Soul strings techniques

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mo-Kay
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Mo-Kay

Dragon Soul Productions
OK, even though I'm just gonna use any information you might be able to give me in the virtual world of VSL strings, FX modelling etc...

I would like to know if anyone has any info to share about recording/fx techniques used on old soul records (think Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Millie Jackson, Lenny Williams etc).

I've been searching like crazy all over the net to find something about this subject...honest..but untill now, I haven't found a single website that holds any info on the subject.

Thanks

Mo-Kay
 
Give us an example of a song with a particular effect.

A lot of these records were recorded in a single large room with nothing but gobos and mic placement to put each instrument in perspective. I think effect processing per se was pretty limited back then.

Are you talking about things like the openeing bars of the Supremes hit 'Reflections', et al?
 
The Al Green strings situation was discussed in pretty good detail earlier this year on some forum-or-other by the mix engineer Terry whats-his-name.

The strings on Al's hits were recorded in a real dry room. As were all the other instruments.

Old studio pics show what looks to be mattresses on every single wall/ceiling spot. They're probably not really mattresses, but that's exactly what they look like. The famous studio..whose name escapes me, looks like a series of mattress "caves" in the 70's pics.

Terry received the Al tapes at the time and they were technically in bad shape...not recorded very well on many levels. Mixes were hard to do and were done at a different studio than where the sessions happened.

Despite the Al songs definitely being hits and having "magic" about them, they were a mess to mix. Basic challenges ..just on the strings...included bad eq, lots of peaks, extreme close micing on the strings that made mixing difficult...dead room that didn't help matters, noise, leakage...you name it, it was a problem.

The problems were some of the reason the strings were purposely left dry in the final mix....no reverb. Not real common at that moment in time compared to the massive string reverb washes of other hits of the days by folks like Gamble/Huff and other Philadelphia things.

The predominance of hi-hat on some of Al's hits is simply due to leakage at the time of recording. No matter what the mix engineer tried, he couldn't get the hi-hat out of there to any degree. So, there it sits, very loud in the mix.

Interesting stuff to study. At least the bass drum pedal didn't squeak.
 
I don't know about the recording techniques, but most of the string players were regular studio session musicians.....I remember a guy named Ben Barrett who was the music contractor for Motown for many years, calling to schedule sweetening sessions....this was well after the heyday, but he was still using the same group of musicians....
 
thanks for the info so far...

some examples:

Lenny Williams - Cause I love you
Al Green - Wish you were here
 
Here is a tip for the guitar part... most early players (blues, jazz, soul) didn't use picks, fingers and thumbs were the "in thing" to use. The tonal differences are suttle but if you listen clocely you can hear it.
 
ok thanks, I'll keep that in mind when recording guitar parts...

anyone got some more info on strings?
 
ah..cmon people...about 60 views and so little anwsers?
 
Mo-Kay said:
ah..cmon people...about 60 views and so little anwsers?
Click to expand...
I think most of the visitors to this board are too young to remember the old Stax- and Atlantic-style R&B stuff :o .

I love that stuff myself, but frankly don't know a whole lot about actual techniques used on the recordings. You may want to check your local bookstore for a book called "Behind The Glass" by Howard Massey. I don't remember if it covers specifically the studios or artists you refer to, but it does discuss many of the techniques by producers who have worked big name artists through the years. Take the book off a shelf to the bookstore cafe and grab yourself a coffee and a table and see what gems you might find...

G.
 
The secret of good strings is a quality reverb. What you have got to remember about the instrument is it's a very old musical concept, it is essentially a piece of wood held together with fish glue with cat gut stretched across it, which is then scraped with a legth of taught horse hair.
These instruments were played in cathederals and big halls. When I do sound at the theatre in Preston we have a huge accoustic canopy above the orchestra pit, this throws the sound out into the auditorium and also colours the sound with early reflections producing this lovely etherial effect when mixed with the auditoriums later reflections which are over 50 ms which is classed as echo/delay. So put in basic terms use reverb and echo/delay, this will get you that lovely lush sound.
 
I think most of the visitors to this board are too young to remember the old Stax- and Atlantic-style R&B stuff .
Click to expand...

I'm from 82 myself, dammit :D
 
Mo-Kay said:
I'm from 82 myself, dammit :D
Click to expand...
I noticed that. I give you credit :) I'll bet my left lung that most 23-yr-olds on this board have never even heard of Millie Jackson, let alone have an interest in her work.

And stop making me feel ancient by telling me you were born 3 years after I built my first project studio :(

;)

G.

Now what did I do with that Geritol...
 
haha I'm sorry man...

Hey...some of my friends say I was born 30 years too late
 
hey look what I found on the bottom of the first page!

*kicks*
 
*kick kick kick*

cmon people, it's genuinely hard to find info on this subject... so any help would be welcome :)
 
I'll just make this my last kicking effort...then :D
 
there are some info here (at gearslutz):
gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/147730-standing-shadows-motown.html

and search for the "Sigma" guy, Mike. he knows a thing or too.
also - Bob Ohlsson was a ....
well do a search for him goshdarnit :)

gearslutz.com/board/search.php?searchid=8758237




wow... just saw how old this thread is :)

well i hope you can use the info anywways :D
 
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