Am I the only one who prefers recording on ferric tapes over chrome?

I see everyone in this group hyping up those chrome and metal tapes. Always saying they sound better. But I picked up a 10-pack of TDK D ferrics at a garage sale for 3 bucks last month. Decided to test them against my old Sony UX-S chromes. Recorded the same Fleetwood Mac album on both. Honestly? The ferrics sound warmer. Less harsh on the highs. My deck even seems to bias them better. The noise floor is a little higher but it gives it that lo-fi feel I actually want. Anyone else ever go back to basic ferrics on purpose?

2 comments

2 Comments

lee.jake1d ago

It's just tape, man, not a life decision.

maxm631d ago

Gotta disagree with you on that one. I spent a whole weekend A/B testing some old Maxell UR ferrics against a couple of chrome tapes I found at a thrift store. The ferrics had this muddiness in the mids that just buried all the detail in the bass guitar and kick drum on the recordings I made. The chrome tape kept everything crisp and separated, even when I pushed the levels up close to 0 dB. I get the appeal of that warm lo-fi thing but for me it's like putting a blurry filter on a photo when you wanted it sharp.