I've read the quotes where Keith explains how certain songs were recorded using the first Philips cassette player/recorder in 1968, but has he actually said which model?

I've bought a near mint one dated to late 1967, early 1968 which I think may be the very same model used by keith. I've always been curious about what he used since first reading about it.

Pretty crazy that such a lo-fi way of recording was used on a number one single and classic album!

Good ol' creative Keith!

Yeah, "Parachute Woman", "Street Fighting Man", "Jumping Jack Flash" were recorded originally on that machine.

"The wonder of Jimi Hendrix was that he could stand up at all he was so pumped full of drugs." Patsy, Patsy Stone

Here it is...





There was one released in 1964, so it's possibly the earlier model he used, but they are both very similar.

Imagine some of the stones crowded round that little mic.

The basic track of that was done on a mono cassette with very distorted overrecording, on a Phillips with no limiters. Brian is playing sitar, it twangs away. He's holding notes that wouldn't come through if you had a board, you wouldn't be able to fit it in. But on a cassette if you just move the people, it does. Cut in the studio and then put on a tape. Started putting percussion and bass on it. That was really an electronic track, up in the realms.
.....................Keith Richards 1971

I remember the first cassette machines came out. I thought, Oh great, a portable tape recorder, fantastic. And then I started to like put songs down on it and I realized that... that little microphone in there had something. If you overloaded it, it basically became a pick-up.
......................Keith Richards 2003


(The Phillips) didn't smooth the sound out, it broke up a lot. So recording in bedrooms, and with little tambourine sets or little percussion things, sounded thunderous.
.....................Charlie Watts 2003

Quotes taken from Time Is On Our Side



ROCKMAN

Keith Richards 1988



ROCKMAN

some of the basic tracks recorded in surrey (surrey reh) ????

I think the idea probably came from home recordings, but the actual recordings used on the album took place in Olymnpic, played back through a speaker mic'd up and recorded on to 8 track.

Hey, this brings up a subject and I can't remember who mentioned it. Was the Let it Bleed recorded - and don't laugh - at the wrong speed??????

I thought one of you, ROCKMAN or TOO TOUGH mentioned this was fact some time ago. If anyone knows, help me out..........s

Beggars Banquet and Jumpin' Jack Flash were supposedly mastered at a slightly slower speed, but I dont know about that as the original vinyl releases I've heard have been in standard pitch.

But, when they first came out on cd they were slightly 'out'... beggars and jumpin' were in a strange inbetween pitch, Child of the Moon escaped this for some reason!?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-01-01 13:46 by His Majesty.

Sorry to bump a thread from '06, but what does Keith mean in Life when he says if you overload the tape machine it "becomes a pickup"? What does a guitar pickup have to do with recording?

You got the Sun, You got the Moon,
and you've got
The Rolling Stones

I may be completely off here but it seems I remember reading yrs ago that Keith said he would hang the phillips cassette mic in the hole of his acoustic guitar and record. Talk about your first "electric-acoustic"! (or maybe I dreamed that I dont know-anyone else hear that?)

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yorkey
Sorry to bump a thread from '06, but what does Keith mean in Life when he says if you overload the tape machine it "becomes a pickup"? What does a guitar pickup have to do with recording?

I'm sure he means that it "electrifies" the sound, that it makes an acoustic sound like an electric guitar.

This is probably similar to the cassette that Keith used - a Phillips EL3302. It's an upgrade of the EL3300 which was THE portable cassette player in the 60s.

A lot of people bought them in the late 60s/early 70s - me included. I used one to record concerts and the sound wasn't bad although it did tend to distort if the gig was too loud.

As mentioned in my first post I bought one, now sold, with a nice leather carry case etc. I assume it was the earlier version because it looked slightly different to the one above.

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Silver Dagger
This is probably similar to the cassette that Keith used - a Phillips EL3302. It's an upgrade of the EL3300 which was THE portable cassette player in the 60s.

A lot of people bought them in the late 60s/early 70s - me included. I used one to record concerts and the sound wasn't bad although it did tend to distort if the gig was too loud.

