Should Your Band Record to Analog Tape?

Tracking to 2 tape is making a resurgence in the recording industry. The warm sound adds a level of color not found in a DAW and hitting the meters hot can also give you a favorable distortion that can really enhance certain types of music.

Studer's analog tape recorders are widely considered to be the best in world by Audio engineers due to their excellent reliability and sound quality.

The A800 is widely regarded as the best of these Studers for 24-track recording.

The main drawbacks of recording to tape have always been the price of the reels and the time and skill it takes to edit your songs. This isn't necessarily the case anymore. Here at Metalworks we now have work reels available to all our clients and by using our synchronizer we are able to bounce out tracks and record them back into our Pro Tools HD system for detailed editing and mixing.

In Studio 1 at Metalworks we have been using our Studer A800 on various sessions and have been getting great results. For the most part, drums and bass are recorded to tape through our vintage Neve console then dumped over to Pro Tools at a high sample rate. Additional overdubs can then be recorded digitally. Some bands (Born Ruffians, The Two Times) have preferred to record vocals and other overdubs to tape as well.

The process is far less complicated and now works better than ever-in combination with our Pro Tools 10 HD system. Analog recording can add the warmth and richness you never knew you needed.