Hey, I Could Use Some Opinions for an Article...

[Anderton]

I'm trying to come up with instruments/gear/techniques that are associated with different styles of music. For example:

 

TB-303 -- "acid" dance music

TR-808 -- old school rap

Minimoog -- prog rock, dance music bass lines

Telecaster -- country

Gibson Les Paul -- hard rock

Marshall amps -- heavy metal, hard rock

DX7 -- age keyboard-based music

Reason -- TV commercials

LinnDrum -- 80s synth pop

Martin guitar with condenser mic and exciter -- So Cal singer/songwriter rock

Fender Rhodes piano -- jazz, R&B

Vox AC 30 -- 60s British pop

12-string guitar -- folk rock, folk

Noise gates -- that huge gated drum sound that was so popular back in the 80s

Digital audio loops -- Trance, techno, etc.

Analog tape slapback delay -- Rockabilly

Shure SM58 -- live rock vocals

 

You get the idea. What about punk? Anything that defines it (well, distortion, I guess)? What about drums 'n' bass -- any standout instrument for that?

 

Your opinions would be appreciated, as well as your opinions on the above choices.

[Lee Flier]

Originally posted by Anderton Reason -- TV commercials

 

Line 6 POD - more TV commercials/soundtracks

GarageBand - still more TV commercials/soundtracks

 

Autotune - cheesy 00's pop, cheesy 00's nu-country

 

Jackson, Schecter guitars - metal

 

Mesa, Soldano amps - nu metal

 

Fuzz box, Farfisa organ - 60's garage rock

[Lee Flier]

 

Originally posted by Anderton What about punk? Anything that defines it (well, distortion, I guess)?

 

 

Not necessarily. Lots of punk bands have clean sounds, at least where guitar is concerned. I'd say punk is more defined by cheap gear if anything.

[deanmass]

Akai MPC-Rap/HipHop

Gibson 335-Blues/Jazz

Gameboy-Beck

RickenBasses-70's prog rock

Casio CZ-1-Late 80's brit pop

Yamaha DX-7- PSeudo Harmonica late 80's

Fender Rhodes- RnB Ballads

[Anderton]

Autotune, Farfisa organ, MPC -- now how did I overlook those?!?

[kevinnem]

roland? space echo.

 

 

maybe some synths if that works in to waht you are envisioning.

 

mini moog comes to mind.

 

 

Virus - jupitor - b3's ---- what about teh leslie effects?

 

 

 

 

On another note. Craig, would be interesting to read about, .. "mixing diferently for different styles of music" - might be something meaty in there, and also "top 3 mistakes people make when recording" "tops 3 mistakes people make when mixing" and you guessed it "top 3 mistakes made when mastering."

 

Kev.

[MorePaul]

hmmm;

 

Maybe the Hauser as German classical and Fleta style as Spanish classical (though that's not hard and fast, but the 2 approaches to seem to be the Fender v Gibson of classical guit)

 

I think I'd specify the "noise gate" part a little more narrowly for the "gated drums" sound esp gated verb on say a snare (I mean when I see a noise gate, I generally tend to think "general utility / control" as opposed to just gaed drums)

 

Polytone as the jobbing Jazz amp maybe

 

(real boingy) Spring Verb -- Surf or possibly old school dub (Scientist, et al)

 

"digital audio loops" -- I guess that could take on a couple different senses, esp depending on how they are created

I tend to associate them more with modern loop music (sort of progressive experimental music...think modern musique concrete-ish type stuff)

 

-Theremin - Sci-fi soundtracks

 

-punk? hmm - duct tape maybe (seriously, not even gaffer's tape, always duct tape) - ok that's reaching

 

-pedal steel...country

 

how about tic-tac bass for that "nashville sound" (for lack of a better term)

 

tenor banjo - dixieland

 

 

 

[Anderton]

More good ideas, Paul...and others...keep 'em coming! Just rememeber I'm particularly interested in instruments/gear the represent, or were a big part of, a style of music.

 

Spring reverb and surf music...classic!

[MarkGifford-1]

Strat, Tubescreamer pedal, loud shirt, hat: SRV clones, of which there are thousands.

