped me understand routing etc in the last few months i've been watching... thanks for the content. My new favorite toy is my Pro Vla 2 Compressor, just need to tinker with it more

[@TwinCreekAudio]

@@bear-headstudios1212 I'm a huge fan of ART gear especially the VLA and TCS which has that ooto circuit or something close to it. They have a new FET compressor too, but I haven't tried it.

[@bear-headstudios1212]

@@TwinCreekAudio Ill check out the new FET comp, I would love to tinker with a real analog one. I definitely enjoy music creation and mixing with real gear...it forces me to actually listen. Next step is a console

[@TwinCreekAudio]

@@bear-headstudios1212 I love working with my analog gear and a console is a great way to work as well. You can get some great consoles for cheap on the used market. I've made a ton of videos about different consoles that have come through here. I'm a bit crazy and still have 5 mixers here now. Others have come and gone but I've made videos about all of them except some I had before I started KZbin.

[@raybossa]

Great video Grady (as usual)! I just looked and those Tascam MSR-16 sell for $2500 on eBay... too expensive for me now. But I'm still looking to get a warm analog sound for my small home studio. So, to make sure I understand: this Tascam MSR-16 has a 1/2 of an inch tape and it produces the best analog sound, right? Then I could go for 1/4 of an inch tape (like with the Fostex R8), correct? And then the lowest quality tape would be a cassette recorder with 1/8" tape (like the Fostex 260), is that it? And with 1/8 of an inch tape, you cant really produce a CD or high quality music that you can sell, right?

[@TwinCreekAudio]

Yes, you are correct about the quality of different formats. The way analog tape works, the more tape width and higher the speed, the better quality, especially high end response and noise. The narrow gauge multitracks like the MSR-16 or R8 really need some kind of noise reduction. The Tascam used dbx and Fostex used Dolby C. Whether or not it's good enough for commercial release is really up to the listener. Commercially released music these days can range from really Lo Fi to the highest audio quality available depending on the sound the artist or producer was looking for. I'd say the MSR-16 and R8 are kind of in the middle. Something like the Tascam 80-8 or 38 steps up the track width a bit and is the same as 2" 24 track. If you want to record high quality analog for less, those machines are going to produce the closest to pro quality in a small analog multitrack tape machine. They are usable without noise reduction unless you are planning to record quiet acoustic music or something. I really like the in between place where the MSR-16 sits though. It sounds very analog even with the dbx. I enjoy using it for drums, bass and electric guitars and then transferring to digital for detailed things like acoustic instruments and vocals. The machine you use should be in good condition and perform close to it's specs or it's better to use digital. Old tape machines sound great but can be maintenance and expense heavy.

[@raindogred]

Are you a fan of Blue Oyster Cult..it kinda has that vibe ? Like this song a lot.

[@TwinCreekAudio]

Thank you; and yes I'm a pretty big fan of Blue oyster cult but I also like almost all classic rock including the stuff all the way into the '90s.

[@williamjohnson9181]

Love your vids man they are awesome and informative. I got a question that only an expert like yourself can answer. I’m thinking of getting a Tascam MSR16 but totally not familiar with R2R. I saw a video you did saying the MSR-16 is 10db my console is a Venice Midas F32 cables are rca to 1/4 inch. Will I be able to use my outboard gear with no issues? Lastly I see lots of bashing on the Tascam MSR-16 perhaps they are just haters of tape of old way of recording. However do you think it’s worth getting one today? It’s in great shape comes with a stand patch bay cables and a JS Cooper PPS-100 for sync. I’d like your honest opinion. Thanks

[@TwinCreekAudio]

That's a great question. Since your console is a more modern console that was designed for live sound, you would have to use 16 channels to send to the tape inputs of the machine and the other 16 for tape returns. The -10 levels on the MSR-16 also do not match the Venice +4 level which would require line level converters for the gain staging to be proper. You'd need a lot of channels for all 16 tracks to and from tape. It may be possible to send the tape machine a lower level to get around the need for level conversion but this will be more difficult to calibrate so you always know what your levels are. The MSR-16 is reliable and sounds very good for what was considered a semi-pro machine. All of your outboard gear should work fine as it connects to the console and not the tape machine directly so the levels between the console and the outboard gear is not likely to be an issue like the connections to the tape machine. It's difficult to say whether it's really worth the cost of extra gear, cabling and tape. I'd say it mostly down to personal preference and workflow. It also depends on how good the musicians you work with are as there are limited editing capabilities with tape as well as the cost of tape and maintenance. I own 2 tape machines but I usually use a DAW for most clients and mainly have the tape machines for my personal use and because they are fun! I hope this helps and please let me know how it goes.

[@williamjohnson9181]

@@TwinCreekAudio thank you so much sir I appreciate you.

[@TwinCreekAudio]

@@williamjohnson9181 Always happy to help. Thanks again and Happy New Year!

[@williamjohnson9181]

@@TwinCreekAudio likewise sir. Stay safe.

[@TwinCreekAudio]

@@williamjohnson9181 I wanted to add real quick that the MSR-16 surprised me with how good it actually sounds. Also, I found I needed less compression when using it so it might resolve some need for outboard gear. I really wish tape wasn't so expensive. That's the biggest limitation with tape these days in my opinion. I'm thinking about making an entire video to explore this topic. Thanks again for the comment that really got me thinking about this again.

[@gabriellejarza110]

How can I contact you? I am interested. I have a master that was recorded on the MSR Tascam machine and I need to do the mix.

[@TwinCreekAudio]

Contact info is on the website but the contact form gets spammed so much, I end up losing messages. I'll be in the studio tomorrow if you'd like to give me a call. Thanks!

[@coffeehigh420]

it's nice but i feel like you should have gotten out and gone NUTS (let it out dood) with a crazy guitar solo !! yeh man... yeh.

[@TwinCreekAudio]

I'll remember that for next time!

[@coffeehigh420]

@@TwinCreekAudio ok great ! yes just go nuts .. don't worry your console can handle it :)

[@TwinCreekAudio]

@@coffeehigh420 I've already got a plan in mind

[@coffeehigh420]

@@TwinCreekAudio 😁

[@coffeehigh420]

@@TwinCreekAudio I can't wait to see the next video when you go crazy on the guitar !!! :)

[@jgabora]

So 90's.

[@TwinCreekAudio]

90s music is a big part of my musical taste. I was in my late teens and 20s and going to college to learn audio in the 90s so most of my music is influenced by the 90s but also sometimes the 70s.