Mixing and Production Ideas from Classic Albums of The '70s

[@MakeSomething]

7 years later and this is still GOLD. Good advice.

[@DamonVargas]

Wow! What a great topic. I've been waiting forever for someone to talk about the mixing (& production) of these classic 70's albums. They had far less tools to work with yet the mixes are so rich and alive.

[@beefheart1410]

You're comments on frequency placement vis a vis: how to separate two more or less identical instruments within an arrangement, is very important. Indeed, because a lot of music nowadays is produced via midi or otherwise "in the box" kids are learning music in isolation and, I imagine, missing this. If you grew up, as I did, playing in bands - and listening to records made by musicians who'd learnt playing in bands - you'd learn this lesson very quickly as you just couldn't hear each other if you didn't do it! Thus, if you had two guitarists in the band playing chords then you'd stick these guitar parts in different registers so you didn't end up with a pointless wall of mush. This is music 101 stuff but, as I say, possibly missed nowadays due to the isolationist way people are learning about and then producing music. Back in the day, bands knew this stuff way, way before they got near a studio and the parts were often written with such separation of register by rote. Likewise, creating the illusion of frequency by a having one instrument fill in the perceived missing frequency for another instrument was commonplace, even on stage. Take a band like The Stranglers: noted as being a band (in their early years) as having the bass guitar as more or less the lead instrument and coloured by a very aggressive and "heavy" bass attack. In reality, the sound was achieved by having the bass guitar's low end rolled off but with boosts over given frequencies in both the mid and top and then overdriven via the bass amp. This would normally result in something of a hollow sound for a bass guitar of course, but it doesn't sound this way in The Stranglers sound. And the reason it doesn't is because the bands' keyboard player, whilst simultaneously playing "Doors" like runs with one one hand, would, (where required), pedal root notes in the low end on an organ with his other hand: thus filling in the "missing" frequency for the bass guitar but giving the over all aural impression of the bass guitar covering a wider frequency range than it was in actuality and producing the trade mark "heavy" bass guitar trademark sound the Stranglers had as the end result. (The low end organ would be lower in the mix than the rest of the keyboard levels - even on stage - as it was only there to "fill" the missing frequency, so to speak, and not be "heard" as a distinct part.) Again, all of this was arranged by the band for their live sound a long time before they got near a recording studio or had a recording contract. Ultimately, when the band - or any band of that era - went to record, much of the preliminary work was done, prior to any engineer or producer getting involved. So, yeah, much of this knowledge is going missing nowadays, and probably cos' people don't learn their chops in band settings before getting near a recording console.

[@beenmicrophone5817]

dude. deep

[@rockymaldonado7758]

Soooo fucking right on

[@beenmicrophone5817]

HAHA, i was just about to replyt to this comment... and what do u know, who did i find 🤷‍♀️🤣🤣

[@goodchakras]

Amazing comment. I feel like a lot of new musicians/artists go in half cooked to sessions more excited with the process than having any form of pre-existing character. The point about live setting is also true, and the best way around this for solo musicians is to use your DAW as a band. Try to imprint the sound almost live before any ideas of mixing it later. Use the Arrangement, Drums/bass and maybe a tracked vocal (scratch) to keep the vibe flowing and add in the guitars, keyboards or whatever before going back to the start to get the proper bass/drums sound required to drive it and just spend that time getting the character performed live as possible so that when it's done it sounds like a band and dont tweek the mistakes to the point there's not a single happy accident. Or you'll fall into sounding indie instead of rock n roll. Obviously this all takes both technical ability within the daw as well as having proper recording gear and knowledge. But patience and deliberate action beats tutorial based knowledge. That's why a great bulk of producers can't break the mold, because they are in the box. If the band are in the box, the production is in the box and the song is a carbon copy. You will need to be the best in the world to get noticed, so good luck there.

[@mennovanwijk2967]

Thats so true. 24 and producing techno/IDM mostly in the box, and I do struggle with this approach exactly cause its all just MIDI notes. No live playing (sometimes with hardware jams). I did play the drums for years as a kid and was in a band as well.. didnt really learn this from it though. Ty :)

[@TheRoseCityRockers]

There's a reason why 70's album sound so full and rich. And you explained why. Well done!

