Reel-to-reel Tape Delay Demonstration with Electric Guitar

Most modern day guitar effects pedals have features like "tape delay" and "feedback", but where did that all come from? This video demonstrates how to use a 1/4" reel-to-reel tape machine for "delay" effects.
Please see my video about "effect loops" and "feedback loops":
• How to make a Effect L...
I used this setup for the lead guitar at the beginning of this song:
The MIDI Basement - A Passing Storm
Listen Here: • The MIDI Basement - A ...
If you like this video, please check out some of my music:
Bandcamp:
lifeofthemind.bandcamp.com/
SoundCloud:
/ lifeofthemind

[@jimihendrix1575]

Ritchie Blackmore used this system back in the 70's. Some people thought his guitar was "recorded" when he played live, and the reel to reel could be seen running on stage as he played. Read this long ago in Guitar player magazine.

[@pedrostorms]

Woow any modern sort of delay can't sound that natural!!

[@chunkystylemusic]

Thank you +Life Of The Mind. Well done. Takes me back to my youth. There's still nothing quite like the "reel thing"!

[@DheerajSukumaran]

having only seen and experienced digital emulations of Delays, I wondered how the tape mechanism worked. this video was a very precise and neat demonstration of that. thanks a lot :)

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Glad it helped you get a visual of the process Dheeraj :-)

[@AshleyPomeroy]

That's a lovely sound at 02:00 - you could record a whole ambient album like that.

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Thanks. I might take you up on that. :)

[@bgjeffcoat]

Ashley Pomeroy it is :'-)

[@juliatsaoussis4553]

Do you know Boards of Canada? Reminds me a lot of their work which I really love

[@AwakenedAnhedonic]

Wow! This worked with my Sony 3 head cassette deck. And it sounded amazing.

[@kriscody3577]

I been looking at my old Tascam thinking exactly what you just did was possible. Awesome demo can't wait to try it.

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Let me know how it works for you Kris!

[@HansyPants184]

I mean, I have a DL4 that sounds great and fits almost anywhere but I've been holding onto an old Akai I bought for hi-fi a decade ago but can't find media for it without selling organs lol. Since I put the studio together it's been staring at me begging to find enough desk space for it to live a happy life. This was the tipping point. Tonight I turn it on, cross my fingers, and delay-ay-ay-ay-ay away-ay-ay-ay-ay!

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Great to hear you tried this out Hansy!

[@HansyPants184]

@@LifeOfTheMind I think the recording preamp needs a recap so I didn't get very far past the hook-up and a few tests. Back to the DL4 it is lol.

[@19Skanking82]

Good job! Sounds great!

[@LerLoons]

wow that sounds amazing

[@askhatzhakupov2039]

If you plug the quitar into mic section you will get a nice distortion. And if you connect the motor through a reostat you will get the possibility to chage the motor speed not just 2 positions but delay from 0,1 to 0,7

[@XDF4u]

I have to say that this real tape delay sounds good. My studio effect processors with delay effect can emulate a tape by cutting the high end on feedback. But now when I hear the real deal it is clear that the modern processors don't really sound like this at all. The feedback via real tape sounds great!

[@coupe662]

very Cool man, just bought a Tandberg Tape recorder model 823 but dont know much about using it yet. Just tried playing my guitar through the mic input. looking forward getting to know it.

[@antigen4]

amazing just how much it sounds like a memory man

[@pcallas66]

That sounds great!!!

[@user-mb4db2fd6e]

I have that same reel to reel,cool video

[@faunoram]

wow ! this is amazing !!

[@LifeOfTheMind]

+ramiro martinez Thanks! Appreciate the "feedback" hehe.

[@RockYouVideos]

Well that's flat out cool.

[@Bluetbackingtracks]

Very interesting!! Subscribed

[@xx_PCCR_xx]

This is really cool. I love the sound. I wish it fit in my pedalboard though

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Ha! Yeah, a little bulky for the pedalboard. You might want to try a T-Rex Replicator .

[@Williamk492]

Well explained! Thanks! 👍🏻

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Thanks William! And thank you for subscribing. 😃

[@vaniofelipe5703]

super cool!

