Getting Classic Sounds

Everyone wants to know how to recreate the sound of million dollar studios of the past with today's super-charged computers. Many, many pieces of classic gear have been recreated as software that sounds very faithful. There's a lot of things you can do with these plugins, but one also has to remember that some things have to be done at the recording stage. When people think classic, they are usually thinking about the sound of analog tape and hardware along with vintage digital fx units. Part of that sound could also be the natural reverb of a good studio room.

First off, it's not easy. Or cheap. Every piece of analog gear can effect the dynamics, frequencies, and non-linear elements. The key is to balance all the elements until you get the sound you want. The order you place the plugins in does matter. Each one feeds the next plugin in the chain. You'll need a good tape, console, reverb, delay, compressor, eq, and tube plugin to start. Multiple options are always welcome. There's no rule on what as to go where. Just start with one and add, then tweak. A lot of people like to put a fast comp like a FET before a slower comp like an Opto. That's always a good combination. The sound of certain mixing desks/consoles was and is a big part of it. SSL and Neve being the most famous. Many companies have made emulations. Try Cytomic, Waves, Slate Digital, Analog Obsessions, Acustica, Overloud, and Overtone. Dopamine by Overloud emulates the Dolby units that encoded and decoded tape and seems pretty essential to get the best out of your tape plugins.

Then there's the FX. Something by Eventide is essential here. Their H910 harmonizer was used on vocals and instruments by artists such as AC/DC, David Bowie, and Elton John. Probably anyone who's anyone has used Eventide gear. You'll know the sound when you hear it. Lexicon is another brand that was used by everyone during the 80s-00s. Some still swear by their 224 and 480 reverbs today. The Lexicon Primetime delay unit is reincarnated as Soundtoys' Primal Tap and once you hear their video, you'll recognize the sound from many TV shows and albums. Nomad Factory Echoes is a great delay plugin if you want to emulate physical items that were used before the advent of digital delay units in the 70s. Soundtoys' Echoboy can also do that sorta stuff along with the digital delays. A less expensive option that is on par is Deelay by Hornet Plugins.

It's also possible to use newer plugins to get classic sounds as they are simply updating and enhancing what was done before. First off, Bricasti reverb. It's a $3000 piece of hardware that runs the equivalent of something like an 8 core computer. So, not the easiest thing to translate into software. But, Liquidsonics has used advanced technology to capture the pure reverberation from the unit in convolution form so you can add it to your tracks with their Seventh Heaven plugin. Quite a few people who have used it claim they can't tell the difference. Recently a nonlinear mode was added that is inspired by the AMS RMX16 used by artists such as Phil Collins. You'll be able to make things sound vintage, modern, or even just like they were recorded with a great natural reverb from a real studio room.