Seafroggys
Well-known member
There were probably people in the 60s who wanted to go vintage by going direct to disc, and thought all this tape technology was hogwash
Tips to get a vintage sound on a mix
- Thread starter Lord Target
- Start date
B
Beck
Guest
Unfortunately not really, but perception is half the battle. If people think something is emulating a, "vintage sound" then those people decide what a the vintage sound should sound like. This is mostly why companies successfully market plugins even though many plugins aren't doing anything remotely like they advertise. Most people that use them don't even know what the vintage sound sounds like in the first place because they've never heard the original on vinyl or tape through a decent sound system. So most people take other people's word for it that its "Vintage." This perception spreads throughout the amateur recording community via people who report they've heard other people report that they've heard from someone who knows someone who actually once heard a real vintage sound back in the 70's.
But for most of us who still have access to tape on a daily basis the plugins sound gimmicky and exaggerated. There are no real cheats and shortcuts, but again if your listening audience is convinced the cheesy plugin creates a vintage vibe then there's no arguing with that.
Lord Target
New member
Nicely exposed. But I wasnt really thinking that a plugin would save the day, actually. I was just thinkin´in a sort of adding up, perhaps.
The more I´ve been listening some new bands, the more I realize that I can find a great deal of achieving some nearly results like that. Check out and see if it goes ok. I still preparing the whole thing. These are just some ideas...
- eq (fooling around to a sort of midrange and low freq. )
- the guitar tones tending to vintage stuff (just valve amp distortion)
- no doubling the guitar tracks
- some good echo emulator
- tape emulator on all tracks
- after the session is ready, bounce it through an analogic gear to get some warmth (?)
- have some good ambience tracks for drums to help the mix if needed
check out this band that I recently discovered. I really like what they did regarding the vintage colours I will try to aim
KADAVAR - Doomsday Machine (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO) - YouTube
famous beagle
Well-known member
This is kind of funny actually. I read almost this whole thread and noticed the typical "real vintage/tape" vs. "plug-ins" debate arising. I checked out both songs the OP posted. The first one ("World Domination") sounded fairly authentic seventies-ish to me, though not all the way there. (I don't know how much of that was true or brought in by my bias in knowing it was a modern recording.)
However, the second one ("Doomsday Machine") sounded terrible to me from the start. I thought "this is probably someone trying to emulate a vintage sound with a soundcard and a bunch of free plugins." I wasn't looking at the screen when it started playing, but when I switched windows back to look at the video, they're showing a Tascam RTR machine with tape spinning --- presumably what the recording was made on. LOL
Guess it just goes to show that I definitely don't have the ears to tell the difference. I suspect very few people really do, but there's no way to test that, and it doesn't really matter. There are infinitely more variables as well.
And one of the biggest one is the actual music. I really hated the "Doomsday Machine" song. I thought it was dumb-sounding and lame, basically. That's obviously nothing but my opinion, but that's all this is. Anyway, I'm sure that tainted my impression of the recording quality as well. Everything factors in, whether you like it or not.
I'm not saying you can't appreciate certain aspects of a recording while disliking the song or anything like that, but, although I am an analog fan and love working with tape, I think the debate about which is "better" or "more authentic" is just as silly as politics. You're never going to change anyone's mind about it. People like what they like; they do what they do.
The others that made mention of the fact that all those old recordings were made with state of the art equipment of the day are right. "Purists" are really a relative thing, since the concept of "purity" is always evolving.
rustman
Member
Long and interesting thread...
A lot has got to do with the arrangement. Many things have changed since the old days. Players play differently (like, no shred guitars in the sixties). One drummer suggested using rides for crashes for sixties sounds. In the old days symbals were not always as bright as nowadays (I wouldn't know, I'm only 48, not old). Try to do everything with four track (cassette) tape machine, it will teach you to concentrate to what's essential regarding the arrangement. I bet the restrictions in the old days made some of the general "vintage"sound. I actually took my old Fostex X-26 from the attic some time ago and find the real tape compression better than I remembered. I will definitely use it in the future. I used to use it with smpte sync box and midi so I had one track for time code and three live tracks. Those were thedays... Also in the tape time without mix automation mixes were often made in sections. First they mixed the verses in one session and the choruses in another. Later the tape clips were glued together. That way the sound changes can be quite drastic between song parts. This can be emulated with the fader automation and eq setting changes etc.
The "Classic albums" TV-series is a must to see, also in youtube.
A lot has got to do with the arrangement. Many things have changed since the old days. Players play differently (like, no shred guitars in the sixties). One drummer suggested using rides for crashes for sixties sounds. In the old days symbals were not always as bright as nowadays (I wouldn't know, I'm only 48, not old). Try to do everything with four track (cassette) tape machine, it will teach you to concentrate to what's essential regarding the arrangement. I bet the restrictions in the old days made some of the general "vintage"sound. I actually took my old Fostex X-26 from the attic some time ago and find the real tape compression better than I remembered. I will definitely use it in the future. I used to use it with smpte sync box and midi so I had one track for time code and three live tracks. Those were thedays... Also in the tape time without mix automation mixes were often made in sections. First they mixed the verses in one session and the choruses in another. Later the tape clips were glued together. That way the sound changes can be quite drastic between song parts. This can be emulated with the fader automation and eq setting changes etc.
The "Classic albums" TV-series is a must to see, also in youtube.
famous beagle
Well-known member
The Fostex X-26 was the machine I started on.
I've always had a cassette 4-track, regardless of my other setups, and most likely always will (assuming I never run out of hi-bias cassette tapes). I love working with that format. My newest 4-track is a Tascam 246. I had to make a few repairs to it, but I should be ready to really dig in to it within the month.