[@RainwriterMusic]

"This might be boring for some of you guys.." As someone that has begun music production some years back and am super self-taught and almost on almost all my other music skills, who needs to take classes in music production, now, your information was incredibly eye-opening to stuff I didn't think of and I truly appreciate the advice/info. Thank you.

[@Y-key25]

Wow, I almost came to tears listening to this. It had me wondering for years and years why those musicians have such clean and hifi stereo mix. No other videos would ever talk about the whole overview or the philosophy behind the mix, only tips and tricks. I would just imitate them without knowing why I should do this. Thanks a lot. Wish I could give more than 1 like.

[@Eric_In_SF]

the real trick is mixing in mono. Only then, can you pick out and place everything with surgical precision. Spend an hour in mono and put it back in stereo and you will be crying tears

[@CaelJones]

Last time I checked Phil Spector was in prison

[@TribalmonkeyS]

In order of importance. 1. performance 2. Arrangement 3. tones , instrument quality ,production effects dynamics etc ive fallen into the trap n the past of focussing on technical aspects but if the song or performance is shit it doesn't matter how good mics and compressors etc you have

[@paullucas4846]

Not boring at all. This is great information, that really makes sense. A lot of modern mixing is done LCR, which is fine for sparse mixes but in more dense projects can still have competing instrumentation.

[@Mikeunism1]

mate, this is the greatest lesson ive had in the short while that ive started my own music production, (4 months of constant constant obsession) (insanity). do not apologise saying this "might be boring" thank you so much for your words FOR REAL!!!!

[@TheHouseofKushTV]

All good info and great perspective. All I can think to add is this: the best low/hi cut filter --- by a wiiiiiiide margin --- is the instrumental part itself. Like in the rhodes example, yeah, you can filter the lows, and if your only job is mix engineer you'll have to... but if you're the player, and/or the producer, you need to create a part that better slots itself into the arrangement. It's amazing how far you can get if you just stop playing the bottom 2 strings on the guitar, and/or if your left hand rarely if ever goes lower than an octave below middle C. Let the rhythm section OWN the bottom, and if another instrument encroaches, it better be for a very clear emotional payoff, and as soon as the moment passes you get the f&*k out of that space. Much love to the geniuses who made those classic records, it's insane what they pulled off and I'm with you, stuff today may be equaling it in terms of creativity but IMHO nothing is touching the sheer size of the soundstage on those old records. Compression is fun, but stuff gets real small real fast, and the older I get, the more I prefer to use saturation and distortion to control dynamics, and use compression as a form of distortion. Low ratios don't get enough love!

[@jxrdvn7191]

Every time I hear the eagles on the radio the mix always jumps out at me and how perfectly balanced it is

[@kicksncapz]

We are blessed a live front end and digital recall of our mixes.

[@vigilantestylez]

Excellent video, but the SSL 4000 G series console came out in the late 1980s. Still a wonderful console. The E series SSL 4000 came out in the early 80s and would have been perhaps on a few early 80s records. A neat thing that developed by the 1990s was the mixing of channel strips from an older E series SSL into a SSL 4000 G desk. Then they would use the E channels usually for drums and percs, and the G series channels for instruments and vocals. Then gluing it altogether with the G Buss comp, and master channel EQ. I know we are talking about 70s here and I agree the late 70s and early 80s were the peak of sound engineering technique and technology. Another one to consider is the Harrison Mixbus 32C which faithfully emulates the Harrison 32C console which was the Ferrari of mixing consoles in the mid 70s to about the mid 80s. That's a must have for getting the sound quality of the period you are talking about in the video. Anyway just wanted to drop some stuff I learned myself, that will help you get that rich and robust late 70s early 80s sound. I am excited to see people are trying to bring back this quality. Great video once again. :)

[@petemusgrove7422]

I think you're right on point and also consider those 70s albums to be the pinnacle of music production. Thanks for elaborating on the panning, I'll be playing around with that.... it makes perfect sense to me. Good job.

[@marshall881]

Fleetwood Mac recordings are always my benchmark of what I would like to achieve.

