How a recording-studio mishap shaped '80s music

Warning: This is an unapologetic ode to gated reverb drums
Here's a Spotify playlist of some of the best gated reverb songs: spoti.fi/2vH7ZZL
Over the past few years a general nostalgia for the 1980s has infiltrated music, film, and television. I deeply love those gated reverb drums of the '80s - you know that punchy percussive sound popularized by Phil Collins and Prince? So for my second episode of Vox Pop’s Earworm I spoke with two Berklee College of Music professors, Susan Rogers and Prince Charles Alexander, to figure out just how that sound came to be, what makes it so damn punchy, and why it’s back.
Correction: At 2:01, a previous version of the video mistakenly said the noise gate only lets frequencies above a certain threshold pass through. We should’ve said “amplitudes” instead of “frequencies.” The error has been rectified.
At 3:45 we noted that plate reverb boxes were made using aluminum. In fact, they were usually made of steel.
Further reading: www.musicradar.com/news/drums/...
Some songs don't just stick in your head, they change the music world forever. Join Estelle Caswell on a musical journey to discover the stories behind your favorite songs.
Check out the entire Vox Earworm playlist here: bit.ly/2QCwhMH
And follow Vox Earworm on Facebook for more: / voxearworm
Subscribe to our channel! goo.gl/0bsAjO
Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out www.vox.com to get up to speed on everything from Kurdistan to the Kim Kardashian app.
Check out our full video catalog: goo.gl/IZONyE
Follow Vox on Twitter: goo.gl/XFrZ5H
Or on Facebook: goo.gl/U2g06o

[@Vox]

Here's a Spotify playlist full of gated reverb heavy songs from the 80s and today! Let me know which songs you think I should include and I'll pick a few to add: open.spotify.com/user/estellecaswell/playlist/5zh0IzdP530nxTKRmarv5q

[@jojoe7139]

Thank you! This is exactly why I subscribed to Vox.

[@Justyn219]

Vox You're a garbage KZbin channel.

[@1dir951]

+Vox You didn't mention the great sounding widely used Spring Reverb units from the 50s/60s and still in use today... Google it.

[@CateOwen]

Hey this is a great video - really interesting and fab examples. Excellent research. More! More!

[@avatarhzh5035]

If you had to guess how many songs have you listened to in your life time? Just curious

[@megaforse]

You could say Phil was really the genesis of the 80's drum sound.

[@danielocean2665]

Like what yadid der.

[@jbr2991]

Love it

[@laurat1129]

Well played, racecar driver.

[@Nazim909]

Well the engineer really but yeah

[@TheJimprez]

It was an engineer (Hugh Charles Padgham... LOTS of awards), that MADE the tweak, and Collins and Gabriel & XTC that first used it. They ALL recorded in the same studio, in 1979 or thereabout. In the Air, Tonight is the MOST recognizable use of the GATED REVERB sound, though.

[@moyo6606]

The iconic drum fill in "In The Air Tonight" = instant dopamine rush

[@AC3handle]

I keep thinking of stewie trapped in the other dimension and doing that bit.

[@Jam_Fam]

I just think of that deer going through a kids playset

[@g.k.1669]

I think of a foggy night traveling through Canada on the way to New York at about 3:00am with two other guys on a business trip in 1989. I was sleeping in the back seat and woke up to that song. When I slapped the headrest of the two guys in the front seat to that drum line they both yelled in fear as they were already freaking out about the heavy fog.

[@taylor22222222]

@@Jam_Fam hahahahaha!!! 😂😂😂 It's been a while since I've seen that 😂

[@sanchoodell6789]

Every time you hear that song. Its almost impossible to resist the urge to turn the volume up full blast just before the drums kick in!

[@amazd7]

And maybe this is why learning to play the drums in the 80's always felt like a fail. Tape/socks/pillows and I just couldn't get my set to sound like the radio songs. You just healed part of my childhood. lol

[@hmax1591]

very good reflection. I too attempted to play drums in the 80's, hated that I couldn't get the "sound" .....

[@charmelink]

plus... that’s when drums on the radio became just too simplistic :/

[@jmackinjersey1]

@@charmelink A lot of "synth" music in the 80's made a major change in music. The 80's had a major influence on music, movies, clothing, hair, commercials. Everything mainstream, well except for the cars. TBH, the 80's cars were pretty bland. Aries K-Car, Chevy Citation, Ford anything. Heck, even though the Mustang and Camaro were pretty decent at that time, they just barely slipped by as cool. Although I'd like to have a 5.0 Fox Body, 5.7 Z28, or dare I say a Daytona.

[@edwardanimations6296]

@@jmackinjersey1 Are we just going to ditch the Lotus Esprit? ;-P

[@davidwatkins204]

Yeah man, I remember a guy overdubbing white noise from a synth onto his snare because that's what we thought they did to get that sound, eventually we got a Roland space echo, but we could have got reverb from any guitar amp.

[@syedkahar4679]

Honestly that gated reverb is probably why I like 80s music. It just makes the song sounds so alive and warm

[@koiyujo1543]

I can agree

[@curly_wyn]

You better be joking. Gated reverb is anything but warm. It’s COLD.