[@imariuxmusic]

sound dream! bello!

[@guitarlawyer75]

I have one of those! I'll use it!

[@peteytwofinger]

Ritchie Blackmore initially used two akai reel to reels on stage to achieve echo . he found that using them as a gain stage to boost his guitars signal before hitting his marshal to be very desirable . most often Ritchie could be seen with an akai deck in his rig as he used it as his secret tone weapon for many years . the deck would just sit there , not even moving . i am sure he could have done well with a clean boost pedal , back then the mxr micro amp and the ehx lpb-1 were available but they alter your tone a bit as these are very small rudimentary circuits . things such as this did not concern mike mattews back then , i would question weather or not he was even aware of the amount of tone suck and signal degradation , but pedals like his small stone , and many other of the old non boss pedals where culprits in ruining your bypass tone . great job with this demo , its totally something i would do , but ... i sold a ll my reel to reel stuff to make room for pc's.

[@monomono]

this was dope

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Thanks Dude

[@LifeOfTheMind]

sakamuras s Haha! I was waiting for someone to recognize that lick.

[@DJROCKCEEENTERTAINMENT]

nice !!!!!!!

[@razgrizace8720]

Nice!

[@tomhaaima1810]

verry cool. have to try this one day,

[@jahbay]

WOW... Great work... Subd

[@maxoobbxxx8032]

Insane

[@TheDarkCow11]

wtf this is godly

[@iplaymytele]

A Old Trick..But a Great Sounding one…! Essentially, this is what the old tape echo plex’s did except they did it with a close loop cartridge…! My favorite Tape Echo Machine of course was the ( RE201 Space Echo.. ) … I used to unscrew the cover on top and load that bad boy up with 1.5 mil AMPEX Mastering Tape…! I would always put more tape in the tape reservoir, then was suggested…! Because the tape would last me longer from gig to gig…🎶 the only thing that the echoplex had that the space Echo did not what sound on sound…! And I really enjoyed the sound on sound functions of those old EchoPlex’s …!

[@lightswitchlarry]

soooooooo cool

[@LeninVargasAvila]

Genial man!

[@fredfloyd34]

Yeah in the 70s it was a must to habe a teac..2 or 4 track...great sounds...Then we would reverse it..splice it...Was lots of fun...You reproduce it well...jam on...

[@dustyspins]

I totally could see doing some of those Pink Floyd "The Wall" riffs through that setup.

[@AshleyPomeroy]

Or Alan Parsons Project's Mammagamma - or even Pink Floyd's very own On the Run, the dug-a-dugga-da-dugga bassline.

[@Geo-wc7jc]

One of these days

[@tylerbirch722]

line6 pod sighting

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Good eye ;-)

[@TheStudioDrummer]

I have a first gen of the bean. Still running!

[@gr0verrr]

I have a TEAC A-1250S I was about to toss on eBay, but I think I’ll play around with it for a bit now!

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Ha! Don't do it Cory! Glad to hear this video might have been an influence for you. 👍

[@gr0verrr]

@@LifeOfTheMind I just got it up and running but need to relubricate the pinch roller as it isn’t moving on it’s own, nor does it retract if you manually move it. If anything, at least you got me willing to repair my reel-to-reel!

[@LifeOfTheMind]

@@gr0verrr Fantastic!!!! Look up the model number on Google or KZbin. You can probably find some tutorials for keeping your TEAC in shape.

[@TheStudioDrummer]

I imagined me walking in with the Tascam under my arm: "whats that?" Oh, thats my delay unit. Can you help me carry my reverb in?.." 😀 Great video!

[@LifeOfTheMind]

LOL... It doesn't fit on my pedalboard either.

[@levijessegonzalez3629]

Wow. No pedal sounds this good

[@LifeOfTheMind]

I've been thinking about putting this rig on my board... but it might be a little to bulky. Haha!

[@levijessegonzalez3629]

@@LifeOfTheMind it better not be a live rig!

