e unum pluribus
New member
does anyone know where you can go and find the info on what in particular equipment bands recorded records with?
T
travelin travis
New member
This is far too much conversation over lo fi. Just thinking about it this much is counter productive.
To me though, lo fi "is" doing your best with very limited cheap equipment. I don't think it will come across as being authentic if you strive for it.
To me though, lo fi "is" doing your best with very limited cheap equipment. I don't think it will come across as being authentic if you strive for it.
e unum pluribus
New member
im just using it as kinda another too...
i see my computer as an instrument and how i mix/record/master is just like how you set the effect or distortion on your guitar
its just another way of getting your song to sound the way you want it to
i see my computer as an instrument and how i mix/record/master is just like how you set the effect or distortion on your guitar
its just another way of getting your song to sound the way you want it to
LeeRosario
New member
I was having a listen to some of the new Modest Mouse stuff after you mentioned it and it sounds high quality to me.
Like the production is commercial, but the asthetic feel is what's made it sort of fall into what I assume is "Lo Fi".
But to achieve that sort of thing would have to be either intentional mixing and/or:
-marginal instruments
-marginal or Lo Fi "tuning" to enhance the effect. This one is actually pretty interesting because of how you can go about doing this:
Like you can loosen up a snare drum to the point where it almost has no definable shape without any muffling. Then a slightly out of tune guitar with some slinky feeling (a light gadge) strings would be a cool thing to try.
But of course, the singer tops that off. He is not particularly "pitch corrected", but that's because it works for the sound.
All these things together make for interesting LoFi.
-marginal playing and approach to the instruments which further enhances the effect
-marginal ambience (not so great rooms, like say a typical living room) say in comparison to the 80s, where reverb was everything. Or maybe a current day ballad that requires the prestine 20 grand reverb units to get the ultimate sound.
Some studios are just so poorly assembled and poorly equipped, they make great LoFi studios.
-The mic's used on the main musical elements seemed to be high quality as well as the pre amps...so I have reason to beleive that everything up until the microphone stage was treated in a Lo Fi fashion.
Like you can tell it has the spirit of a commercial production with the asthetic of a LoFi sound.
But you still had great sounds, full body on alot of stuff, so I think it was the way they played thier instruments and approached their songs that gives them that edge.
Or as I call it "Intentional Sloppy". Just like The Hives, Jet & The Strokes trying to do this retro revival thing. However, I wouldn't treat them or approach them as the same sound. Cause they obviously are different styles of music.
Of course afterwards you can still overdub a weird sound with a marginal microphone (still using a great preamp) to get that cross between old and new.
These are great things to think about when producing LoFi music.
Like the production is commercial, but the asthetic feel is what's made it sort of fall into what I assume is "Lo Fi".
But to achieve that sort of thing would have to be either intentional mixing and/or:
-marginal instruments
-marginal or Lo Fi "tuning" to enhance the effect. This one is actually pretty interesting because of how you can go about doing this:
Like you can loosen up a snare drum to the point where it almost has no definable shape without any muffling. Then a slightly out of tune guitar with some slinky feeling (a light gadge) strings would be a cool thing to try.
But of course, the singer tops that off. He is not particularly "pitch corrected", but that's because it works for the sound.
All these things together make for interesting LoFi.
-marginal playing and approach to the instruments which further enhances the effect
-marginal ambience (not so great rooms, like say a typical living room) say in comparison to the 80s, where reverb was everything. Or maybe a current day ballad that requires the prestine 20 grand reverb units to get the ultimate sound.
Some studios are just so poorly assembled and poorly equipped, they make great LoFi studios.
-The mic's used on the main musical elements seemed to be high quality as well as the pre amps...so I have reason to beleive that everything up until the microphone stage was treated in a Lo Fi fashion.
Like you can tell it has the spirit of a commercial production with the asthetic of a LoFi sound.
But you still had great sounds, full body on alot of stuff, so I think it was the way they played thier instruments and approached their songs that gives them that edge.