[@natmaccc]

Vox is always educating me about things I didn't even know I cared about

[@ajamoore6540]

Natalie Mack same 💀 like who thinks of drums in music that much

[@ajamoore6540]

Dave Griffin I knew my name was an album but I didn't know that 🤔 maybe I'll check it out sometime now thanks

[@TRKTKO]

+Aja Moore That's cool! Tell us what you think about it! ☺️

[@gilespeterson6832]

Aja Moore I do though. Hip-hop and R&B love using it in excess.

[@JLE8811]

Natalie Mack well said

[@yoong___]

No mistakes just happy little accidents

[@nectimusmaximus]

Brit Gilpin that was my senior quote in high school! Love Bob Ross

[@restorationconcrete]

“Lets add a little gated reverb here. Just a touch. And over here maybe a little Phil Collins drum sound. Yes, that’s sounds nice. Just use your imagination!”

[@hamaljay]

Let the reverb just beat the devil of it.

[@josexaviergallegos]

you made me cry

[@AndrewAMartin]

To paraphrase Thelonius Monk, "There are no wrong notes, just unfortunate choices." Of course, Monk was talking about jazz, not pop...

[@joserose9095]

I like being talked about fondly, thanks Vox

[@sakosarkissian6411]

this deserves more likes

[@kingofthekoopas8857]

@@sakosarkissian6411 Does it, honestly?

[@sakosarkissian6411]

@@kingofthekoopas8857 yes griffen, yes it does.

[@markwlewisonutube]

Name checks out.

[@Q_the_guitar_god]

BRUHHHHH 😂 💀

[@2ndAveScents]

Keep doing more like this. So many people have no clue how music is made.

[@davidho2977]

I didn't know there was so much to it.

[@2ndAveScents]

@@davidho2977 man it’s like a whole other world of equipment, technology and techniques. I been making music since I was 13 and recording in my bedroom and when I would play stuff for my friends it would blow their minds that I was able to make music in my bedroom. When I’d show them how I do it and talk to them about, they’d be completely clueless as to the actual process. I think the more people know about it, the more they can appreciate what they hear.

[@2ndAveScents]

@@voraciousfred I don’t haha sorry man. I should though, I’ve been doing it for so long. However, there’s tons of channels with people just like me showing how they make music with their computers and some simple equipment like a mic and usb audio interface and maybe a midi keyboard.

[@NathanChisholm041]

Lets keep it that way!

[@drumtravelfun]

"We really kind of used it to death". About sums it up.

[@studiospiraluniverse]

drumtravelfun Fully agree - I was born 1961, have left quite a few nightclubs in the 80’ when this drumsound became a bit too much after hours of it.But somehow amazing to see how sounds, effects and so on that were used to death come back decades later....hopefully used in a more adjusted amount. I just discovered what »Gate« means on my Octatrack reverb. Will use it (like many other things) wisely like a spice.

[@spurioustransients]

Too right. It's a sound I don't miss.

[@hexfxtriks]

Just like any new sound technology. Think of the abomination of pop/rap vocals since the song 'Blue'....

[@gerardvandoornmalen1977]

Haven't learned anything *cough cough* autotune

[@Berkeli]

and they are far from being done yet

[@ewthmatth]

Next video: How a Salon Mishap Shaped 80's Hairstyles

[@JeromeIsTheMan]

@@ZACohea i dont get the punchline

[@blipco5]

Matthew H ....Hahahahaha 💥💪

[@JeromeIsTheMan]

@@ZACohea so was that a joke?

[@qjo]

...and THERE'S the punchline. Nice.

[@JeromeIsTheMan]

wow

[@LucidDreamer54321]

I can give another example of a time when an accident influenced music. One time when Johnny Cash was getting started as a musician, he wanted to listen to some music on a reel-to-reel tape player. But he accidentally played the tape backwards. He heard some very unique guitar sound and thought he could do something with it. He later used it in his song “I Walk the Line”, which became his first #1 hit on the Billboard charts.

[@laurat1129]

Wow, that is cool.

[@patrickturner479]

In the 80‘s everything had too much reverb: Vocals, guitars, drums. And today? Well, sometime it’s a bit to dry.

[@spacegrass6632]

@Party Van! overrated? I hardly know anyone who listens to anything from the 80s other than metal

[@comdnoive]

Spacegrass That's just you.

[@FuskyTheHusky81]

the 70's got it right XD

[@spacegrass6632]

@@comdnoive Suppose so

[@patrickturner479]

Party Van - There was Prince and Michael Jackson, Bands like U2, the return of Instrumental Rock Music with Joe Satrianis „Surfing with the Alien“ also GnR‘s „Appetite for Destruction“ came out bouth in 1987. The 80‘s had their great moments after 85. I do not overrate but I think there are some classics.

[@Mysteryskatin]

This man's name is "Professor Prince Charles Alexander." Why is no one talking about this.

[@ijedi5200]

Bruh thank youuuuuu I knew I wasnt the only one lol

[@ertfgghhhh]

Chiiiile.......

[@ertfgghhhh]

@Kugelspecht Einhorn yesss, chile....

