Interesting and great stuff but it would've been nice to have heard the tape delay with just isolated guitar playing, not in a full mix or just tapping on a string a couple times
I've thought about making a delay using an old hard drive. With radial-mounted heads, you could control the delay time by varying the distance between the read and write heads by using servos to adjusting the angle of each head. If you wanted to use similar magnetic material to tapes, you might could use a floppy disk instead. Another big plus, you don't have to worry about getting to the end of the tape.
Well done, thanks for posting. I had something like this in mind. The concept would be for the 2nd playback head to be on a sliding rail mount, so it could be laterally moved to create different delay times. I did this with an old echoplex many years ago, left it behind when I moved (sorely wished I hadn't done that now).
Absolutely love this. Although I couldn't do anything this involved, I definitely take this kind of mindset to my own little projects/adaptations of equipment, so this video really speaks to me.
Wow, so cool. I like playing around with tapes and sounds, making my own loops, my own mics and such. This is on a different level for me, I truly admire your patience and artistic drive.
If you are from the UK, and want to make one of these . . . . the walkman in the video ("Byron Statics") is only sold in the US, if you are from the UK the same walkman is sold under the brand "groov-e".
Other things to try on this: mount the second tape head on a spring, remove the tape guide from it and add a button? Handle? To it so you can bend the alignment of it to add organic muffling of the sound from it. Also, if you used a tape that is not made for that recorder, like a type IV, the erase head will not be able to properly erase the tape, so you will get remnants of old recordings poking thru. This would be best with a tape loop rather than just a cassette. Cool project!
Thanks for the upload. I would love you to do a follow up video explaining in more detail how to build something like this. I hope you release a how to for this build in pdf format. That would be incredible. Subscribed.
Wow, you've really created atmosphere with the way you make your videos. I absolutely love it. You've got a new subscriber. That you're into tape echoes is also appeals to me deeply. Thanks for this!
A few years ago I picked up this industrial strength tape duplicator at goodwill -- insert master tape and (I think 4) blank tapes and it'll copy the master over to the blanks; (Probably used in churches back in the day to quickly make copies of a sermon) ...Weighs a LOT, housed in a big, thick steel case. It was so cheap ($10 or so) and I figured it probably had quality parts and tape heads, and might just make for a great project like this someday. Seems like it'd be ideal for a tape delay as all the tapes are face mounted and parallel to each other, so with some mods, you could get tape running by each head in sequence. I wish I had someone like you nearby, as I wouldn't know where to begin on a project like this ;)
This is so, so cool. I want to build something like this but I don't think I have the knowledge or experience for it yet... I have built a few eurorack modules from kits at this point, and absolutely loved the process, but I don't know enough about circuits yet to be able to dismantle a device and understand how it all works inside. Would love to see a more in depth guide about how to keep the circuits working after taking apart the walkman. Sweet video!
Fantastic sound and great demo! Perhaps for Phase Three you could experiment with some RC filters built in for really gentle low pass and high pass attenuation. It's so cool how you broke the heads out to allow for whatever fancy filtering you want, but I think having them built in for the cost of a pot and a cap would be really functional.
I bet you could've found a line-level input to the record section by disconnecting the internal radio & going in on that switch. but the mic amp has a nice AGC... 🤘
Thank you for the detailed video. I've been working on something similar this year, loads of struggle and I'm not done yet, but if I had seen your video when I started that would have helped me a lot back then ;) I'm now around phase 5, with 3 extra playheads (one is from a micro-cassette recorder - I let you guess why ;) ) and a switchable erase head (for sound-on-sound "painting", or more rhythic patterns)... and I'm working on different solutions for controlling feedback. I'll deiniftely post something when I'm done, and your video inspired me to do something detailled and educational !
Cool project, nice video. Congrats. There's only one thing in which you couldn't be more wrong, and I quote "there was a time when imperfections were embraced". You can't possibly be serious. They were aiming for the best possible, but this was what they got. Period. Back in those days sound engineers would have given one of their arms for something that sounded correct, and only after they got the right tools they started to look back for the vintage sound. The Neve 1073 preamp wasn't designed to sound vintage, but as good as was technologically possible, and now that we have better, we admire it for its vintage (meaning distrorted AF) sound.
