Preamp satur/stortion vs emulation

I think for all of us who 'were there', tape represents something beyond what it actually is. I think of the bumper crop of doddering neophyte "producers" who have been weaned on a diet of FL Studio, [k]'d plugins, and the disinformation feed-bag of online tutorials and message boards that are cosplaying as audio engineers, just because they can set a compressor plug-in to "more". Put four or five people from this same foolhardy Gen Z cognoscenti in a 1990 recording studio with a Trident 80, a 2" deck, and a patchbay and say "the first person to record a basic drum beat with that kit in there gets to walk out of here, the rest of you will be fed to the alligator I've set up in a kiddie pool in that iso room over there (taking a moment to explain what an iso room is)." Guess what? That alligator is going to have a serious stomachache when it finishes off the last of them.

Now granted, there are plenty of studio engineers from that 1990 studio staff who died off because they couldn't, wouldn't, or didn't adapt to the shift out of our industry's Pleistocene era as well. So the alligator does eat both ways.

But the point is, that big old machine heating up the corner of the room with it's 10" reels spinning away represents an era when you had to know what you were doing to do what it is you did.

I need sleep.

As someone who never worked in a fancy studio, I will say my old MS16 definitely helped soften up the ice pick high end of some of my cheap condensers in my earlier years (man, I would KILL to have had the cheap mic options available today!). Also, my room and monitoring were garbage for years, so I think tape helped me smooth out some of the spots my skills and gear were lacking at the time.

That said, I am more than happy to never have to stress about fucking up a punch ever again, never mind having to tap my channel cards every once in a while when they acted up, the track limitations, etc.

It's only one ingredient of several but I do like tracking to tape because of it's limited track count, built-in ear breaks, lack of screen, and yes the sound of it.

It then usually gets dumped through the console with it's transformers/EQs into a DAW where anything can happen but usually doesn't have to because the sounds (and let's assume arrangements) are solid. This is because of good front end gear (including API pres/EQs), and bit of taming from of the tape.

This is why I like "saturation". Tiny bits of pixie dust added at multiple steps. In the end I mix faster because the sounds/transients are already sitting pretty nicely.

While I do love the workflow I don't get to use tape every session.

I started that way so it still influences how I work either way - commit as much as possible to the sound, the take, etc. It also taught me how to mic a drum kit, etc with as few mics as possible but still have some nice options. Not having a thousand little decisions when I sit down to mix just makes everything better for me.

I've mixed stuff I haven't tracked and while they turn out fine, I'd rather not start with hours of sorting through multiple guitar takes, each with 4 mics (usually phase be damned). I basically feel like I'm acting as producer/arranger but not in the good way.

OK -- I think I see the light on this. I've been going at it with my new (used) Phoenix Audio preamps.

Interface (ULN8) preamps: Honda Civic -- zippy and you feel every bump on the road
Phoenix preamps: Lincoln Towncar -- boat-ride.

I don't believe there is a way to EQ (or emulate) the towncar. At least, I can't imagine that working. Maybe there is, but I'd rather just drive a Towncar.

Fuck Honda's wishbone suspension! I've got potholes to deal with.

True, but the shift has been towards "the kick drum is recorded like shit, the group wants it to sound like "And Justice For All Pt. MMXXIV", why break my back trying to make a bad recording good when I can generate a midi track of the close mic and start retriggering in about 20 seconds?"

Hell, people WANT that microwaved burrito sound now. A real kick or snare would sound almost alien.

very, very, very well said. 👍

LMAO! This post wins the forum (for me) today.

OMG . . . if you're not doing stand-up (on the side) by now, you should be! LOLZ!

Smarmy? Your product reviews ROCK! Dude, you are awesome at it. Mix or SOS should be trying to hire you.

Always maintain honesty and journalistic integrity! People will trust you a HELLA lot more than if you're shilling for a manufacturer.