Why did recordings from very late '60s/early '70s sound so good? (1 Viewer)

[Scientician 0.8]

When I listen to a good pop/rock record from that era it seems like they're the best sounding recordings, unsurpassed since. Maybe it's just a matter of taste but what was done then that wasn't done later that makes the recordings so appealing?

 

[Tony Higgins]

Well, drums for one were very different. Drumheads were not as consistent so that very often drummers only had a head on the top of the drum, not one on the bottom too. Everything going onto tape is another good reason. The limitations of sound equipment of the day also gave it the flavour it has. There are more options and higher fidelity equipment available now but that doesn't necessarily mean better.

 

[tommytrousers]

Good mics, good positioning of mics, immaculate performances.

 

[ann post]

When I listen to a good pop/rock record from that era it seems like they're the best sounding recordings, unsurpassed since. Maybe it's just a matter of taste but what was done then that wasn't done later that makes the recordings so appealing?

any chance you could throw up and example or two for comparison, an on, and ariston?

 

[Scientician 0.8]

I suppose one key example would be the Abbey Road album.
Another would be Neil Young recordings from that era too.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

I was thinking about this the other day myself. I was listening to Black Woman by Sonny Sharrock and was struck by how great it sounded - clean, spacious, warm. I imagine it was done live rather than overdubbing but im not sure. Anyway, it was probably a combination of a terrific mic, tape, a good sounding room and great performances. i havent a notion really.

 

[tim]

Good mics, good rooms etc. And then just doing live takes to get that one great performance captured before doing overdubs, which they might have only had 1 or 2 tracks to do so, they may have even had to do it on another tape machine.
And that means a lot more planning.

But I think the big thing is probably that the recordings have much more depth versus layers. You have to listen into the recording to hear all the instruments instead of having everything separated and panned out on the 24 track machines they got later.

I saw a Darkness On the Edge of Town documentary the other night and Bruce was saying how dry 70s records were.

Kevin Shields also said in interviews how the 60's was the best for recordings and talked a lot about how fucked up things got in the 80s with production values.

And now Brian Eno has been saying that when we look back on the last decade of music it'll be known as grid music. the rythmn is so locked in and tight because of digital recording.

Ramble ramble

 

[Scientician 0.8]

Keep rambling. This is fascinating stuff.

I suppose Fleet Foxes' first record sorta got at the sound I'm on about but I don't think it sounded quite as good as the records that influenced it.
The warmth in the bass, the use of reverb etc. in recordings from that era is often fantastic.

 

[Tony Higgins]

Well, what George Martin has said about those recordings is that mic and room placement was the most important thing. They would take ages making sure the instruments sounded good, that their position in the room sounded good and that the micing was good. They did everything they possibly could do have to do an absolute minimum of EQ to instruments once they were reaching the control room.

 

[Deleted member 3435]

What Tony said, I reckon. They didn't have the same options to "fix it in the mix" the way we do today, so everything had to sound good on the way in.

 

[Tony Higgins]

There's a fabulous book I can't remember the name of where they interviewed loads of famous producers from lots of different eras. Loads of insights into how particular sounds were created by the producers who were in charge of them..

 

[travispickle]

Well, what George Martin has said about those recordings is that mic and room placement was the most important thing. They would take ages making sure the instruments sounded good, that their position in the room sounded good and that the micing was good. They did everything they possibly could do have to do an absolute minimum of EQ to instruments once they were reaching the control room.

I think thats it in a nutshell.

I was listening to Harvest the other day and I just love the sound/feel of it; the drums in particular.
John Cale's Paris 1919 is another example, again that dry drum sound and lovely strings/acoustic guitars.
Recent band who i think have done that 70s style sound well are Midlake on their 2 albums, but i'm sure there's loads.
It's kinda back in vogue now that sound huh?

 

[sigma7]

I agree with everything said previous although I would say that the art of microphone placement is still adhered to. And having a truely exceptional room makes probably more difference. Unfortunately in the last 20 years 70% of the great studios have gone the way of the Dodo. Partly because the money is not there like it was in the 70's. Studios charge less now than they did in the early 80's and so big rooms are not economical and get sold for real estate!
Another effect of smaller recording budgets is the fact that sessions are much shorter than they used to be. Although in the 60's they were generally very short and production line like. By the late 60's early 70's tho as bands got more experimental in the studio the long drawn out album session was born, this naturally led to people being able to spend more time getting the perfect sounds. Unfortunately these days we very rarely get the chance to experiment or spend long getting the perfect sound as the budget, and so time, just isn't there.

The sound of the tape itself has changed so much down the years, which I believe is another major factor. In the 80's they briefly shifted toward digital tape machines before in the late 90's we shifted again toward computer recording. This then caused all the great tape manufacturers to go out of business. So sadly these days even on the rare occassion you can afford to work on tape the quality of that tape is nowhere near what it was, even compared to 10 years ago.

 

[tim]

was this the book

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0879306149/?tag=thumpedcom04-21

 

[Tony Higgins]

Yep that was the one, a very interesting read it was. I just borrowed it for a week from someone and tried to read as many as I could..