80s Vocal Production Technique

cartermnyc · 11th April 2008

Hey All,
Sorry to post two things so back to back, but I've been trying to figure out what signature pieces of gear were used for that awesome new wave vocal sound. Do you guys have any tips on getting things to sound like Soft Cell, Duran Duran, or INXS? I'm going into the studio tomorrow and have been asked about this multiple times. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

chrisso · 11th April 2008

The bands you mention cover quite varied territory.
The only signature I can think of would be lots of digital fx (like AMS reverb and delay).

A band like Soft Cell would be using cheaper equipment, perhaps in a home studio environment. Duran Duran and INXS would have been using the same gear people use now; like very expensive German tube mics.

cartermnyc · 11th April 2008

Sorry I should have clarified more. I'm specifically looking to find that eq/delay/reverb sound that makes those vocals sound very dated. Lets just use Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" as an example.
Best
C

richardswag · 11th April 2008

A typical 80s vocal setup...

U87, desk EQ and preamps, Drawmer DL221 compressor, Roland SRV2000 or Yamaha REV7 reverbs.

Maybe all the hairspray and eyeliner had an effect on the sound too?

rodge · 12th April 2008

check out reverence by audio damage. you'd probly find it quite useful.

DaveUK · 12th April 2008

sh*t singer/ cocaine

Beermaster · 12th April 2008

Ha Ha ! ! Dave UK - you hit it on the head.

Most of the 80's sound came from truth and honesty - there wasn't the gear to fake the sound nor was there the inclination to accept a bad performance. AMS gear was more common toward the mid 80s ( and even then an RMX would set you back 10K )

Its down to basics - a VOICE - through a good mic and most of the time through a desk pre with maybe a bit of compression on the mix ( if it was free for that task ) - Verb and delay was as posh as it got.

Beer

chrisso · 12th April 2008

It depends if you are talking budget studio or mainstream.
Soft Cell would have used cheaper gear on Tainted Love, but almost every studio I worked in from 1981 onwards (mid-level to high-end) had AMS reverb and delay.
People were sampling my snare and triggering it in some fairly cheap studios on the AMS DMX delay unit.
I agree, there was no software to re-edit, retune vocals, but they were often drenched in AMS and Lexicon reverb.

DaveUK · 12th April 2008

but there was still some feeling in england these were poorish kids pretending to and for that moment they were in front of a u87 living the dream

chrisso · 12th April 2008

Maybe......

I was there, working with some of them.

analogbass · 12th April 2008

The gear (and sounds) generally sounded better IMO, but the biggest difference was simply greater use of ambient F/X-reverb, echo, etc. Production (unfortunately) veered towards minimalist dryness for the last couple of decades since then, not much imagination or real use of what F/X can do during that time relative to previous eras. When i've heard those F/X used in recent music it sounds similarly excellent.

11th April 2008	#1
cartermnyc Gear interested Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 6 Thread Starter	80s Vocal Production Technique Hey All, Sorry to post two things so back to back, but I've been trying to figure out what signature pieces of gear were used for that awesome new wave vocal sound. Do you guys have any tips on getting things to sound like Soft Cell, Duran Duran, or INXS? I'm going into the studio tomorrow and have been asked about this multiple times. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

11th April 2008	#2
chrisso Gear Guru Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Oz Posts: 15,358	The bands you mention cover quite varied territory. The only signature I can think of would be lots of digital fx (like AMS reverb and delay). A band like Soft Cell would be using cheaper equipment, perhaps in a home studio environment. Duran Duran and INXS would have been using the same gear people use now; like very expensive German tube mics. __________________ Chris Whitten

11th April 2008	#4
richardswag Gear addict Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Wakefield, UK Posts: 443	A typical 80s vocal setup... U87, desk EQ and preamps, Drawmer DL221 compressor, Roland SRV2000 or Yamaha REV7 reverbs. Maybe all the hairspray and eyeliner had an effect on the sound too? __________________ http://www.discogs.com/artist/Swag http://www.discogs.com/artist/Richard+Brown

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12th April 2008	#5
rodge Gear maniac Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: vancouver Posts: 171	check out reverence by audio damage. you'd probly find it quite useful.

12th April 2008	#6
DaveUK Lives for gear Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: newcastle upon tyne Posts: 691 1 Review written	sh*t singer/ cocaine

12th April 2008	#7
Beermaster Lives for gear Join Date: May 2007 Location: London Posts: 2,065	Ha Ha ! ! Dave UK - you hit it on the head. Most of the 80's sound came from truth and honesty - there wasn't the gear to fake the sound nor was there the inclination to accept a bad performance. AMS gear was more common toward the mid 80s ( and even then an RMX would set you back 10K ) Its down to basics - a VOICE - through a good mic and most of the time through a desk pre with maybe a bit of compression on the mix ( if it was free for that task ) - Verb and delay was as posh as it got. Beer

12th April 2008	#11
analogbass Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Phoenix Posts: 827	The gear (and sounds) generally sounded better IMO, but the biggest difference was simply greater use of ambient F/X-reverb, echo, etc. Production (unfortunately) veered towards minimalist dryness for the last couple of decades since then, not much imagination or real use of what F/X can do during that time relative to previous eras. When i've heard those F/X used in recent music it sounds similarly excellent.