How to mix vocals successfully

A Brief History of Recording and Mixing

Development of Home Recording

• The first recordings were made by interested individuals. They were made live to a wax cylinder. There were no dubs or retakes, just go for it! Many interesting examples exist including hundreds of folk songs sung by old people and collected by Vaughan Williams, Percy Grainger, Cecil Sharp and others. You can even hear Tennyson reciting his own poetry, The Charge of the Light Brigade, on Youtube - and this was a wax cylinder recording. Pretty amazing really that someone should think how to do it!

  
  
  
  Charge of the Light Brigade by Dividenda

• The technique was changed fairly early on to discs. A master copy could be produced in metal from which the early 78rpm records were "pressed". Again, this was one take only, not possible to dub or to edit. Only the best and most well known musicians made phonograph recordings....

  
  
  Edison and Phonograph by Dividenda

• Recordings and microphones became more sophisticated over the next 40 years or so. The introduction of vinyl made "records" less fragile. 33rpm and 45rpm records were introduced. Radio stars became recording artists and the recording industry began to come into its own. Artists would make several recordings and the best would be released. An example I have (rereleased on tape) is of Charlie Parker doing several takes of some session saxophone work on "Romance without Finance".

  
  
  Bird Lives - Kansas City by ChrisM70

• In the early 1960s, stereo was introduced and became the industry standard. This gave the sound more definition. Music was recorded with a left track and a right track onto tape, mixed by a producer, then pressed onto vinyl.

  
  
  Four Turntables by ElectricPopSpot

• Bands like the Beatles, Pink Floyd and others became adventurous with bouncing two tracks onto one. Several passes could be made before quality was lost. This allowed for some retakes too as tape recorders had an erase head in front of the record head. Sometimes the erase head could be disabled to experiment with sound layering or tape could be reversed. Phil Spector developed his "Wall of Sound" and some terrific recordings!

  
  
  All you need is love! by pmoore

• Eight track tape allowing for continuous play recordings, but was a limited success in home sound systems. However, eight track tape became standard for recording bands and would allow for multiple takes from each instrument or singer until the band and engineer were satisfied. A mixing desk was required, then the engineer would "master" the eight tracks down into one stereo recording which could then be sent for pressing.

  
  
  
  Tapes by JAM_Design

• Mixing desks and recording facilities became more and more expensive and elaborate. "Analogue" recordings became more and more sophisticated - and expensive!

  
  
  For the DJ by edaldridge

• The larger studios introduced digital technology and recording techniques, music went from 8 track, to 16, to 24 - to virtually unlimited. The big studios were king, the independent producers still used the older technology and competed with more "gritty" and realistic analogue recodings.

  
  
  Rock n Roll Dreams Poster by DanceswithCats

• The birth of the portastudio enabled bands to produce their own demos to send in to A and R men. Many were never even listened to.... Initially these were analogue, and 4 track. Tracks could be "bounced". Young bands became more "tech" minded. Eight and sixteen track machines emerged. These were initially quite expensive.

  
  
  Fly Away Dreamer Poster Print by pandapad_ap

• The birth of the digital portastudio and Steinberg software becoming increasing available on better and better home computers enabled serious DIY music production.

  
  
  digital music bliss by dooni_notebooksIwantmyartatzazzle10 Posters

• Increasingly sophisticated computers, software and music hardware have continued to level the playing field for DIY recording artists. This brings us back to the interested individuals in the early days! If you can afford the gear and use it properly the only difficult part is marketing....

  
  
  Woman with headphones in a virtual world by Maciej_Frolow