Mastering tracks from different mediums...

[ianbryn11]

ive got a new project ive been working on in which ive been experimenting with tape... Recording songs to 4 track cassette, and then bouncing to digital and finishing tracking... then mixing itb.... Ive also recorded a song for this project entirely in the digital domain... so now im listening back to the 4 songs we have so far, and the three that used the tape machine sound pretty different than the one that went right into pro tools. To my ears, i prefer the ones that touched tape... but thats a different story...

My question is, is it posssible to make the tracks sound similar in mastering? or should i re-record the lone digital track on the tape machine and get the sound im lookin for?

[wado1942]

It's always difficult to get mixes from different media to sit well together. You may have to use a lot of EQ on both sources to even out the sound but that won't get you all the way there. I can't understand why anybody would prefer a cassette recording over anything except maybe steel wire or MP3 but if you like those mixes the best, then it may be beneficial to run the other mixes through it as well.

[Dave Davis]

Time is your friend here. First, sequence in a way that minimizes these swaps - iow don't checker-board tape/dig/tape/dig, but put them in clumps of like-material. Between those sections, try to go with long gaps, and if possible, extended fades you could crossfade slightly so the noisy-tail of the tape tracks pollutes a bit of the intro to the dead-quiet dig tracks. But even if overlap is impossible, longer gaps and long fades let your brain settle, and you notice the difference less.

[PatrikT]

If you try to make the obvious different songs sound alike, all of them will suffer and be slave under compromises.

Best to do as stated above, keep the vibes together. Treat things from the same objective view. Or why not put out two mini-albums or EP's instead of one full-lengthy one.


Regards
Patrik

[ianbryn11]

Great suggestions.. thanks!