Message 65/89
Date: 08-Nov-99 @ 05:42 PM -
RE: Drum'N'Bass Area
Wai: Yeah, lo fi was where it was at for sure. There is a book which is full of interviews with producers from the 60's and 70's(unfortunately I haven't got my notes with me so I haven't got the name of it handy) which would probably answer most of the questions you've asked. I can't really comment on individual sessions but I know the general drift of how most of them were recorded. Most of them were recorded in mono, with maybe 4 or 5 mics on the kit (remember they only had 4 tracks to play with and a lot smaller mixing desks then we have today)and they weren't "drum" mics like we use today. They were recorded to tape and when people sample them they tend to sample off of vinyl which adds crackle and pop to the sound. As far as the drum kits go themselves, they were dampened to fuck. Gaffer tape and tissue on the heads, pillows in the bass drums, the drummers wallet on the snare drum to get rid of overtones. It has only been recently (ie 10-15 years) that drums have been allowed to be "live" when recorded (since the 50's anyway). The quality of manufacturing and the fact that drummers are a bit more clued up on tuning them has helped this change. One of the best drum sounds I ever put on tape for someone sounded like absolute shit in the studio. Completely dead, and I mean completely. But the sound the engineer had on tape was phenomonal. So phat I could barely squeeze into the control booth
I wish I had a copy of the session. Compression definitely played a big part of the overall sound though.
I think the best way to recreate this (short of having V-Drums) is to go and use very old equipment to record with. CD's and the like are cleaned up and eq'ed up for maximum sonic quality. But like you say, it loses something in the translation.
What you're asking is an interesting question which I think I'm going to try. Can I recreate the feeling of the 60's/70's loops via my MIDI kit? I can (and do) recreate that feel/sound on my live kit and I think I can do it via the MIDI kit (Yamaha DTX v.2) but it's something I've never really thought about. Kilo and I will be getting together soon so hopefully we'll be able to get that kind of sound that everyone is searching for.
You should also check a book called "The Big Beat" by Max Weinberg (Bruce Springsteens drummer) in which he interviews all of his drumming heroes from the 60's and 70's. They talk a lot about the recording techniques used at the time. I think it's out of print but you should still be able to find a copy. I know you can still find it on Tottenham Ct. Rd (Foyles?). I also think he did a sequel "The Big Beat 2". Although I've never seen a copy I'd like to get one (the sequel that is, I've got the other one)