[@ertfgghhhh]

@Kugelspecht Einhornlolol. i didn't say "chill-ee" like the country. I said"chi- eisle" as in "honey chile". Its a saying in my region-the southern united states. It means alot of things: yesss, yasss, say what, uh huh, for real, etc. It depends on what was said and how u say it

[@ranjanbiswas3233]

PRETTY NORMAL NAME

[@kaysha]

Such an amazing story. Definitely a defining moment in music

[@TheCalm25]

𝑲𝒓𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒌 - 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒏 𝑴𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆 ( 𝑭𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝑨𝒍𝒃𝒖𝒎 ) 1977 @13:30 you hear this drum sound 2 years before this broad was paid to say it was invented. This video is bullshit

[@AveMcree]

Chris Stone amen!

[@mikecameron2327]

I love stories about studio accidents leading to brilliant tracks. "Money for Nothing" and "Spirit in the Sky" are two more examples of studio magic that could never be repeated.

[@paulbaxter430]

55 years old and im shedding a tear - love my 80s

[@umachan9286]

Interesting stuff. I always thought the sound of the 80's was more synthesizers and things like that. But yeah, now that you've mentioned this I'm thinking back to all those songs and it's just there.

[@Frst2nxt]

Uma Chan The 80s had super unique guitar sounds too. Like the lead that begins ^you give love a bad name^, that sounds like a sing songy human voice with overtones, almost, or the weird solos on Billy idol songs, or the super charged guitars on ^simply irresistible^.

[@jeffwalker6815]

Trust me, these drums are synthesized enough..

[@Rainer67059]

I grew up back then. People back then said: "Music gets harder with every decade. Back in the day, we thought of Beatles' music as sounding so hard with so much drum. But if we listen to Beatles now, they don't sound like that anymore given we're used to these days' music." The ultra-hard artificial drums were the most important sound of the decade.

[@TheCalm25]

This video is wrong. Many of the snare drum sounds you know from the 80's WERE synthesized. Hardly any of the snares exampled in this video were produced in the same way. There are a million different ways to achieve this big arena-drum sound, and it did not at all start in the 80's by any accident.

[@TheCalm25]

𝑲𝒓𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒌 - 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒏 𝑴𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆 ( 𝑭𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝑨𝒍𝒃𝒖𝒎 ) 1977 @13:30 you hear this drum sound 2 years before this broad was paid to say it was invented. This video is bullshit

[@jrpipik]

The story I heard was that Collins was in the studio while working on Gabriel's album, just playing around, getting a sound, and he hit on this. He and the engineer timed the beat so it would match the gate perfectly. Then Gabriel walked in the room and heard it. He said to Collins, Just play that for five minutes. Collins cursed to himself since he'd been hoping to save that effect for his own recording. But he was on Gabriel's dime at the time, so he gave the beat to Gabriel for "Intruder."

[@leechurchill1965]

jrpipik That explains why I never heard that drum sound on any other Peter Gabriel song but Intruder.

[@jdrukman]

It's all over his 80's albums from that point on. Every track on PG3, Security and So with real drums has it in spades.

[@jormakives]

Bowie and co used Eventide Harmonizer pitch shifting on the famous Low snare drum sound, not gated reverb.

[@drummarr61]

jrpipik I believe it.

[@thespadestable]

@Neil - You know, it's one of those things where he or she gets in played over the radio first is the one who can make claims that they invented it. There are stories were a musician hears a song that's being mixed by engineers, and that musician breaks their neck and attempt to get that song recorded, mixed, added onto an album, and get it released before the other artist, which forces that other artist to scrap that song, because the public will thing they were copying the artist who actually stole the song or the song that sounds so similar.

[@unknownfilmmaker777]

Recording engineer: How much gated reverb do you want? 80s: Ye-

[@rustymozzy]

Turn your de esser back a bit...

[@PinkNoms]

@@rustymozzy de yesser

[@joeshittheragman6252]

Yeet?

[@conradquek]

90125 moment

[@unknownfilmmaker777]

@@conradquek Yes, indeed.

[@frankfisher99]

every one of those early solo Gabriel albums are groundbreaking. a stunning series.

[@Vox]

A previous version of this video mistakenly suggested that a noise gate affects frequency. In fact, it affects amplitude.

[@tinyhotopicbitch]

hi vox

[@leonardodavila506]

Vox a comment with only 11 likes from the vid producer. This is new

[@ayle1312]

*mishap joke*

[@incompetentlogistics]

A compressor doesn't amplify low sounds either. It tends to have a make-up gain, but it is not an inherent part of the compressor. A compressor simply pushes down the volume of the sound when it reaches a set threshold. Then it's up to you to amplify the sound to compensate.

[@singlesideman]

Erik Lauri Kulo Although sometimes downward expansion is used with compression, which actually does amplify signals below a set threshold.

[@magnumpineapple277]

Not to be "that guy" or whatever, but its important to document that Phil Collins didn't go straight from Gabriel's recording sessions for 3/Melt to In The Air Tonight. He heard the Public Image Ltd. album The Flowers Of Romance and was impressed enough by the perfected and tweaked use of gated reverb on the drums on that album, that he decided to hire Nick Launay, the engineer responsible for that particular sound, to work on Collins' Face Value. Collins also did include Hugh Padgham, the engineer on the 3/Melt at the production helm for Face Value, but it was Launay's recording methods that were used for the gated reverb.

