I’m not gonna talk about how the first machine you use in your 1985 video is an MPC from 1988, because I love this video. Do your thing and bring us more of this
A Linn 9000 would have been the 1985-legit version, and it worked somewhat similarly…. For playing those samples and sequencing three lines, it would have done the trick.
I was born in 68 and ran a music store in Kuwait where we grew up to this beat. You asked a name for the track, I'd name it Cool Ends. Great video, took me back in time. Keep it up
Thats why there's so much crap music getting popular. Social media influencers have replaced actual hard working musicians. Industry is full of fakes like DJ Khalid and Drake, nobody knows how to write an actual song anymore.
You're not kidding. You used to need a lot of money to be able to afford synth, drum machine, sequencers etc. Then to record you'd have to pay to go to a studio. It's unreal what can be done now with a laptop and midi controller. I come from the earlier days so I definitely appreciate it every day.
Not only is it more accessible financially, but it's also more accessible for blind users like myself. We can use Logic Pro, Pro Tools, and now Ableton Live with screen readers. Native Instruments have made their controllers and software accessible, so we have a ton of sounds to play with. There's still a lot we can't do, but things are improving every day.
@@haro82 On the other hand, popular music has downgraded significantly since those ancient times in which regular folks were nowhere near being able to own a synthesizer of their own.
This method definitely would bring out more creativity in many artists. Older doesn't always mean worse, and new doesn't always mean better. Great video.
I was born in the late 60’s…so I’ve got to experience several decades of music and by far the 80’s were my favorite era…you’ve hit that mark high. Thanks for the memories. Now I’ve gotta find a bottle of aquanet 😂
@@itsreallypola1332it’s always been the same. The music industry was always weird and greedy and horrible, so there’s still plenty of music that’s been out recently that is mind blowing. Check out In Rainbows by Radiohead, it may not be your cup of tea, but it’s almost a truly perfect LP
@dj_williams I think the era in which you were a teenager will be your favorite. I have over a thousand songs on my playlist from the 1900s to the present from all across the world. I think we are in the best Era of music in terms of sound and the possibilities but the worst in terms of diversity within the various genres. It feels like once you've heard one song from a genre, you've heard them all. Maybe it has always been that way but now it really seems more exacerbated.
You're literally the first person to show me what a tape machine does, how it's used. Also, never knew about the hallway reverb method! And this was very informative and fun to watch!
I saw Beatles members talk about a big room used for reverb and they would sit in there and smoke weed during mixing because it sounded trippy AF. Abbey Studios I presume.
I could, I'm a big 80s R&B fan and I'd say its a bit dry and missing the gated reverb to make it sound bigger and a bit more percussion for variation and needs an interesting bridge as a release and a few chord inversions and extensions to hold the interest and some guitar plucks, not a bad effort.
For somebody who wasn't around in 1985, you have an incredible ear for that kind of sound. 🙂 I was 11 in 1985, and I remember very vividly what pop music was like back then. You've absolutely nailed it with this performance. This could have played on the radio in '85 and nobody would have guessed that it was from a guy more than 35 years in the future.
@@conrads519 That isn't necessarily how you develop an ear for what is the essence of the sound of a certain era. It takes some insight to "get" what mid-80s music was about, in a way that goes beyond slapping together some drum machine beats and laying down some synth pads.
This shows why you have to have respect for the producers back then. There was no time stretching, auto syncing etc. Some of those dance mixes from back in the day are impressive for what the tech was. I remember when it was a big deal to be able to sample for 5 seconds!
I wouldn't say it's more fun, because you get hella stressed when it's not matching up or you've had to hit record 5 dozen times. But the creativity (at least for me) and the finished product was so much more rewarding feeling wise. You really feel like you accomplished something.
@@jasonhuttermusic424 from the tapes I had to use, digital. But if had some better recording equipment it might have had a little more depth feeling to the music.
most music back then was within bands or with a group of musicians. especially during the early stages of learning to make music. so you had less technology, but you had peers that helped you craft your best ideas.
Hey Jay! I am a musician and Engineer from the 80s through to now. I used and own much of the equipment you are using. With the MPC60, there was an optional SMPTE port(simp-tee). We would use that port to lock time with tape machine to record or overdub in perfect time. You would have to sacrifice one of your tracks for a SMPTE time code though. Diggin your 80s vibe!! Keep doing IT!!
