2-track

A step up from shoe-box cassette recorders, reel-to-reels and stereo boom boxes, this was our first multi-track recorder, bought by Ben in the first half of 1981. It was a cassette and radio player/recorder which allowed you to split the stereo into two recordable tracks. It also included five or six pre-set rhythms. Evidence that the 'home-taping' scene was sufficient to promise a market for such a gadget. (Gerard)

Made by Tensai and called the "Rhythm Machine" - there seem to be no details about it anywhere on the web. A very odd bit of technology. We mainly used this to lay down double tracked backing tapes which we then played over live, recording everything on a second cassette deck. A "ghetto-blaster" which we borrowed from John's sister. Eventually superceded by the 4-track.

The pre-set rhythms were Waltz, Slow Rock, Rock Beat, Rhumba, Beguine, Chachacha and Mambo. The usual suspects. It was really our first drum machine as well as our first multi-track. You can see an image of the Tensai on the back cover of Press My Hungry Button

Interestingly on of our post-2000 recordings (I Heard it on the Radio", 2007) was based on an old and unused backing track which I think was built over one of the Tensai presets. (Ben)

See also
4-track
recording