[@erikerikerikerikerik]

MagnumPineapple27 Wow i love public image ltd, i never knew they invented that drum sound.

[@peterwelsh1932]

@@erikerikerikerikerik Did they? Sounds like he's saying it went 1st Gabriel 2nd PIL 3rd Collins

[@momentarydogma]

Oh, you're definitely "that guy"

[@joeysplats3209]

@Magnum dude you need to be on Jeopardy!

[@russellrobinson2933]

Didn't "in the air tonight" come out like 83 or 84? Maybe it's just the Mandela effect

[@val13c59]

It’s not just the drum sound of the 80s. But also the Sythesizer sound of the 80s thats some bands are bringing back.

[@Gnarlodious]

The Roland 808 built from a defective microchip was the defining sound of the '80s because it had a static fuzz. They were never able to determine what made the chips defective or how to replicate the chip's behavior, so the original 808 is rare.

[@val13c59]

@@Gnarlodious Cool fun fact. Thanks.

[@rizdog5735]

I mean it wasn't just the gated drums sound that defined the 80's music. There was also those electric keyboard synthwaves.

[@user-tb2wz1tr8y]

They've made a comeback as well.

[@warweezil2802]

The 80s revived music, it was getting boring...

[@josephcampese5347]

Yeah, not to mention big hair.

[@andrewfutterman3346]

@@josephcampese5347 The 80s had some of the best music but some of the worst hairstyles IMO.

[@bapyongukgukguk2352]

@@user-tb2wz1tr8y Weekend uses it a lot

[@AirborneSurfer]

It figures that Phil Collins invented the drum sound that defined a decade.

[@MyBlogsTV]

AirborneSurfer actually a band called XTC defined that sound years before Phil Collins, listen to the album Drums and Wires, the sound is present throughout.

[@joaquinodriozola4963]

XaviorZ that album is amazing!

[@RazorEdge2006]

Another band that predates Phil Collins is Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO), a pioneering Japanese synthpop band that used gated-reverb drums for their song "Behind the Mask" in 1979. "Behind the Mask" is best known for the Michael Jackson cover version, which doesn't have the gated-reverb drums, but the original 1979 YMO version had it. Interestingly, YMO's "Behind the Mask" released around the same time as XTC's "Drums and Wires" in 1979. It leads me to believe YMO, XTC and Phil Collins may have all discovered the gated-reverb sound independently.

[@mikemike7345]

Phil is still hands down the best at it Thanks for the video

[@blackie75]

also it had nothing much to do with phil, it was gabriel and his producer lol

[@davemiller6055]

True story of how an accident shaped 80s hair. "A flock of seagulls" frontman Mike Scores signature hair was also an accident. He was trying to style his hair before a show (he was a professional hairstylist) and ran out of time so it was just kind of fluffed. On the way to the stage one of the other guys patted him on the head and mussed his hairdo a little. The result was history. Everybody liked it so he kept it.

[@missccarr89]

And everyday I wake up with my hair styled the same way and leave it like that

[@yepper1165]

"Do you like A Flock of Seagulls? " "I can see YOU do!"

[@nmarbletoe8210]

@David Clinging I prefer to believe that actual seagulls mussed his hair on the way to the concert.

[@yuciehayashi266]

People in 80s love everything while people nowadays hate everything lol..

[@davemiller6055]

@David Clinging I heard the story in an interview with the band. So not a myth.

[@posthocprior]

More Earworm! This series is amazingly good. It's criminal that they're released so infrequently.

[@scriff70]

Such a cool little doco! As a teenager growing up in the 80s, I love the music from that era. Now I’m listening to new music and thinking “Wow - that could easily have come from the 80s” without quite understanding why - this doco answers that question - Thank you!

[@EhurtAfy]

I've always believed music has been influenced more by technology than actual changes in composition. We have so many options nowadays and previous methods are still accessible.

[@pigknickers2975]

Pop music was always lead by technology.

[@chikeh1]

Ahhh the 80s sound makes anyone feel like the world is theirs and everything is possible.

[@iLikeTheUDK]

ᜃᜌ̥ᜋᜅᜄ̊ charlie Oh, the age of Reagan and Thatcher...

[@Memorax]

yup, just like something else that was popular in the 80s...

[@sam08g16]

No, that's cocaine

[@E3E--]

Until it gets played out again. I love/hate gated reverb snares.

[@friggingbomb88]

ᜃᜌ̥ᜋᜅᜄ̊ charlie i personally wanna hear something of a mix between 2017's pop songs and 90s rocks songs like semi charmed life. High energy, great liberations in the song's structure and very 90s lyrics

[@ginnyjollykidd]

Hey! The 80`s is my decade! I love that everybody is coming back to the 80's sounds! Everything old is new again!

[@gidikalchhauser]

2:28 that's the sound of a deer crawling through a playground slide

[@theonlycaamz]

ha

[@zekeo6163]

If your name is Prince Charles Alexander you’d better be a professional.

