Authentically Lofi your Tracks with the Tascam Portastudio

[@Ruru-bb9gb]

Loving the dance moves man, it's great to see you get into your groove 😂🕺

[@LiamKillen]

Thanks man! Always thinking about that state of flow

[@beatpoetbeats]

Just found one of these at an estate sale today! Excited to dig in

[@LiamKillen]

Have fun!!

[@kathleencoveny3860]

so thorough... clear instruction ... peace and thank you !

[@LiamKillen]

Peace! ✌🏽

[@zzzwy777]

Lucky you have a wurlitzer 🎹 one day I might get one 🤞🍀

[@LiamKillen]

I sold it 😅

[@philphilphil]

Your post Tascam face is so jolie. And the 404 is magic eh.

[@LiamKillen]

Pure magic! Thanks Phil! 🙂

[@filser.official]

well done and dope tune. thanks man!

[@LiamKillen]

Cheers- thank you!

[@LittleMusicBoxes]

I swear that's the exact model that we cut our first punk demo on when I was 14. Hot damn.

[@LiamKillen]

It has been recycled! I freggin love the thing

[@LittleMusicBoxes]

@@LiamKillen So cool.

[@LiamKillen]

Totally

[@mrnessss]

Every time I get deeper into my music production I find you again 😂You've been a great resource for me on this journey 🙏 I'm going to pick up a Portastudio. I'm starting to make lofi house. Do you have any recommendations on the type of cassette tape to use? (I know there's no set way to do things) I did a little research but i thought I'd ask your opinion. I know there's like, "Type I", "Type II", "Type III", etc. Aside from the sound quality, I want to make sure the tape I choose is compatible with the Portastudio. Cheers!

[@LiamKillen]

I'm so glad to hear that thank you for watching Jordan! Honestly I don't know TOO much about that all I know is that i'm using high biased cassette tapes. I bought them from duplication.ca - they may have some better info on that for you.

[@mrnessss]

@@LiamKillen Cool, thanks for the info! I'll check that out. And thanks for taking the time to reply to all our questions. We appreciate it 🤟

[@mrnessss]

@@LiamKillen Ooh duplication is a cool resource!

[@komenzmusic1342]

Hey! Thank you soo much for the video. I wanted to ask how did you bounce your tracks into your DAW?

[@LiamKillen]

I used the analog outs from the Tascam! :-)

[@richardthayer5907]

80s synth wave wasnt expecting that.....what about the instruments on the wall I guess they are no longer needed because EVERYBODY is doing synth wave!

[@LiamKillen]

Hah yeah it’s hella popular right now that’s for sure!

[@schmapps1]

Hey Liam! Question: when you are bouncing your full track from the DAW into the tascam, do you do this AFTER you’ve already completed all your mastering? As sort of a final step? Or do you bounce to the tape, back into the DAW, and THEN do your mastering chain? Thx

[@LiamKillen]

It depends! But usually i save the master for after bouncing to tape.

[@schmapps1]

@@LiamKillen cheers homie I appreciate you answering... on a year old video thread! Haha

[@LiamKillen]

If i see em i respond! Cheers

[@templehaze]

Great video man, just what i was looking for! Would you also recommend buying the tascam 244? love the real VU meters on that one. Mainly looking to bounce out busses to add that nice tape saturation.

[@LiamKillen]

Yeah that’s why I so want the porta one. And thank you!!

[@Deathrape2001]

U can easily emulate 'tape saturation' with plugins. What they tend 2 do worse is heavy metal type distortion. It can be good, but doesn't quite sound as 'fine grain' & stuff as real tube gear.

[@jakenewcomb8897]

Question is is it worth buying a piece of gear for $300 to get such a subtle effect? Maybe...HMM

[@LiamKillen]

Good question- it’s the pitch bend that’s the selling point for me

[@jakenewcomb8897]

@@LiamKillen Definitely looks fun and I think bringing in some analog gear would be good for me. So many choices. Thanks for the review.

[@LiamKillen]

cheers

[@gaaaaaaaabe]

I'm loving the video man. I just bought a Porta 02 for portable recording to take around me and on the balcony which is probably my favourite part about it, but the Cassette sound it records with really seals the deal man!

