Computer Recording with Analogue Mixing & Analogue Tape!

You’ve got your DAW set up, with nice clean digital recording, good pre-amps and a pair of classy monitors. You mix to a wav or mp3 file, and stick it on an iPod. Great. No bother, and no mess. No consumables and no maintenance required. Sounds a bit too easy doesn’t it?
What if you introduced all the equipment that you were going to throw away as it was “old hat”?
Well, this film aims to show how to integrate analogue mixing technology (which very much still exists) with old reverb units, and lastly sticking it all together on a 1970s reel to reel tape recorder…
Why? What could possibly possess someone to go to all this trouble? Well, picture what a dub or old soul record would sound like if it were recorded on a computer. Gone are the subtle distortion, phase errors and tape hiss. I grew up with these (my old 4-track cassette changed my life!), and I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody who complains about tape hiss, not that there's really any on a high speed Revox...
Make your mixes sound individual, edgy and slightly unpredictable and stand out from the crowd.
Enjoy, share and subscribe to my channel!

[@roycox4415]

im not going to lie....when i first saw your recording room i thought this video and the demo was going to be a dumpster fire and laughable. I simply could not be more impressed with the tone you are getting out of that little room. You have taken that little room and made a tone out of it and you're not trying to make it something it isn't. Instead of a huge boomy drum tone, you stick with the tight compressed drums which works like a charm in that room. You also have that snare sounding absolutely fantastic. This video is a prime example of a person who's creative and puts their skill and knowledge above their acquisition of pricey gear. Well done mate!

[@grindvolta7165]

This has got to be the best video I’ve seen that explains exactly what I’ve been looking for. Very thorough and not a lot of rambling. The fact it seemed to be done in basically one take, shows your talent.

[@jahlieel.e7856]

this is crazy cause i do almost the same thing with a analog TASCAM 238 cassette machine to check if i get any hisses.

[@bubz75]

WOW when you print it onto the REVOX it really starts to groove. Just like those old Steely Dan records with a warm bass line. Gr8 Stuff. Gr8 Channel

[@donf3877]

Ran live sound for years. Had all the vocals routed to subgroup one on a 56 channel 8 subgroup Allen & Heath analog board. In the insert chain of that subgroup was an old 1950's tube compressor that utilized the now gone photo cell technology for gain control. Already had compressors on the inserts for each vocal channel... so the one on the subgroup added very little compression. It was there to "warm up" the vocals. Always had complements on how great the vocals sounded. The new digital boards are just too sterile sounding for my ears. In many cases "old school" is the best school. Plus, there aren't more than 15-20 people in the states that actually know how to run a digital board correctly and can get it right. Case in point... there are two country music award shows on TV. One is from the Grand Old Opry and one from Vegas. The one from the Opry has great sound... because the sound engineers are used to a totally different show each time. The one from Vegas... they are used to setting up a show and having it NOT change for a month or more. The one from the Opry sounds great. The one from Vegas... it sounds like crap. Would much rather have an analog board with a couple racks of old school dbx compressors and reverbs and other 'special' equipment (like the old Aphex 103 Aural Exciter) hooked to it. You can make a change in a second, without having to go through several different screens to GET TO the adjustment.

[@DavidAndrewsPEC]

I'm loving the fact that you don't shy away from analogue technology, Dan! Like you, I had all my formative engineering experiences on analogue tape - often without any form of mixing other than mic placement. And, like you, I now have lovely digital technology in my lounge (the digital equivalent of the 1970s Abbey Road, pretty much). But analogue still has loads to offer - the warmth introduced by tape-sat, for example, or the fact of tape head capacitance almost introducing an element of compression to the overall sound ... and I like that stuff. Again, man - way cool video.

[@kirbyhans5261]

Thank you... you are teaching what I needed to know....in a way I can comprehend it !

[@tacocatinahurricane9707]

Dude!!! I've never seen you before!!! I learned; AND I was entertained!! You absolutely LOVED what you were doing! Awesomeness!!! 😀

[@DanBakerMusic]

Thanks very much for watching!

[@Brokeninc]

Right on! Thank you for making and posting this.

[@prestige2000rider]

theres a certain sound going to tape. More production people are re discovering this sound and doing hybrid recording. The smart commercial studios never sold their 24 track 2" tape recorders. because theres just something about that sound .....

[@glenturner6811]

really well done! well thought out and logical. I have looked at your other stuff with the old Fostex 8 track got say the drums had more life on the analogue machine.Good work.

[@wholewheaties]

This is awesome....thank you for walking us through the steps. You're a really good teacher.

[@OwntoneFilm]

Great stuff Dan!

[@craighughes-shug6694]

What a cool video, just stumbled across your channel, just subbed good stuff man

[@johnmarley8039]

real helpful video but could you possibly walk me through the cables needed to route everything? still a bit confused on that end.

[@schance1666]

I have a similar setup, loved your vid and your energy and ability to work in such a small space. Above all, how the heck did you get that thumpy kick drum sound with such a small kick?! Just subscribed, glad to have found you, Dan!

[@buddhikachathuranga9202]

Dan this is great! Your drum sounds LOVELY! I got My M-Audio Profire2626 & LIq56 both units & a Console.Going to buy a New Drum kit.Your kit sounds crazy.I love it.Can you tell me what was the kit been using???

[@richfish101]

Nice one, I’m doing a similar project but no computers AlesisHD24 recording ... dub reggae is fun ... you’ve given me an alibi why I’ve got a revox up in the loft .

