Using a four-track tape machine emulator in the almighty Ableton Live music suite may seem old-fashioned, but the strict limitations are precisely the point.
Track actions in Ableton + Launchpad Pro + 4track cassette tape
Creativity thrives on limitations, but modern software is so full-fledged and capable that it can create option paralysis, so we have to deliberately create those limitations ourselves. With Inner Ocean’s 4Trak Tape Loop, you can get back to basics, turning Live into a cassette-era tape looper without all the tedious cutting and pasting of real tape.
“Modern audio workstations like Ableton Live offer unlimited recording tracks, effects, and tools, but so many choices can bog us down during the creative process. Too many options can be overwhelming, especially during the creative phase of music production,” Tomislav Zlatic, music producer, musician, and editor-in-chief at Bedroom Producers Blog, told Lifewire via email.
4Trak Tape Loop is a Max for Live device that gives you four tracks of tape. It's a tape machine emulator based on old Portastudios, machines that allowed bedroom producers to record up to four separate tracks onto a single audio cassette. This allowed bands to produce demo tapes, but it also introduced (at the time) unwanted artifacts such as tape saturation and "wow and flutter," the sound of the mechanism slowing down and speeding up as you play.
