Creating Retro 60's sound - Belle and Sebastian

T

trojannate

New member
I've been doing a lot of hunting for some mixing/mastering techniques for getting that old, 60's era sound, as in Simon and Garfunkel's albums, or The Association.

I love the way it has been recreated by modern bands like Belle and Sebastian, Jens Lekman, and Camera Obscura. On Itunes, look up Belle and Sebastian's "The State I am In," Jens Lekman's "I Saw Her at the Antiwar Demonstration," or Camera Obscura's "French Navy." I can't find any specifics on how they achieved this.

They all have that squashed, old sound that may be a lot of compression and certainly a lot of reverb - but I've had difficulty reproducing it digitally. Are their any specific techniques I can try to "age" my material - not with hiss or crackly record sounds, but the real deal.

I'm using Waves Reverb plugin with plate reverb for vocals, and that certainly helps, but it's the guitars and backing material that is more difficult to nail.

I'm fairly new to the mixing process - some experience but no master by any means. If you can suggest another forum or article, or a few practical tips, I would be grateful for any leads.

Thanks so much!
 
Have you heard of Izotope Vinyl? It doesn't just add scratching and humming noises, it can add a really old feel to it too if you just move some of the sliders.

You should look up a video for it on youtube or something. Also, its free.
 
I was listening to a Straycats song this morning and thinking about how they were able to capture that 50's sound. Two things come to mind, first instruments. The upright bass changes the whole nature of the song and secondly they put reverb on everything including drums.
So to answer your question I'd say generous use of reverb on everything.
Just my $.02.
 
A couple things to look for...

Tape Compression is a big part of the sound as well as the gear they used... Of course you can't get a lot of the gear they used on the budget most home recordists have but....

I use a really CLEAN amp sim on the vocals, you might also find that you can have a lot more high freq information than you think.

Vintage sounding EQ can be found around the net for cheap or even free... I really like the convolution impulses of some Neve and API modules as well.

You can dig around the net and find all kinds of plugins that are either cheap or free that will get you a long way towards the sound you're after.

The biggest thing that I think makes it all flow together is of course that this stuff was tracked LIVE!
 
I appreciate everyone's input. All really fantastic ideas I will be sure to try out. Reverb always does sound overly generous on these albums, which I tend to like. I was looking at tape delay and echo chamber simulators. Anyone know how common it was to run a final mix through tape delay?
 
- Track live, all instruments one room
- Try no more that 2-3 mics for drums, sum to mono
- tube mic or tube preamp, or both...push the tubes
-Compression
-if you overdub vocals, don't use headphones, mic bleed is part of the vibe
-listen to the old mixes. Don't be surprised to hear drums and bass hard panned away from each other.....try it
- real chamber reverbs were the thing, also plate and spring
-real double tracked vocals
 
I am over a year late, but in case anybody's listening. Here is my take on this (an incomplete analysis, but oh well...).

I do love the neo-simple style (as I will call it) popular among hipsters these days. Belle and Sebastian, Math and Physics Club, Camera Obscura, etc. are wonderful examples of this. But the effects can be seen throughout the indie/college scene, not just in Glasgow and Seattle.

Major forebears/influences include pop/rock artists like The Kinks, The Left Banke, Chad and Jeremy. And of course, many great pop songwriters and producers of the day (Tom Wilson, Shel Talmy, Carole King, Phil Spector, Brian Wilson, etc.)

This music appears to be simple, and really it is. These songs forsake solos, grand chord changes, and high-tech equipment in favor of solid songwriting, balanced production, appropriate (often acoustic) instruments, etc. If I were to choose a direct opposite of this music, I suppose it would be prog rock. This music uses a light touch to lead the listener down a path, and in general does not look down on the listener.

I believe a major part of the olden sound is real instruments being recorded simultaneously. Back in the olden days, 3-4 tracks was the norm, so you were pretty limited in what you could do with bouncing.

I think the end effect was a single "whole sound" coming from the band, with everybody not just making individualized, hyped sounds, but contributing to a single effect. This was a major priority back in the producer-centric days (before individual musicians gained power).

Of course, I'm glad that members of bands are no longer simply music-bots for record companies. But there is something to be said for the more holistic (if dictatorial) approach to music production.

At the same time, the post-60s songwriter focus is there as well. The music creates a mood, and the lyrics take you on a journey. Good melodies, thoughtful lyrics and balanced arrangements.

And yes, reverb. Plenty o' reverb.
 
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