Ah man, thanks for the informative post Dot! Lots of good tips, from snare sounds to getting that vibe. And that tune you posted was amazing! I can't believed you played everything! It really sounded like Chicago was jamming in a room together. Great job and hell yeah, shout out to all the one-man-band recordists out there
And thanks for the detailed insight on your bass setup, Dr. Rubberfunk. I think its cool that you have some experience using samplers and stuff. I discovered soul music through hip-hop and definitely approach my music with the mindset of a sample-based musician.
I still make some sample-based tracks but lately I've been wanting to move away from it in favor of that handcrafted personal approach. Playing each instrument, coming up with my own chord progressions, experimenting with mic placement, etc. I'd love to create something so dope people would WANT to sample it. That's why Adrian Younge and Menahan Street Band are such an inspiration: they're creating original tracks that sound like they belong on a Tarantino flick or a Wu Tang record.
Anyway thanks again for all the info, guys.
Budget Gear for Late '60s Soul Sound
- I'm Painting Again
- zen recordist
- Posts: 7086
- Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 2:15 am
- Location: New York, New York
- Contact:
-
- gimme a little kick & snare
- Posts: 88
- Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2012 4:54 pm
seems like everyone's given you some pretty awesome advice. i'll throw my hat in the ring a little bit too.
great records come from great players. that being said, great gear helps a lot. an awesome set of drums will do so much more to take your retro drum tracks to the next level than any pre, mic or tape machine. I struggled for years to record drum sounds that I loved. When I finally got a great deal on a set of 1965 Ludwigs, everything suddenly fell into place. 60s or 70s Ludwigs, Slingerlands, Kents, etc often come up for sale decently cheap, and are worth every penny. Same with vintage Zildjians - you can still score mid-60s A's on the cheap, and that'll really get you on your way to some tasty Motown-y / groove-y drum sounds. Thin heads are important too - Ambassadors are cheap and tasty sounding.
bass wise - old flat wounds and a foam mute are definitely going to be your friends. as with everything, play with saturation and distortion - don't go crazy, but transformers and tape and all that adds noise that won't be present in your little digital setup, so experiment with small amounts of saturation and overdrive all over. Play with compressors with limited controls - this is not a job for an 1176. Try some LA2A emulations.
Keep your mic locker small but versatile. I'm a huge fan of old cheap dynamics - your RE10 is a great start. Some more mics of that sort, plus a good pair of ribbons (my Fatheads are still some of the best mics I've ever purchased). Be minimal and bold in your miking choices, and experiment as much as possible.
Finally, have fun. With this genre, musicians were the priority, and the technology was made to stay out of he way and let great players do their thing. Get some gear you like, develop some swiss army knife-type techniques, learn your room, and then just make some kick ass music.
great records come from great players. that being said, great gear helps a lot. an awesome set of drums will do so much more to take your retro drum tracks to the next level than any pre, mic or tape machine. I struggled for years to record drum sounds that I loved. When I finally got a great deal on a set of 1965 Ludwigs, everything suddenly fell into place. 60s or 70s Ludwigs, Slingerlands, Kents, etc often come up for sale decently cheap, and are worth every penny. Same with vintage Zildjians - you can still score mid-60s A's on the cheap, and that'll really get you on your way to some tasty Motown-y / groove-y drum sounds. Thin heads are important too - Ambassadors are cheap and tasty sounding.
bass wise - old flat wounds and a foam mute are definitely going to be your friends. as with everything, play with saturation and distortion - don't go crazy, but transformers and tape and all that adds noise that won't be present in your little digital setup, so experiment with small amounts of saturation and overdrive all over. Play with compressors with limited controls - this is not a job for an 1176. Try some LA2A emulations.
Keep your mic locker small but versatile. I'm a huge fan of old cheap dynamics - your RE10 is a great start. Some more mics of that sort, plus a good pair of ribbons (my Fatheads are still some of the best mics I've ever purchased). Be minimal and bold in your miking choices, and experiment as much as possible.
Finally, have fun. With this genre, musicians were the priority, and the technology was made to stay out of he way and let great players do their thing. Get some gear you like, develop some swiss army knife-type techniques, learn your room, and then just make some kick ass music.
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 40 guests