To say music producers are a fickle bunch is a massive understatement. During the 1980s, for example, we spent years trying to ditch analogue synths and replace them with beautiful, clean digital synths. Then, after we got what we wanted, we decided we didn’t want it after all. The result? Analogue synths are now bigger than ever. Those digital synths have been confined to the Mordor-like wastelands of foolhardy decisions.
The same can be said for the arts of music production and recording. As one generation fought against the limitations of the then-current technology in music making, the next is trying to recreate them. The 1970s and ’80s were largely about reducing tape noise and hiss and increasing track counts to the hundreds. We’d do anything to cut down the noise between tracks while increasing said tracks to 16 or more! Now, it’s all about adding analogue ‘character’ back into music. And production – certainly in the field of pop anyway – has become more about creating one big ‘wow’ sound rather than multiple tracks of ‘meh’.
And, really, this somewhat jarring attitude to music production is great; a result of having all of our cake, eating it, and still not being satisfied. With pretty much any DAW on the market today, you get everything you could possibly need to make music. Unlimited tracks, countless instruments and effects and way too many options. But we’ve realised that this utopia is not quite what it seems. Endless tracks? Endless plugins? Endless perfection? No thanks.
We’ve remembered that humanity and soul is a big part of music production and that, actually, the limitations and character of classic gear gives us that; not unlimited track counts and plugins. And while dwelling on the past might look petulant (like a small child rejecting a big cake) it has to be commended. It shows that we are thinking about music production rather than just blindly using the tools at our disposal.
This feature takes that maverick spirit to investigate several classic production techniques and the gear behind them, and explores how they can still be ultra valuable for the 21st century producer. Over the next 18 pages we’ll cover the vintage gear, how it’s been emulated in plugin form and how you can use it in your music today. And we’ll even explore some free options with our very own Suite. Learn from history to create for tomorrow, someone might have once said…
Vintage tools, modern techniques
Classic recording techniques require some vintage tools. Here we look at why some of these EQs, compressors, reverbs and tape machines have reached legendary status, and how you can use and access them today
Really, it’s the wealth of tools at our disposal that has made 21st century producers perhaps a bit too complacent. Getting back to that synth analogy, why bother recreating a sound when there are literally hundreds of presets done for you? It’s the same with mixing. We have perhaps lost the ‘how’ and ‘why’ in favour of ‘just load another plugin’. This feature is about paring things back, looking at classic production techniques and vintage gear, and going back to basics. But first, why that gear was so vital in the first place…
Musical mishaps
There’s a big argument that some of the classic gear used in the production techniques that we’re going to discuss became famous through misuse, happy accidents or their own idiosyncratic sonic character.
Starting with EQs and compressors, they were both intended
