How did they record back in the day... 1967, per say?

Herec · Post by **Herec** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 4:48 pm

Hey guys,

I don't know too much about recording, I know the names of the general devices (mixing boards, compressors, the noise suppresors, mic pres, stuff like that) but...

How did they do it?

Take Are You Experienced, for example.

What was like the order of the way the signal went? Mic into .....

St August · Post by **St August** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 5:56 pm

4 track machines maybe 2 tied together old mixing consoles with HUGE KNOBS all point to point with cable routing delays were made by offsetting the tape machine and others sounds by cut and splicing tape in backwards .. all live mics in the room recording live in most cases... and they had some very creative engineers...

BrownSound1 · Post by **BrownSound1** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:21 pm

Signal routing would be very similar to today in most cases....and of course like St August mentioned, everything was mic'd for the most part. Really the only thing we've got over the old recording equipment now is editing, plug-ins, and number of tracks. The basic idea is still the same.

NitroLiq · Post by **NitroLiq** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 11:25 am

Lots of track bouncing....lots of putting two different instruments on one track (e.g., lead vocal and guitar solo)....lots of experimenting.

In the 70s, it was about separation...baffling each musician off (listen to stuff like Steve Miller, Stevie Wonder and how dry the drums are). The 80s became more about processed sounds...gated snares (blech, thanks Phil Collins), chorused out guitars, huge reverbs...glossy productions. Now, the trend seems to be to mix everything as hot as possible so it's always in-your-face-sounding...which is a shame because the dymanics get lost (IMO).

When you get down to it, it's always been about getting the best sound using what you have and finding creative solutions to any snags you encounter. As technology has progressed so have the choices folks have in mixing. In the early days, maybe you had one or two tracks dedicated to the drum kit. Now, we have a mic on every drum, overheads, ambient mics, etc. which get mixed to a stereo pair...just more options. Some people still do things the old way. I remember the first "Men at Work" album used 3 mics on the drums (two overheads and a kick mic) and the technology to go overboard was there. It worked perfectly for them. That's what's fun about it if you have the time and place to experiment. We used to do crazy stuff during off-times in the studio.

Herec · Post by **Herec** » Sat Dec 16, 2006 3:47 pm

Hey,

Anybody know what kinda preamps got used for the mics? American preamps...
Was it just the preamp that came with the board?

I've got some ideas for clones of old passive EQs and limiters and such...