Silly, Silly Tape Recorder III - Reverse Speech!

[clydecross1983]

damn Clyde thats cool as hell great observations

[Visewesi]

cool experiment. I did the same thing using adacity. This is a good way to check yourself. 

[clydesight]

@Visewesi Thanks. I have Audacity too and you sure can reverse speech on it like you said. I do find the quality is quite different though. I found a tape that was playing some of my own music backwards (I must have recorded it on stereo machine and played it back on a Mono or something). It was interesting on the tape recorder. I tried it in Audacity, but some of the sounds got lost, so it wasn't so interesting.

[Visewesi]

@clydesight I'm sure the tape does come through better word for word. It's like listening in raw form where as audacity kinds smooths things over. Thanks for the reply.

[RODALCO2007]

Awesome !! Very well explained and done. I really love your experiment.

Have done it with a Akai GX 620 - 4 track recorder running the tape the wrong side of the capstan ( about 25 years ago). This is a three motor deck and the tape does run in reverse perfectly.

Some music tracks sounded very cool.

You triggered the idea again and I may have a go at it as well.

[clydesight]

@RODALCO2007

Thanks! It's a silly thing to do, and digital does it better, but it was fun and a way to make the old recorders do something silly. If you try it again on you Akai, how about a video? And YES, some music tracks sound VERY interesting when played in reverse.

[RODALCO2007]

@clydesight I will look for that tape, otherwise I make a new recording.

I will keep you posted. Keep up the good work.

[clydesight]

@RODALCO2007 Thanks!

[btown2011]

i just use audacity.

[clydesight]

@btown2011

Yes, Audactiy does this quite well. But it can't make a tape recorder do silly tricks.

That was the point of this video, to make a tape recorder do something silly.

Anyone who wants true reverse speech would, as you said, use something like Audacity. I like that program.

[DvdXploitr]

That's so cool! I think the cat really was on the table when he made this recording...could have sworn I heard a meow!

[clydesight]

LOL!

No, the cat is not allowed in the workroom, too many things to get into! (tape and cats do not mix!)

Thanks for your comment!

[rzsigray1]

cool video...speaking of reverse speaking...one time i said the word "vegan" when i went to play it in reverse i got the same word...also the blind and visually impaired...the tape players provided by the government if you put in a reg tape...not a tape that is specially designed for the player to read books to the blind...you can get the same affect use the side selector switch on the "C1" put it to the right to sides 3/4 turn your tape over after recording you'll get it in reverse

[clydesight]

Thanks, this was just an experiment for fun. I don't have any tape recorders for the blind, so I am unfamiliar with how they work.

CasstetteMaster has a video on a unit made for the blind. I forget what it is called, but it is very interesting!

[dagger86]

I tried this sort of thing with recording software before. Very cool. :O)

[clydesight]

Fun, isn't it? It is interesting to read Web sites promoting the use of reverse speech. Occasionally, I encounter a tape that has reverse speech all ready on it. Probably a full track recorder used originally.

[georgelee43211]

thanks to your videos,i am making my own avant gard sound collage like the beatles''revolution#9 song,i even bought a stereo mixer for 20 bucks and a ground loop insulator to eleminate machine hiss. thanks alot

[clydesight]

Thanks and good luck with your project! Nice to know I can help someone with my tape recorders. Sort of justifies E-Bay! Do post a video when you are done, please!

[DJMedinaz]

those things are like 350 dollars though

[americarunsondunkin]

This was very interesting! I liked the stuff showing how to reverse a tape, and I found the part dealing with reverse speech particularly intriguing. You're right, palindromes don't sound exactly the same when spoken in reverse as they do when spoken naturally. This was a very interesting video!

[clydesight]

Thank you for your comment and viewing the video. While the reading of words is reversible (civic reads the same backwards and forwards), pronunciation is so much more complex that it doesn't work the same. CoolDude's video is also very good!

[CassetteMaster]

That is AWESOME! You did a more throurough way of pronouncing the words in reverse. And, also, sometimes when I play a cassette and it eats up or messes up the tape flips and the other side plays in reverse muffled! Also, that is a VERY nice Panasonic, I like it alot! Looking forward to hearing it's non-muffled sound quality!

[clydesight]

Thanks! YES, I have a video planned in the Panasonic. I love that machine, had it for MANY years, and it is wonderful. I loved your video on reverse speak and it inspired me to make this one. Thanks for all your inspiring and crazy videos, keep them coming!

[CoolDudeClem]

That's interesting.  I tried something like that some time ago, but I used ordinary cassettes and an auto reverse deck. By disabling the mechanism that flips the head when the tape is reversed, I was able to play my tapes in reverse and experiment with reverse speak too.

[clydesight]

Thanks for your comment. I tried to make the experiment as simple as possible with no modification to the machine used, since many people are uncomfortable with working inside a tape recorder. YES, disabling the flippy head mechanism in an auto reverse cassette will enable you to achieve the same reversing goal as I did, and with greater clarity. How about doing the experiment here on your modified machine and posting a video? I bet people would like it!

[TheRecordCollector]

cool tape recorder and vid