CREATE CLASSIC STUDIO SOUNDS
In the world of music-making, looking backwards rather than forwards is by no means a bad thing. Guitarists have been using classic-gear designs from Fender, Marshall and Gibson – to name but three – for decades.
Yet it’s only in the past few years that producers and engineers of all levels have had access to the pioneering studio-hardware designs that defined music from the 1950s, 60s and 70s onwards. Time was, if you wanted a classic Neve sound, you would have to hunt down original units, often costing astronomical amounts of money – especially in mint condition. Now you can buy an authentic reissue of the 1073 Mic Preamp & Equaliser from Neve, or take your pick from affordable similar products from Warm Audio, Golden Age Project and Black Lion Audio, among others.
This trend for modern emulations of classic gear hasn’t completely killed off the genuine vintage market, though. Just as well-heeled guitar collectors will pay a fortune for a mint vintage Fender Stratocaster, there are people who will pay upwards of £20,000 for a 1960s Fairchild compressor/limiter.
FUTUREPROOF
In essence, the main difference between vintage and modern recording practice is the demise of analogue multi-track tape recording through large multi-channel mixing consoles. While the warm sound of analogue tape cannot be replicated simply by recording into your DAW, digital recording has evolved so much that most professional studios conduct the majority of their sessions in the digital domain. Nowadays, bedroom producers have access to the selfsame recording tools that are used to make the tracks that dominate the charts.
So while digital recording is here to stay, the sounds that were traditionally created using vintage analogue kit are now at the fingertips of everyone. Long-established companies such as Neve and Universal Audio offer brand-new examples of their classic designs, while newer manufacturers produce superb-sounding recreations at affordable prices. Digital modelling is now so good that not only can you obtain plug-in versions of almost any piece of classic kit – from 1950s Pultec equalisers to 1970s Neve mic preamps – you can link together the right combination of equipment to emulate the signal chains of some of the most revered recording studios in history.
You want that 1960s Abbey Road sound as heard on The Beatles’ records? No problem! Waves’ Abbey Road Collection has all the period-correct mic pres, compressors and equalisers along with simulations of the Studer J37 four-track tape recorder and Abbey Road’s echo chambers and reverb plates.
It’s worth pointing out at this stage that there’s a difference between producing modern recordings with classic gear and producing deliberately retro-sounding recordings. Also, using the aforementioned 1960s Abbey Road recording-chain simulations won’t automatically make you sound like The Beatles any more than playing a classic Fender Strat will make you sound like Jimi Hendrix. As the legendary Joe Meek once