[@levijessegonzalez3629]

@@LifeOfTheMind I wonder if there's anyway to use a cassette recorder for this

[@LifeOfTheMind]

@@levijessegonzalez3629 People have done this with standard cassette. Search Google or KZbin for "analog delay with cassette".

[@ACAMAZ1000]

Классный рил ту рил!

[@catface101]

Not mentioned in the video but if your recorder has a pitch wheel you have an extra 12% (6 up pitch, 6 down pitch) of throw to change the delay speed.

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Good tip Catface!

[@LifeOfTheMind]

After many questions about how to setup an "effects loop" and a "feedback loop", I decided to make another video that goes in to further detail about the subject. Here it is: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2TbnHWiabhkqbM

[@Sc0teeBe318]

Very cool demonstration! How would you plug everything up if you were using a guitar amp? Is everything the same except you have the board going directly to the amp?

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Hey Scott! Great question. The simplest answer would be to plug the main output of the mixer in to a guitar amp. Some guitar amps have effect loop inputs/outputs, however not all of them have the ability to create the "feedback" effect that's more easily accomplished with a mixer.

[@keithclark486]

Sounds great. I have one question ' where does it fit on the board?

[@DineshC]

Wowww That's Cool \m/ !!!!!!!!!!

[@phillipbroussard9762]

Wow,sounds great.i have 46 r2r tape decks,4 mixer's an other goodies,only if i knew how to play a guitar,lol

[@bonusnudges]

I’m glad to see there’s someone else with the same bug as I have , I lost count at 46 r2r ‘s

[@PrimitiveInTheExtreme]

WoW!!!

[@LifeOfTheMind]

For those that have some questions about this video and may be confused...I suggest you do a Google search for "effects loop". This setup is a basic "effects loop" that uses the reel-to-reel machine as the effects device.

[@CukinijuBaravykas]

Im just curious, is there any difference between this type of reel-to-reel tape delay and delays that I can make using different music programs on my pc? Because as now I have no knowledge (just started to research this stuff) I think it is possible to recreate such type of loop, but how does it really work?

[@justrockon426]

i just found a similar model on a local classified site $150. Do you recommend using this live? It really sound like old Frampton or steve miller. And does it work without a sound board?

[@AllongLawl]

I like it. I noticed the feedback seems to progressively lose its high-end and head toward more mushy delays as it repeats back on itself, your send's bass EQ is pulled down a bit but it seems the rest are balanced, is progressive mushiness caused by the tape itself or EQ?

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Hi Al. I believe that "mushy" tone you described is the common characteristic of an analog delay trail. Basically, each time the delayed signal is recorded through a feedback loop, it loses one generation...and so on...and so on. The tone gradually loses its high end as the delay trails on. Many modern delay pedals have a "analog" setting that recreates this effect. As for the EQ...I usually like to roll a little low end off on delay effects. The EQ is not directly related to the "mushy" sound.

[@davidisabella6750]

What model is your Teac tape deck? It looks like a very good one. Teac made one of the best. I have a Teac X-3.

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Hi David. This is the TEAC A-4010S

[@purecountry70]

hello I just bought an Old AKIA 250 D Reel to Reel ,I don't know alot about useing it. could I Email you . but first how do you Load the Tape

[@homestudiotourvideo1439]

you must have to install it on your pedalboard for live , ahah , it will be funny and great

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Gonna need a larger pedalboard!!! Haha

[@TheDarkCow11]

I am having a problem I cant seem to get a "clean" sound on my Teac 3340s I keep messing around but there is still that muddy crunch is this normal?

[@novakattila]

Nothing beats analog, its just so rich in harmonics, I own a TEAC deck too and after dozens of plugins it actually sounds like a delay lol

[@falklandss]

Wicked, hey man could you please help me set this up ? I bought a functional reel tape recorder, now I'm going for the mixer, the question is will a behringer 802 xenyx do the trick? I truly appreciate if you could check it out, thanks buddy. Long live music (Buda's words)

[@dreamcity7514]

how long is that space? like 300 ms? do you have an estimate, it would help me out

[@aronhallam6449]

sounds wonderful , nt very portable i suppose but great for the studio

[@azizalaliq8]

would it work on a normal cassette?