Do it please i beg you that'd would be cool can you make a thing with 2 vhs players that makes it recreate generational loss or use vhs player to record a song then could i just copy it until i get the desired amount of loss
An easy way to cut the sides out would be to use some super low grit sand paper and stick it down to a flat surface. Since it's already so lo-fi the sanding dust would just "add character." But if you wanted to be clean about it you could dissasembe the cassette. I would like to build something like this when I have the time.
If you add a simple buffer/booster circuit before the passive mixers, you might have better results. There are many simple circuit designs out there for it.
Mark, was the second play head an original idea? The tape loop made this a usable affect onstage. but you've given me ideas. add a foot switch to reverse motor and record, would just need an extra erase head on the other side of recorder.
Great DIY delay pedal, not very versitile maybe but still great to be able to say I made this. I hear alot of WOW in the signal ,if that was not intentionally added in post production then I would say for that song you played at the end, just the guitar delay as it sound is good enough, all that WOW and even a little bit of FLUTTER is making it too much and messes with the intonation, which I consider a very if not one of the most important factors for enjoying music. Prefferably i might sound better to widen the signal with a tri-chorus instead of the focussed mid position of the guitar, I really like a wide stereo image if you feature just one instrument. cheers
Love the video. One thing, though. You may want to EQ your voice track. The bass on your voice track muffles out the rest of your voice and it's difficult to understand you on a system with a subwoofer. Just getting ALL bass. Most people listening on headphones or through their phone probably has no issues, but the bass end of the spectrum is WAY too hot.
That is very very cool. Outstanding job! I couldn't have done it better myself. As you are an ace. With old analog recorders. And you like the teeny tiny ones. I liked, the big ones. And that's why. Back in 1979. I went to work. For one of the Biggest and Most Legendary. Of, Studio & Broadcast Tape Recorders, Scully. You should get a Scully? There's plenty still out there. They sound terrific they never die. And they looked more cool than, an, Ampex. Way cooler than a 3M. As MCI's looked like Ampex. So why did you not use a, Knock Ameche, cassette deck? Some already have 3 heads and echo. Just like the big Scully studio recorders had. And you waste a lot less time. As, there is nothing to build up. It's ready to go. Put a very speed, on your recorder. And you've got adjustable echo times. Just like that. But what you have done here with the little cassette tape thingies is awesome! It sounds truly horrid. You did good! I am proud of you. That was one hell of an undertaking. As you definitely knew what you wanted. And that's the first hurdle. To your idea, planning, fabrication and execution. Of this terrific concept design. Who would have thunk it? Certainly not I, not me, not Yo. Next thing. You need to build yourself a small Plate Reverb. Using something like a car hood, sheet-metal. You cut out yourself. The sheet-metal not you. From the rest of the car hood. Then you take the old car radio speaker. And glue it to the,, sheet-metal cut out of the hood. While you suspend the sheet-metal at all five corners then reduced to 4 corners. With S hooks and screw through bolt islets in the frame. And you tighten the plate right up at all four corners. Plugging the car speaker into the old car radio. And then you get a tiny, FM modulator. So you can feed your audio into that and that into the car radio which will make the speakers sound and vibrate the reverb plate. Then. You have to get a couple of, piezoelectric buzzers. Break apart the plastic buzzer plastic. And glue the little buzzer plate. To the car hood reverb plate. Stick 2 in different positions. And plug those into, 2 channels. Of your, $40 recording mixer. And Voilà! Studio Reverb! From a car hood cut out! It will be awesome! You will sound like Abby Road Studios! After a plane wreck. So it should be great! Next thing is a Solenoid Operator Butt Slapper. With Foot Switch Activation. It'll be, State of the Fart Design! They will be able to squeeze on fourth! Or even fifth! You never know how many you will be able to squeeze out! Out of anyone. With your Solenoid Operated Butt Slapper. It will be Beyond Awesome! I mean… Butt On Awesome! I can think of all sorts of shitty things to do! I'm an expert at shitty things. I spend a lot of time in my bathroom, thinking about it and doing it! I take action! And