Catching that 60s and 70s vibe

[elbandito]

Hi everyone. It’s been a while since I’ve been to the forum… glad to see it’s still kicking!

I’m in the midst of building a studio. I’ve got just under 800 sq ft with 9ft ceilings, laminate flooring and a mostly rectangular shape. I’m doing what I can with baffling and such and plan to use a calibration mic in the next couple of weeks to fine tune reflections. I’ve built a few gobos and can build more as necessary.

What I’m after with this post, is info on how live rooms in the 60s and 70s were set up. I’m not super interested in the super clean (some, like myself, might say sterile) sound of modern recordings. I want character and controlled mic bleed. Not necessarily a Motown or Abbey Road sound exactly but definitely in that “world,” so to speak.

I did some searching just to see if I could find some info on how some of these old rooms were set up but useful results were quite limited. I know that I’ll probably need to build a half height wall (I’m thinking like 4’ high) to separate the bulk of the drum sound from the rest of the room but what else should I do?

Here’s the space:



There is some room (13’ x 10’) behind the camera in this shot, and I am planning (read: thinking about) building a wall here and making a dead room for vocals:



So. Do any of you have tips on how to design this space for the vibe that I’m after? What would you do if you had this place? I’d also be very interested in any videos or photos of 60s and 70s studio live rooms that you might want to share.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[spantini]

Nice room. Interesting thread. Got me looking . . .

Recording studio 1960's hi-res stock photography and images - Alamy

Find the perfect recording studio 1960's stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image. Available for both RF and RM licensing.

www.alamy.com

There's not many wide shots in this collection, but there are a few nuggets. Check out the ceiling in this Nashville RCA Studio B :

 

[elbandito]

Nice room. Interesting thread. Got me looking . . .

Recording studio 1960's hi-res stock photography and images - Alamy

Find the perfect recording studio 1960's stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image. Available for both RF and RM licensing.

www.alamy.com

There's not many wide shots in this collection, but there are a few nuggets. Check out the ceiling in this Nashville RCA Studio B :

View attachment 136253

Ooh! That’s interesting. I hadn’t thought about changing the shape of the ceiling! As you can see in my photos, it currently has a drop ceiling… I bet I could build some semi-cylindrical panels to hang in place of some of the tiles for diffusion

 

[Track Rat]

Before I did a thing I'd do some recording and LISTEN hard to what you get. Don't try to fix what ain't broke.

 

[elbandito]

Before I did a thing I'd do some recording and LISTEN hard to what you get. Don't try to fix what ain't broke.fa w

This room is definitely broke haha. The reflections in the place are awful and that 13x10 space at the back is a bass trap, in the literal sense. Something has to be done about it.

I’ve been making recordings for a long time and I know what I’m after, hence the gobos and the upcoming acoustic measurement task. I’m just looking for some advice on how to get there, based on rooms (or examples thereof) from recording history’s past

 

[rob aylestone]

Curves do very strange things. Move mics a few inches and the lens effect changes the sound hugely. Nowadays we’d build deader then add portable reflectors or isolation, back then you just treated to remove problems.

 

[TalismanRich]

While I've never been in one, there was a period where the term Live End - Dead End was popular. It would have been mid 70s. I remember one local studio that had a lot of that acoustic tile with the holes on the back wall. It was most likely the old asbestos acoustic tiles, considering the period.

When my company closed up my facility, they left a ton of office stuff. I took home several of the cubical dividers, about 6 ft by 4 ft. They seem to work well, as they are essentially sound absorbing panels with a fabric cover. A friend has similar panels around his drums. They are about 4 ft high and surround 3 sides of his drum kit. The kit is fully mic'd already, so we can just plug in and start playing.

Getting a bit of bleed is easy... just set up the mics and turn things up. As long as everyone is playing at the same time, you'll get some bleed.

 

[grimtraveller]

What would you do if you had this place?

I'd be dancing and rejoicing in the street.
I wish you many great wonderful recordings and mixes in that room. And yes, you could say I'm green with envy !

 

[elbandito]

I took home several of the cubical dividers, about 6 ft by 4 ft. They seem to work well, as they are essentially sound absorbing panels with a fabric cover. A friend has similar panels around his drums. They are about 4 ft high and surround 3 sides of his drum kit. The kit is fully mic'd already, so we can just plug in and start playing.

Yep! That’s exactly the plan. Really want to be able to just turn the lights and computer on, hit record and go with whatever instruments and vocalists are in the room. I’m assuming these cubicle walls you’ve got are 6’ high? I was thinking that 4’ high might accomplish what we need insofar as isolation of the main parts of the kit, while still allowing for eye contact and communication with the band…?

To really dive into the “vintage vibe,” I’ve got a recently serviced Tascam 388 being delivered in a couple of months for the times when we want to commit directly to tape, just for fun. Finding unused tape in Canada is proving to be a real pain in the rear though.

 

[elbandito]

I'd be dancing and rejoicing in the street.
I wish you many great wonderful recordings and mixes in that room. And yes, you could say I'm green with envy !

Thank you! I’m excited to really get started. Just tracked some drum parts in there a couple of hours ago… used some gobos to help with reflections. Sounds decent already but it’ll sound a lot better after I get some stuff up on the walls next weekend.

 

[TalismanRich]

My dividers are 6x4, but they can be put on their side. The ones at the drummer's house are 4 ft. I can stand next to the divider and see him. If I sit he's hidden.

 

[rob aylestone]

My recording studio visits started in the mid 70s, and I’m not sure I’d want to recreate what I heard. Few sounded even nice. Most were very dead, bar a few that had very hard walls and were far too bright for some stuff. it’s a bit like vintage mics and other gear. The memory is better than the reality.

 

[TapeRoll]

I built my studio live room around 2000 and it is based on the type of vibe I think you are looking for. I also incorporated the possibility to have 70's dry vibe or more lively reflections by utilizing the brick surfaces by pulling back the curtains covering them. I also made some 4'x8' hardwood floor coverings to lay over the carpet when going after more natural reverb for drums and other instruments when required. So the room is actually very versatile and produces various vibes that suit the requirements of different musical genres.The control room is based on the LEDE(Live end dead end) approach which works fine for my needs.

Here's some photos and videos of my build that may help you in your construction.







Control room gear upgrades currently being done.

 

[rob aylestone]

That’s a place that looks nice to work in!

 

[DM60]

@TapeRoll - that is pro level. It looks like you have a good visual vibe with thought out sound treatment.

I think one has to also remember the visual vibe. How does one feel in the room?