Broadly related, but I always feel a pang of disappointment when I see a shiny red Nord keyboard onstage for a band that has an oldschool sound.
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We've lost the old school sound.
- Thread starter wolfkeller
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- old old school school
Broadly related, but I always feel a pang of disappointment when I see a shiny red Nord keyboard onstage for a band that has an oldschool sound.
Also there was no Autotune before on vocals... Haaa sweet times 
Just something else to put out there... If I could listen to a modern recording on my mother's 1960's Dansette, would it sound old school?
I'm not sure when "old school" started and finished, but I heard some people sounding really bad in the 60's and 70's.
And they were playing all that vintage gear
And they were playing all that vintage gear
I think any of my four "main" basses, all passive, all strung with flatwounds, all played through my SVT-VR and 810AV cab, sounds pretty damn old school to me whenever we have a band practice or gig 
And if you compare the cost of my hobby with, say, going out and getting drunk 1-2 nights a week, bass playing is alot cheaper.
And if you compare the cost of my hobby with, say, going out and getting drunk 1-2 nights a week, bass playing is alot cheaper.
Nah, we haven't lost the old school sound at all. In fact, given the sheer number of amplifier/audio gear manufacturers who have dedicated themselves to cloning vintage gear, there's never been a better time to recreate old school sounds if that's what you're after. If an SVT-VR and 810 cabinet or the new flip-top reissues don't sound old school, I don't know what does. I plugged a P-Bass into one of those PF-20s last week and the tone was definitively classic.
From pics, it looks like he didn't get the JBL upgrade. I know his original B-15 had a Jensen. I don't know what was in the one he used in Cali.
Good question....my earliest memories of music was car radios in the very early 60's many of which were tube radios, usually with 6V6 power tubes and Hi-Fi home rigs that were tube or early SS.
Otoh, by the late 60's the home Hi-Fi thing and FM radio was taking hold in a big way.
I have LOTS of old solid state receivers from the late 60's to mid 70's ; Fisher, Marantz, Sansui for example that leaned towards a warmer smoother Hi-Fi sound.
It wasn't until the mid to late 70's (when Hi-Fi was exploding in growth) that folks became concerned with "total distortion".
By the early 80's things had changed dramatically, the warmth of the old Marantz and Fisher stuff was gone largely.
I like to play CD's thru the old solid state Hi-Fi....my main rig is a Sansui AU-7700 which happens to have extensive EQ and a decent phono section..its a warm smooth sound but I use more modern speakers for the most part...although the old JBL, Advent, AR, KLH and many others sound very good though "colored" in sound.
Just my 2 cents!
MrCash is above yours, post #190.
Actually @MrCash has just had his first anniversary with us. Happy Anniversary Sir!
The irony in this thread is killing me! As said earlier the sounds we, "of a certain age," were desperately trying to get away from has become something sought after. Such is life! LOL
Lots of people won't like this...
So much of the 'old school' sound is more note placement, attack, sustain, etc...not so much gear.
So much of the 'old school' sound is more note placement, attack, sustain, etc...not so much gear.
Lowendtech
Happily trending in my own peculiar direction.
Suprised no one's mentioned the studio grade pharmaceuticals, and the effect they had on the recordings.
In addition, see the post above this one about note placement, attack, sustain, etc. A shiny nord can sound very "old school" when the right mind and fingers are working it.
Note placement, length, etc is very important - I hate hearing a motown band where the bass is sustaining the notes rather than muting them and where the kick drum is pounding away with a low thud. Unless they are not trying to sound accurate, in which case more power to them - there are people that liked the Michael McDonald motown album...
I imagine that may still happen. But like the equipment the gear has also changed haha!
Lowendtech
Happily trending in my own peculiar direction.
Having grown up in the 70s, when I got my first shi tty bass, first shi tty amp and first sh itty cab, I really think the "old school sound" was a rarity in the "old school".
Firstly there was a lot of distortion going on, and I hated distortion, my bass player mates hated it, everybody hated distortion on bass but it was almost unavoidable. If you wanted to be heard you had to crank it. If you cranked it, it distorted. End of.
Look at the live sound of even the most highly respected bassists from the old days -
Entwistle? Appalling. Distorted to hell, muddy and irritating.
Geezer? Sounds like he has two blown speakers going on there, overtones drown out the fundamentals, it's terrible.
JPJ? Even studio, what the hell was that on Heartbreaker? Distorted and played through a Leslie, you can't even tell if it's bass or guitar or what.
Cliff Burton? Don't get me started, was he using a Big Muff or what?
Not to say that a nice fat tube sound isn't great, it is. And there were a few old school tracks with a great bass sound. Verdine White with EWF had a great fat tone SOMETIMES but he still farted a bit and also plonked away middily sometimes which is also annoying.
A little overdriven is OK but most bass sounds in the old days were sh it. I remember reading an article with JPJ where he tried to develop a speaker that could handle good clean lows and still be super fat; he worked with Rickenbacker to develop a 30" speaker, which they thought would do the trick. Apparently when they plugged it in, it just did a huge farting noise and turned inside out. 8 x 10s seemed better!
And there are some new tunes that are good - I find that Bruno Mars respects the bass and often gets really close to that old school sound; I really enjoy the bass on his funky numbers.
So let's respect old school but don't get too mushy; remember those Acoustic amps and cabs like Jaco used to use? Never never quite good enough imho; Jaco's live sound could be appalling too.
And new stuff can also be good!
Firstly there was a lot of distortion going on, and I hated distortion, my bass player mates hated it, everybody hated distortion on bass but it was almost unavoidable. If you wanted to be heard you had to crank it. If you cranked it, it distorted. End of.
Look at the live sound of even the most highly respected bassists from the old days -
Entwistle? Appalling. Distorted to hell, muddy and irritating.
Geezer? Sounds like he has two blown speakers going on there, overtones drown out the fundamentals, it's terrible.
JPJ? Even studio, what the hell was that on Heartbreaker? Distorted and played through a Leslie, you can't even tell if it's bass or guitar or what.
Cliff Burton? Don't get me started, was he using a Big Muff or what?
Not to say that a nice fat tube sound isn't great, it is. And there were a few old school tracks with a great bass sound. Verdine White with EWF had a great fat tone SOMETIMES but he still farted a bit and also plonked away middily sometimes which is also annoying.
A little overdriven is OK but most bass sounds in the old days were sh it. I remember reading an article with JPJ where he tried to develop a speaker that could handle good clean lows and still be super fat; he worked with Rickenbacker to develop a 30" speaker, which they thought would do the trick. Apparently when they plugged it in, it just did a huge farting noise and turned inside out. 8 x 10s seemed better!
And there are some new tunes that are good - I find that Bruno Mars respects the bass and often gets really close to that old school sound; I really enjoy the bass on his funky numbers.
So let's respect old school but don't get too mushy; remember those Acoustic amps and cabs like Jaco used to use? Never never quite good enough imho; Jaco's live sound could be appalling too.
And new stuff can also be good!
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Why I dime all the knobs all the time. Eminence offers a monthly speaker replacement program at discount with payroll deduction.
A blend of old school and new. Cheap Trick knows how to make a good sound.