move. My bowels. Food from Sonic Hamburgers. Usually does it for me. Of which it works quickly and efficiently. It goes right through me. Like shit. Through a Goose. It works great! I recommended for people who are Plugged Up. As it works quickly and efficiently. You'll never know what hit you. It'll be all over soon enough. At you shall feel, Refreshed. With new Vim and Vigor! You'll be like your old self of 85. Not there yet? You'll feel like it. It will extrude. That which ails you. Or Ale's you. That's usually the better option. A nice homemade IPA. With Botulism. That will also do it quickly. When you don't clean the bottles well enough. Which I recommend, not doing for better Botulism production. It works every time! Quickly and efficiently. Diarrhea is always best. When it's also, Bloody. Just so you know. RemyRAD
Do this with a vhs tape please i have a spare vhs player and blank vhs tapes i would love to make a guitar pedal out of it please idk what kind of pedal tho
hahahahaa thats great!!!!!!! ive bought about 4 types off ebay. my plan like ive done one time with a dollar store walkman type 15$ i gut the tape mechanism and make the circuit into a guitar pedal. the ones I have I havent touched yet but I sure would like to give you the tape mechs than trash em
Imperfections werent embraced, theyre modern romatic nostalgia. At the time these qualities were seen as inconvenient and masked or engineered out as soon as possible.
I wish you showed everything instead of chopping the video up as it becomes a little hard to follow for me as i need to see everything to be able to follow this
Nice work, but you should really tidy up those micro-plastics littered across your desk. Aesthetics and values are important for the tape-loop nostalgia nerds.
You are the Bob Ross of lo fi tinkering, tippin' my hat to you!😊
😂😂😂
Nailed it!
Yes, he has a pleasant, calm voice, like Bob Ross, which makes me relax
Interesting and great stuff but it would've been nice to have heard the tape delay with just isolated guitar playing, not in a full mix or just tapping on a string a couple times
this tape echo is an instrument on its own - great work capturing that analog sound 🙂thanks for showing 🙂
That was pretty rad. The song at the end was fantastic too!
I've thought about making a delay using an old hard drive. With radial-mounted heads, you could control the delay time by varying the distance between the read and write heads by using servos to adjusting the angle of each head. If you wanted to use similar magnetic material to tapes, you might could use a floppy disk instead. Another big plus, you don't have to worry about getting to the end of the tape.
Well done, thanks for posting. I had something like this in mind. The concept would be for the 2nd playback head to be on a sliding rail mount, so it could be laterally moved to create different delay times. I did this with an old echoplex many years ago, left it behind when I moved (sorely wished I hadn't done that now).
adjusting the motor speed will do this too
It's a bit strange you "did this to an Echoplex" when that's how the Echoplex sets delay time by default.
Absolutely love this. Although I couldn't do anything this involved, I definitely take this kind of mindset to my own little projects/adaptations of equipment, so this video really speaks to me.
Wow, so cool. I like playing around with tapes and sounds, making my own loops, my own mics and such.
This is on a different level for me, I truly admire your patience and artistic drive.
My man , that some really cool stuff you got right there ! Thanks for sharing all the details !
If you are from the UK, and want to make one of these . . . . the walkman in the video ("Byron Statics") is only sold in the US, if you are from the UK the same walkman is sold under the brand "groov-e".
Thanks for posting this for the UK audience. I appreciate it.
"Groovy"
-Ash Williams
Impressive. The housing aesthetic is very fitting and clean too. Very Devo.
Other things to try on this: mount the second tape head on a spring, remove the tape guide from it and add a button? Handle? To it so you can bend the alignment of it to add organic muffling of the sound from it. Also, if you used a tape that is not made for that recorder, like a type IV, the erase head will not be able to properly erase the tape, so you will get remnants of old recordings poking thru. This would be best with a tape loop rather than just a cassette. Cool project!
Hi Mark, so crazy effect, unique and deliver great sounds...So genius DIY. Thumb up
Thanks for the upload. I would love you to do a follow up video explaining in more detail how to build something like this. I hope you release a how to for this build in pdf format. That would be incredible. Subscribed.
