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I have an old Otari MX80 24-track, 2” tape recorder in one of my recording studios at school. It’s in rough shape—it’s over 30 years old after all—and needs some detailed attention. But I spent an hour today cranking it up, transferring a song project from Pro Tools, and doing a quick, rough mix using only the analog gear in the room. Analog console, patchbay, outboard processors, that’s it. I even turned the computer off, ‘cuz we didn’t have a screen staring at us in the 80s.

I took a few photos to show the setup. One of these days I want to get one of our student bands in the studio and record an EP or something completely old-school—no Pro Tools. No computer. Just straight to the tape machine, using console EQ, faders (automation means you move it yourself at the right time), outboard processors, and so on. That’d be a total blast. BTW, see the cables patched into the console below? That’s where the term “plug-in” comes from; you’re literally plugging in an outboard compressor or whatever into the console channel, just like in a DAW.