[@andymclain2574]

Do you think it degrades the sound of the amp at all??

[@andymclain2574]

So with this same setup in a live application. Do I just go out the main output of the mixer to my Marshall amp???????

[@andymclain2574]

Like do I need to come out of the europracks mixers main outputs L R straight into my four input Marshall and one of its speaker outputs on the amp???

[@N_A_Lund]

Would it work to do all the feeding of the signal in and out using a feedback looper pedal instead of a mixer?

[@LifeOfTheMind]

I'm not exactly sure what you're asking... but a feedback looper pedal would get the job done with a mixer or tape machine.

[@edasunvictor5921]

Did he record

[@chadjohnson-authormusician8072]

Great sound. It should be noted that you need a deck with three heads for this. A two-head deck (erase and rec/play) won't do it. This is why you can't do this trick on most standard cassette decks without modifying it. The vast majority of cassette decks have only two heads.

[@orange5718]

What does the third head do?

[@chadjohnson-authormusician8072]

@@orange5718 It plays back. On a three head deck, the heads are, from left to right: Erase, Record, Play.

[@lukaszsakowicz2625]

The Shadows

[@razimus]

sounds like the effect used in The Ren & Stimpy Show theme song

[@laromande]

So you can play your guitar live with a delay effect and while recording your very play with no delay :D (or should i say no dry) that's fun

[@falklandss]

What kind of cable are you using to connect the mixe's aux send to the reel input?

[@LifeOfTheMind]

1/4" to RCA.

[@Sebastian-il5bh]

I know it may be a kind of dumb question but what is the control setup you’re using to send the tape back into itself?

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Hey Nico! Not a dumb question at all. Check out my other video that goes in to more detail. I think it will help. kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2TbnHWiabhkqbM

[@GustavoPatias]

works on an amplifier's effects loop?

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Good question! Yes, this would absolutely work on an amplifier's send/return effects loop, however you would still need an external mixer to create the regenerative feedback for longer delays. 👍

[@bradmodd7856]

digital emulation is just as good....except they haven't nailed the spooky effect of varying the tape speed, or being able to move the heads like more advanaced tape delays have....but that is special FX stuff that doesn't get called for that often.

[@LifeOfTheMind]

I've heard the Strymon El Capistan nails this sound pretty good. But I'm not sure if it replicates the actual sound of changing the tape speed.

[@hoover728]

The El Cap does replicate that pitch scrub sound, but so does the Belle Epoch Deluxe which is the most accurate digital emulation of a tape delay currently available.

[@sayijinman]

Oh you thought I dont have anymore tricks up my bag, Grandma? Ha, you haven't even seen my final form yet, Scotty moore te he

[@dannyd1224]

Could i do this with a cassette tape?

[@waynemegaman]

It would probably be the same effect with a cassette deck as long as it is a three head deck like the reel to reel deck in the video.

[@WhiteBug]

Tapespeed of a tapedeck is higher... so the effects are shorter..

[@Hallkardia]

You can use a Teac AX-10. That's an easy way, to get tape echos from a 3-head tape deck. These units are rather cheap to grab.

[@fmoll8748]

@@WhiteBug It's not actually. Could still perhaps be true since the Heads on a Tapedeck are closer to each other :-)

[@HitmanJenkins1]

It can be done, there's a bunch of videos out there showcasing cassette decks as tape delay units.

[@elijahlucian]

what is the unit?

[@LifeOfTheMind]

+Elijah Lucian TEAC A-4010S

[@LifeOfTheMind]

jman33331 There is no "guitar amp" used in this configuration. I have my guitar running through a Line 6 P.O.D. amp modeler.

[@michel333100]

Hi, I have a Teac A3340s 4 track tape deck and a Teac AX-10 sound on sound box that connects in the in and outputs on the back of the tape deck. My question is with your set up there, could you connect This straight into a Vox AC30 amps?

[@MrBingping]

Would this work with any reel to reel? I was looking at a concord 444

[@LifeOfTheMind]

+MrBingping I'm not familiar with the Concord 444, but it should work, as long as you can directly monitor the recording head.

