RECIPE: 80's Hit Surprise
Ingredients:
---Linn Drum
---Simmons Kit (for those tom fills)
---Yamaha DX7 for pianos, basses
---Roland Jupiter/Planet/Juno for pads
---Fender Strat in position 4 + any chorus pedal + Roland JC-120 amp
---Aphex Exciters
---Lexicon hall reverb
Note what's completely optional:
Analog anything
Tape anything
Tube anything
---which some here seem to think are the ne plus ultra of great recordings.
My point is that what moves people ain't a tape or an eq or a compressor. It's great TIMBRES. I am glad for all the people here who want to record in pristine 192k with Neumann mics and hand-wired tube gear. But no one, outside of audiophiles cares. Even though I hate the stuff, I'd wager that a good percentage of platinum hip hop is recorded in some guy's 4th floor walk up with one of those Akai gizmos and an SM-58 into some Korg 16 bit 'multi-tracker'.
So I'll ALWAYS vote for different timbres over yet another EQ or channel strip. It's a bang for buck thing. I love all the UAD EQs I got, but they really aren't as important as having interesting -sounds-.
To -me-, after 15 years of listening to stripped down hip hop, house, 'alt rock', 'roots' and 'unplugged' whatever, I think some seriously overblown glam-style productions would sound pretty darned 'fresh' right about now.
YMMV
---JC
Mark Edmonds said:
JC Wrote: I remember when Aphex first came out.-Everyone- wanted one and the sound became like MSG in a Chinese takeaway joint. The guys I worked for put it on -everything-.
Oh no. Sound of glass breaking violently, swords being drawn, general mayham...... You mean.... what I think of as the pop sound of the 80s and early 90s, that crystaly tingy sparkly sound is really the sound of the exciters? This shatters so many illusions of mine I find it quite depressing.
OTOH, perhaps I ought to try it too!!! :twisted:
Mark