[@bigimskiweisenheimer8325]

And its in " dont you forget about me" the quintessential 80's anthem.

[@theretrokid1984]

I’ve heard the song Intruder and i can see why the drum sounds on the song were revolutionary I bought the album on vinyl last week and it’s become a favourite of mine

[@Theelectroarcheologist]

Two sounds I think of when it comes to the 1980s. Gated reverb, and synthesizers.

[@TangoDown229]

My Dad was a real D.J. from the early 60's through till about the early 90's. During this time, I was in High School & the College and it was during my H.S. years in the early mid 80's when all this was just exploding on the radio and the radio station had a production studio in addition to two live on-air studios and a large conference room studio used in emergencies when more space was essential. It was in the production studio where they made their commercials AKA "spots" that I had the chance to delve into working with the current day music of the time and that was my first introduction to Reverb and as the ADSR effects. I spent ever possible moments in the studio tinkering and tweaking music and in a few chance occasions, some of the slightly old drive time weekend guys had full run of the boards and they'd play a few of my better creations. This was well before the terms to describe what I was doing even truly ever existed. I got to experience the feeling of being a sound engineer. :) The 80's were truly a magical time to be alive!

[@bicyclist2]

Lucky you. The 80's were as great as everyone says they were. I know because I was there.

[@rpgspree]

Now, with modern technology, kids without access to a recording studio can do that too. THAT is magical. And it's just one of the many open sandboxes available to them now. Unfortunately, I don't think they truly appreciate how lucky they are. Those of us who only got to do those things through lucky happenstance understand that.

[@kingjude8134]

So Phil Collins accidentally created a whole new sound of music 😂😂 amazing what this man can’t do

[@kingkorg7583]

King Jude He can’t dance

[@pheresy1367]

@Bordiga Armchair They're claiming it was him. What's the "real" story?

[@pheresy1367]

@Bordiga Armchair .. Duh!... You're right, it was their engineer Hugh Padgham who left his mic on with the heavy compression. An accident, sorry Phil, no credit for you, but Phil DID like it, and kept it. Gotta pay better attention:-)

[@Superabound2]

@@kingkorg7583 🤣

[@groovinhooves]

How many decades since "Melt" was released on, and this is still being credited somehow to Phil Collins' great genius (not in dispute in areas *outside* acoustic audio engineering setup). Padgham, by the way is a tricky name and our host mispronounces it consistently throughout (

[@DavidLazarus]

As cool as gated drums are, Bill Bruford's "bonk" on the snare drum is incredible and sounds very much the same regardless of whether you are listening to Yes in 1972 or King Crimson in 1995 or even live Genesis when Bruford toured with them in the mid-to-late 70s. Bill's snare sound is unmistakable. You just know it's him playing.

[@chrisauten2039]

Music of the 80's and the advent of MTV.....best era for music ever and I'm soooo glad I was a teen during that time!

[@KYoss68]

Probably the quintessential example of gated reverb drums was in the Power Station's Some Like it Hot. Loved those 80's sounds.

[@gregoryscott3858]

Tony Thompson!

[@badvlad8421]

I grew up in the 80's and it was really the good time for the music. Heavy metal, rock, pop, dance, so many good songs.

[@thedevilsadvocate5210]

Wham!

[@matiasmoulin2126]

Yes, the 80s were a good time for music, especially before '85, and especially for songwriting. But who wants that whole sound being back that we hated so much in the 90s-00s??? Why is this a good thing to produce music nowadays that sounds exactly like out of the deepest 80s or any other decade? Remember, everything in the early 80s was done to banish the 70s. We need that spirit back! We need something new! At least I do.

[@MrWhangdoodles]

@@matiasmoulin2126 There's some good work being done outside of the mainstream. Pop can feel dead these days. Samplers sampling again and again. If you enjoy poly rhythms that are understandable I recommend math rock. For something absolutely different I recommend listening to bagpipe metal. It blew my mind. They made that godawful instrument sound good and balanced.

[@starcourt_official]

@@matiasmoulin2126 The 80's was a modern take of the 50's, so I'm not sure why you're making it sound like the wheel was reinvented at the start of the decade.

[@matiasmoulin2126]

@@starcourt_official you missed my point

[@RayMak]

So many new songs are using this drum sound now

[@violetraven9440]

yeah it's ether trap gated reverb or lofi beats lol

[@jmackinjersey1]

what was old is new again. There are a few new(over the past several years now) songs out there now that are using sounds from the 80's.

[@lucasoheyze4597]

And once again that fad will pass and all this stuff will sound very dated.

[@jmackinjersey1]

@@lucasoheyze4597 Everything sounds dated as soon as it passes the 1 year mark.

[@lucasoheyze4597]

@@jmackinjersey1 no it doesn't ...go listen to There She Goes by The La's and try to work out when it was recorded by sound alone.

[@josephcafariello365]

Very well done, Estelle! Great explanations of the technical aspects. Well presented too. Good job!

[@Flux799]

I actually never left the 80’s I only found a portal recently to type you this message into the future. Come with me if you want to live.

[@dlrss1v274]

you're*

[@whirlipede2084]

I've got some bad news for you. You can't imagine what they did to Star Wars and Terminator.