[@rissairenemusic3894]

Same

[@musicrat51]

Very good video. I read years ago in an interview with Nichols in Mix Magazine where he said he rolled off the lows and highs on every voice and instrument to keep the mix clean. He said he was looking for the essence of each sound and if you listened to each instrument/voice by themselves they would sound thin and boring. It's the total sum that makes a clean recording. Nice job explaining this technique.

[@MakeYourOwnDamnMusic]

Wow, man! Glad you shared this... really helps to confirm my suspicions.

[@musicrat51]

One other thing Nichols said, he recorded with high and low pass filters on for each track. When two instruments shared the same space he would cut frequencies on one instrument and boost the same frequencies on the other. This would give space when they were stacked. Keep up the good work.

[@MakeYourOwnDamnMusic]

Awesome, musicart51. I gotta get my hands on that article... would love to read it.

[@musicrat51]

If sure it's out of print I believe it was back in the early 80's. When I saw your video it all came back to me. It was the most enlighting article I ever read regarding mix down. Musicrat51

[@musamusashi]

The role of Nichols in the Steely Dan recording and mixing process should be further investigated as he was mostly a coordinator and took care of the vocal overdubs and, the Wendel drum machine since Gaucho. He was not the one tracking the band or mixing, although he would have his say in the process.

[@MarkSandersMusic]

Enjoyed the video. As a player/producer from that era who is still recording today I would say that when it comes to digital recording just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should. The bottom line is, if you like those classic recordings think about the limitations in the technology that forced all of the parts to be played, not looped etc. Real music played by real people is always best. Also if you have ever recorded to tape you know that the inherent overtones create a thickness to the sound so panning like frequencies away from each other keeps it cleaner and lets you hear the players as if they were playing live and have their own position on stage allowing you to follow what each player is doing. In other words keep it real and it will sound real.

[@MakeYourOwnDamnMusic]

Great insights, Mark. Thanks for sharing.

[@jeffharmon2827]

You hit the nail on the head with the time frame. I love music from all eras, but I have to say from about 1970 to 1983 is where it all happened for me.

[@MurkFM-kl2kn]

yup, this is the way producers should actually be thinking about music and production as a whole, I actually remember my old production partner telling me about the slots technique many years ago. Also our fave era of music and art is the 70s. We studied, channeled, and meditated to those records all the time in the studio religiously.

[@user-jdxkfnm]

i didnt even try it out for myself with the panning advice but thru simple thinking (logically) this makes total sense when im looking at my experience since 7 years of beat production. thank you for clearing this up for me i didnt thought about this at all

[@CodyJacobCamacho]

Great video man NOT boring at all for us passionate musicians who care about the quality of our projects. Keep posting videos!

[@apro109]

100% spot on. It's all about carving out space, both in frequency and across the stereo stage.

[@parkercadmin3666]

YES! This is what I've been trying to tell my other music friends. the balance of sound! different fretboard positions, different pass filters to balance frequencies

[@moskva-kassiopeya]

That’s exactly what I was thinking about when listening to that 70’s sound. These guys didn’t have all those crazy surgical eq options like we have today so instead their mixing decisions were based off of a wisely selected sonic characteristics of the instruments. Something we lack of today.

[@thechuckster6838]

Man, what a lesson in under 15 minutes! You nailed it precisely. Some of those records that came out around that time that you mentioned, had a wholesome sound to them. Things, these days are way overdone. I am fortunate enough that I spent the late 70's to the mid 90's in the New York studios watching the masters pull off miracles. I also feel that a lot was lost when the hair bands started to emerge and the doubling of parts had to be identical. It became mechanical sounding. Gaucho is one example that I often reference when I'm mixing in my home studio. If you're not careful, the kick and bass can rub against each other causing certain notes on the bass to not penetrate through the mix. Then, add a vocal to that center spot from a baritone male singer, and everything disappears. Great explanation on your end. Every kid with a computer and pro tools should watch your video.

[@74goldenjet]

I have watched so many vids about mixing, I have read books etc..No one ever tell this stuff. This is gold! Thanks you so much for sharing. Subscribed.

[@knightbrolaire526]

One of my favorite mixes has to be CCR's cover of 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine'. The sound of it is just beautiful.

