Some information about your Tape Loops
Be sure to insert your Tape the correct way into your Player/Recorder -Sticker/Screws side is up
And remember, the nature of these tapes means they are perishable over time so treat them with care when loading them into your machine.
BPM values and calculation
I have found these Bpms work with these Tape lengths. Bear in mind though, each Tape Loop is unique and you’re looking at +/-2-4 bpm depending which division you’re working with. Experiment with your sequencer to get the Loop tight.
| Tape length (approx) | Ms || main bpm | Div / 1 | ||
| 4.6 secs | 4,600ms – 105.4bpm | 52.7 | ||
| 7.7 secs | 7,700ms – 124.7bpm | 62.35 |
Identifying your Tape loop length
A word on erase protection tabs
In order to protect “accidental” recording (aka erasing your masterpiece) all cassettes have a record protection system in place. These are the little tabs on the top of the cassette (left hand side according to the side of the Tape you are working with). If this tab is removed, you will be unable to record on the tape. To overcome this, you will need to cover the tab using either a purpose designed (or 3D printed) insert, or more commonly this is achieved by covering the aperture with a little bit of tape (any tape is fine, just don’t use too much as it may cause problems inserting into your recorder)
This article and this video do a great job of explaining the concept further
Further reading
Check out this awesome Tape calculator from ParanoydAndroyd
Great interview with David Chandler including some info on complex Tape Loops
An Essay regarding the speed of Audio Tape
Bpm to milliseconds Calculator tool
Video guides to Tape looping
Here are some videos I found useful about cleaning your Tape Machine, Sound on Sound recording etc..