[@LiamKillen]

There’s nothing quite like it- so flexible too

[@Deathrape2001]

If U want 2 sound like $hit, U don't need a cassette recorder. U can fuk it up with digital FX 4 FREE!! =D All the mud & dirt & phasey blurry krap U could ever want! LOL!! Google is your buddy... Do I personally want 2 emulate a warped record with an old dirty needle? Not my thing = sounds like krap. Lot of talentless ''so-called musicians' like 2 slather their trash non-ideas in 'noise' trying 2 compensate 4 their lack of ideas = lame =P

[@natura808]

Now I know where’s the sound I was looking for, thanks.

[@LiamKillen]

This or plugins are an option as well 🙂

[@natura808]

@@LiamKillen I’ve tried all tape plus-ins, some of them are really good and close enough but not the same, maybe it’s just my bias towards analog...

[@LiamKillen]

You’re right though

[@lucidjason1341]

What kinda cables do you use to go from DAW to portastudio and vice versa? Should I get a TS or TRS cable?

[@LiamKillen]

You need quarter inch to rca to record from Tascam and one of those Hosa Cables to record into Tascam.

[@lucidjason1341]

@@LiamKillen thanks and if i'm using and left and right cable do I have to do any panning or will it be stereo right away

[@LiamKillen]

Just make sure you’re panned hard right/left on the tracks you’re recording from. That way you’ve got a true stereo signal!

[@Deathrape2001]

Only ever use balanced if you have a noise problem, beacuse it adds a couple transistors so U get degredation in clarity with balanced.

[@alexmflores]

How to you bounce from your Tascam to your DAW and keep it panned??

[@LiamKillen]

refer to answer below! 😀

[@alexmflores]

How to you bounce from your Tascam to your DAW and keep it panned??

[@LiamKillen]

I make sure that i pan channel one hard left and channel 2 hard right when recording into the tascam.

[@stevenluna3756]

what if we want the effect of the pitch knob but without slowing down the bpm? would we have to record it faster than the original bpm then slow it down?

[@LiamKillen]

Yeah that's for sure one way of doing it and a lot of people do that actually.

[@stevenluna3756]

@@LiamKillen was hoping that wouldn’t be the solution haha but alright

[@june_yah]

I've got my eye one one of these Tascams now. Though would be just as effective getting a cheaper model?

[@LiamKillen]

I think that tape quality would be similar if not identical- but you may just have less tracks. Honestly i’ve only been using 2 tracks most of the time.

[@cameronlollollol]

@@LiamKillen even if the cheaper model doesn’t have an EQ? Like the Porta 02 for example.

[@LiamKillen]

Oh yeah- the EQ is def nice

[@Deathrape2001]

All the things he talks about doing you can very easily do with free software, from pitch & time shifting to mixing different tracks warmed up with 'retro' effects. The prices for these old JUNK tape unets are a sick joke. I owned 1 & they sound like absolute krap, say compared 2 a decent deck like a Nakamichi =) They don't sound 'harsh' but noisy & muddy & very lacking in detail & slam. If U want 2 fuk up your sound, besides running through speakers & recording it with a mic (LOL @ 'studio retardation' =)) U can use hardware effects like tube preamps too. The lower voltage 'trashy' models R actually BETTER 4 making 'mud' 2 mix in, but just fart for say, heavy metal guitar LOL

[@RemmyMusic1]

congratulations for helping spike the price of the PS to +400% value lmao

[@LiamKillen]

So I guess your solution is for no one to make content about vintage gear? 🤔 But really pretty much all vintage gear has sky rocketed these past few years

[@schmapps1]

Hey Liam! Another question for ya: when you bounce from DAW to tascam, and then back from the tascam into the DAW…are you using dbx noise reduction on the tascam or nah?

[@LiamKillen]

No i am not!

[@schmapps1]

@@LiamKillen I didnt think so! I picked one of these bad boys up….I’ve been trying to bounce full tracks from my DAW to the tascam and back, like you do in this video. Trouble is, I’m getting low levels and quite a lot of hiss on the finished product in the daw. Maybe I just need to experiment more with levels and watching the metering

[@LiamKillen]

Yeah you’re gonna get some hiss regardless.

[@LiamKillen]

I’ve learnt to love it

[@schmapps1]

@@LiamKillen yeah totally haha. However - at 4:00 when you demo the before/after of the tascam bounce….yours sounds nearly hiss free. Pretty damn clean. I’m impressed!

