Silly, Silly Tape Recorder II - Make a Vintage Drum Machine!

How to make a drum machine with a tape loop and vintage reel to reel tape recorders.

This How-To video shows you how to create a tape loop that runs between two vintage tape recorders, turning them into a silly drum machine. It uses one capstan drive and one rim drive tape recorder to manage an endless loop of tape, that you can make yourself! Although this loop runs at 1-7/8 inches per second, the video gives you an equation that lets you calculate a tape loop for any speed and of any duration.

The video was inspired by a wonderful video made by CassetteMaster called: Craziness of the Reel-to-reel Tape, available on YouTube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GO35L12LSM

Be sure and check it out for a fun time!

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Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• clydesight
• vintage
• tape
• recorder
• drum
• machine
• subliminal
• messages

[indigoking]

?????

Why did we use splicing tape and a splicing block all those years ago - MANNNN we could have saved a fortune. I imagine single edge blades are dangerous for kidz today phew I MADE IT. (in our spare time we used single edge blades .... for manicures, pedicures - oh and making colclene spray hoses) now wheres the feckin emotion(less) CONS - AAAGGHH why am I bothering

[clydesight]

@indigoking

Splicing tape was the recommended material back in the day, and the splicing blocks made it easy to make a splice. For serious work and use, it was the way to go.

Today, splicing tape is harder to find, as are the blocks--so I showed an alternative using scissors and cellophane tape. Back in the day, a lot of people did that for home recorders anyway!

Purists would choke, but this is a SILLY tape recorder usage anyway!

[indigoking]

@clydesight

No I know - I was just sort of making a (pro) funny on your funny - honestly I think its quite a nifty set-up gizmo-thingy :)

If you wanted a portable version you could always rig up an old answer machine using endless loop cassettes - and yes you can splice them too - believe it or not I have a 1/8" splicing block (and tape)

Don't know how I even came across this, I was googling for repair info on an old Revox

- Now I would be impressed if you could sync it up to another set up!

[clydesight]

@indigoking

Oh, I've seen those cassette splicing blocks. Seem a bit rare, possibly because cassette tape is so thin and hard to work with, plus it is easy to twist around the wrong way, and it doesn't help that most modern tape is shiny on both sides, making it even more difficult. Splicing tape, well, I've had plenty of it fail in old cassettes on leaders. I've never worked on a Revox, but they are very popular high end units. Not sure how silly I could get with one of those!

[angelpichu1]

what is the longest loop you could possibly make and it would still work?

[clydesight]

@angelpichu1

I found that the 37 inches was best with these two machines at 1-7/8 inches per second.

[alinealows]

nice vid helps alot thanks bro

[clydesight]

@crashbigtime

Thanks,

glad you enjoyed it. Yes it's silly, but then -- what else can one do with two old battery tape recorders?

There are plenty of drum machines around, but nothing quite as silly as what I came up with!

[crashbigtime]

I haven't laughed this hard in a while... thanks. If you ever cobbled together a working echoplex-type device, you'd get huge props from vintage music gear enthusiasts.

[clydesight]

@epohnopulse

I think you mean a "mobius strip" which twists upon itself. It would not work because it would twist the tape. You can only record on one side of the tape, so the loop has to be flat.