Limitless Studio Productions - Music - Analog Tape Recordings

ANALOG TAPE

"As I look back at the music I created with my TEAC 3340s deck in the mid 70s, I have to admit I was way ahead of my time with the audio results I achieved. OK, certainly not LP quality, but not bad either. Listening to these recordings today makes me glad that God gave me the time and expertise to accomplish these wonderful audio memories." - Mike Auen

In the early 70s if you wanted to record a song from the radio or from vinyl, you could use a reel-to-reel tape deck, a cassette deck, or an 8-track deck.  Digital was still years away.  But if you wanted to record a song like professional musicians do, you MUST have a reel-to-reel tape deck.

At that time, professional studios had 8, 16, and even 24 track machines.  But an individual like myself who wanted to record music could not afford studio time nor could I afford to buy tape machines of this caliber.  So I settled for a state-of-the-art 4-track deck that was on the leading edge of technology at the time.  The TEAC 3340S.  What a great decision!  This deck allowed me to dub and overdub with no loss of quality.  Recording music was now only limited by my expertise and imagination.  And I was doing what most people thought was impossible at the time.

Unlike digital recording which is very verstile and forgiving, analog recording gives you one chance to get it right.  If you make a mistake anytime during a take, you must do it all over again.  And you must be satisfied with the DB levels of each instrument before you record the next instrument.  But it was all fun!  And on all my own recordings, that is me playing every instrument you hear — the guitars, bass, piano, drums, tambourine, cowbell, etc. and singing through genuine Radio Shack mics!

In the two short years using this tape deck (although I used it sparingly up into the 90s), I recorded many songs of my own, a few jam sessions, and songs by other gifted musicians.  Playing these tapes brought back so many wonderful musical memories.  Unfortunately after about 50 years of sitting around, these tapes developed some tape stretching and breaks.  There's a good chance you may or will hear these faults as you listen to some of the songs.  But I am more than satisfied with how this music was resurrected and successfully converted to digital.  Songs are listed alphabetically below.

To listen to any song, click on the title of the song below.

APRIL LOVE
MUSIC BY: Mike Auen
LYRICS BY: Mike Auen
SONG COMPLETED: December 28, 1974
RECORDING COMPLETED: One Day in 1975
VOCALS BY: Mike Auen
LSP CD: Digging Up the Past / LSP-008
TIME: 2:56 TRACK: 2 of 10

THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: One day a friend was critiquing my original music and said all my songs were musically predictable. Around that same time, my sister just had a beautiful baby girl she named "April." I was asked to be her godfather and I gladly accepted. So thinking of the name "April," and wanting to write another love song (after a disasterous Christmas experience), all while using an unpredictable chord pattern, I came up with this song. One of my analog favorites!

BACK IN MY BABY'S ARMS
MUSIC BY: Mike Auen
LYRICS BY: Mike Auen
SONG COMPLETED: March 8, 1976
RECORDING COMPLETED: Spring of 1976
VOCALS BY: Mike Auen
LSP CD: Digging Up the Paste / LSP-008
TIME: 2:49 TRACK: 9 of 10

THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: Gail and I got engaged at the end of January of 1976 after only 3 months of dating. Everything was going great until Gail got cold feet. She thought our relationship was moving way too fast and she needed some time to be sure of this life commitment. This is certainly understandable. We took some time apart. I was sad not being around her. I wanted to be back in my baby's arms. So I wrote this song.

BROKEN PROMISES
MUSIC BY: Summer Pleskonko & Heather Landis
LYRICS BY: Summer Pleskonko & Heather Landis
RECORDING COMPLETED: Summer of 1992
VOCALS BY: Summer Pleskonko & Heather Landis
LSP CD: Digging Up the Past / LSP-008
TIME: 3:43 TRACK: 5 of 10

THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: At the end of my son's 8th grade year, the middle school he attended put on a talent show. In that show, two girls (Summer Pleskonko and Heather Landis) played and sang a song they wrote. I was extremely impressed with their talent. So much so a few days later I called their parents and asked if I could record them doing this song. Both parents said yes. I recorded Heather's piano track using CAKEWALK digital software. I recorded their vocals on my TEAC 3340S. I then added all the other instrument tracks in CAKEWALK and did a final mix.

COME AWAY WITH ME
MUSIC BY: Mike Auen
LYRICS BY: Mike Auen
SONG COMPLETED: July 26, 1973
RECORDING COMPLETED: Late 1974
VOCALS BY: Mike Auen
LSP CD: Digging Up the Past / LSP-008
TIME: 4:47 TRACK: 6 of 10

THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: I moved to Waynesboro, VA from Pittsburgh, PA on March 30, 1973. I bought a Fender 12-string acoustic guitar on July 26 of that same year. I was so excited having this new guitar, I wrote a song that same day. It was a song about a girl I wanted, but I knew I could not have. I guess a young naive guy can dream, right? This was the first song I wrote afer moving to Virginia. And to this day, it is still one of my favorites.