I knew SMPTE time codes were used for television & movie scoring, since you can accurately sync up to whatever is happening on-screen, but I never knew how that data was stored on the tape, so that's really interesting.
@@dralithiRoland SBX80 was a popular device which bridged that gap. Much of the A/V field was still an undefined market in 1985 so companies made gear that wouldn’t fall into obsolescence or obscurity as things began to be defined. Constant Innovation is amazing however so is foresight. Modern Music Production provides an opportunity for people to “achieve” things quicker however the past eras required actual dedication to the craft and passion for true innovation based on extensive research and knowledge rather than duplicating someone else’s creativity and churning out whatever You can as quickly as You can. Tape can be annoying but computers just really kill the vibe not just in the Studio in general. People were more creative in the eras where computers weren’t so ubiquitous and design engineers knew how endless the possibilities really were. Once You understand electronics it’s like speaking another language. The founders of apple used to make Hack Boxes for folks in the UK to make free Ling distance phone calls it was pretty much just a bunch of pulses at different frequencies SMPTE timecode is similar and is an acronym for “SOCIETY OF MOTION PICTURE AND TELEVISION ENGINEERS”. Technically AES is the society for audio engineers BUT without audio what is any TV or Motion Picture broadcast? Hence why SMPTE was a common option on many pieces of professional audio gear for yesteryear. MIDI timecode and MIDI CLOCK were the other standards, boxes like the ROLAND SBX 80 would convert the signals so You could keep whatever You needed to in sync; typically SMPTE from the tape would be the master clock and You would sync the box to that and then slave Your MIDI sequencer to the box so You could track like that or just playback etc. not exactly obsolete as people still use hardware but DAWS deal with timecode and sync pretty differently so it’s really less of an issue now even if youre overdubbing in a DAW you can just nudge or edit whatever if you need to back in the tape days that was not a possibility so proper sync was of major importance. Another use for SMPTE with MIDI gear was with phrase samplers like the S950; often comps of BG vocals and choruses would be bounced to samplers and then triggered to play at the needed sections in order to cut down on recording time and for a more consistent result. This made it easy for a song to have a repeating chorus or an extended club version etc. SMPTE is great. Still used on Film and TV sets. Worldwide standard I think in Britain their code is based on 50hz and they shoot at some different frame rates but it’s really becoming more and more of a single standard with everything being done on computers or if there are any regional differences the software mitigates whatever the would be issues.
Yep, I wasn't around for that era but have a collection of MPCs, and that's even a solution today (most MPCs have SMPTE sync) - though these days you can just MIDI sync to your DAW (I believe MTC is basically MIDI encoded SMPTE? vs MIDI beat clock which operates differently?), some DAWs like Cubase actually have a SMPTE generator plugin, that can output SMPTE onto a channel, which you can still sync the MPC to, but it's a lot more tricky to get right (if you don't get your levels in the correct range everything breaks). But from what I heard, as you said, back in the day they'd often record SMPTE to a tape track to be able to re-lock the machines, especially in the early hip-hop days when the tracks were mostly multiple samplers.
The thing that I remember most about the '80s is how it took hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment to do what today you can do more quickly on a good laptop for under five grand. Bouncing tracks on tape lol! Watching this brought back some serious PTSD. Thank you for sharing this interesting trip down memory lane.
I lived it. We used to sample on Casio keyboards, 8 and 24 track machines. It was rough but we managed. Now you can use good digital machines, and mix them in with high quality piano/synths and also mix in and edit with Fruity Loops, Reason and other apps. Back then it was hard to sample some pieces of music but now you can sample large chunks. Your song has a Bruno Mars - 24k Magic vibe going on.
I’m glad to remember the 80s thoroughly. I’m a proud GenXer that was school aged during this time. This reminds me of the 87/88 era of music, as I remember hearing these riffs in music from Angela Wimbush, the System, and a few other artists. I like that sweat jacket he rocked, as I had one in the late 80s, along with a pair of Pumas. Nice video! Took me back to when I was growing up!
I just saw this video for the first time on 10-27-23 around 3:30am and I'm a 80's kid at age 10yrs-20yrs old 1980-1989.I grew up on all musics of that time.When you put together that 80's sound you created I was vibing with a large smile😊 on my face and was boping my head big time.I was feeling it.Not bad at all for a 90's new born.Do more of these.Im 54yrs old now and a ex-Dj from 1980'-2004.
