Tracknotes
Your Music on Tape: Finding the Sound That Lasts
Why Tape Still Feels DifferentThere’s something about recording to tape that musicians describe as “alive.” Tape naturally adds warmth, smooths out harsh edges, and glues instruments together in a way that feels almost three-dimensional. It’s not just about sound — it’s about vibe.
Play into tape, and you might feel yourself dig in a little deeper.
Listen back, and there’s a richness that can make even the simplest track feel classic. Hold onto the reel itself, and you know your music is preserved in a form that will last for decades.
Digital tools are powerful — and we use them every day — but tape brings a quality that’s hard to replicate. That’s why our workflows are designed to let you combine the best of both worlds.
Four Workflows
1. Record in the DAW, Mix Down to Tape
Record and edit digitally, shaping the mix until it’s just right. Then, instead of stopping at a digital bounce, we play your final mix in real time onto our Otari MTR-10 Series II, 2-track tape machine. You leave with a mix that has all the polish of digital — plus the richness of tape.
2. Start on 24-Track Tape, Then Move to Digital
For artists who want the full analog experience, we can begin with our Otari MTR-90II 24-track, 2” machine. Imagine cutting the rhythm section live to tape: the drums, bass, and guitars locking together with that unmistakable tape punch. From there, we transfer everything into the DAW, where you can overdub, edit, and refine. You get the best of both: the magic of tape in the foundation, and the flexibility of digital for everything else.
3. All Digital, Straight to the Finish
Sometimes the simplest path is the right one. We can record and mix your entire project digitally and deliver it in standard formats for streaming, mastering, or distribution. Clean, efficient, and perfect for projects that need to move quickly.
4. Analog Summing: DAW Through the Console to Tape
Instead of mixing entirely in the DAW, we can send each track out through our Neotek Elite console, where faders, EQ, and analog circuitry shape the mix in real time. From there, the 2-track tape machine captures the finished mix. The result? A hands-on, console-driven sound that feels classic and alive.
Which Path Is Right for You?
Every artist works differently. Some want the convenience of digital with just a touch of tape magic. Others want to dive fully into the analog world and feel their songs living on magnetic reels. We’ll help you choose the path that fits your music — and makes it timeless.