EVERYTHING WOULD BE THE SAME OLD WAY
MUSIC BY: Mike Auen
LYRICS BY: Mike Auen
SONG COMPLETED: March 19, 1975
RECORDING COMPLETED: Spring of 1975
VOCALS BY: Mike Auen
LSP CD: Digging Up the Past / LSP-008
TIME: 3:30 TRACK: 10 of 10

THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: In the late winter of 1975, I was getting a little nostalgic about my family. I have a wonderful family that I wouldn't trade for all the money in the world. So I wrote this simple song about my growing up experience and recorded it on my TEAC a few weeks after I wrote it. You can't go wrong writing a song in the key of "C." It still makes me feel good to play this song. Happy memories!

FUNK 49
MUSIC BY: David Hall, Rob Pardee, Ricky Lane, Mike Auen
RECORDING COMPLETED: Summer of 1974
LSP CD: Digging Up the Past / LSP-008
TIME: 3:47 TRACK: 1 of 10

THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: I wanted to throw a band together to play at Eastside Speedway on Labor Day of 1974. My friend Rob Pardee (bass player) knew of two other musicians David Hall (lead guitar) and Ricky Lane (drums). I played rhythm guitar. We met at my house for a practice session. I still remember David Hall coming in with his Marshall double stack amp. To record, I just put two Radio Shack microphones out in the room. I hit record and we played away! A few hours into the session, there was a knock on the door. It was the police telling us to turn it down but only after he stayed for about 15 listening to us play. He left with a big smile on his face.

I WISH
MUSIC BY: Mike Auen
LYRICS BY: Mike Auen
SONG COMPLETED: December 15, 1975
RECORDING COMPLETED: Early 1976
VOCALS BY: Mike Auen
LSP CD: Digging Up the Past / LSP-008
TIME: 2:56 TRACK: 4 of 10

THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: On October 18, 1975, I went out on a blind date with a girl named Gail Cline to a Doobie Brothers concert in Roanoke, VA. Gail was beautiful with long straight hair and a nice figure. I was very proud to be seen at the concert with such a lovely lady. We began dating and I quickly knew I was falling in love. So, yes, I wrote this song for her, hoping she would love me as much as I loved her. We got married on July 24, 1976, and have been married ever since!

NOW THAT YOU'RE GONE
MUSIC BY: Mike Auen
LYRICS BY: Mike Auen
SONG COMPLETED: Spring 1971
RECORDING COMPLETED: Early 1975
VOCALS BY: Mike Auen
LSP CD: Digging Up the Past / LSP-008
TIME: 3:51 TRACK: 7 of 10

THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: In my senior year of high school (1970-71), I played in a garage band called "Newland Relic." We played mostly top 40 songs plus a few original songs. One was a song I wrote titled "Now That You're Gone." Our band was asked to play for the final senior high dance of the year. We did and we nailed it! We played this song that night. Upon returning to school the following Monday, Laura and Peggy were so impressed with the song they heard that night, they both fell in love with me. And that folks is why I play guitar and write songs!

SHOT FULL OF LOVE
MUSIC BY: Charade
LYRICS BY: Bob McDill
RECORDING COMPLETED: Sometime in 1991
VOCALS BY: Grace Huffman (lead) & Bridget Bullman (backup)
LSP CD: Digging Up the Past / LSP-008
TIME: 3:38 TRACK: 8 of 10

THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: For a few short years in the early 90s, I played in a band called "Charade." The band consisted of Bill Harlow on bass, Bob Brydge on lead guitar, Rick Brady on drums, Mike Auen on rhythm guitar/piano, and Bridget Bullman and Grace Huffman on vocals. One night at practice, our bass player (Bill) brought over his 4-track cassette deck. This song was one of the songs in our set list so we recorded this song that night. I transferred his recording over to my TEAC and did a little more mixing. I thought it turned out pretty good.

TINY BABY
MUSIC BY: Darlene Pleasants
LYRICS BY: Darlene Pleasants
RECORDING COMPLETED: Summer of 1974
VOCALS BY: Darlene Pleasants
LSP CD: Digging Up the Past / LSP-008
TIME: 2:37 TRACK: 3 of 10

THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: Shortly after moving into a new house in 1974, I had the opportunity to meet my nextdoor neighbor Darlene. Darlene told me she played guitar. So I invited her over one evening to hear her play. She played well and had a wonderful voice. She played an original song she wrote titled "Tiny Baby." I recorded her singing and playing this song on my TEAC. The next day I added the piano, bass, drums, and tambourine. That night I invited her back over my house to hear what I had added to her song. She loved it!