[@gaeuman]

I love this!

[@LiamKillen]

Thnks for watching! 🙂

[@ogplr5914]

How much should one spend on a tascam? There's only one available near me about 200 usd but 2 of its 4 channels don't work. Great video thank u

[@LiamKillen]

My pleasure. The price just keeps going up. They’re trendy right now. I payed 400 CAD for mine I think about 6 months ago.

[@slacktoryrecords4193]

You should not buy a 4-track if 2 of the tracks don’t work

[@ogplr5914]

@@slacktoryrecords4193 my production is fully digital. So for my purpose i will be running my produced tracks through the tascam for the aesthetic. Yes, still looking for one, lol...

[@slacktoryrecords4193]

@@ogplr5914 ah. In that case-get a broken one! Haha

[@LiamKillen]

Yeah that’s pretty much how I use it

[@jacobsawley98]

3:59 4:29

[@LiamKillen]

Stampin those times lol

[@jacobsawley98]

@@LiamKillen Haha I need to compare! Thanks for the video dude, inspired me to use mine.

[@fender1000100]

The best tascam is a 234 rackmount. Put a metal tape in that and its virtually CD quality but with a warmer sound.

[@LiamKillen]

Interesting i’ve been really into the porta one

[@fender1000100]

@@LiamKillen The porta one is great. Was one of the first if not the first cassette 4 tracks. Back in 1979. It started it all. I had the Port 02. But for QUALITY. The 234 is the royals Royce of the medium. It's up there with a Nakamichi stand alone tape deck. But obviously 4 tracks. The one that always amazed me was the 238. How on earth they managed to get 8 tracks of quality sound on a normal cassette tape is just amazing. You may have noticed theres a retro interest in analogue cassette again. I think the industry should address this. And give us some modern cassette based multitracks. I never stopped using cassettes. Theres a warmth an fullness to the sound. That's worth the trade off in sound quality, background hiss etc. I still play my music through a 40 year old HITACHI TRK 8020E BOOMBOX. Either tapes made on my TEAC stand alone from commercial artists. Or mixdowns of my own compositions from my beloved Yamaha V50 FM worksation. It's great. Modern music media is more efficient but its LOST something. It's not just the sound of analogue tape. It's the fun hands on feel. Theres nothing cooler than watching one of those reel to reel design cassettes play in a cassette deck or BOOMBOX. The ultimate in retro COOL. Long live analogue cassette.

[@LiamKillen]

Yeah I think Tascam should come up with a throwback model or a variation of it. I think that would do well.

[@slacktoryrecords4193]

Is the 234 biased for metal? Or can you adjust the bias yourself on it?

[@LiamKillen]

I think you can adjust it

[@danielsteenkamp7632]

Hey man, really awesome video! And love the track😀I've got myself a fostex 250, and I'm still trying to figure out how to go from my DAW, to the the fostex, then back into my DAW. I have a behringer x1832 mixer as my audio interface, any ideas how I can do this? 🙏🙏🙏 The manual doesn't seem to help much unfortunately 😢 And there aren't many videos on the fostexs like there are for tascams haha! But I'm sure the process is the same

[@LiamKillen]

Yeah! Like you said i’m sure it’s a similar process

[@jtreezy255]

Do you need a tape inside the tascam to do this?

[@LiamKillen]

Yes!

[@truthfinder4973]

nice sound dude .hey try to find you a vcr with hi-fi then you be like wow thats a old trick they did in the old day to bounce with it and it also take that sound to be better to just a video ideal

[@LiamKillen]

Oh yeah i’m sure that’s super authentic! Thx for watching 🙂

[@truthfinder4973]

@@LiamKillen i just learn more info like to share they kinda do it the same way as back then butt now they got daw where then it was tape. what they did was records all there takes to the track recorders then they send the tracks outside to analog mixer then after the mix they use a nother tape recorder for the master tape.ok now days its the same they record take in the daw then they got interface with many ins and outs they send it to a analog mixer do the final mix the same way the did old days and the same as then mixers with inserts built in also that can do fx sends and group bus, then now days after the final mix it record back to the daw my ideal is for now days daw step 1, send out to like this unit you got record each on there own track that step 2 then step 3 after it record to this kind unit you send to analog mixer for final mix. ok now last step copy what they did back in the day a master recording done with tape again. i just wonted to share the ideal and what i learn this week :) so then it was record on tape 2 times

[@bilnabiln]

Damn this is so sick! So you have two channels on your Tascam plugged into two channels on your audio interface?