[@ricoloco2803]

I've always loved the Dire Straights first album from 1978 and thought it sounded amazing. I've been countless hours listening in awe to the subtleties of his second to none guitar playing. After finally getting serious about learning how to hear for production and not just performance, I've been listening to it, amongst others, and wow! I hear things swapping places in the Pan throughout a song to make room and balance the frequency spectrum as different elements move in and out of the track. Hearing some of the tricks I've been learning about like panning the reverb of a vocal to the opposite side and then putting some sort of modulation effect on only the reverb. This has been an amazing journey, being able to find all these awesome treasures in songs I've listened intently to hundreds of times before is worth the effort without even considering The reason I've been studying in the first place, which is to increase my still level in the studio. If I never apply my new (and developing) skill set to a single track, I'll not regret a single minute spent studying.

[@jvc101973]

I’ve been using Fleetwood Mac as a reference track because my client said they wanted a seventies sounding mix. And you hit it right on the head about the clarity.

[@Eric_In_SF]

You’re definitely on the right track. but you can’t put it in peoples head that all they have to do is use numerical positions on the clock to try to space out everything. And especially not rely on visuals to apply low pass and high pass. You got a really dig in to find the essence of the instrument and always use your ears. The real magic with panning happens when you throw your mix into mono! It’s not about just tossing an arbitrary position on your pan knob you’re literally finding space in your mix where that instrument shines the best and when you do it in mono it sticks out like a sore thumb and then you can start playing with EQ once you’ve found a space for it. Some of the most incredible mixes you’ll ever get is after playing with things for a half an hour in tweaking in mono and then you popping into stereo for the first time. It’s absolute magic.

[@awsesomeman110]

Hands down one of the best videos for music production

[@BonHomie87]

So not boring at all, my dude. Thank you for your revelatory insight on an era of recording the likes of which shan’t nigh be recreated. Everything you were explaining made perfect sense to me and your visual analogies really helped get the point across. Now I know what high pass and low pass are actually for.

[@monohive]

Great stuff especially the part about panning makes so much sense.

[@cmopro]

I got you, I have a lot of those albums...I tune my room to the soundtrack to the movie "SHAFT" which got a grammy for the theme and an Oscar for the engineering...I bought a HiRes version at 192k/24bit, it sounds awesome

[@peteytwofinger]

i would love to hear someone who knows what they are doing mix one of my songs or be able to witness this to see what i am doing incorrectly which is everything . (nothing) taste is what it comes down too . having someone else tell you you can not do something simply so they can exert dominance over you is something i do not tollerate nor would i pay for this dis-service . i do not wish for my music to sound like steely dan . no matter how perfect they sound . my music is mine , not gauchos . i listened to your sound cloud . great job , your music sound phenomenal ! hats off pal .

[@jeffblack5024]

This is why I love mixing in Reason - although the snobs seem to sneer at it. The filters are there on the desk and once I learnt to use them on everything (even the bass doesn’t need super low end rumble), my mixes sounded clean as a whistle. I bring up each track on the spectrum analyser as you did and take out anything on either side of the sound’s main frequency range. Of course, choosing sounds that mix together in the first place helps.

[@ricoloco2803]

A lot of people around my age( born in 79 ) love 80s music but I feel like the worst thing to ever happen to music was the 80s. This helps to understand part of what went wrong with music in the 80s.

[@DeSanKwuh]

Awesome video dude, absolutely not boring, inspired to dig deeper!

[@frankvaleron]

This is an amazing tutorial, Thanks. Would love to see you making videos again

[@musamusashi]

Just watched an interview with Elliot Scheiner who mixed Gaucho and the 2 previous ST albums, and he said he used no high pass filters and very little processing overally. This takes nothing away from the benefits of hi-passing of course, just for the record. The need of hi-passing became stronger as the number of tracks in a project increased drastically to ridiculous numbers: Gaucho was still a 24 track project.

[@bob4analog]

Very good articulation! I've learned a lot here with your explanation and breakdown of the early mixes like Steely Dan. Indeed, all those stood out as hallmarks of really great recordings that stood the test of time.

