80's production

C

Captain Punjab

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I know that people seem to hate the production values of the 1980's, but I really like them personally. I was just wondering if anybody has any ideas on how to make something sound like it came from the 80's. Please don't just post repliess about how 80's production techniques sucked.

Sort of on the same topic, does anybody know why a song in a music video from the 80's would sound different from the way it sounds on a CD? It seems that on videos from that time (not just music videos, but all videos), the sound was compressed or something, and I just like how it sounds.

I know I have horrible taste:p , and sorry if these questions are too vague.
 
Pop music in the 80's used a lot of electronic keyboards, in particular the Korg M1. That'd be a good way to start out. Also, the Yamaha DX7 was used a lot as was the Prophet synthesizers. There's more stuff but those right there would be good ways to start out. You can hear Korg drums just about everywhere. Also, there was heavy reverb use just about everywhere. The Roland TR-808 was all over R&B tracks and plenty other productions also. Can't forget the minimoog also.

As far as tracks sounding different on TV, that might just have been the TV sound itself. If not that, then whatever processors the TV station used, which I'm not familiar with.
 
Vintage synths and drum machines would be the way to go to get that sound. Depending on the synths you want, they can get expensive if they're rare.
 
jodawo said:
heavy gated reverb on drums
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good call, that is a very distinct 80s sound.

the others mentioned drum machines, the yamaha dx7, analog synths as well... all very accurate.

the 80s is a strange era, because although the music and production is loathed in hindsight, the musicians and producers were technically very proficient. for instance, all those hair metal singers really could sing. somehow their music still came out terrible in spite of their technical prowess. same thing with the production, there was tons of money going into those recordings with top-notch equipment, but it just ended up sounding hard on the ears.

so just why does this music sound so bad? most people say it is "overpolished" in terms of production, and lacks "soul" in terms of musicianship. both criticisms get at the idea that it lacked a certain raw essence. no offense to the original poster who is looking to recreate this, but i sincerely hope that you dont turn into an arena rocker.
 
use synth's like yamaha dx7, korg M1 and korg MS20, Roland Juno series, Sequential Circuits Prophet series, Oberheim OB-X, Moog, Elka Synthex, Eminent Unique 310, ...

Use tons of digital reverb, often gated

drums come mostly from roland tr808, tr606, tr626, tr707, tr727, ...

and work in low bit digital, with almost no dynamics

mix everything on a neve 80xx or an trident 80 series mixer if possible.
 
If you really want that "80's" sound I would use vintage synths and I would also track to tape instead of digital. If you can find an older reel to reel on ebay or something (at least 1/2") you could get some nice analog tape saturation. I also like tube preamps.
 
There's actually much more to the 80s than heavy metal rockers in striped pants that you can't tell apart from their girlfriends from behind :D

When I think of the 80s, I see them as the pioneering years of sampling, of the search for unheard sounds and beats and the beginning of proliferation of all the sub-sub-sub-genres that are now established. - just thinking of Bomb the Bass, Marss, Smith&Mighty in the UK and Bambataa, Arthur Baker, Frankie Knuckles in the US.....etc etc manymany more........- the Akai S612 (300KB or so :D ) the DX7, the Korg Polysix, the TR808 & 909, the SP12 ah yea. All that expensive stuff that used to be labelled 'affordable' back then :D :D lol

what exactly are u after?

easy
 
R2B said:
the DX7
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a little comment about the dx7, which was arguably the most popular synth of the 80s (not to negate the importance of analog synths)....

it can sound terrible, as most of the presets reflect (if i were to point out the majority of songs that use it, and say "hey, theres a dx7," you would be like, oh, THAT sound! i dont want that in my music!).

but it can also sound absolutely amazing, especially if you are going for those metallic/drone sounds. its really tough to program but you can really do some crazy things with the timbre if you learn it. john chowning was siiiiick with it.
 
Okay then, can you point out some songs which feature a DX7 heavily?

To the poster who hopes I don't turn into an arena rocker, don't worry, I definitely won't. I'm not looking for insight into the rock stuff so much, more the pop stuff (I know, just about the most hated of all:P) You see, I'm working on a TV series right now, and the background music demands a retro, "eighties" vibe. Not necessarily in terms of music style, but more in the synths and keyboards used. It's supposed to be slightly similar to the great music from the Raccoons, which can be heard here:

http://www.gilsinan.com/raccoons/songs/

If you're interested, I recommend listening to "Ain't No Planes", "Run With Us", "Night After Night" and "Sooner or Later" in particular, although they're all very good.
 
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Every pop ballad just about used the Dx7. Listen for the bell sounding piano. Most likely a DX7.

You have to keep in mind that this was a transistion period.
Analog synths, plate reverbs, very early digital reverb, but still mainly plates, some digital drums and the slightly older technology, i.e. still using analog compressors, analog tape and analog mixing desks.

Usefull digital didn't start to come about until the very late 80's early 90's.
 
Lots of reverb on the vocals also :-) Sometimes it seems singers are indeed singing in a cave :-) hahaha Love the 80's "it's the final countdown..."
 
the sounds of the 80's were original. they did not have the complexity of today's sound. If you are looking for a similar sound pete rock and cee l smooth used bells and some chimes in there sound but they were low and they knew how to use them.
 
@theminister - I don't think he's necessarily talking about retro Hip Hop.

Captain Punjab said:
Okay then, can you point out some songs which feature a DX7 heavily?

... You see, I'm working on a TV series right now, and the background music demands a retro, "eighties" vibe. Not necessarily in terms of music style, but more in the synths and keyboards used.
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When I think of 80's TV music and the DX7, "Miami Vice" comes to mind. Jan Hammer, the main composer of the music for that show used the DX7 and Minimoog a lot throughout "Miami Vice's" run. You can hear the DX7 in the metallic pad sounds and thick basses. The FM7 by NI does a great job at emulating this classic synth.

Catch it on TVLand or Spike sometime. Or rent a DVD (I think it's on DVD?).
 
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lee miran said:
@theminister - I don't think he's necessarily talking about retro Hip Hop.



When I think of 80's TV music and the DX7, "Miami Vice" comes to mind. Jan Hammer, the main composer of the music for that show used the DX7 and Minimoog a lot throughout "Miami Vice's" run. You can hear the DX7 in the metallic pad sounds and thick basses. The FM7 by NI does a great job at emulating this classic synth.

Catch it on TVLand or Spike sometime. Or rent a DVD (I think it's on DVD?).
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A friend of mine and I did an 80's ballad just for fun called baby baby...lol Most of the lyrics were Baby baby baby baby baby your my baby. It was hillarious. Anyways the track I did was what most have listed. I used 808 samples with a heavy gated reverb and synths. As much as people knock the 80's some of that stuff was pretty decent. I respect alot of Prince, Marvin Gaye, Chaka Khan stuff that came out the early 80's. I dig alot of the police's stuff too. Some of the vocals sounded nice. I always liked the way Phil Colins vocals sounded. Super airy.
 
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