[@DanBakerMusic]

Excellent- sounds like that Revox needs to come out to play!

[@pjdahmen]

Great Tutorial👍! I like it!

[@djbuzzword]

Great stuff Dan. I really enjoy your videos, keep it up!

[@Btone33]

The Bee's Knees!

[@simonsmith2642]

You are a “mad scientist” in his lab of audio.....

[@jordanlotus188]

very nice.!

[@DanBakerMusic]

It’s great fun to go proper analog sometimes...

[@chillwalker]

The cheapest analog summing possible. And you hear the difference!!"

[@pdd84]

Ohhh multiple outs from your interface via cables fed to your mixing desk...... cables stay to same channels on your mixer .... as far as what is fed through said cables is determined by daw? Does the mixer come in handy the same way on a much smaller scale? Rarely even use 4 mics at a time do to sound restrictions of living space ..... drums via keyboard guitar via head phones..... there was a time though ...I miss that time😎

[@melodne8520]

Sorry I think my question about the plug ins is answered on one of your other videos

[@purecountry70]

Hello Dan I bought a Mackie SR 40-8 I've never had a console so large I would like to run a test run to make sure it run's ok can you give me a few pointers how to get started . I'd appreciate it please.

[@AndrewAHayes]

Dan, around the early to mid 90's I recorded a demo at a mates home studio and he used VHS cassette, I can't remember if it was for the multitrack or the mixdown, do you know who made these units?

[@mct_lima]

It was probably an Alesis ADAT, it uses regular vhs tapes (well, they tried to sell "adat" tapes but everybody was using plain vhs).

[@melodne8520]

Hi I really appreciate your work. Once the tracks are on the computer is it possible to use plug ins on these signals? I also noticed another soundcraft board there to the right of the main one you're using Can you tell me the model numbers of both boards

[@djlyns]

Hello Dan, How did you connect the mixing board to the interface for the computer to recognize it?

[@DanBakerMusic]

The mixing board has eight sub-outputs, which connect straight to the analogue inputs of the audio interface.

[@djlyns]

@@DanBakerMusic My console have stereo out, sub in, effect send and return, and bunch of audio input. I can upload a picture if you will like to see it. Thank you.

[@tenebrissubterra4596]

Hey dan, lets say i EQ my recordings via the mixer and export the recordings, will the EQ still remain on the music i exported.

[@DanBakerMusic]

Yes

[@pdd84]

this is school .... for free.... you are to kind to share all of yer knowledge.... with that said forgive the questions... I know this isn’t a question answer set up for strictly lil ol me so no offense if you can’t get around to the questions I generate... Actually connecting the daw and your analogue desk..... sends and busses I’m only somewhat familiar with the virtual daw scenarios or digital I guess? But with a desk..... how does one understand the other? Seems like u need chords for the desk.... Bit obvious I’m sure ...but with playin music and recording I’m self taught so I’m deep into it 15 years or so and some incredibly simple things have not shown up to my ......um.... brain Thanks brother

[@DanBakerMusic]

Hi Neil, I'm sorry I missed this comment, but if you're still having issues, please do reply to this and I'll get it this time! All the best to you...Dan.

[@2tracer479]

Great vid! Can anyone help me? I've just started getting into mixing and have been mixing with an old Pioneer DJM 3000. Every time I record through the mixer onto Audacity, Audacity picks up interferance from the mixer it's like a subtle hiss or humm, I can use the noise reduction effect on Audacity and it does work but it still affects the true sound I am tyring to record. For example, if I record a vinyl the noise reduction makes the crakles sound different and takes some of the bass away. Is the answer get a digital mixer? I can't see a different sound card would make any differance as I'm sure the noise is from the mixer but maybe I'm wrong.. Also I don't think it's a ground loop issue as the GL Isolator made more noise for some reason. Any advice would be most aprieciated.

[@CharlesYu98]

Had the same hissing sound problem trying to do recording with a Yamaha analog mixer, appreciating any solution/advice! I do have an extra question though, if we're using an analog mixer for multi-tracking (e.g. 2 singing mics, 1 keyboard, 1 guitar and 1 bass), how do I do that? From Dan's other video, it seems like I would need an interface huge enough to plug these channels into it before linking it to the PC. Hopefully there's anyone who could help on the issues, and thanks in advance!!

[@Swanlord05]

Analog is Best

[@carstencolberg1427]

Over 5000 views and not a single thumbs down... :-)

[@geraldcalifornia5923]

If I want to use a mixer console to record my mixer has to have faders?

[@sammisishy2180]

how do You make record multi track RECORD (specifically showing the gear required on the analog soundcraft 32 channel to you DAW...

[@DanBakerMusic]

I’m not sure what you mean here, but you could use the desk inputs to make an analogue path, before sending the signal from the desk into your audio interface, and then it will appear on the computer.

[@emanuelwhitehead6039]

What kind of mixer do I need to get color

[@DanBakerMusic]

That's a tricky one, but all analogue mixers will colour the sound in different ways. I think I might do a video about this...

[@emanuelwhitehead6039]

Ok I’ll be waiting

[@DanBakerMusic]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qHbKmGWCm8-oocU

[@truthfinder4973]

i got a ideal i like to share if some one has a 4 track or 8 track recorder and a interface with lot of in putt's and outs.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 tape recorder unit 4 to 8 tracks thats 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 back then better then vst for tape lol

[@balkrishansharma7325]

Your studio was full of dust. This is not good for your electronic devices.I request you to keep them clean.