[@LiamKillen]

Indeed!

[@slacktoryrecords4193]

Which electronic/synth-pop bands in the late 80s/early 90s had a lo-fi 4-track cassette sound? I’m old and was coming of age and listening to some of that stuff in that time period. For what it’s worth, your music in this video really, really isn’t lo-fi. Like at all. Lo-fi 4-track sound is what you hear on Guided by Voices’s Vampire On Titus, Bee Thousand, and Alien Lanes albums. Unmistakably lo-fi and scuzzy because they weren’t that great at using their Tascam.

[@LiamKillen]

Hmm...i wouldn’t be able to answer that accurately but I do know that Mac Demarco used it on one of his first records . He recorded it up the street from my place too!

[@Deathrape2001]

​@@LiamKillen iRead Bruce Springsteen did an acousticky thing on a $hit Tascam Portastudio & left it because sounded worse at the real $tudio LOL They could just play the thing over some 'mid-fi' loudspeaker & record that = similar 2 what U get using a Tascam = lot of 'generation loss' type effect = muddy & 'warm' & noisy & messed up =P Tape does NOT sound good, just better than SOME types of digital, like the 'distant hollow yet harsh' character of some bad DACs. Some fools say 'AKM" makes good DACs, but though they have a 'clear' sound when using a nice clock, in most systems they have a 'fuzz + tizz' character = fuzzy bass & jagged highs. A good clock will get rid of the mud but still 'piercing' sounding. The Analog Devices chips R way better in the highs = smoother & more natural (even thier 'bad' ones). It doesn't matter what the specs say. Just listen 2 them =) Some of the best stuff I've heard is not the best 'on paper'. They don't measure 'everything' that matters is the problem. The ears R what really matters.

[@oinkooink]

Thanks Distrokid the place to put your music when nobody wants to hear it or cares.

[@LiamKillen]

🤔

[@johnisrael5183]

T Racks Opto Comp and Tascam 388 plugins will give you the same sound on your master without giving someone 500 dollars trying to get hold of one these! LOL Everyone is really tight fisted with these but the T Racks on Post Masters will give you at least 90% of that sound and feel

[@LiamKillen]

Not even CLOSE to the smoothness of the pitch knob though which I use on all my samples.

[@johnisrael5183]

Light T Racks or Pro VLA or Tube plugin Plus A T Racks tape You got porta sound Your caught up in the Name Tascam Rich saturation is rich saturation

[@johnisrael5183]

My tracks are ran through analog gear first So my tracks are just analog as yours It's just a matter of sound coloring next Dude....STOP SLOW DOWN THINK 🤔 YOU CAN DO THAT 90 WAYS PORTA didn't lock down post mastering Saturation Lol 😆

[@johnisrael5183]

You got the Saturation knob on Drawmer AVOX Warner Saturation X plugin SSL fusion Reel to Reel Waves Factory Cassette Pro Art, Berringer, pre sonus and Avilon pres It's a BUNCH a ways to Post Master Saturate!!

[@johnisrael5183]

Telling you bro SSL fusion Plugins and Sat X T Racks Tapes 99 24 Tascam 388 and Porta TEAC 3808 and MKII at least 70 - 90% SAME VIBE SAME SOUND I'd your tracks are analog first your good! You don't DIRE STRAIGHTS NEED to use ACTUAL porta studio 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤣🤣

[@sociologie4507]

#dawless is a super hashtag.

[@LiamKillen]

Agreed! haha

[@limatapes8061]

[@LiamKillen]

Cheers Lima 🤝

[@jonathansoko1085]

All the hipsters have adopted the 404 and alot of the tools i like, yall just keep ruining things for me. Stop please

[@LiamKillen]

Why would people using an instrument you like stop you from using it?

[@jonathansoko1085]

@@LiamKillen Once hipsters get ahold of something, yall tend to ruin it. By the way i am 100% lumping you into that group. do you tho.

[@LiamKillen]

Sorry that u think that. Cheers

[@Deathrape2001]

'Hipsters' also chop off their dix pretending it will make them 'women'. Doesn't make it a good idea =))

[@Claidheambmor]

Two minutes later and he's still on the advert... Bad business bro.