[@ernestogonzales5844]

Thanks for sharing this. As a beginner in mixing, what you presented here was an eye opener. It will change the way I do things now. Have a great weekend.

[@aperez12374]

dude, you're speaking my language. I love your channel

[@marcusmagellan]

Can’t believe this video has only 52 thousand views in 5 years, should be more, valuable information for all music producers.

[@yourguitartutorials2563]

Words out of my mouth!!! ELO and Hall and Oates too

[@seberry1]

Outstanding video. Exploring analog instrumentation solutions to clarity problems -- instead of just looking for some knob to turn -- is exciting and has a much higher potential of creating unique and memorable sounds.

[@KidHellacious]

This is great. I feel like this is all stuff I'm familiar with and was aware of... but the way you explained it really made it actually click for me. Thank you.

[@ExclusiveLM]

Here are some 70s songs that I think are perfect quality and sonically speaking: 1. After The Love Is Gone (Earth, Wind, And Fire) 2. You Make Me Feel Brand New (The Sylistics) 3. Dancing Queen (ABBA) 4. Reminiscing (Little River Band) 5. Come To Me (France Joli) 6. How Deep Is Your Love (The Bee Gees)

[@Macho_Beats]

Great video man. Really good observation!!!!

[@bennycasino]

Yeah this was golden material. Not boring at all! Thank you!

[@snackcrackers8]

I know I'm late to the party watching this is 2022. But I have been absolutely obsessed with making a song with the production quality of the Eagles. I consider them like you as one of the greats. Been looking for years and couldn't find anything. I listen to their music all the time just trying to find little things like you said. And I've found a lot. But when I try to lets say play a guitar in the middle, and have one also playing softly on the left side. Like in the song Lyin' Eyes for example. I just can't get it to sit right like they did. Your knowledge has GREATLY helped me out. Thank you so much! I'm one step closer to achieving my goal! (:

[@tripgunn5549]

For what you're talking about at 11:00 with the higher guitar doubling, check out Nashville tuning, which is how a lot of them acquired that effect.

[@musicdreamerish]

Definitely a great video. And another way to compliment this way is do mix checks in mono. I lower all channels and bring up just the kick and bass guitar. Then I eq them so that they are distinct and live in their own space. Then add another track, guitar or keys maybe. Add it in and again, make sure it lives in it's own space . To make sure of this, I ask myself, can I pay attention to, and hear an instrument even with the rest of the mix going. So do your basic eq tasks in Mono. Do not set levels in Mono because as most know the level of an instrument in the center is louder because both right and left are equal in amplitude. Once you pan that instrument you are turning the amplitude down on the opposite side, which of course is why it sounds like it is moving to the side. But now the amplitude is too low and you must raise the volume of the track. So set levels after your stereo panning is done. But do both ways, frequency panning and checking in Mono that every instrument lives in it's own space. Masking equals Mudd and perceptual confusion., so low pass and high pass where needed to carve out space not just FOR each instrument, but AROUND each instrument. Making music on my own I have to play all my own instruments (besides drums, I use EZ Drummer for them), which makes it hard for me not to want to mix even as I am recording tracks. I am trying to break myself from this habit and keeping things in mono as I record tracks seems to help me refrain from dabbling in mixing before I should. This frequency panning as well is another nice way to keep myself in the proper work zone and stop trying to mix before I just get the darn tracks all recorded first. Again, great video and sound advice.

[@kicksncapz]

Plus you have all the advantages of recall and making presets, with eq compression and your mic placement, set up and amps and effects.

[@beefheart1410]

I agree with your assessment as to the era of peak sound quality on albums. From the mid 80s on we got into that horrible gated drum sound, Lynn drums replacing acoustic drums and synth washes. Following this we got into the "Loudness Wars" and the diminishing of dynamics via fanatical use of the Limiter.

[@michaelangeloh.5383]

Not for everything... I still stay with that it was all great up until the early '90s... Loudness only crossed the line for the majority of records around the mid-'90s (some earlier, some later, sure). And there were still plenty of great acoustic drums, that hasn't gone away until today. In pop, sure... Especially with synthesis since the '80s. But music isn't about the pop-genre...

