70s Production Technqiues

During the 1970s, mix consoles and soundboards became critical equipment used in recording music, with more ability to control recording, mixing, and sound shaping. Advances in analog technology made consoles larger and more complex, with more channels, improved EQ sections, and effects routing on board. Legendary consoles like the Neve 8078, SSL 4000, and API consoles later found their way into the high-end mainstream of studios to improve the warm, rich, dynamic sound of the day. Mixing consoles allowed engineers to mix a number of tracks that had already been recorded, bring it to level, pan sounds to the stereo field, and equalize, add reverb, and compress in the hope of continuing to evolve the mix. Operating more channels, producers were able to build larger, more intricate sets, especially for genres of music like rock, funk, and prog music, where layering of sound was common.

Producers George Martin, Alan Parsons, and Quincy Jones pushed the limits of mixing, employing consoles in innovative ways to create vast, immersive soundfields. Automated faders and subgrouping became commonplace, allowing the implementation of more advanced mixing techniques. Live performances were also enriched by high-technology mixing boards, which balanced an array of microphones and instruments at the same time in real time, creating improved concert and recording sound. The 1970s were the decades in which mixing desks evolved beyond technical devices into powerful creative devices that shaped the recorded music sound.

In the 1970s, stereo panning was also typical in music production for the creation of a broader and more enveloping sound. As multitrack recording and high-end mixing consoles became more widespread, engineers were better able to position sounds within the stereo image, and mixes were more dynamic and compelling. Panning allowed isolation of instruments, avoided frequency masking, and increased the general clarity of a song.

Rock bands such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and The Beatles (in their later '60s and early '70s output) panned sounds around the stereo field creatively to create movement and depth. A great example of this is Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" (1973), where instruments, effects, and vocals pan left and right to create the album's psychedelic and spacey feel.

Producers also used hard panning (putting sounds all the way to the left or right) for dramatic purposes, particularly in funk, disco, and progressive rock. Drum kits, for instance, were panned with hi-hat and cymbals to one and toms distributed throughout the stereo field, simulating a live drum kit. Guitar solos, background harmonies, and synthesizers were panned to balance the mix and to provide contrast between sections of a song.