[@trixtrix146]

Take me with please

[@tengkusulaiman]

I never left 90s.

[@bicyclist2]

I'm in.

[@magilem8075]

I owe this video a lot. Once I heard born in the USA I started to listen to Bruce Springsteen and he is still my favorite artist 2 years later and all his songs fill my library. Thank you VOX

[@dk14929]

You don't have a dad either, huh :(

[@magilem8075]

Joe I do

[@rafaelcarmany463]

"Sowing The Seeds Of Love" (Tears For Fears) is another one. Your presentation is a very well put together synopsis of the sound of Pop Drum Recordings. Well done - about what was overdone! I've been guilty of doing it in the past myself. :-)

[@SSJIndy]

Left out the small spring reverb units with a mic connected to a pickup via a couple of long springs. Like the one in my 70's guitar amp.

[@scottbc31h22]

I said the same thing. Spring reverb was invented in the 1840's by The Hammond Organ Co. (Accutronics has their company roots at Hammond.) The spring reverb is STILL used in brand new amps.

[@mheermance]

I remember when Intruder came out, and how the drums sounded. It's good to finally know why it sounded so different.

[@tonybonnici5920]

Don't download samples. Try creating the sounds yourself. You never know what other grea accidents you'll discover :) Thanks for this video.

[@undramaticfanofworld9862]

IKR! All the producers do these days is sampling the samples. Hmmph, we'll never get new sounds.

[@RootinrPootine]

I take it you don’t like hip hop…

[@biggaloc5315]

Prince said.."pretty soon we are going to be sampling the samples" back in 1990's....he was right dannnng wow no more creativity

[@MrScoopoo10]

@Get Real Music if you lower the pitch of the snare it sounds like a video game

[@qjo]

B622Niner - and if you lower the pitch of a dog whistle it sounds like... ...a whistle!

[@jesperscheel-bech998]

Grew up in the 80s to thanks ever so much for this wonderful experience. Your playlist is now my favorite :-)

[@MrClarkio]

Lovely, beautifully edited video, thank you. I've never thought of gated reverb as non linear reverb before.

[@cyberdroid2300]

I've always wondered what that sound was in 80's music. I didn't know it was drums but I knew it was something. Thank you for answering this question that was at the time unknown to me.

[@millennialfalcon8958]

Inclusion of Kate Bush "Hounds of Love" for the win. Quite possibly the best production on an album of the 80s made better by the fact that Kate herself produced it.

[@christoohunders5316]

I concur Hounds (Sounds) of Love was both artistically and technically a masterpiece.

[@denisenova7494]

I love it!

[@jeshkam]

She may have produced it, but she never engineered it. That's a huge difference.

[@erravi]

Soyface alert

[@normanperez9096]

That's why Kate was running up that hill.

[@juanherrera1055]

Robert Palmer's " some like it hot', didn't know it at the time, but that intro for me was one of the best.

[@benjaminamurphy900]

Quality production. Thoroughly enjoyed this, thank you.

[@samiis1260]

I once worked on a reverb unit that was a metal box with springs, there was a sticker inside that said "built by beautiful women in Wisconsin under controlled atmospheric conditions"

[@RJ-lj3zt]

Wisconsin 👍

[@aylbdrmadison1051]

As a woman, you gotta love that story. A man needs to have the common sense and strength to love it also, to even be considered a man.

[@billfinch4661]

O. C. Electronics, long gone, but not forgotten! They were in Milton, WI. We put them in Gulbransen organs.

[@Qingeaton]

Fender had a tube driven spring reverb unit in the 60's

[@fredlougee2807]

@@Qingeaton I remember the first time I saw one of those. I was trying to diagnose the problem with a friend's bass amp (it was the rectifier diode, easier to get a new amp than bother to replace it). "What's this springy box thing?" "That's the reverb." "Oh....cool!"

[@RazorEdge2006]

The gated-reverb drum sound was invented by pioneering Japanese synthpop band Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) in 1979, predating Genesis and Phil Collins by about 1-2 years. The first song with gated-reverb drums was YMO's "Behind the Mask" in 1979. "Behind the Mask" is today best known for the Michael Jackson cover version, which doesn't have the gated-reverb drums. But if you listen to the original YMO version from 1979, you can hear the gated-reverb drums.

[@MrHoefnix]

It was used before on Mondo Bondage from the 1975 self-titled debut album of the Amereican rock band The Tubes. The drummer was Prairie Prince.

[@kenherbst9460]

Razor Edge and Robert Smith, you're both right!! I was wondering when somebody would chime up about these earlier efforts. There was gated reverb all over the early Tubes records.

[@maurostrachwitz747]

Razor Edge Thanks for the Yellow Magic Orchestra reference, i am now listening to it, and having tons of fun :)

[@Md2802]

And the Beach Boys used gated drum reverb years before that, with their Love You album. No question, though, it was "In The Air Tonight" that set the trend.

[@profd65]

BS, it doesn't even sound like a real drummer, it sounds like a drum machine.

[@charleswroth0]

Thank you! Fascinating and beautifully presented. There's a lot of work in this video.

