Well, this is a weird one.  It started off on my Tascam PortaStudio 424 and ended up on my new Tascam PortaStudio 2488.

I went digital, only earlier than I wanted to.  After I found a new source for blank cassette tapes, my 424 started doing tape drops and all sorts of inconsistencies.  Nice word, eh?  I'm not knocking the 424's - they're excellent.  I think I used mine too much and it's just normal wear and tear.  And I didn't really splurge on the 2488 either.  Since the Mark 2's came out, this dropped in price by almost half.  Also, the 8-tracks underneath this model were $599; this was $700-something.  So yeah, for an extra $200, I'll take 16 more tracks.

Anyways, I salvaged what I could from the cassettes because I thought the band tracks were OK.  I can't be bothered re-recording something that wasn't all that bad.  And to try out something from scratch I redid Parkin' and Too Soon in basically a day.   Then I got really ambitious and redid Telekinetic, Run Away, Passing Time and Sticky Belly a couple of weeks later.

I did start on Boxing Day – I remember that much.  Aim Low (which didn't make the final cut, even though the ending turned out surprisingly well) was from then.  The other two, Hit The Spot and Out Of My Hands were done in March on the old 4-track as well.  Out Of My Hands didn't make the final cut either. Then it was one day that I noticed what I thought were tape drops.  But I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the tape since only one track would have the volume drop.  If it was a bad tape, then more than one track would be affected.  Later, I blamed in on the heat from the machine affecting itself.  I think I was right, but too late, I picked up the 24 track already and gave my brother the 424.  No regrets.

The only other change is that I stopped using my old condenser microphone.  This new machine really picked up the hiss from the microphone, so I ended up using my Shure 57 (or 58? I should look at it) that I take out to the gigs.  It’s not as good as the condenser but it’s way quieter but it did sound really good recording the Vibro Champ amp.  Even if I get a new condenser, I’ll probably still record the guitars with the Shure.

All in all, this “album” was pretty much a big learning curve but I found my way around.  Also, I ditched the Alesis NanoCompressor since the onboard one is better and quieter.

So, here we go; song by song.

Hit The Spot
Oh sure, I could have called it “Finding the Man in the Boat” but this has only 3 words.  I liked the title so much that it was almost put to another song (that got dropped) and then to Aim Low before I put it to this one.  It seemed to fit best here.

This is one the new ones and actually this turned out OK.  Again, it’s the basic track (bass, drums, guitar) from the old 4-track with all the extras added after and the distortion on the track is on purpose.  The centre guitar was the Goldtop and the other 2 (each ear) was the Studio.

Out Of My Hands
A cute ditty about getting caught playing 5-on-1 only to have some help finishing up.  Look, I can make words about whatever I want.

This was originally from the old 4-track but I redid the bass and drums.  The left ear has the Goldtop and the Studio’s in the right ear and for the solo (with the Rotovibe).  Other fun things were the tambourine track.  Tambourines can really spruce stuff up.

Parkin'
This is an old one of mine that I re-did to get used to using the new machine.  It was originally from Duty Calls a long time ago.  Now it sounds better and tighter.  Oh, and it’s about, well, parking.  That’s the Studio again with the wah-wah.

Too Soon
The other “oldie” on here.  When I first did this, way back when, I thought it was the tune I always wanted to make and actually this is kind of how I base the new stuff off of.  Maybe that’s why it fits.  The original had a better solo but the “band” was sloppier.  Also, the original clocked in over 10 minutes.  This one doesn’t. The Studio gets the nod again.

Telekinetic
A long time ago I made an "album" called Comes Clean.  I still giggle on that one.  Anyways, that was the one where I just got my Tascam 424.  I ended up with some songs that turned out all right.  This was one of them.  I think if I could have a super-power then that would it.

The SG Classic is the main guitar on this one, with two others panned in each ear.  The solo was the Studio with the Rotovibe.

Run Away
This is my scary song.  Watch out.  It tells a sad story about how Yours Truly gets off'd.  Good for Hallowe'en too.

The Goldtop is the first guitar on here, just kept clean.  All the other guitars are my Les Paul Studio.  I think I got lucky on the solo too.  The drum pattern is from a little app my brother found for me call Bio Drummer.

Passing Time
Just a nice instrumental and the type of thing I haven't been doing in a while.  I'd describe it as "pleasant".

Ahhh...guitars, guitars and guitars.  The intro has two panned resonators, courtesy of my Epiphone Biscuit, along with clean Les Paul Studio and an SG Classic in the middle position.  When the rest come in, it's my Les Paul Studio again panned in each ear.  No shame.

Sticky Belly
Y'know, this'll be the third time I've recorded this one.  That's not a complaint either.  Always fun and with potty-mouth words like these...you can't go wrong.

I kept it pretty basic like when I did the originals; just the Goldtop in the left ear and the Studio in the right ear.  Nobody said I couldn't only use just 6 tracks.

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So now there you go.  Enjoy the summer.

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