[@vigilantestylez]

@@michaelangeloh.5383 I thought the same thing, and thought the mid 90s albums were still mixed good, as from memory they seemed to sound good to me at the time, but I went and listened to some of my favorite albums of the mid 90s, and they were squashed horribly with over compression, and limiting. I do agree that some of the early 90s stuff was pretty good, but it does seem like early 80s and late 70s was the pinnacle of audio engineering technique, and even technology as far as sound quality of the gear. However the plugins they are making to help bring back this sound are really good nowadays, so maybe we are rediscovering the golden era of recorded music.

[@michaelangeloh.5383]

@@vigilantestylez - Yea. The thing is that there's an overlap, though. Albums should be looked at on a case-by-case basis. For example, Iron Maiden's catalog is interesting, as you can slowly see and hear sound changing throughout the years and decades, where their 1995 album is one of their best-sounding (even better than some of those prior), but then suddenly their 1998 album is overblown. - Then in 2000 they released one similar, then in 2003 one of their worst-sounding, then in 2006 it was a step better than the one in 1998, etc. Or MetallicA's "Black Album" in 1991 was was sonically fantastic, but then their albums in 1996 and 1997 were the first ones of theirs to be overblown. Their 2008-album is one of the worst offenders of all time, but then their 2016-album was a little better yet again. Or Michael Jackson's 'Bad' from 1987 is great, but then 'Dangerous' in 1991 slams the meters harder than MetallicA's "Black Album" of the same year. Then there are also soundtracks for movies and games and the like, which also vary wildly. They can sound amazing in even the recent years, but at the same time many other ones also suffer from hot mastering. You can take James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer their three "Dark Knight" soundtracks; The first in 2005 is fantastic-sounding, the second in 2008... doesn't sound bad but is flattened in dynamics, then the third in 2012 is just blown to distortion. And here's another thing; All of the loudness-problems on the albums I've mentioned aren't a problem on the Vinyl-releases. So that's another thing; CD (or digital) got misused for its ability to go very loud, which you can't do on Vinyl physically. So, just saying, great engineering is still done. It just really depends on who's behind it and all that. - I never understand who decides on things like the loudness of a master, especially when it's the same artists/composers, engineers, producers except a few years apart. - Like, again; Why does 'Batman Begins' sound amazing and 'The Dark Knight Rises' sound garbage? (Both on CD or digital.) - They're both from pretty much the same early 21st century productions or studios. It's a bunch of weirdness! ;P

[@vigilantestylez]

@@michaelangeloh.5383 I agree with everything you said there. 👍

[@radovanradovanovic2755]

they are M/S mixing it and also the standard paning .. but watch for mono compatibility .. every inst you record in M/S with two mics one cardio mode and another 8 mode positioned at 90 degree one in respect to another... so cardio is mid and 8 is sides one goes to each mono channel so you can treat them separately.. you can copy side channel and put that signal trough 2 or more channels into one sum, treat each one differently with EQ, comp, pan.. than in final mix you don't need to spoil anything else if you get each component right at start.. this is a short description but you get the point..

[@mistermister8]

One of the most important lessons in music production ever, and I thank you for this. It is an epitome moment.

[@kicksncapz]

Split the signal invert the phase, stack the tracks and you can add some of the rich lows back with a narrow sculpting and some surgical eq, lower volume and very smooth and light compression.

[@williwuff6131]

You have 4.5 Dimensions, that you can make use of for a balanced mix. That is time, frequency, panning, volume and a "half" dimension, that is associated with volume, that is proximity. Steely dan surely is a great example of well engineered mixes. Aja is a masterpiece ans so is their late album "Two Against Nature". Another awesome record from the 80s, where you can clearly hear all these dimensions, is Joe Jackson's "Body and Soul". Cha-cha loco used to be my reference for tuning live PA systems. Whenever there is a problem with the frequency response, the instruments quickly fall out of balance. The engineer also did a great job, working with proximity.

[@petemusgrove7422]

Definitely not boring - very insightful and immensely useful. Thanks so much for this vid!

[@brodymullikin]

I have an album coming soon and I'm nearing mixing and mastering stage. I feel you have just solved my problems. I'm going for that 70's sound

[@B1k33]

Wonderful video, I have been trying to figure out what sort of techniques the​ producers were using back then. Thank you!

