Prett Hate Machine

J

Jamie Jukosky

New member
Does anybody know how Trent created all those cool sounds for "Pretty Hate Machine"? I know he recorded it on something like a Mac plus (just kidding I think it was an LCII) with pro tools. I'm just wondering if he used instruments, samplers, or computers to create and arrange the sounds he got on the album.
-Jamie
 
I heard that he was sweeping floors in a studio (The Right Track?) or doing some other shit job, and at night when all was quiet, they would let him use the gear, and he recorded the demos for Pretty hate Machine during this time...

Now.. Thats just a rough Idea of the real story.. Im pretty sure it went that way, but i don't know if im 100% correct..

Equipment.. must have been pretty primitive.. heck that was 1988-89... I don't even think Pro Tools existed then..

It was probably analog sequencing, or maybe on an old atari or something...

Not sure..
 
There is a lot of sampling and sonic mangling. Asking how somebody creates those sounds is like asking how Van Gogh mixes his paints. Trent probably couldnt tell you exactly what he did.

You can do pretty cool stuff on any waveform editor. Slice it, reverse it, add some cool effects, reverse again, wash, rinse, repeat.
 
this all proves that you can get great songs using minimal equipment. its the TRENT that made the "cool sounds", not the gear.
 
If "Pretty Hate Machine" predates pro-tools maybe it was "Broken" that was recorded on the ancient Mac with pro-tools. I just remember him explaing in an interview that he recorded one of his older albums on this Mac. He mentios that he recorded the guitar directly to the computer and it kind of warped the sound for that trademark NIN sound. I was amazed, first of all that he was able to do digital that long ago, and that he was able to make a great record while people with ghz more power still put out crap.
 
from what I heard, he has been singing thru kick-drum mics like D112 and so on...pretty funny
 
Don't be too amazed about the digital recording..

Dire Straits did "Brothers in Arms" all digital in '83.... Trent Reznor was probably 12-14 years old then :D

"Money for nothing", and "Walk of life" were the 2 big hits from that one.
 
Im not sure to be truthfull... Try doing a google search, and if you come up with anything, let us know.. im interested in that also...

It was not likely computers...That much I can say...

Probably some sort of early digital tape like an adat.... (Probably wasn't called an adat back then though...)
 
I just did a search...

It looks like it was mixed down to digital tape... maybe a industrial VCR or something....

I think the actual tracking was done analog... but by mixing down to digital, you save adding more hiss and degredation on mixdown...

Brian Eno was an early digital guy also..

Joe
 
Re: I just did a search...

VOXVENDOR said:

I think the actual tracking was done analog... but by mixing down to digital, you save adding more hiss and degredation on mixdown...

Joe
Click to expand...

I don't know what they used, but I think the tracking was also digital, since I believe it was DDD. I think the 3 letters are for tracking/mixing/mastering. Which, by the way, has nothing to do to the production medium (a CD, a DAT, whatewver). That'l be another letter, right? I always found that codes a little ambiguous.
 
i think i remember an article many many years ago before the release of "Downward Spiral", where Trent said all the sounds on PHM came out of his Kurzweil K5000. that wouldn't surprise me, as the K5000 was a very often used workhorse by tons of industrial acts for quite some time.
 
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