Not really related to this thread but...
I have engineered for and sat in on vast amounts of reggae sessions with old school cats. A lot of the "old timer" artists/musicians don't really care for wasting time on technical matters. As far as they are concerned its the engineer's job to fuss over the specifics. They are there to just focus on giving a great performance. In my experiences, all they really seem to give a damn about and fuss over the most was getting a great headphone mix
. A lot of the greatness you hear on those old time records was captured pretty much all in the moment, with what ever gear they had.
Honestly, I have a lot of respect for old school engineers and producers of all genres of music, and I always pop by their studios whenever I get the chance and listen to whatever knowledge they can drop on me. A lot of guys (more like kids) these days complain about the little bit of gear they got, and what they cant do with it, thinking that there must be some type of magical devices out there to make amatuers sound great, and totally miss the potential of what their current rigs can do. Especially in comparison to what was typically available to the small time dreamers starting out "back in the day". Those same small timers grew up to make not only kick ass records, but records that ended up becoming timeless classics. Why? Because they not only had an appreciation for the art, but also an appreciation for their tools. We (especially north americans) today take too much for granted.