The Latest "Vintage Sound" Theory

[newey]

So. we've all heard the tales of "better" sound from vintage bits and pieces- you know, the classic NOS caps, or pots, or cloth covered wires supposedly make whatever equipment sound "warmer", "mellower", or whatever the descriptor is.

I, for one, am a skeptic on most topics, and especially this one.

Last Monday night, pounding down a few cold ones at my local watering hole, when we got on the topic of recording techniques, analog vs. digital, etc. Don't ask how the topic arose, I don't rightly recall.

But the bartender chimed in with a theory of his own, one I had not heard before. By way of background, the bartender in question is a guitarist/keyboardist/studio rat kind of guy.

His theory is that the reason vocals on so many '50's and '60's vintage recordings sound (to some folks, apparently) "mellower" than those from the 1970s was that recording studios in those days mostly used RCA condenser mics from the 1940s. The things were well-built, and seldom replaced in studios, many still being used 20 or so years later.

His theory holds that, in those days, everyone smoked in the studio- musicians, engineers, etc., and that years of singers breathing smoke, first- and second- hand, onto the innards of these mics, over the years, resulted in a fairly thick coating of cigarette tars, which mellowed out the sound in a way that cannot really be recreated.

At first I laughed, then I saw that he was being at least semi-serious. And the more I thought about the theory, the more plausible it was!

Is this a new one, or has anyone heard this little tidbit before?

[ChrisK]

[quote]...in those days, everyone smoked in the studio- musicians, engineers, etc., and that years of singers breathing smoke, first- and second- hand, onto the innards of these mics ears, over the years, resulted in a fairly thick coating of cigarette tars, which mellowed out the sound in a way that cannot really be recreated.
[/quote]
Huh, say what, I can't hear you?


I still think it was the 25 foot coil cords...............

[andy]

You know I might have heard that somewhere. I've also heard engineers say that many 'cheap' chinese mics are made better than old Neumann U81s!

The real question is, would the music have been any better or worse on those classic records if it were recorded on modern gear?

And, if those records sounded so good, why do they need re-mastering to modern standard?

And isn't it kind of easy to get at least the sound of many classic records with quite simple gear- except that those kind of results would not be accepted as high enough quality these days?

But you already said, you are a skeptic too...

:oThat all said, there is something about my old Tascam cassette tape four-track which my computer misses. And it is a kind of clear warmth. But Geeze, FOUR tracks??

[newey]

those kind of results would not be accepted as high enough quality these days?

Yeah, I seem to remember that conversation with my 19 year old stepson about some 60's vintage records: "But you have to remember, they did that with only 4 tracks! And two mics! And no synthesizers!"

In a similar vein, I recently re-watched "2001: A Space Odyssey". The FX looked primitive after 40 years.

[cynical1]

...just to throw another oar in the water...look at what those songs were being played on. Car radios, cheap phonographs, transistor radios and cheezy earphones.

Frequency response was not a marketing tool then, so it stands to reason that an engineer would mix tracks to accentuate the mid-range and roll off the highs and lows...making it sound warmer on newer equipment.

Just a theory, not meant to influence...

Happy Trails

Cynical1