Sun records recording techniques

[windowman]

Hi folks- I have a couple of questions regarding Sam Phillips/Sun records. I'm working on a mix for a Johnny Cash tribute artist. All of the songs are from the Sun records era. The tracks the boys recorded sound killer but they want the mix to be very authentic. I've got a handle on the panning & EQ, but I'm a little perplexed when it comes to F/X. I know that they are using slapback on some tunes but I'm not sure exactly what equipment or techniques they were using. I'm limited to standard digital reverbs & delays and even EQing the F/X don't seem to reach the desired sound. It ends up sounding cold & lifeless. I'm assuming that the verb & echo were mono, but I could be wrong. If anyone has an idea or link to what they were using, that would be a big help. I've used my guitar POD before for this effect & it's worked rather nicely. (I know it goes against the rules but I refuse to read the rulebook when it comes to music.) I looked for a couple of hours on the net & now I'm just irritated. I found a great recipe for pork hocks though.And, yes, they are paying Johnny's estate for the use of the material.Thanks in advance,Wade

[ginstl]

There is a way to contact the studio here:http://www.sunstudio.com/index.html use the ezine/links tab.Greg.

[edteja]

You are gonna have a tough time because the slapback was tape and most everything is tape. You can do it digital but it will be a lot of work.

[windowman]

Thanks for the link Greg. If anything, it's a very interesting video for anyone to check out. A great history lesson.I agree, Ed, but I've been experimenting & I've think I've got a handle on it using analogue simulators. It won't be 100% true to the original recordings but it's a start.Take care....Wade

[mazz]

It's a long shot but do you have a cassette deck (remember those?) with a monitoring function? Basically only a few pro style decks had the ability to listen to the playback head as the recording was happening. You could send the signal to the cassette deck and record it back to your DAW via the monitoring output. Then just move the track a bit to give the slapback. This might give you a bit of tape flavor, but it's a big maybe.Try to find out what the delay time was for the different tape speeds used in those days. I doubt they used 3 3/4 IPS but they may have used 7 1/2 or 15 IPS, which, of course, would give different delay times. A high frequency shelf on the delay return set pretty low, say around 6K or below might work too.Also, run the delay return in mono, panned the same as the lead vocal, hopefully right up the middle.Do you have an analog delay guitar stomp box? That might work too.Lots of ideas fueled by coffee this morning!!Have fun!Mazz

[windowman]

Thanks Mazz- I love the cassette idea. I'll definitely try that. The other thing I've discovered is that some of the songs are from the Columbia era & they were using more advanced techniques by then. I also have several analogue echo units, pedals & a Roland space echo. At this point I'm using the original recordings to A B the songs. Once the mix is finished, I'll have to make sure that the mastering process is cohesive while being true to the originals. Challenging but fun.Cheers,Wade

[mazz]

A real Roland Space Echo!!! Damn, that's a great box. I wish I still had my Echoplex! I think some of the Columbia recordings used real chambers and they might have put a tape delay on the send to the chamber so maybe try to give that a go with plug/outboard. Do you have a UAD-1 card? If so, I'd strongly recommend the Plate 140, it's very very good! It's modeled on three different plate reverbs at the Plant in Sausalito and I love it. I use it all the time.Cheers,Mazz

[aubreyz]

I have an Akai GX-635D reel to reel that I used for a project a while back. It's been packed up and in storage since then. It is in great shape, sounds killer, good heads-- and does 3.75 and 7.5 speeds. It would be interesting to use as a tape delay AND then master to it for a project like this.If you're interested, I'll let it go for what I bought it for (maybe less). PM me if you want more info.Aub

[weapon]

If you're looking for great vintage sounds like reverb and so forth, try the Harmonix brand of pedals, I use them and they sound greatand really vintage. http://www.ehx.com/ehx2/

[windowman]

Thanks for the responses everyone, it's much appreciated. I'll keep your machine in mind Aub, but I can't foresee a lot of uses for it other than this project right now. (It may be something you regret selling anyway, like when I dumped my 1949 National lap steel.) Later folks...Wade