THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO TAPE EFFECTS
We’re all familiar with the phrase ‘be careful what you wish for’. To read a history of the technology developed to take the world’s murkiest, earliest recordings through to the full-frequency, ultra-pristine, multi-track recordings of today is to read about ‘audio transparency’ emerging from noisy roots. If you were to take a randomly-selected recording from each decade from 1930 onwards, what you’ll hear is increased definition and a diminishing number of ‘unwanted’ sonic artifacts, with microphone design and recording media becoming more refined. One could argue that if pristine fidelity remains the most important requirement in modern recording, the combination of high sample rate, high sample resolution, hard-disk based recording across hundreds (even thousands!) of tracks represents the Promised Land. But, it seems, not for all. Sales of vinyl records are at an all-time high. It’s possible to buy cassette tapes again. You might be tempted to dismiss these facts as fads but there’s a more interesting interpretation which suggests that there is an audio quality to certain recording media which is worth preserving. And over the coming pages, we’re going to find out why tape-based effects remain so popular.
