Robert Johnson-sound

[HeimBrent]

I know this isn't your typical sort of question, but... Are there any easy ways of getting that 30s delta-blues sort of sound that doesn't include hunting down recording-equipment from the 30s? I'm thinking along the lines of AUs for my DAW, EQing etc. Any tips?

[Karloff70]

If you use a ribbon (say something with a filthy but authentic vibe like an RCA 74jr) and a Copperphone (will take care of the skinny bandpassed AM sound of old) as mics, getting the right balance between them you should get to that sort of area. Hell, for Robert Johnson maybe even straight up Copperphone, no meat. Check Placid Audio's site for sound samples. And record to cassette. Or dictaphone and back through a mic into computer after. lol.

[ears2thesky]

Most of his recorded material was captured facing into a corner of a hotel room with a single strategically placed mic.

[edva]

and probably to a wire recorder? The distortion and limited bandwidth are massive. Spooky stuff.

[Unclenny]

Originally Posted by ears2thesky

Most of his recorded material was captured facing into a corner of a hotel room with a single strategically placed mic.

.....and something like this

Start at the beginning of the chain for that authentic sound.

[ProfessorNick]

I would say that you may want to record to tape, or use tape emulation. You will need to knock off the highs and lows to make it more lo-fi and use only natural ambiance, I don't think digital reverbs were around in RJs time. Main thing is getting a guitar and player who can capture that mood. Use little compression and eq or anything else that makes it too polished. Maybe use a dynamic mic for extra noise and smaller frequency response. And you might want to add some artificial noise to make it more realistic.

[gravyface]

I've heard that the RPM of the live tracks are quite a bit slower than what was cut to record, which may also affect the EQ.

[BudgetMC]

This can be fun:

iZotope Vinyl | Authentic Lo-Fi Vinyl Simulation for Pro Tools, VST, MAS, Audio Unit, and DirectX audio applications

Note that there is a 1930 setting.

[dkelley]

Originally Posted by BudgetMC

This can be fun:

iZotope Vinyl | Authentic Lo-Fi Vinyl Simulation for Pro Tools, VST, MAS, Audio Unit, and DirectX audio applications

Note that there is a 1930 setting.

Yea I've used it when producing others and enjoyed it so much that I might use it on my own album. very fun effect...

[Jimsi]

older carbon and Crystal Mics into a wire recorderr...if you could lower your bit rate to 8 (older Software and daw's alloed this) had a great OLDER sound....