Or as I call it "Intentional Sloppy". Just like The Hives, Jet & The Strokes trying to do this retro revival thing. However, I wouldn't treat them or approach them as the same sound. Cause they obviously are different styles of music.
Of course afterwards you can still overdub a weird sound with a marginal microphone (still using a great preamp) to get that cross between old and new.
These are great things to think about when producing LoFi music.
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T
travelin travis
New member
please don't mention jet and the strokes in the same sentence 
LeeRosario
New member
TravisinFlorida said:please don't mention jet and the strokes in the same sentence
good call!
rodvonbon
belly full of beer
small world!!!
It's funny I read this thread while I am sitting here listening to the Femmes first album. I dont think there is anything lofi about it at all. When I listen I hear a crystal clear recording of a band playing live and loose. The term lofi is thrown around too much these days.
The first band I was ever in recorded our demo on a panasonic ghetto blaster. The only "mixing" involved was moving the amps closer or further to the box to adjust volume. Now thats lofi!
Just my $.02
rodvonbon
ps, I wrote a whole rant on this without reading all of the posts so I edited it....
It's funny I read this thread while I am sitting here listening to the Femmes first album. I dont think there is anything lofi about it at all. When I listen I hear a crystal clear recording of a band playing live and loose. The term lofi is thrown around too much these days.
The first band I was ever in recorded our demo on a panasonic ghetto blaster. The only "mixing" involved was moving the amps closer or further to the box to adjust volume. Now thats lofi!
Just my $.02
rodvonbon
ps, I wrote a whole rant on this without reading all of the posts so I edited it....
e unum pluribus
New member
yeah the most of the modest mouse stuff is definately good quality but its that last track the "good times are killin me" the way its just them and you can hear the one guy ask for an ashtray then the band comes slowly in like one vocal and instrument at a time.... really organic.... but by the 30 sec mark it sounds completely together....
thats what i want...
maybe not "lofi" but "organic"should have been the work i used...
thats what i want...
maybe not "lofi" but "organic"should have been the work i used...
LeeRosario
New member
e unum pluribus said:
ahh, then that's loads different.
You know what's really cool about this? Why don't you treat it like jazz?
In jazz, you tend to use minimalist recording. A couple of mics on the drum set, simple layering on guitars. Very light production.
Now that I thought about it, I think I just had a light bulb come on and I could beleive if someone told me the Modest Mouse stuff was done very minimalist.
However, to get it in the quality and in the "mist" of the Modest mouse stuff, the few mics you would have would tend to be very clean and present mics (expensive) combined with the appropiate preamps (also expensive).
But you can still try minimalist miking to get just about a good a sound.
e unum pluribus
New member
the miking technique you mentioned... yeah that sounds about right ill research that....
meanwhile does any one know where there might be a site/forum/thread or something that goes into detail about what equipment particular bands used and what techniques they used on specific recordings?
meanwhile does any one know where there might be a site/forum/thread or something that goes into detail about what equipment particular bands used and what techniques they used on specific recordings?
rodvonbon
belly full of beer
Jazz
A jazz aproach is the best way Ive heard it described. I never thought about it that way, but I guess that is kind of the way I record. I love hearing the (cough) in the background, a drummer cringing when he misses a beat. I dont know but the ambiance of a recording is as gripping as technical mastery of a song.
When I record I single mic every instrument and have band play live. Get good mic placement get a good recording mix and let it fly! I dont worry too much about mic bleed as long as everything yer putting to tape sounds right. Maybe thats what yer looking for? It has to happen when it happens.
rod
A jazz aproach is the best way Ive heard it described. I never thought about it that way, but I guess that is kind of the way I record. I love hearing the (cough) in the background, a drummer cringing when he misses a beat. I dont know but the ambiance of a recording is as gripping as technical mastery of a song.
When I record I single mic every instrument and have band play live. Get good mic placement get a good recording mix and let it fly! I dont worry too much about mic bleed as long as everything yer putting to tape sounds right. Maybe thats what yer looking for? It has to happen when it happens.
rod
T
travelin travis
New member
LeeRosario said:
That sounds like the direction to go to me. Alot of indie bands record this way and it does have a very organic feel.
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