We’re still recording to 16 track 2″ analog tape!

Our favourite method for tracking is to lay down beds on our beloved 1968 Ampex MM1000 2” 16 track tape machine (originally from Columbia Studios in NYC), thereby capturing a sonic warmth and detail which is only possible with genuine wide format analogue magnetic tape … (the sound of everything coming back off this old Ampex machine will put a smile on your face …) tracks are then promptly transferred into the digital world for the next series of tasks. With this method you retain the sonic warmth of tape, but gain the editing flexibility of digital recording. When it comes time to mix we route everything through our heavily modified vintage 1973 MCI 400 console. All this being said we like to record to digital too ~ when the session calls for it.

Over the last decade digital recording has made analogue recording nearly obsolete, due to the challenge of maintaining pro analogue gear and acquiring tape. Despite all of this, we still feel that recording to tape just plain sounds better for most things (we’ve squirreled away enough good tape to last a lifetime). We also keep our tape machines aligned and in good running order.