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some of this is repetition, but it merits repeating.
you want old school sound, you need tape. if you skip tape and go directly to the next step, any next step, you will forever be chasing a form of mojo that will elude you completely.
a good tube pre/di is also a great idea, although not as indispensible.
things like gates sta-levels and 1176's would also serve you well.
lastly, think long and hard about distortion, because it is your friend. especially in very subtle stages, a little at a time. overdriving analog, especially pieces with tubes and/or transformers, is heaven, and gives you compression that can't be had elsewhere.
so overdrive your di to the point where you can just begin to hear it break up, then back off just until it cleans up. set it halfway between those two settings and hit tape, doing the exact same thing. record into your daw with conservative levels (-14db on the peaks, yes that's right, the peaks). use high quality dsp if you must, psp is great stuff, to add yet another layer of fuzzy love. less is more, patience is key.
mix into something, preferably hardware, doing very fast compression so it rides and distorts the transients. mix to tape.
if you're feeling adventurous, scour ebay and yard sales for old, crappy, yet somehow promising pieces of stereo equipment. run things thru them at dangerous levels and see what happens. same with guitar pedals. learn about reamping; a drum loop thru a guitar amp mic'd with a 57 is a sound you cannot get from any plug in or hardware unit. put the amp in the bathroom and the mic in the dishwasher. drop acid and see what else you can dream up.
to paraphrase a gearslutz mantra, if it sounds insane, it IS good.
gregoire
del ubik
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