[@WillHaskell]

These Vox video essays are so well produced. Kudos to the Vox producers.

[@mindalteringfx316]

Love Phil Collin drums

[@DiscoFang]

Check the band Brand X. Phil Collins' finest drumming.

[@DiscoFang]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKCanoynlrJ-jqM

[@riffsriffsriffs]

David Bowie's 1977 album 'Low' should have been given a mention, the drum sound on that album uses similar techniques I think, predating guys like Gabriel and Collins.

[@nimrodery]

"Heroes" notably used gated mics on Bowie's vocal track. Basically the same effect as Hugh Padham accidentally noticed, only they did it deliberately. I can't remember where David says this, but his technique involved using a device incorrectly, trying to break it or make an unusual sound, then repeat that sound several times in the track so people wouldn't think it was an accident. Said it sometime around the release of "Earthling."

[@Nicksters223]

Also the way led zeppelin recorded drums similar to this

[@Kiaraaa06]

i think cyndi lauper's classic "girls just want to have fun" is also a great example

[@JBOczkus]

I am constantly convinced again and again that "Low" was the best album of the 1970s.

[@ysgruppe]

Absolutely right. Sound and Vision has it in spades

[@zh4ngx]

Love this video - so well-researched and thoughtfully put together

[@themandownstairs4765]

I really appreciate how the narration was compressed and gated in real time during the explanation of these two effects. Just that little extra bit that adds to the video

[@thelifeproductions1]

Thanks for posting this video- the history behind gated reverb is super interesting. It really captures the sound of the 1980s

[@RazorEdge2006]

Is Vox maybe planning to do an episode about the TR-808? The 808 is the most influential musical instrument of the last few decades. It would be cool to see Vox do an episode about it.

[@bassaxist]

TB303 - did that too

[@2lo4sno]

Can you feel the B A S S bass?

[@grzegorzbrzeczyszczykiewic1636]

girlgreenivy J Dilla used an mpc

[@KalOrtPor]

Phil was already using the CR-78 before the TR-808, it's on Duke in 1980 and "In the Air Tonight".

[@RazorEdge2006]

@@KalOrtPor The CR-78 was also used in "Heart of Glass" by Blondie.

[@wallaroo1295]

Next up on your list - how Cher and her song "I Believe in Life After Love" made Auto-Tune, a thing for an entire generation.

[@Washadamoak]

That is what i thought this might be about.

[@Millbrook1974powderedwater]

True thing. I think it's even worse than that. People seem to no longer be able to sing in tune without autotune.

[@wallaroo1295]

@K Thank you. I'm not one of her fans, so those minor details are something I wouldn't have paid attention to.

[@inkoinfinity2]

@@Washadamoak that'd be impossible as believe was released in the 90s,late 90s too

[@its1110]

Gaahhhhkkkk!

[@paulbaxter430]

What a great video. I was in my mid to late teens in the 80's and worked as a foldback engineer for a few bands (still do IEM/Foldback regularly). It's a great sound filled with so many memories and brilliant songs. Excellent to hear it on some modern tracks.

[@DungeonStudio]

I'd say the gated effect was originated by Brian Eno producing David Bowie's Heroes album. He had set up a row of gated mic's at certain thresholds across a large studio, and Bowie at the far end. So when Bowie sang quiet, the mic in front would pick him up, and when his volume got louder, the first mic would shut off and the second mic opened to catch the voice with added reverb. And when Bowie really belted it, the rear mic would open to capture his voice and all the reverb bouncing in the room. And when Bowie sung quiet again, back to the first mic. That to me was the first use of 'gated' reverb.

[@CAKmusic]

You could hear the gated effect on the drums for the Bowie album Low. Really it was only a matter of time before they started treating gated signals with reverb.

[@MrHoefnix]

The Tubes used the effect already in 1975 on Mondo Bondage from their self-titled debut album.

[@DungeonStudio]

Cool! Love that album too. Come to think of it, what about Grand Funk RR's cover of Locomotion? There's some insane reverb going on there, and that mangled guitar solo is still the best.

[@scottbirch968]

That's not gated. Where's the noise gate? You're describing a classical music recording technique here. Also, the drum effect on Low is from an Eventide Harmonizer unit pitch shifting.

[@nuclearferrets]

good point!

[@3lithepunk]

these videos are work of passion , dedication and nostalgia ♥

[@coilovercat]

OH MY GOD THANK YOU I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR A VIDEO ON THIS SPECIFIC DRUM FOREVER

[@davida1hiwaaynet]

Thank you. I love all these sounds and had no idea how they worked. Great memories. Reminds me how ready I am to be away from my work and into my own world of favorite music and fast cars.

[@gretschbasher]

Being a drummer myself, gated reverb only sounds good on stark spacious drum parts. Anything other than that it sounds too washed out especially if your decay is set too long.

[@DodderingOldMan]

Yeah, good call, I know what you mean. I actually love that particular sound, but it only works in certain contexts.

[@gabrielle3857]

Absolutely love this! I’m a younger person who’s always gravitated towards and loved 80s music without having lived through that decade. It’s really cool to have a channel that pieces apart different types of music and explains why I’m so attracted to modern music with similar instrumentation as music from the 80s. Love it!

