I Recorded Audio on a $20 VHS Deck – The Results Shocked Me

🎞️ Can You Use a VHS Recorder Like Reel-to-Reel Tape? 🎞️
After my last video on recording to reel-to-reel tape, some friends reached out and told me you could do the same thing with VHS recorders. That sounded wild—so I had to try it.

In this video, I test a cheap Hitachi VHS recorder to see if it can deliver that analog character we love from tape machines. I open it up, explain how it works, record some audio, and compare new vs old tapes (including a Jurassic Park tape and a seriously beat-up one held together with scotch tape).

We explore:
🔹 How VHS records audio
🔹 Tape head mechanics
🔹 Audio comparisons: original vs VHS
🔹 Compression, fidelity & artifacts
🔹 What happens when you accidentally break it
🔹 Whether it’s worth using VHS for your audio recordings

📼 Spoiler: It’s fun, it’s weird, and you might discover some unexpected sounds… but is it a good reel-to-reel alternative? Let’s find out.

👉 Want to learn more about using real tape in your music production? Check out my reel-to-reel guide here:   • Why Analog Tape Makes Your Music Sound INC...  

Chapters:
00:00 - Can you record audio to VHS?
00:33 - Inside the VHS recorder
01:46 - First test with new tape
03:29 - Comparing VHS to reel-to-reel
04:51 - Trying old tapes (Jurassic Park!)
07:06 - Did I break the Tape Machine????
07:52 - The moment it actually sounded amazing
08:10 - One day later… the results
09:00 - Comparing new vs old tape
10:30 - Final thoughts: Is it worth it?