[@marcos061059]

Spectacular information! I had never considered panning frequencies before.

[@vipulbhirwandekar6730]

Lots of respect bro.....the way you research all this stuff.... love the idea of panning.... so that frequency does not clash .... thnx alot.. 😉👍

[@tedpaull434]

Just came across this brilliant video today, and wanted to thank you for doing it, man! I 'came of age' during that 'Golden Age' of music, and understand exactly what you are getting at. There was an aliveness and creativity, both in the making of the music and in the production that is rarely heard today. I particularly appreciate your explanation of the stacking and placement of frequency bands in sonic space. Would you consider doing another video on this topic, but showing examples, ie, using the spectrum analyzer on a variety of instruments, and demonstrating the decision making process? A visual demo of this technique would be phenomenal! Keep up these great videos!

[@MakeYourOwnDamnMusic]

I would consider that, Ted. Might be a fun little video to make. Never actually put this method into use myself, so would need to mess around with this approach on my downtime.

[@tedpaull434]

Take your time! I'm sure it will be worth the wait...

[@JorgeJaramillodj]

Excellent explanation. I have been in the studio for most of my life and your clear-cut explanation hit home. It reminded me of a lot of “tricks” I had forgotten (or set aside with all the new technology getting in the way). Excellent video!!!!

[@Stallagmite]

Good insights on that time period...the biggest difference I notice personally is compression. I was in the bathroom trying to think deep thoughts and Rush's Farewell to Kings- 1977 (right in the middle of the period you refer to) popped in my head as my favorite Rush sound mix, the albums before and after those years are also great sounding, with big dynamic ranges. Ironically, their most popular album, and still one of my favorite, is also when I think things really went down hill- Moving Pictures, sounded narrow, digital, and flat. Their latest albums are so compressed that I feel worn out listening to them. Its pretty interesting to trace long lived bands and see how their mixes have changed.

[@TheRTM]

one of the best (sonically speaking) is Saturday Night Fever sound track album. who ever did the mix and the equipment used on that record is on another level entirely. And i have spent years trying to emulate and capture that sound in my own mixes

[@SarcasticTruth77]

There's an article on the Sound On Sound site that goes in to lots of detail about how those songs were recorded. You will probably be surprised they were recorded on junky gear at a neglected studio. Ground loops, dead sections of faders, unreliable tape machine, etc. The drums are a loop that's generations old. That's the source of that super crispy disco EQ: they'd already been through so many generations of Dolby NR, and had to boost the highs back up. They also said multiple times that they were trying to create Philly Soul, but feeling like they were failing. Instead, everyone listened to their Philly Soul failures, and thought "Hmm, new style of Disco." I've learned that, so much of what we imagine was a creative brainstorm, is often people trying to work around problems and hide the flaws as best as they can. Fever is a great example of that.

[@TheRTM]

@@SarcasticTruth77 Please give me the link to that article.

[@omerktee9261]

Thank you so much for this content. I always thought this things about "any major dude " clarity and asked myself how is this become the way it is.

[@humbertmedeiros9254]

Gaucho! Interesting that you mentioned that album. That was one that I used to audition speakers and understand what an ideal mix/master sounds like.

[@chrishurst6090]

Awesome video! Excellent thoughts

[@dannydaniel1234]

I heard a famous engineer from the 70's era once say, "in mixing, there are no set in stone rules" he says, if your kick drum is not cutting through the mix, and you have to use 12db of 1500kz to bring it out, then, so be it! I just discovered that a R&B bass player from a group I love used a shit load of high mid and low mid cuts to achieve his bass tone....

[@misterdeity]

Great info! I remember reading an interview in Mix magazine (is that still around?) with Chris Lord-Alge back in the late '90s where he was saying many of the same things - especially about separating frequencies in the pan. He would also EQ so as to make a safe space for the different instruments which would keep them from mushing together.

[@kawfiblack]

This video is incredible. I have this is feeling that these are thoughts and ideas I already possessed yet you found the words ro excites them in a digestable manner. Thank you for this video!