Wow, you've really created atmosphere with the way you make your videos. I absolutely love it. You've got a new subscriber. That you're into tape echoes is also appeals to me deeply. Thanks for this!
Dude!! Awesome work and incredible analogic sound!!
Thanks for sharing!
Oh hi mark! This turned out great looks cool and makes some cool sounds you did a great job 👍😃👍
Dude! Im just trying to watch this video at 3:00am but your voice is so relaxing. I want to sleep!
hey that final track is pretty damn good
A few years ago I picked up this industrial strength tape duplicator at goodwill -- insert master tape and (I think 4) blank tapes and it'll copy the master over to the blanks; (Probably used in churches back in the day to quickly make copies of a sermon) ...Weighs a LOT, housed in a big, thick steel case.
It was so cheap ($10 or so) and I figured it probably had quality parts and tape heads, and might just make for a great project like this someday. Seems like it'd be ideal for a tape delay as all the tapes are face mounted and parallel to each other, so with some mods, you could get tape running by each head in sequence. I wish I had someone like you nearby, as I wouldn't know where to begin on a project like this ;)
Another banger mark. Hope you get the shop up and running so you dont have to whisper in case you wake up parents!
Awesome, I've fallen in love with the idea of one for my DIY modular someday. Too many projects.
This is so, so cool. I want to build something like this but I don't think I have the knowledge or experience for it yet...
I have built a few eurorack modules from kits at this point, and absolutely loved the process, but I don't know enough about circuits yet to be able to dismantle a device and understand how it all works inside. Would love to see a more in depth guide about how to keep the circuits working after taking apart the walkman.
Sweet video!
Fantastic sound and great demo!
Perhaps for Phase Three you could experiment with some RC filters built in for really gentle low pass and high pass attenuation. It's so cool how you broke the heads out to allow for whatever fancy filtering you want, but I think having them built in for the cost of a pot and a cap would be really functional.
A homage to the 80s... from the Walkman and cassettes, to the aesthetic, and the My Bloody Valentine'esk lusciousness! Rad!
I did this when I was 13. I simply replaced the erase head with another read head. It was epic. Only worked on that particular deck though.
Very nice! Doesn't look too hard to make even when it looks bit messy :D Nice idea to put the whole cassette on it and only cut the sides out!
I bet you could've found a line-level input to the record section by disconnecting the internal radio & going in on that switch. but the mic amp has a nice AGC... 🤘
super cool suggestion. thanks!
Cool. I always wanted to build the A.I. Synthesis tape echo module. Maybe I’ll start that project now
Awesome explanation, really sweet look for your final design !
Thank you for the detailed video. I've been working on something similar this year, loads of struggle and I'm not done yet, but if I had seen your video when I started that would have helped me a lot back then ;)
I'm now around phase 5, with 3 extra playheads (one is from a micro-cassette recorder - I let you guess why ;) ) and a switchable erase head (for sound-on-sound "painting", or more rhythic patterns)... and I'm working on different solutions for controlling feedback.
I'll deiniftely post something when I'm done, and your video inspired me to do something detailled and educational !
Cool project, nice video. Congrats.
There's only one thing in which you couldn't be more wrong, and I quote "there was a time when imperfections were embraced".
You can't possibly be serious. They were aiming for the best possible, but this was what they got. Period. Back in those days sound engineers would have given one of their arms for something that sounded correct, and only after they got the right tools they started to look back for the vintage sound. The Neve 1073 preamp wasn't designed to sound vintage, but as good as was technologically possible, and now that we have better, we admire it for its vintage (meaning distrorted AF) sound.
this is really good design
Dont tempt me to attempt this with two VCRs...
Do it please i beg you that'd would be cool can you make a thing with 2 vhs players that makes it recreate generational loss or use vhs player to record a song then could i just copy it until i get the desired amount of loss
Awesome job, can't wait to see the next version
An easy way to cut the sides out would be to use some super low grit sand paper and stick it down to a flat surface. Since it's already so lo-fi the sanding dust would just "add character." But if you wanted to be clean about it you could dissasembe the cassette. I would like to build something like this when I have the time.
