Greetings!

Can anyone recommend me a few examples of well known recordings with that 'vintage sound' please?
I'm assuming its mainly pop records from the 60s? Does the term apply to vocals only? Or anything recorded during the ancient days?

Thanks in advance.

ha!

*edit* sorry, i've recovered now, i was just advising my business partner to register the domain name vintage sound dot com and designing a new plug in. as far as i understand it anything that introduces what might be called distortion combined with a lack of top end may be described as 'vintage sounding'. it has something to do with the evolution of the available technology, i believe, in both recording and reproduction of said medium. further, it could also relate to the skill, knowledge, expertise and experience of those individuals involved in the alluded to recordings. it may also be incorrectly used as a marketing term.

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ohm's where the art is

Seeing as vintage really just refers to older sounds the just take your pick. Depends on what music you're looking at... Vintage dance? Vintage rock? Jazz?

And it's more than just vocals.. Drums have changed radically over the last 60 years.... Even more if you go back to the live recordings of the thirties....

S... The question is far too broad...

Oh I see. So with regards to Woodpecker Blue? I've heard demos and it lacks lower end, rather than highs.

excessive bass could lead to needles jumping out of grooves. again, see historically available technology and the inherent limitations there of.

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ohm's where the art is

Quote Murdoch:

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Oh I see. So with regards to Woodpecker Blue? I've heard demos and it lacks lower end, rather than highs.

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?? The mic?

Quote artifus:

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it may also be incorrectly used as a marketing term.

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ohm's where the art is

To me, nothing sounds more like the 60's than the classic Dusty Springfield Recordings of that era (e.g. "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me", "The Look of Love", "Son of a Preacher Man" etc...).

I had the job of recreating them for a tribute artist a few years ago. I tried classic compressors, tape, EQ... I got close, but never nailed it.

Ironically, it's probably easier to approximate that 60's sound now, that it was a few years ago.

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www.thediplomatz.com

Moving on from the early sixties saturated tape/plate reverb sound, the sound of anything recorded by John Wood always astounds me - especially Sandy Denny's records.

One of my fave sounds is that of 60s era Serge Gainsbourg. Check out the album Melody Nelson. Next up on the OTT scale is anything by Sly & The Family Stone. You can hear the tape dancing along...

And for vintage-gone-sublime - Astral Weeks by Van Morrison.

Of course, I'm just talking about records I like the sound of. To explain what they sound like - John Wood's recordings have warmth with detail, an etched quality in the imaging. The low end is full but not flabby, the higher frequencies are smooth. But I think what defines the vintage sound most is a far greater understanding of mid-range frequencies than the 'scoop 'em out' trend for smile eq curves today. This lends older recordings a more intimate sound, which feels a lot closer to the listener, yet at the same time removed. Much like looking at film rather than video. Listen to any Motown stuff and the mids are far stronger than in a modern pop or dance recording. I would particularly recommend anything touched by the hand of Norman Whitfield (especially The Temptations in their psychedelic phase), a genius in my view.

Analog W . . mth

Depends on the era really. If it's vintage classical for example (Beethoven and stuff), your recordings should really try and express the aural vernacular of the time by replicating the very poor quality of vinyl that was being used in recordings of the mid-1800s.

There are certain plugins that do this such as Vinylizer. Vinylizer is great but doesn't go back to the 1800s, which frankly is a bit annoying but I understand an update is imminent.

Quote Bob Shoes:

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Depends on the era really. If it's vintage classical for example (Beethoven and stuff), your recordings should really try and express the aural vernacular of the time by replicating the very poor quality of vinyl that was being used in recordings of the mid-1800s.

There are certain plugins that do this such as Vinylizer. Vinylizer is great but doesn't go back to the 1800s, which frankly is a bit annoying but I understand an update is imminent.

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hahaha... awesome post.

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I'm All Ears.

inspired by this thread...
I've just gone back and listened to son of a preacher man on a good pair of cans.

Sounds like everything is panned hard except for the lead vocal.

This even extends to the bass (panned left) and the drums (right.) Sounds like there is a hammond playing in a very low register on the right (at least to start with) to balance up the low end.

am I right that the lead vocal is the only thing not panned hard? I've never noticed it before on this record and it surprised me. A lovely piece of work.

not a complete hijack, because clearly panning limitations are inherent in certain eras of music and need to be considered.

Quote Findo:

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inspired by this thread...
I've just gone back and listened to son of a preacher man on a good pair of cans.