This machine sort of looks familiar ...

On the topic of tape machines, I can't find a picture of it right now, but is Brian holding a Uher tape machine in those photographs from Morocco 1967?

This one?

Keith mentions in Life that the later models manufactured by Philips had a limiter and could no longer be used in the same way as they would not overload.

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stones78

I'm sure he means that it "electrifies" the sound, that it makes an acoustic sound like an electric guitar.

Ok then how would you "overload" it?

I remember when I was about 9 or 10 my dad had one of these from the 70's, and he gave it away... tragedy!

You got the Sun, You got the Moon,
and you've got
The Rolling Stones

They had to do something with the sound at a point. The drums e.g. they have physical punch. There is more than just the sound of that snare on SFM. the 'oomph' is behind it. I used to hate the endless 'rehearsal tape snare sound'; you couldn't get away from it. But it didn't have any bottom in it. I wonder how they got that.
I also have never understood what Keith meant by saying that the tape deck basically became a pickup.
I mean - what he
s saying is that that he and whoever would record his guitar and maybe that sitar on the Philips. Then they played it back hooked into an extension speaker. A mike was in front of the speaker recording it on to 1 or 2 tracks of the 8 track; then they overdubbed bass, vocals...and what?
I wonder if they recorded that original tape deck take several times onto the 8 track.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-03-11 13:09 by Palace Revolution 2000.

The Big drums on SFM aren't from the tape machine recording, despite what they say the big sounding drums are a proper studio overdub.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-03-11 14:21 by His Majesty.

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yorkey

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stones78

I'm sure he means that it "electrifies" the sound, that it makes an acoustic sound like an electric guitar.

Ok then how would you "overload" it?

Easy - just turn your amp volume dial up to 11!

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Silver Dagger

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yorkey

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stones78

I'm sure he means that it "electrifies" the sound, that it makes an acoustic sound like an electric guitar.

Ok then how would you "overload" it?

Easy - just turn your amp volume dial up to 11!

Yeah record a hot signal and/or turn the tape machine up to full when you play it back. combination of both = distortion.

the part I don't get is the hooking up to an "extension speaker." Is there an out jack for that on the tape recorder? Or did they open the tape recorder up and improvise something?

The one I had had some kind of extension speaker output.

Yes they had a small output jack for a single small headphone. Like a white capsule. You actually stuck it in the ear. Easy to use it to connect to a cabinet.

I used to play electric guitar through a reel-to-reel tape deck that had its own speaker. It had a VU meter but no limiter. When you plugged the guitar in, pushed "record" and drove the meter into the red, it sounded like Lennon's guitar on "Revolution". Fantastic. Wish I still had it.

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71Tele
I used to play electric guitar through a reel-to-reel tape deck that had its own speaker. It had a VU meter but no limiter. When you plugged the guitar in, pushed "record" and drove the meter into the red, it sounded like Lennon's guitar on "Revolution". Fantastic. Wish I still had it.

speaking of improvising , i used to play through the aux input of the remnants of a record player/amp (prob only 50 /10 w )fitted in the cabinet of a tube radio and the output in to the aux of that tube radio. fantastic indeed ( and all i could afford).

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71Tele
I used to play electric guitar through a reel-to-reel tape deck that had its own speaker. It had a VU meter but no limiter. When you plugged the guitar in, pushed "record" and drove the meter into the red, it sounded like Lennon's guitar on "Revolution". Fantastic. Wish I still had it.

Oh yes, of course! we did that back in school days. Man, you took me back! Thanks!!

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71Tele
I used to play electric guitar through a reel-to-reel tape deck that had its own speaker. It had a VU meter but no limiter. When you plugged the guitar in, pushed "record" and drove the meter into the red, it sounded like Lennon's guitar on "Revolution". Fantastic. Wish I still had it.

Do you mean you used the reel-to-reel as an live amplifier?
I'm from this generation. I've never even touched a vinyl record before, they're just not sold where in SA, so be easy on me.

You got the Sun, You got the Moon,
and you've got
The Rolling Stones