If you add a simple buffer/booster circuit before the passive mixers, you might have better results. There are many simple circuit designs out there for it.
great end result and awesome design! N I C E J O B !
really nice job, and good video
Cool. I am in the process of making a tape delay. It is a challenge as I want to add a moving head 😀
Very nice sounding! Awesome!
5:54 "You have no idea the physical toll that three vasectomies have on a person!"
Thanks for building this
Cool sound!
Whoa! This is Awesome!!! 🤘👽👽👽
Mark, was the second play head an original idea? The tape loop made this a usable affect onstage. but you've given me ideas. add a foot switch to reverse motor and record, would just need an extra erase head on the other side of recorder.
16:27 Great shoegaze sound! 😮😮😮❤
Very cool, keep at it.
Great DIY delay pedal, not very versitile maybe but still great to be able to say I made this. I hear alot of WOW in the signal ,if that was not intentionally added in post production then I would say for that song you played at the end, just the guitar delay as it sound is good enough, all that WOW and even a little bit of FLUTTER is making it too much and messes with the intonation, which I consider a very if not one of the most important factors for enjoying music. Prefferably i might sound better to widen the signal with a tri-chorus instead of the focussed mid position of the guitar, I really like a wide stereo image if you feature just one instrument. cheers
Love the video. One thing, though. You may want to EQ your voice track. The bass on your voice track muffles out the rest of your voice and it's difficult to understand you on a system with a subwoofer. Just getting ALL bass. Most people listening on headphones or through their phone probably has no issues, but the bass end of the spectrum is WAY too hot.
Cooler Sound 👍
I like this a lot
The music at 06:43 is sooo good, who is that?
That is very very cool. Outstanding job! I couldn't have done it better myself. As you are an ace. With old analog recorders. And you like the teeny tiny ones. I liked, the big ones. And that's why. Back in 1979. I went to work. For one of the Biggest and Most Legendary. Of, Studio & Broadcast Tape Recorders, Scully. You should get a Scully? There's plenty still out there. They sound terrific they never die. And they looked more cool than, an, Ampex. Way cooler than a 3M. As MCI's looked like Ampex.
So why did you not use a, Knock Ameche, cassette deck? Some already have 3 heads and echo. Just like the big Scully studio recorders had. And you waste a lot less time. As, there is nothing to build up. It's ready to go. Put a very speed, on your recorder. And you've got adjustable echo times. Just like that.
But what you have done here with the little cassette tape thingies is awesome! It sounds truly horrid. You did good! I am proud of you. That was one hell of an undertaking. As you definitely knew what you wanted. And that's the first hurdle. To your idea, planning, fabrication and execution. Of this terrific concept design. Who would have thunk it? Certainly not I, not me, not Yo.
Next thing. You need to build yourself a small Plate Reverb. Using something like a car hood, sheet-metal. You cut out yourself. The sheet-metal not you. From the rest of the car hood. Then you take the old car radio speaker. And glue it to the,, sheet-metal cut out of the hood. While you suspend the sheet-metal at all five corners then reduced to 4 corners. With S hooks and screw through bolt islets in the frame. And you tighten the plate right up at all four corners. Plugging the car speaker into the old car radio. And then you get a tiny, FM modulator. So you can feed your audio into that and that into the car radio which will make the speakers sound and vibrate the reverb plate. Then.
You have to get a couple of, piezoelectric buzzers. Break apart the plastic buzzer plastic. And glue the little buzzer plate. To the car hood reverb plate. Stick 2 in different positions. And plug those into, 2 channels. Of your, $40 recording mixer. And Voilà! Studio Reverb! From a car hood cut out! It will be awesome! You will sound like Abby Road Studios! After a plane wreck. So it should be great!
Next thing is a Solenoid Operator Butt Slapper. With Foot Switch Activation. It'll be, State of the Fart Design! They will be able to squeeze on fourth! Or even fifth! You never know how many you will be able to squeeze out! Out of anyone. With your Solenoid Operated Butt Slapper. It will be Beyond Awesome! I mean… Butt On Awesome!
