Daptone Records in Brooklyn

[ElmerJFudd]

Nice piece on a studio still keeping the analog flame,

 

https://www.cnet.com/videos/analog-music-recording-makes-a-big-comeback-in-a-tiny-studio-in-brooklyn/

 

I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Daptone, Brooklyn's legendary soul, funk, and rhythm & blues record label. Their very first release in 2001, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings "Dap Dippin'," hit it big with a raw, stompin' power that stands up to the best of Stax and Chess records of the 1960s. Amy Winehouse was a Daptone fan, and recorded a few tunes for her "Back to Black" album in the Brooklyn studio.

 

I recently contacted Daptone producer/engineer Wayne Gordon to see how the magic happens, and when I arrived my first order of business was checking out Daptone's 8 track Ampex reel-to-reel analog recorder. The machine stands five feet tall, and the entire recording chain, including the Trident mixing desk is vintage. Every note you hear on a Daptone album was played by Daptone artists at their sessions, and never fabricated, Auto-Tuned, or subjected to any other form of processing in post session mixing or digital editing. That dedication to musical authenticity is exceedingly rare in most of today's music. The sessions' analog tapes are edited by cutting them with a razor blade and spliced, just like all music was in the pre-digital days (mid 1980s). Visiting Daptone was like a trip in the way back machine, and I enjoyed every minute of it!....

 

https://www.cnet.com/news/daptone-records-the-authentic-sound-of-truth-and-soul/

 

 

I noticed The Budos Band has recorded there (don't hold it against the place )

 

[MathOfInsects]

Every note you hear on a Daptone album was played by Daptone artists at their sessions, and never fabricated, Auto-Tuned, or subjected to any other form of processing in post session mixing or digital editing. That dedication to musical authenticity is exceedingly rare in most of today's music. The sessions' analog tapes are edited by cutting them with a razor blade and spliced, just like all music was in the pre-digital days (mid 1980s). Visiting Daptone was like a trip in the way back machine, and I enjoyed every minute of it!....

 

I'm a huge fan of the label and studio, but can't help but appreciate the irony here. "Technology is anything that wasn't around when you were born." -- Alan Kay

[Kawai James]

Another big fan here, although I confess I have not bought any releases for a few years. Need to get back into it...

[yannis D]

I, too, love Dap Tone and their respective sound. But its nothing new. Younger generations tend to idolize the past. Im looking forward when cheezy DX7 rhodes will be the next it thing again

[BbAltered]

I'm not sure I get it. Haven't they heard of computers? Why splice tape with a razor? Doesn't it make more sense to record to disk, do whatever editing needs to be done on disk, and then print to tape for whatever sonic magic the tape provides?

 

If I was the one paying for the session, I wouldn't want to pay for someone to splice tape: this is an unnecessary waste of time and money.

 

I am willing to bet the technology-shunning owners and engineers use cell phones - "oh, but the conversation is so much more real and authentic when I am tethered by a cord to my rotary-dial phone!"

[Joe Muscara]

I'm not sure I get it. Haven't they heard of computers? Why splice tape with a razor? Doesn't it make more sense to record to disk, do whatever editing needs to be done on disk, and then print to tape for whatever sonic magic the tape provides?

I know engineers who do the opposite, and it makes total sense to me. They print to tape, and then import that into the computers to do the editing and mixing. The tape gets reused for tracking until it wears out. One engineer friend says he gets a better sound for drums and bass on tape which is why he does the initial tracking on it. I once casually asked him about how tape splicing worked but because of the way I asked, he simply said, "we don't do that anymore. We just do all the editing in the computer."

[Outkaster]

I see bands like this also and musicians that have similar attitudes. They feel if use modern technology it hurts them. I tell them play all the electro-mechanical stuff they want because they will still suck and so will their records.

[BigJPatton]

We record at another analog studio in Brooklyn, just finished tracking our second 7" vinyl release last week, 2" tape.

 

We track to tape and then transfer to digital to mix, then cut that to vinyl, it's not a perfect way to record in our opinion, we're hoping to go full analog in a future release but the person we have mixing lives abroad.

 

Splicing tape is no big deal and actually it doesn't really happen that much, probably just to space the songs for the most part.

 

All analog is the only way IMO, digital will never sound as good, too clean and crappy high end.

 

 

[Markay]

I think the retro tape fans just like the EQ and frequency roll off inherent to tape. It all ends up going through an ADC at some point.

 

Given so many consume music listening to compressed and lossy mp3's or streams who is kidding who that the subtly of originally recorded to tape is audible in the end product.

[MathOfInsects]

I always record basics to tape, then ADC (Radar) into ProTools. If there are lots of overdubs in the digital realm, I'll toss the files back over to tape right before mastering.

 

Something in the soggy bass response of tape makes those recordings sound more "grounded" to my ear than all-digital recordings, which can hit me as jittery. This is purely personal sonic preference, probably because I grew up listening to records. There is no doubt the digital realm allows for far greater subtlety and detail than analog; my preference is solely, "the kinds of sounds I like to hear, particularly for drums and bass." And similarly, with most music being consumed via headphones, streamed, it's all moot anyway. Mix solely for earbuds and you'll be a star.

 

I just thought it was funny that they were extolling the authenticity of edited tracks. Editing is editing; you have no obligation to do it the way the cavemen did it. The razor blade was simply the best technology of the time.

 

Edited to say: So...basically what markay just said.

 

 

[BbAltered]

(Eds: that should be "...who is kidding whom...")

 

Not to mention that a large portion of the listening public hears all this sonic beauty thru earbuds while riding a subway car or walking down the street!

 

Given so many consume music listening to compressed and lossy mp3's or streams who is kidding who that the subtly of originally recorded to tape is audible in the end product.

[ElmerJFudd]

Like any art, the artist cares more about the medium than the consuming/listening public. But there are discerning listeners, maybe many of them here on KC, who can appreciate nostalgia, an attempt at authenticity, the vibe and feel of doing something by hand rather than digitally. Avoiding the latest trends, making the performance central to the experience... and maybe some audiophile aspects of why 2" analog tape or vinyl sounds good - so good that digital systems are constantly trying to recreate its characteristics, either through modeling or actually installing analog summing mixers and the like. I think certainly the Hammond Organ and Leslie fanatics get this aspect most of all. Maybe the guys that lug a Rhodes around too.

 

I kept my LPs and ditched ear buds, rip my CDs as 16bit 44.1k wavs when I can, and if I can't (for space sake, I'll go "lossless" or FLAC or at the very least 256-320kbs mp3 if it must be). That's the best I can muster to the analog music gods. YMMV.