A stranger at the swap meet changed how I hear my Type II tapes

Traded some dupes to an older guy at the Rose Bowl flea market on Sunday, and he asked if I'd ever tried recording with a noise reduction unit with the playback deck off. Said it adds a layer of grime that makes the highs sound almost live, so I tested it on a bootleg Replacements tape and it totally worked. Anyone else ever run weird recording tricks like that, or am I just a sucker for his setup?

2 comments

2 Comments

skyler_kim151mo ago

That trick works killer on old soul tapes too, did it with a dusty Otis Redding dub and the hiss made it feel like a live room.

the_mia1mo ago

Wait, you actually did that with old soul tapes too? I used to think that trick only worked on beat-up cassettes or low-fi stuff, but hearing it on Otis makes total sense now. Kinda changes how I hear all that tape hiss, honestly.