I can think of all sorts of shitty things to do! I'm an expert at shitty things. I spend a lot of time in my bathroom, thinking about it and doing it! I take action! And move. My bowels. Food from Sonic Hamburgers. Usually does it for me. Of which it works quickly and efficiently. It goes right through me. Like shit. Through a Goose. It works great! I recommended for people who are Plugged Up. As it works quickly and efficiently. You'll never know what hit you. It'll be all over soon enough.
At you shall feel, Refreshed. With new Vim and Vigor! You'll be like your old self of 85. Not there yet? You'll feel like it. It will extrude. That which ails you. Or Ale's you. That's usually the better option. A nice homemade IPA. With Botulism. That will also do it quickly. When you don't clean the bottles well enough. Which I recommend, not doing for better Botulism production. It works every time! Quickly and efficiently.
Diarrhea is always best. When it's also, Bloody. Just so you know.
RemyRAD
Do one with a VCR. Fidelity is much better and it overdrives similar to 2".
This is ssooo cooool !!
Ooooof….I need this!!!
Did your kitty get ahold of it at the end? haha Very cool project.
Do this with a vhs tape please i have a spare vhs player and blank vhs tapes i would love to make a guitar pedal out of it please idk what kind of pedal tho
I wonder if Mark inadvertently created an inter-dimensional travelling machine whilst tinkering and zapped himself somewhere.........
That's so cool.
love it!
Using a true isolated power supply we use for guitar pedals would help with the noise.
Did you sacrifice another tape player for the playback head, or did you find a source to buy one?
Make sure you engage your safety squints while clipping plastic -_-
how do you get the second playhead on?
Good vibes
Can it self oscillate if not how can i can i make it self oscillate
You sound almost exactly like Roman from RCR haha
I feel like I’m listening to the Mister Roger’s of DYI fx.
glorious
hahahahaa thats great!!!!!!! ive bought about 4 types off ebay. my plan like ive done one time with a dollar store walkman type 15$
i gut the tape mechanism and make the circuit into a guitar pedal.
the ones I have I havent touched yet but I sure would like to give you the tape mechs than trash em
this goddamn youtube just took a whole paragraph from me so thanks to youtube you dont get find out, fuckme? FUCKTHEM
sorry to pick on details but please work on the subs for your voiceovers, it's a bit too much. Other than that, very inspiring. Subscribed!
Noted!
Imperfections werent embraced, theyre modern romatic nostalgia. At the time these qualities were seen as inconvenient and masked or engineered out as soon as possible.
Forgive me if this arrives as a silly question, but why use two mixers?
One mixer and one splitter is required. Since these are passive mixers, you can run one of them in reverse as a splitter.
I don't understand what he said, but I keep going until last
Damn I want to make one now aahhhh
I wish you showed everything instead of chopping the video up as it becomes a little hard to follow for me as i need to see everything to be able to follow this
Reminds me of William Basinski
The old Boss analog Delay with bugged Brigade IC's and altered Sound ist better😂❤
yeaaaaa
❤💥💫
>modification of the cassette
Time to 3D print a cassette shell.
anytime someone says "snip snip" i immediately think of the office lol
so sweet noisy
Dremel is your friend
The cheapest way to get cassette heads is to buy cassette adapters.
100 percent true. but preamps are also needed..
I buy them in bulk from China… super cheap
@@MarkGutierrez direct to line in work fine
Good a inventor smart know clever perfect tiny line tiny circle too to big to as one cassette or to one cassette player gentle slowly be careful
📼 ❣
It sounds like you’re talking through a toilet paper roll.
Why are you whispering like that?
Also, it's called a de-esser, at least do something about all the sharp sibilance. This content is literally related to recording.
He is the man who whispered to portable cassettes players
I thought it all sounded good and apt
Nice work, but you should really tidy up those micro-plastics littered across your desk. Aesthetics and values are important for the tape-loop nostalgia nerds.
why are you make yourself sound so loud distorted and weird? good content tho.
only a sony is a true walkman. these are portable cassette players