Early March saw the death of a pioneer of audio recording, without whom the landscape of modern music would undoubtedly look very different: the inventor of the audio cassette tape, Lou Ottens.
Ottens originally envisioned cassettes as being useful for businesses and hobbyist recording artists who wanted to capture sound outdoors. He couldn’t have predicted the seismic shift in the world of home recording that his invention would precipitate. One anecdote, related in the Guardian’s obituary, reported that ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ wouldn’t exist if it were not for the existence of the cassette tape.
What are Tape Recorders?
A magnetic tape recorder works by imprinting an electrical signal into charged particles, which sit atop of a plastic film. When the tape is the wound at a fixed speed, that same signal can be played back. The genius of the tape recorder is that the winding apparatus and the tape itself are all housed in the same enclosure, which made it easy for non-professionals to use.
The use of the appropriate motors is essential, here, since any deviation in playback speed would also result in variations in pitch. Sometimes these variations might produce desirable effects – but for the most part they’re to be avoided.
Why do they Inspire Nostalgia?
Items of this kind produce a sense of nostalgia among those who were lucky enough to grow up with them. Part of this comes from the tactile sensations that precede the listening experience. Winding the tape into position with a spare biro; flipping the tape over midway through an album; recording favourite songs off the radio (and your CD collection) in order to make a heartfelt compilation for your love interest – these are things that can’t be done with a Spotify or Youtube playlist.
We should also take into account the effect that tape has on the sound itself. While a digitally recorded piece of music will preserve every sample in pristine sixteen (or even twenty-four) bit, a tape will introduce subtle distortions that lend every tape a distinct character.
If you’ve left the tape in the glove compartment for several years, then you might find that those crackles and hisses are that little bit more pronounced. In fact, many producers will go out of their way to replicate those strange artefacts in the digital audio workstations – the fact is that they add that little bit of character.
For many modern artists, notably in the synthwave genre which relies heavily on recreating the sounds and atmospheres of the 80s, the cassette is an especially apt gimmick. Some, like Pertubator, have taken to releasing limited-edition cassettes in small quantities.
It may be said that the passing of significant inventors like Ottens might itself bring about a surge in interest in the format, and discussion in the form of articles like this one. Much as vinyl has defied predictions of its imminent demise, the same might be said for the cassette tape in years to come!