[@LiamKillen]

Say what?

[@Deathrape2001]

iKnow! Fuking PATHETIC channel = literally over 2 minutes of commercials B 4 he even says N E thing relating 2 the title of the video. It really is $pam. I wonder if 'misleading title spam' applies as a strike here?

[@Deathrape2001]

You can warm up the sound with 'low fi' plugins, & pitch on the fly with plugins fot that 2, & controling them onthe fly with the mouse or other things. There's no need for tape, though it can be 'fun'. I had a Tascam Portastudio & they sound like $hit. It's not hard to make things sound muddy. What's hard 2 do is sound airy & 3D realistic 'floaty' with clear slam at all levels, without being harsh =) My fave DAC I've tried so far is the AD1981B & AD1984 chips = as used in some old IBM & Dell PCs = cheap 2 free, & sound better than most 'high end' gear = very natural, without the mud.

[@LiamKillen]

If you’re going DAW I’d recommend rc 20

[@Deathrape2001]

​@@LiamKillen Post links & stuff please =) Can get the PCs cheap or free as considered 'slow & obsolete' now =D I should put up a page with a longer model list but some good AD1984 chip examples (with good audio section) include OptiPlex 330, 360, 755, 760, 960, 780, & Precision T3400, T3500, T5400, T5500, T7400, & T7500. For AD1981B chip (actually better analog section = very 'vast & bottomless' vibe) the IBM S50 is glorious =) Must remove the noisy 'line in' cable though as picks up radio LOL There R surely lots of other things out there as good or maybe better, but anything by Realtek or Ensoniq or Creative is trash = forces resampling, causing aliasing distortion & harsh sound, & also many other Analog Devices brand chips can often sound very good but the 1984 & 1981B R another level. Even with a cheesy analog section like the AD1981B in some Dells (models not listed) sound much more 'analog smooth' than the 'surround' models I've heard, which R a more clear but a big jagged sounding, though nowhere near as harsh trashy as Realtek, etc. The point here is U can get these PCs cheap or free & they sound BETTER than even very expensive 'outboard DACs' =) + U get lots of other features = a FULL COMPUTER! =D Really if U want 'fancy analog studio gear sound' try the old plastic shell Dells with the AD1981B chip, or also HP has versions that sound nice. I've not tried all the different models but 4 instance I gave my mom a 'media center' PC basedon the Dell OptiPlex 780 MT & it sounds freaking glorious even through trashy little speakers because the mids & highs R really natural-sounding = shockingly so = many 'WTF!?' moments playing movies or wahtever like 'little trash speakers with a 'junk' PC can sound like THAT?! HAHA =))

[@Deathrape2001]

​@@morenazo6412 That recording is everything I was saying about Tascam Porta$tudios I found from personal experience 2! = Muddy with no clarity or air or slam 2 it, + he slathers everything in tons of midrange & reverb & chorus & other effects trying 2 compensate 4 the fact it has no 'space' 2 it otherwise = LOL!! His music is pretty good, but basically ripping off various Goth songs =))

[@dannydaniel8975]

@@Deathrape2001 I only heard two songs that were reverb drenched, everything else sounded great. I can hear what he's saying, and I can hear all the instruments, which sound very well balanced on the frequency spectrum... I'd rather hear that any day of the week over that cold ice capade, razor sharp protools, and it's fake tape emulations (that sounds nothing like tape, just nasty digital distortion) and horrible fake digital compressors and eqs

[@Deathrape2001]

​@@dannydaniel8975 U R talking about the 4 track Tascam guy? Everything U R saying is lies. Every song was full of reverb & chorus & sounced muddy, with no slam or air or space 2 it = typical low-end cassette sound. U R just trolling, saying things U know 2 B false, 2 try & stir up 'controversey'. Digital does not mean bad, for redording & effects, just need the right gear. It's not 'automatically distorted & harsh'. 4 example, cheap PCs with AD1984 chips sound totally realistic, better than most of the very expensive top class analog stuff. Avoid Realtek = forces resampling to 48Khz, causing 'aliasing' distortion. U R basically retarded, pretending U R deaf, etc. As somebody 54 years old who is very familiar with analog sound from records & tape & so on, I know the reality of what it is like compared 2 good digital stuff. Nobody is forcing U 2 use bad plugins. Some R good & some R bad, same as analog stuff.