Brokeback “Tape Loop” Machine
A funny pre-studio event happened when most of the band was at home with me in Virginia. Mikko, who suggested using a tape machine to do manual loops on the record, asked us if it would be possible for us to get an old tape machine, which happened to be a real journey for Ben who was in charge of that almost impossible quest, as most proper studio tape machines are massive units who never go out of their actual place once it’s been set. I’m wondering if studios weren’t built around those machines back in the day. I might be exaggerating a little, but only a little. The bottom line is that no one wanted to rent theirs and buying one was way over budget, especially for what was still defined as an experiment at that point in the process. Ben was almost about to surrender when Mikko had the idea of using a small tape machine instead, that we could craft and turn into a 16-track recording device.
FYI: We are usually using 64 tracks. In other words, we are using so many different instruments that need to be plugged back into the studio that we are probably on the very edge of being professionally diagnosed with a major mental health issue. What can I do, I like to add layers and layers of different instruments in the context of a song, so I need tracks. Yes, that is also a problem… one that will soon give place to a Mikko Method #102 in the very near future… I can feel it.
Alright, so short story now turned into a very long one; Ben found one in Maryland, about a 90-minute drive away from my home, cool! Wait, the owner is going to visit his family in Clifton Forge, which is 15 minutes from my place… GREAT… and he agreed to meet mid-way. Ben went to get the machine and all was good. As he was about to lift the new precious studio addition I told Ben to wait a minute for someone to help him. “It’s alright, it’s not that heavy”. He got the machine inside the house, I was about 20 feet behind him and saw him collapse on the ground while holding his back and in HUGE pain. “Are you alright Ben?” “I hate this %#$%^$%^ tape machine!” He ended up spending the next 7 days in bed with a back entorse… So there’s no need to say that Ben has had a bit of a “love-hate” relationship with that “evil” machine ever since.
But is it working? That’s the only question that matters at this point… especially for Ben.
FYI: We are usually using 64 tracks. In other words, we are using so many different instruments that need to be plugged back into the studio that we are probably on the very edge of being professionally diagnosed with a major mental health issue. What can I do, I like to add layers and layers of different instruments in the context of a song, so I need tracks. Yes, that is also a problem… one that will soon give place to a Mikko Method #102 in the very near future… I can feel it.
Alright, so short story now turned into a very long one; Ben found one in Maryland, about a 90-minute drive away from my home, cool! Wait, the owner is going to visit his family in Clifton Forge, which is 15 minutes from my place… GREAT… and he agreed to meet mid-way. Ben went to get the machine and all was good. As he was about to lift the new precious studio addition I told Ben to wait a minute for someone to help him. “It’s alright, it’s not that heavy”. He got the machine inside the house, I was about 20 feet behind him and saw him collapse on the ground while holding his back and in HUGE pain. “Are you alright Ben?” “I hate this %#$%^$%^ tape machine!” He ended up spending the next 7 days in bed with a back entorse… So there’s no need to say that Ben has had a bit of a “love-hate” relationship with that “evil” machine ever since.
But is it working? That’s the only question that matters at this point… especially for Ben.