 

MG

[spokenward]

D-50 : Broadcast IDs (factory patches only, please)

[Scodiddly]

Roland Jupiter-8 and related: early 80's prog rock such as Kansas.

Yamaha DX-7: Caricature Rhodes sound for cheesy 80's ballads.

5-piece drumkit with huge rack toms: Emo-spinoff late-90's pop music.

Too much digital reverb: 80's music, all of it.

PRS guitars: Santana and fusion as played by upper-middle-class college kids.

 

Some instruments you really can't pin down, though:

Fender Telecaster: Turns up everywhere, not just country. "non-modern", maybe.

[LiveMusic]

 

Originally posted by Anderton Martin guitar with condenser mic and exciter -- So Cal singer/songwriter rock

 

 

Someone splain to me what this setup actually means. And who, for instance, does it describe?

[Tedster]

Gretsch...Rockabilly.

Fender Jaguar...Surf

Mosrite...Surf

Strat...funk, blues

Ric bass ...prog (Chris Squire, Geddy Lee)

 

Certain synth sounds were all over pop radio in the 80s.

 

Dobro, fiddle...bluegrass and country

 

Paul mentioned tenor banjo for dixieland...I'll add clarinet. Clarinet for Klezmer, too.

 

Button box...Zydeco and Cajun

 

Pennywhistle, pipes...etc...Celtic

[Lee Knight]

Kay Standup Bass - Rockabilly

 

Timbales - Salsa!

 

Distorted Voice - Industial

 

Chorus Pedal or JC120 - 80's Pop

 

P-Bass / SVT - Reggae

 

Pump Organ, Bass Marimba - Tom Waits

 

Green Bullet Mic - Blues

[Phil O'Keefe]

Good call on the Gretsch Tedster... I'd go even more specific and say the Gretsch 6120 for Rockabilly.

[monstermaker]

SG's -60's acid rock and 00's metal

MXR Phaser- Stones 70's

Fender Rhodes-disco

[Tedster]

Originally posted by Phil O'Keefe Good call on the Gretsch Tedster... I'd go even more specific and say the Gretsch 6120 for Rockabilly.

 

Yeah Phil...Gretsch has several models that fit the bill nicely...that's why I didn't get too specific.

[Mike McLenison]

In the late 60's to mid 70's almost every band I knew in NY had a Hammond B3 w/Leslie, SG's, Les Pauls, Hagstroms, towering Kustom Amps with horns, SM57's and Unisphere ball mics everywhere, Echoplexes, Ludwig drums, Maestro Phasers, Fender Rhodes, Vox wah's.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Ludwig Vistalite drums - Bonham / Zep drum tones.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Gibson L5 / ES 175: Jazz.

[boosh]

Beat Box - Hip Hop

Turntables - HipHop

[bongfodder]

5150=metal

 

For myself and many others.

[Billster]

Roland D-50: that damn breathy sound from the early 90's

 

Fairlight: Miami Vice and all subsequent clones/rip-offs

 

Scholz Rockman: Boston, and late 70's early 80's hard pop rock

 

Sousaphone: Marching bands

 

Heavy Artillery: Tchiakovsky, 1812! :p

[Mike McLenison]

Yeah, I forgot about the Rockman distortion. A very distinct tone of the 70-80's. Funny, I forgot and I still use their chorus in my rig.

[mr.rob]

It seems like in its heyday Drum and Bass producers favored select breaks culled from aged vinyl to be loaded and edited around in sample editors or even in their Akai and EMU samplers.

However with the advent of the internet Drum and Bass breaks can be dowloaded as MP3 files, and Propellerhead software's recycle is a popular choice for chopping them up, especially used alongside Reason with its samplers and its Dr. Rex.

While I don't produce Drum and Bass I have heard many a rave from compadres who do, and who got hooked on Reason...

FLstudio has some good features, like recycle-like loopers that can, with one mouseclick, put the chops onto a piano-roll to drag around into whatever combination (although I never get it sounding like Drum and Bass when I do that, but maybe it's just me).