[@bpmrox]

who are you listening to?

[@cryhavoc38]

three years late to the party, but I completely enjoyed this walk down memory lane with some history and tech thrown in. Thanks!!

[@erroldtumaque3430]

You guys have some amazing animators. It really makes these history lessons so engaging to watch. So many small touches and it looks clean.

[@StupidRobotFightingLeague]

this was fantastic!

[@mediasurfer]

Fantastic video! Extremely well produced. Thanks!

[@tyler_]

What an awesome little (BIG) recording nuance to focus in on. I am now a Vox fan.

[@JeffSepeta]

Thanks that was fun. I taught my Gen-Z daughter to recognize 1980's songs by the reverb they use - because computer technology in the 1980's led to the DSP chip, allowing for the creation of inexpensive digital reverb units like the Alesis MicroVerb and the Lexicon Alex, as well as the highly-respected Yamaha SPX series.

[@vwestlife]

It would be nice if you could actually *hear* the drums in modern music, instead of them being buried under all the Loudness War compression!

[@avalerionbass]

Drums? Try bass guitar being squashed out of existence.

[@incongruous4]

VWestlife To be fair with modern music has some of the most simple and boring drumming out there. Not much to listen to unless you like the same beat 86x with no fills or variation.

[@nameless135]

Modern Music Is So Bad! ! ! ! ! BAck In My Day, All Music WAs Actually GOOD! All These Kids WIth Their "EDM" Music and "Dub Step !!!!!!!!!! ! " Poe's Law

[@jameslaidler4259]

name less Should we get off your lawn then?

[@HighestRank]

VWestlife *Compression

[@MonMoon27]

Thank you for including Kate Bush songs in your videos, when you talk about innovation and creativity in music, she needs to be mentioned. She was and will always be a pioneer.

[@MechaGodzilla]

Brilliant artist. One of the all-time greats.

[@dalienware668]

Thanks for this awesome info! Love learning AND remembering the 80's.

[@hannabaal150]

I'm reminded of Phil Spector and his wall of sound recordings. Thanks for the vid!

[@RobbyHuang]

Who does the editing and motion graphics for these? I’m guessing the host, and if so I’m incredibly impressed. Each host seems to be men and women of many talents!

[@AaronRiegel]

I agree Robby, immediately impressed with how well the voicover matches the graphics and vice versa. Well done.

[@stupidsnek]

They have an animation team, like any business.

[@AveMcree]

Aaron Riegel it’s not on person doing this

[@dasneonlicht]

Great video. I love learning about this kind of stuff. Thanks, Vox

[@VicG]

Loved this. What a great episode.

[@sixtakefives5325]

Gonna go listen to some 80’s songs now because that drum sound is on another level

[@joshualewis8077]

*Drops a can in the studio* Producer: *YOO DO THAT AGAIN REAL QUICK!*

[@borntoworkanddie6708]

Lol

[@batman1169]

Rush did this reverb on their albums recorded in Le Studio in Morinin heights Quebec. They used reverb off the local mountains. The Police also recorded there. Great video!

[@razzmatazz1974]

Hugh Padgham was one of The Police´s producers so it makes sense

[@apinkapike8279]

Yeah, Neil Peart's kit was set up on a floating deck in the middle of the lake. Brilliant !!...

[@Errcyco]

That was such a fun, neat watch! Thank you.. I learned a lot. I knew that crushing drum sound instantly I just never knew there was a science behind it I figured it was the recording quality coupled with digital stuff becoming more widely used.

[@MrCozin-kd9mb]

Gated Reverb is dope! It gets me a great feeling of tripping. Synthwave is the new 80's.

[@nmarbletoe8210]

listening to Kraftwerk, feeling the vibe

[@MrCozin-kd9mb]

N Marbletoe Kraftwerk is badass, I like then!

[@davidcallahan3615]

In the 80s I desperately tried to avoid the gated reverb effect. Nowadays when I hear that destructive effect I find myself greeting like a lost stepchild.

[@micahphilson]

It's probably back because of the phenomenon where people tend to love the music popular during their parents' times. It's been known since the 80s, when 60s music became popular again, but as time goes on, the music from a generation before becomes popular and influential again because it's what your parents loved to listen to when you were young.

[@micahphilson]

I know I certainly love late-70s to mid-80s music, my parents' late teen and early adult years, though I also love everything from late 50s to now, as well as from the baroque, classical, and romantic eras, as well as alot of stuff not included therein, so I may be a bit odd.

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

Thanks for the video! I was a teenager in the '80s and grew up with so many of those songs, not realizing how those drums attained that sound.

[@frod2941]

I love your videos about music. You're awesome. Please MORE!

[@matthewbradley3395]

Faaaaascinating. I'm an audiophile and a wannabe sound engineer...but I never knew that about the birth of gated reverb on the drums.

[@JillyBean860]

Same here!

[@Sean-me4fv]

Love it! Looking forward to hearing about all the wonderful organic sound recording accidents that are happening in the 2000s. Oh wait....

[@MarloPerez_Philippines]

wow! thank you for this information..im a 80s and 90s kid and now I know how and why music on that eras really sounds great!