Tape vs Digital

We have recently recorded one of our bands rehearsals with a few dedicated microphones to get a better sound than with the Zoom H1 which we are normally using. We had one large condenser mic for the drums, one shure sm57 for both guitar amps and a DI box from Atelier der Tonkunst for the bass, recorded through a Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 into Reaper.

We had a few nice ideas for new songs which were recorded and later mixed by me. Then I thought I will do something special and record one of those jams onto a compact cassette via a ONKYO Integra TA-6711 tapedeck just to see how it would sound.

I connected the tapedeck to my Focusrite interface, recorded the song straight from Reaper onto a Sony chrome cassette and then recorded it back into reaper from the cassette.

I tried to match the two resulting files in average loudness (RMS) and would like to know if people can figure out which is which by just listening to the two versions, without looking at the waveforms because that would give it away I guess. Just try to listen to it back and forth. Personally I was surprised how close both versions are and have doubts whether I could tell them apart on cheap headphones.

So remember, its just a rehearsal room jam – not a finished song, right? Here are the two 24bit/48kHz aiff files for you. Let me know in the comments which one you think is which and I will resolve it in a few days:

Calypso_A.aif
Calypso_B.aif

Bonus Question: Which one do you like better?

Click Here for the Solution

Music Recommendation: ruído/mm

I found this music through a friend from brazil. Its magic check it out!

https://ruidopormilimetro.bandcamp.com/album/rasura

An Evening with White Volcano

Here is a recording of our small rehearsal room concert which we played for a few friends.

An Evening with White Volcano from hukl on Vimeo.

The SNAFU Principle

In the beginning was the plan, and then the specification;
And the plan was without form, and the specification was void.

And darkness was on the faces of the implementors thereof;
And they spake unto their leader, saying: “It is a crock of shit, and smells as of a sewer.”

And the leader took pity on them, and spoke to the project leader: “It is a crock of excrement, and none may abide the odor thereof.”

And the project leader spake unto his section head, saying: “It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide it.”

The section head then hurried to his department manager, and informed him thus: “It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength.”

The department manager carried these words to his general manager, and spoke unto him saying: “It containeth that which aideth the growth of plants, and it is very strong.”

And so it was that the general manager rejoiced and delivered the good news unto the Vice President. “It promoteth growth, and it is very powerful.”

The Vice President rushed to the President’s side, and joyously exclaimed: “This powerful new software product will promote the growth of the company!”

And the President looked upon the product, and saw that it was very good.

/sna’foo prin’si-pl/ n. [from a WWII Army acronym for `Situation Normal, All Fucked Up’] “True communication is possible only between equals, because inferiors are more consistently rewarded for telling their superiors pleasant lies than for telling the truth.” — a central tenet of {Discordianism}, often invoked by hackers to explain why authoritarian hierarchies screw up so reliably and systematically. The effect of the SNAFU principle is a progressive disconnection of decision-makers from reality.

From the Jargon File …

Cleaned up my Pedal Board

Just a quick post about my pedal board before and after I cleaned it up. 3M Dual Lock tape helped to make this look flawless.

Featuring:

TC Electronic HOF Mini
TC Electronic Flashback
Boss TU-3
Lovepedal Staxmaster
Lovepedal OD11
Maxon Tube Screamer
SolidGoldFX Rosies Fuzz

Pedalboard before and after