[@EmEStudiosHannover]

You need the montoring function of the record head. The German term is "Hinterbandkontrolle" it isn't there in leo's dictionary. Not every machine has that. But the effect CAN sometimes work without Hinterbandkontrolle, due to the fact, that the play (Repro) head is behind the rec. head. I once had that with a machine, where I didn't want it and had to abolish it with another setup. It takes time to experiment with these things and be careful guys: Testing can cause mean feedbacks which destroy your high tone speakers. If it works: You can have no better analogue delay! Well done Life Of The Mind!

[@MrBingping]

+E.m.E. Studios Hannover thanks for the info, I actually came across a deal on a roland re-150 space echo that I couldn't pass up, but i may still try this someday

[@KarnEvil4]

This is not a new concept of delay your showing, albeit a very good demo! Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple used an open reel for his delay/echo when he formed his own band Rainbow! Ritchie had used a larger deck with a longer tape delay/reel and most likely with an auto reverse mode. If you listen to the live recording from Rainbow "On Stage", you can clearly hear how beautiful he made it sound! The video here on KZbin features him using it !kzbin.info/www/bejne/hnLUcpJpoKuZj5Y

[@albertwesker2050]

What size tape does it use

[@LifeOfTheMind]

1/4 inch

[@vluxlifestyle1]

What kind of mixer is that?

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Behringer Eurorack MX2004A, analog mixer

[@hoover728]

If a person were to set up a deck like this but using a loop instead of two reels and then disabling the erase head by covering it with tin foil, would it do sound on sound where you can keep recording to the loop?

[@jacksongoldy6042]

do you need blank tape for this?

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Blank or previously recorded on tape will work. You're always recording over what was previously recorded on the tape when using this application, so new/blank tape is not needed.

[@jacksongoldy6042]

Life Of The Mind okay thank you

[@althewicked]

this is a empty tape right?

[@LifeOfTheMind]

I believe the tape had something previously recorded on it. You can use the same tape reel over and over again.

[@althewicked]

but you need a tape for this to recording and playback delayed? Just through the recording head is not possible right?

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Correct. You do need to have a tape on the machine and recording engaged in order to create the delay effect. :-)

[@althewicked]

and how many times can you record on the same tape?

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Several times... at least before the tape wears out.

[@antigen4]

better to just cut a loop and use that - far more creative possibilities too

[@skinshapemusic]

You might want to clean your pinch roller mate - look pretty minging

[@JimBob_Joe77]

You really need to clean that Pinch Roller.

[@LifeOfTheMind]

What is the best way to clean it?

[@JimBob_Joe77]

@@LifeOfTheMind Dont use rubbing alcohol. A company called Lasermedia has some stuff called RC-5. THey also have some stuff for CLeaning heads. That is called CL-100 . Its a little hard to find but thats what I use.

[@LifeOfTheMind]

@@JimBob_Joe77 Thank you for the recommendation! Also, how important is it to demagnetize the heads?

[@JimBob_Joe77]

@@LifeOfTheMind If you're just gonna use the machine for the tape delay effect then its not as important to demagnetize the heads as often as you would if you were actually doing regular multitrack recording. Professional studios will demagnetize their heads before every new session. But a home recordist would be fine maybe once every week or 2 depending on how many hours you use it. Also, there are other companies that sell head cleaner and even Rubber cleaner for the pinch roller. Just check google. 1 bottle of each will last you a long time...

[@LifeOfTheMind]

@@JimBob_Joe77 Thanks Matt. I appreciate the info. :-)

[@user-hw8pc8bl5v]

666 лайк мой!!!!!!

[@benlogan100]

Just use the tape delay setting in that POD (kidding!)

[@LifeOfTheMind]

Ha! It's not the same. :-(

[@tripjet999]

@2:25 - Heads need cleaning.

[@satansrobotho]

pinch roller is a greasy horror show! But hey if it's only delaying, high end roll-off is kinda good, to a point.

[@EveryDaySkinnyGuy]

This confuses me greqtly

[@razgrizace8720]

Nice!