Limitation Summer #1

I discovered a new DAW.

I discovered a new DAW. DAW means Digital Audio Workstation. It’s how you record music on to a computer. You’ll know from my last post that I’m tape-curious and interested in the workflow of tape, how it pushes us to use our ears and work within the limitations of the medium. One of the downsides of tape is that tape machines and even 4 track cassette recorders are very expensive. The day after I posted that piece I was served a video for a new DAW called Tape 16. It’s a DAW, but it’s a 16 track reel to reel tape machine with no edit window and very few bells and whistles.

I downloaded it and had a play around. Fun! There are lots of ways of messing with the sound, adding saturation, changing the tape age, wow, flutter and you can even hold the reels to slow and make phasing effects. It also takes plugins so I can mix with what I’m used to. At £30 I was sold.

Another limitation I’ve been messing with is giving myself a set amount of time to write a song. Usually an hour. It forces me into making decisions quickly without overthinking. It has arrested the pull towards perfectionism. I decided to record a quick demo of one of them using Tape 16. I chose to perform the guitar and vocal live with the mics I had to hand. My space is small and so I opted for a couple of dynamic mics (condensers pick up too much ambient noise from outside). SM7B on the vocal and an SM58 on the guitar. I did three takes. There was no selecting the best one. If I didn’t rate a take, I wound the tape back and recorded over it. Take 3 was pretty good, it had a few mistakes but I liked the feel of it and I think I can live with the fluffed bits. Maybe it’s charming? I’ll let you decide.

I’m hoping this project/experiment of introducing constraints will challenge some of my assumptions around making and sharing my music. In the past I’ve always aimed to release music in the best possible quality but this has really stopped the flow in some ways. So much is then reliant on other things happening first (funding applications etc) which, at the moment, I have no capacity (or motivation) to pursue.

I am putting all of the demos I make as part of this project up on my bandcamp page. The collection is called ‘Spits of Light’. Many of them will be made with Tape 16, they will all share a common theme of being made with creative or technical limitations in mind. I feel some vulnerability in sharing what are essentially demos but I’m also excited about this and I think it’ll be fun. Perhaps you may also feel inspired to shake up how you’re making things. Limitation Summer is here.

First track is called Midway.

Limitations: Tape 16 DAW, Live Recording, Destructive Editing, 2 Dynamic Mics