How To Bring Back The Golden Era Of Analog Gear Pt. 2

by Eli Krantzberg

Nostalgia is a funny thing. Those who were old enough to have lived through the era have very different memories and associations than those experiencing the period vicariously through various recreations. Take the 1980s, for example. For me, it was the era of fanny packs, MTV, VCRs, Lady Dianna becoming a modern fairy tale princess, Ronald Reagan, mixtapes, aerobics workouts, Mr.T, and Ferris Bueller. Those are a few of the random cultural associations that come to mind.

The 1980s

The music industry, both technically and creatively, was full of era-defining aspects and qualities as well. It was the time of metal hair bands like Bon Jovi, Motley Crüe, Def Leppard, and Van Halen. But the eighties also brought us Michael Jackson, Culture Club, Madonna, and a new era of synth and drum machine-driven pop music. Like the 70s, live musicians, real instruments, and heavy tape machines were still the foundation of music creation. We saw the arrival of Atari and Macintosh computers along with early sequencing software. The electronic sounds blended nicely with live musicians, still recording in big studios.

Consoles got bigger, and tape got thicker. Most decent recording studios were built around either a Harrison 32C and SSL mixing board. The Harrison EQs and SSL bus compression became defining processing effects of the era. External effects processing also entered a new period with hardware like the Eventide H3000 Factory, Tube Tech EQs, and a whole new generation of modulation-based guitar effects pedals chained together. Gated reverb, and processed drums, along with strictly quantized DMX and Linn drum machines, were the new drum sound. The Roland D-50 and Yamaha DX-7, along with 12 bit Akai S-9000 samplers, were the decade's defining synth sounds.

Zeitgeist

How can we possibly recreate all of these various aesthetic human and technological components contributing to a generation's sound? We can't go back in time. No amount of plug-ins and vintage hardware will recreate the past. We can, however, summon the zeitgeist of the era – which is a much more manageable task than attempting to recreate it.

In the first part of this article, I looked at using Finisher RETRO to capture the 60s and 70s recording aesthetics. Through a series of cleverly programmed macros, UJAM put together the essential elements needed to summon the era's sounds. The good news is, Finisher RETRO does not leave us hanging at the end of the 1970s. The '80s and '90s are covered, each with its own set of customized macros. Each with enough variations to make the presets flexible and unique sounding.

Drums

In this example, I've got a typical '80s sounding drum machine-style drum groove. It sounds fine on its own. But I've run it through a couple of Finisher RETRO instances, set up in series, to add a taste of the type of processed drum sounds we heard back then. The Dimensional Chorus preset adds some chorus – not something typically associated with drum mixing. It sounds to me like a complex modulation chain built around the old Roland Dimension D hardware unit. The first variation set to Off and a relatively modest amount of the Finisher knob dialled in adds a stereo widening that screams the '80s. After this, I've set up some console emulation on the second instance of Finisher. The subtle saturation added is characteristic of the mixing boards of the era.

The whole arrangement with no Finisher RETRO, then with all instances enabled.

The ‘90s

Home recording grew in affordability. Digital audio recording within Pro Tools, Logic, and the like was born, but still relatively niche. It was still most common to trigger external MIDI devices and record audio to tape. If you were lucky, that would be ADAT digital tape. CDs replaced cassette tapes. 16-bit audio was the norm, with 24-bit recording still only a distant glimmer in audio interface developer’s eyes.

For those of you old enough to remember the 1990s, these words will evoke nostalgia, recent and real enough to be remembered accurately: ADAT, DAWs, Pro Tools, Emu Proteus, Roland & Korg synths and modules, Line 6 guitar pods, Mackie CR1604 mixing boards, Gigasampler, CDs, TC Electronics Finalizer, Yamaha O2R Digital consoles, MIDI sync devices, Boss DR-600 drum machine, mastering & loudness wars. Enough said. Finisher RETRO has got you covered for this era as well.

’90s Drums

It was the early days of techno. Think TR 909, Madonna Vogue. Strike a pose; there’s nothing to it. Here is a typical 909 style groove. It sounds fine on its own, but the Multibandman Finisher RETRO setting brings it to life with fine-tuned distortion blended into the compressed signal.