My Musical Projects: Backward Guitars
May 5th, 2010 . by Alexander Fisher
I was reading a copy of a guitar magazine back in the early nineties and in an article they described the process to record a backwards guitar on a music project. I evidently was recording a song I wrote called Hate Me Hate You and used the tracks I had recorded to test this guitar effect.
Really all I had to do was turn the tape over and start recording in reverse on one track while playing the others for a reference. All you do is just follow the dynamics of the sound you hear. Then turn the tape over, rewind and listen. I think it mostly turned out well. The full recording is over four minutes long so I edited it down to around a minute and a half. Four minutes plus of it doesn’t bore me a bit, but it might you.
Coincidently the band R.E.M. read the same article and about a year later, they released an album called Monster with a track on it called What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? that contained a backwards guitar part. I read an interview later on that said they had gotten the idea the same place I had.
I am going to re-do this song (sans the backward guitar) pretty soon. I really think the music has a cool groove. I hadn’t noticed the groove before, but always liked the lyrics I wrote for it.
Hate Me Hate You (instrumental)
[audio:http://www.linearcanvas.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Hate Me Hate You (backwards) 2.mp3]If The Above Player Does Not Appear Or Does Not Work, Click Here
The analog tracks were originally recorded about twenty years ago on a Yamaha MT-100 II 4 track cassette recorder using high speed (3.75 IPS) and dbx noise reduction.
I played electric guitar on a Fender Stratocaster and/or an Ibanez Les Paul. The bass was a Rickenbacker 4001. The drums were originally played on a Boss Dr. Rhythm drum machine.
I played the analog tracks directly into my computer using a stereo JVC audio cassette deck hooked to a dbx noise reduction unit. I processed the audio with Sony Sound Forge v9.
