Introduction: Surgical Tape
I copied all of these instructions from my friends flickr page who was so gracious to share. I'm not really sure I understand whats going on here but wanted to copy it for this community, and also to practive this whole 'instructable' thing. There are several techniques that people used to manipulate cassette tapes, and I hope to document many of them.
Hexalyn begins...
"I'm not sure if anyone has ever documented this before, but this set is devoted to what I'm calling "tape surgery", for lack of a better term. All you need is an old cassette that you don't care about and somewhere to play it. (I don't have a working tape player any more so I can't verify if this actually works the way I remember it.) What you end up with is a make-shift mashup tool -- no fancy software or high-end recording equipment required. Interested? Read on... "
original link
Hexalyn begins...
"I'm not sure if anyone has ever documented this before, but this set is devoted to what I'm calling "tape surgery", for lack of a better term. All you need is an old cassette that you don't care about and somewhere to play it. (I don't have a working tape player any more so I can't verify if this actually works the way I remember it.) What you end up with is a make-shift mashup tool -- no fancy software or high-end recording equipment required. Interested? Read on... "
original link
Step 1: Tape Surgery
hexalyn continues
"First, pull out a section of tape from your cassette. If I remember correctly, this works best if your tape has been fast forwarded part way. If you try this technique and it doesn't work, try fast-forwarding it to the other side. "
Original link
"First, pull out a section of tape from your cassette. If I remember correctly, this works best if your tape has been fast forwarded part way. If you try this technique and it doesn't work, try fast-forwarding it to the other side. "
Original link
Step 2: Tape Surgery
hexalyn explains
"With a pair of scissors, cut the tape diagonally. Cutting it on an angle isn't essential, but it will help you keep track of which way it needs to be twisted. "
Original link
"With a pair of scissors, cut the tape diagonally. Cutting it on an angle isn't essential, but it will help you keep track of which way it needs to be twisted. "
Original link
Step 3: Tape Surgery
Step 4: Tape Surgery
Hex explains
"Take one end of the tape and twist it so the two diagonally cut ends no longer match up."
Original link
"Take one end of the tape and twist it so the two diagonally cut ends no longer match up."
Original link
Step 5: Tape Surgery
Hexalyn continues
"With a piece of scotch tape, tape the pieces of the tape back together. "
Original link
"With a piece of scotch tape, tape the pieces of the tape back together. "
Original link
Step 6: Tape Surgery
Step 7: Tape Surgery
Hex wraps it up...
"You can't tell from the picture, but the magnetic tape itself is now upside down. If you rewind it (or maybe fast forward it... I can't remember) you can start to mess around with recording and playback. Whatever was originally recorded on the tape will sound through, albeit faintly, in the background with your new recording overdubbed. The recording may take on other bizarre properties -- mangled, backwards, slowed down, etc. I don't really know what is actually happening or why, but I remember doing this a lot when I was a kid. Perhaps this is where my obsession with experimental audio began, or maybe I just liked to break things. Anyways, let me know if you have any success with this technique. "
Original link
"You can't tell from the picture, but the magnetic tape itself is now upside down. If you rewind it (or maybe fast forward it... I can't remember) you can start to mess around with recording and playback. Whatever was originally recorded on the tape will sound through, albeit faintly, in the background with your new recording overdubbed. The recording may take on other bizarre properties -- mangled, backwards, slowed down, etc. I don't really know what is actually happening or why, but I remember doing this a lot when I was a kid. Perhaps this is where my obsession with experimental audio began, or maybe I just liked to break things. Anyways, let me know if you have any success with this technique. "
Original link
Step 8: Tape Surgery Credits
Thanks to Hexalyn for sharing that interesting tape hacking technique. She also has a myspace thing going on.
This research is also being blogged, many more interesting cassette stories over at My Cassettes.
peace
This research is also being blogged, many more interesting cassette stories over at My Cassettes.
peace