[@robertquinn9490]

I just stumbled onto this video last night. I was looking for just what you're talking about. I soon will be attempting to mix my own music and I've been going through the visible folks on KZbin to see what I can learn. I agree that the 70's' were the high water mark. I have a bias because it was my era as well. I see that this video is 7 years ago. I'm wondering where you've taken this in that time? The takeaway here for me is that it's all about what you put into whilst' tracking. The sound stage, panning, stacking etc. all the while avoiding conflicting frequencies. I'll be tracking with all of this in mind. The modern day approach to bass frequencies...it hurts my ears.

[@nondelusional]

great shot out to roger, love your channel. it is very inspiring .

[@smpmusicstudio77]

Such a great info and idea to mix! Simple but effectiv. Yes, you still learning every day... ;-)

[@watchmakerfs]

My favorite examples of this are the early Rush albums, it's so clear.

[@Stallagmite]

dude, I thought the same...A Farewell to Kings, for some reason feels like the most "real and raw" mix. I think Moving Pictures, ironically, is when the sound mix took a turn for the worst, even though I still love every song there...

[@reeceb29]

Great knowledge, great musical refs, great post!

[@RolandWolffRiviera]

one of the best YT videos on mixing!

[@kpeterson209]

Love what you are saying about panning. Great channel dude!

[@jorgehidalgo2417]

That is Passion My Friend! Thanks for sharing!

[@neri24]

it´s very interesting! not boring at all!!! thanks for sharing! Greetings from Mexico.

[@stevelucero9047]

subbed.... and this topic (70's production techniques) is so important that I'd suggest you do a video series on just this.... one trick per episode.

[@itos191]

Thanks a lot for this video! This knowledge was so much more than just the technical stuff I see all the time, it was more advice and tips that will help the overall sound! I appreciate it a lot and though I am currently working on more modern music I first got into music listening to classic rock with my father!

[@AnaamSings]

This is absolutely my topic - what an amazing video! your insights are invaluable

[@Daltic639]

here i am again after a year, still down the 70's mixing rabbit hole...

[@MarcosCerutti]

Really great video man!

[@LucasDiniz96]

thanks man, that was very useful. Just started production school and could grasp pretty much all the ideas. Awesome

[@JohnRegansReviewsTutorialsMore]

Love your channel, man. Real life stuff.

[@docsspeakeasy4796]

Funny enough steely dan is what made me think of this, their vocals sound so god damn good

[@tomvomton2371]

Everything you said is right, but this is standard and happening today too, by great engineers. I think the different is they spend days, weeks on finding uniqe/new sounds and record/play with these sounds in the headphones to tape. After the last overdub the record was done. No reason to record anything else but the perfect fitting sound spot on. The "bad" records start then they try to change everything in the mix and later on even relaying on the mixing engineer and recorded every thing clean.

[@JonathanBCormier]

Best mixing / production tips i've heard in a while! Thanks!

[@vegafuse1]

Thanks man! One of the most interesting things on mixing here, truly brilliant findings.

[@williamberger2178]

I know nothing about sound recording or mixing, however I find this subject fascinating. I have the albums you are reffering to and I really enjoy hi fidelity and "leaving space" in the recording mix makes perfect sense. I would like to add one album to your list of well mixed recordings; Supertramp's Crime of the Century, hopefully you can find the original pressing or recording because as you know some "re-mixed" re-issues turn everything up to 11.

[@albertclangence1342]

Really fascinating, gonna try and use everything you said. Thanks!

[@shaunmichaels5296]

Man I love hearing this :)

[@dustinlee6091]

I would think that most musicians who play together should already know this. You always try to find your own pocket to hangout so that you don’t end up cluttering the mix and in turn it makes the job of the mixing engineer much easier

[@forrestgump8312]

It's like someone talking about conspiracy theories but they're all true! Thank you

[@Cola.Cube.]

So, conspiracies.

[@Vermonseidel]

Thanks for sharing the tips, yea i noticed that also when i listened to the Funkadelics, Earth Wind and fire and Thriller are probably the best examples of this concept :) you know i was mixing recently after i took some pointers from someone to pan hard left/right, but when my mix collapsed in mono it just didn't sound sweet enough.