Sounds like everything is panned hard except for the lead vocal.

This even extends to the bass (panned left) and the drums (right.) Sounds like there is a hammond playing in a very low register on the right (at least to start with) to balance up the low end.

am I right that the lead vocal is the only thing not panned hard? I've never noticed it before on this record and it surprised me. A lovely piece of work.

not a complete hijack, because clearly panning limitations are inherent in certain eras of music and need to be considered.

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Look out for some early Aretha Franklin.

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Ohm's Law states, "Your PA isn't as powerful as you think it is".

In some cases it means like a classic car.

In some cases it means like old seafood.

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Ohm's Law states, "Your PA isn't as powerful as you think it is".

Quote Findo:

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Sounds like everything is panned hard except for the lead vocal.

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It was probably never intended to be released in stereo - in the same way as the early Beatles stereo records with the vocals panned to one side were never intended. Back in those days, the mono master was far more important than the stereo version which was often done as an afterthought.

I suspect they may also have been using 3 track recorders with 2 tracks for the backing and one for the vocals.

James.

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JRP Music - Audio Mastering and Restoration.
http://www.jrpmusic.net

mmmmmmmm?.......I know what it smells like!

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Amazing take, spot on, just perfect....right....one more time.

So just a marketing gimmic after all. Not surprised. I do listen to the likes of Aretha Franklin. But how much of it is down to the mic and rest to room and effects?

River deep, mountain high! ....ooor the sound of Doo wop! ..maybe Only You by The Platters...perhaps Midnight Special by leadbelly..sorry I am tired and the wine has gone to my head! Dave

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My head hurts!

a most ABUSED term...... Apart from "smooth highs", "analogue warmth", "punchy", "top end sizzle", "expensive sheen" etc etc etc we are running out of adequate ways to describe audio characteristics and now just repeat the same descriptions

I had heard so much about the Joe Meek produced track Telstar so i downloaded and listened.... OK it was 1962 so kudos to the man BUT I'm not sure the "vintage sound" on offer would be appropriate for todays music (which is the politest way I can put it) :-)

Quote sc1460:

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a most ABUSED term...... Apart from "smooth highs", "analogue warmth", "punchy", "top end sizzle", "expensive sheen" etc etc etc we are running out of adequate ways to describe audio characteristics and now just repeat the same descriptions

I had heard so much about the Joe Meek produced track Telstar so i downloaded and listened.... OK it was 1962 so kudos to the man BUT I'm not sure the "vintage sound" on offer would be appropriate for todays music (which is the politest way I can put it) :-)

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In terms of pure sonics Telstar sounds pretty awful. The invention is what makes it sound so startling. It's recordings such as Kind of Blue (1959?) which are great examples of all the adjectives listed by sc1460. No doubt Hugh Robjohns could list some jazz and classical recordings from the pre-pop 60s which still stand up today. So Vintage can mean something brilliantly recorded within the technical limits of the time, or the the pop-tastic distorted, clattering racket produced with AM radio in mind.

Edited by Darren Lynch (29/05/12 11:45 AM)

The Beatles. The Stones. Early Motown.

Quote White Car Man:

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There are certain plugins that do this such as Vinylizer. Vinylizer is great but doesn't go back to the 1800s, which frankly is a bit annoying but I understand an update is imminent.

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"Backdate", surely, in this case...

this is not correct, just twittered pre-sales and the vinylizer actually offers a hidden BC setting, you can choose 120BC, 400BC and a special 1000BC for that special Tutenkhamen turntable sound....awesome

Quote ken long:

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Quote Bob Shoes:

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Depends on the era really. If it's vintage classical for example (Beethoven and stuff), your recordings should really try and express the aural vernacular of the time by replicating the very poor quality of vinyl that was being used in recordings of the mid-1800s.

There are certain plugins that do this such as Vinylizer. Vinylizer is great but doesn't go back to the 1800s, which frankly is a bit annoying but I understand an update is imminent.

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hahaha... awesome post.

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you know - to be all serious for a mo

the new Black Keys Album seems to be the perfect "Modern Vintage" album - and a good album it is too!

there is a vast difference to sounding vintage but enabling all the mod cons (like stereo, quality compression on every channel, loads-a-tracks, relatively cheap with full artistic control, lots of time, total recall and automation...) than just recording on old gear.

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http://soundcloud.com/seaapes