The Boston Thread.

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I just heard the song "More than a feeling" from Boston on the Radio... Man what a song, and what a recording.... So much attention to detail in a decade where alot of rock recordings were slap up jobs....

Vocal layers, lots of guitar layers, and a perfected sounding Drum beat... They must have been like the Def Leppard of the 70's :D....


Any info on their recording, or any other general info can be posted here... Im interested, just out of curiousity.
 
Tom Scholz was an electrical engineering genius. His Scholz R & D Rockman gear was awesome and way ahead of it's time. Dunlop took over dist. of the rockman line and discontinued everything except the Rockman Acoustic Similator. Idiots..... anywho, you can find the stuff on ebay. I'm selling a rockman midi octopus on ebay. awesome box. i've used the distortion generator and the delay unit. both awesome and definitely help nail that boston sound.
 
I have always dug the way the Boston stuff sounds too.Here is a link to an informative little page about the man and how he did the music.Kinda fascinating to read about how the sound came together.
 
I always use Boston's "More Than A Feeling" as an example of the right technique, not necessarily the right gear, to get great recordings. Will you believe that the acoustic intro was recorded on a cheap Korean acoustic guitar that cost $150, and he used an SM57 on that riff? Me, I've never been able to duplicate such an amazing sound using an SM57, but at least you know that it is possible.

Truly an amazing piece of engineering and producing genius.
 
Anyone wanna trade a Rockman Stereo Chorus for a RNC?


I didn't think so...Dab Naggit! ;)


Peace,
Dennis
 
c7sus said:
To really get that Boston sound you need to download Slackmaster's Suck plugin. Don't ask me why he calls it Suck, but that plugin will get you to sounding like Boston faster than anything else.

Well my first emotion is to be mad at you for that crack.... But I figure, I should be happy instead... After all, you didn't plug up my thread with any politics... (yet) :D

Your ok C7..;)
 
I believe they recorded their first album on Tom's, Skully 1" 12 track machine....kinda a rare beast.
 
octoruss said:
I always use Boston's "More Than A Feeling" as an example of the right technique, not necessarily the right gear, to get great recordings. Will you believe that the acoustic intro was recorded on a cheap Korean acoustic guitar that cost $150, and he used an SM57 on that riff?

Actually according to the interview/article linked by strmkr above, the guitar was "a $100 imported Yamaha 12-string guitar, through a relatively low-end dynamic microphone [the Electro-Voice RE-17]". ...and that the drums were recorded "by a few Shure SM57s in a little tiny closet".
 
Funny you should bring this up. I just re-racked my trusty Rockman and Distortion Generator and have been playing around with it. I forgot how cool they were.
 
Scully 12 track machine, no he modified a 4trac and made it a 12.

Not only that but when he worked at polariod he invented the one step camera. the first multitrack was his design the akai 12 track machine that worked with beta tapes. ( I know where one of those is for sale right now). I know he chose beta but I still think he is a genius.

He is also by far the wealthiest musician alive, followed by the guys from Zep and the remaining beatles. and Micheal Nesmith. I would Include Micheal Jackson but he is more of a dancer.
 
c7sus said:
You don't believe me?

PM Slack and ask him for the link. He really wrote a DX plugin called the SuckKnob that gives you that Boston sound.

Why would I lie?

I know about the suck knob.... .. .. .. In fact, I have a suck knob :D
 
Actually, the so-called "King of Pop" may be going broke!
An article about that was in a recent Rolling Stone. Too "Bad".

Chris
 
darrin_h2000 said:
. the first multitrack was his design the akai 12 track machine that worked with beta tapes.

aah...you might wanna check with Les Paul on that one...

and I believe the Akai unit used VHS tapes...but I may be wrong...you're talking about the one with the mixer built in??
 
I heard Tom Schultz invented rocket propulsion and the nuclear bomb.
 
The akai machine in question is called the mg 1214.I have worked with one in the past and it was really a kick ass little machine for having 12 tracks on 1/2" tape(yes,beta) running at 7 1/2 ips if I remember correctly.

Darrin,If you don't want to buy that one that is for sale,let me know,I would like to have one if the price isn't too steep.I work master control at a tv station and we have gobs and gobs of beta tape lying around that my boss would probably let me have.


Have a great day all!
 
I'd love to find out how he engineered the song "Hitch a Ride". It's one of my favorite Boston songs and was recorded brilliantly.
 
My dad worked as a designer with Tom Scholz at Polaroid just before the first album hit. They were working on an instant movie film with sound capability that required a special viewer. Obviously, videotape rendered this technology obsolete soon after...
About a year later, Scholz's picture was plastered on the Boston Sunday Globe magazine insert. My father, having since left Polaroid, and oblivious to the Boston album's success said,"Hey, what's Tommy Scholz doing in the newspaper?"

This was in the mid-1970's - somewhere between the time that Tom Scholz cured Polio and invented the warp drive.:D

The "Hitch a Ride" 44-bar guitar break led to my purchase of a Les Paul and a Rockman (noisy thing).

Prior to the Rockman, Scholz marketed a device called a Power Soak. I don't know what it did, but I wonder if that's why Slack's plug is called a Suck Knob.
 
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