Fantastic video! As a 50 year old muso who has a soft spot for the 80's, I found it really interesting to see you interact with the old tech. You've inspired me.
Hi Jay! This weekend marks my sixtieth time around the sun on this planet, and your smile and your video just made my day and started the weekend off right. I was one of those guys who did exactly what you did in this video back in the 80's. I created my songs then by sequencing everything first on a midi sequencer and drum machine and then going into the 16 track analog studio and dumping tracks and doing vocals. No autotune! 😰 A day in the studio then would cost $500 per day. I planned everything right down to smoke breaks - LOL! I still retain a lot of the lessons and tricks I learned then to today's home studio. And my music still sounds like it's from the 80's/90's - but hey... they say write what you know. And I do. Peace to you Jay, thanks for a trip down memory lane!
Happy Birthday Bill! I still have most of my analog gear from the 80’s and 90’s. My wife asked me do you still need all that stuff and for years and the answer is always yes. It’s coming back now. The one time I could tell her I told you so. 😂😂😂
Even the modern day MPCs are a lot to wrap your head around, so I always applaud anyone who can cook with a retro one. Dope video fam, I dig the experiment/exploration type tutorials 🔥🔥
This was very eye-opening! I like how you didn't do the 80's aesthetic in a cheesy, surface-level way. It felt very authentic to the "time travel experience" of being in the 80s lol I definitely subscribed after seeing this
That Adidas windbreaker was straight flames 🔥🔥 I would say the vast majority of modern "producers" would not be able to survive without the simplicity of the software DAW, Plugins etc. MOST producers lack fundamental understanding of production and just mimic current trends.
you don't know what you don't know. Thats why channels like this exist to provide a spark hopefully it catches on. I wouldn't down them because they don't know any better though, just encourage them.
Maaan this was legit 80s vibe. I was born in 1981 so i almost remember the original songs with those beats and synths. Loved it! by the way i spent my childhood in the theater my dad was working in and i spent most of my time in the audio studio. To make a proper delay they used to run the tape on record on one deck and then ran the loop to another which was a couple of feet aside which played it back and they mixed both. The echo chamber was a big steel plate in a wooden crate with a mic in it. They had Studer 24 track tape decks as well as Revox 8 track ones. Iloved playing with the tech when the studio tech allowed me :) Greetings from Bulgaria.
Bro I love this man. It’s amazing that you can show us youngins the way it used to be. Your exploring videos are really fun. Please don’t stop making content.
This was INCREDIBLE. I love you making 80s music and I hope you do well on the 70's, 90's and the 2000's. This kinda gives my synth-pop types of vibe. thank you for making the best music possible!
That was amazing! Haha! I really appreciate you taking the time to show the workflow of that time era. It makes you appreciate the luxuries we have now with software and technology. But in all cases, there's nothing like banging out a Masterpiece like that with the limited resources that one would have from that period. 1985 is my birth year as well! 80's Babies stand up! Haha! Bless!
I know this must have been difficult, but I think this deserves another installment or two exploring older recording techniques and equipment. Subbed either way :)
Dude. You're absolutely amazing! You've Taken me back to those great epic bands like SOS BAND, MIDNIGHT STAR, ATLANTIC STAR, Loose Ends etc. BRAVO!👏👏👏👏
You killed that my boy! I grew up in the 80's and you definitely captured the feeling of that era. I still got a ASR that uses floppy disk just for that vintage flavor. Love it.
You are nuts, dude! This video is terrific, I was born in late 60s and I really dig this stuff (even if I appreciate and use the modern technology). Anyway, nice one, cheers!
You're a music genius, amazing feel of rythm, casually playing the keyboard and the guitar and the bass like its nothing and to top it off, mix it all with old tech!!
Good stuff man! The thing I did like about making music back then was how creative we had to be. Heck, everyone mostly used the same keyboards and drum machines but all sorts of very creative music was made. It forced us to focus on the songs and the message we were trying to communicate.
In the words of Theo Huxtable, this song is “jamming on the 1”. After using computers for 9 hours a day for work and then using a DAW, I really want to create a dawless setup. In spite of the issues you encountered, it just looks more fun to create this way. I think the limitations are what made a lot of the older music nostalgic and timeless. I mean that along with good songwriting and musicianship. This was a dope video for sure.
Hey! My song title offer was Jam the Groove. There's already a song called Jammin on the Groove (I looked it up - Mantronix on the 808, baby), and your quote there and my title are circling the vibe.
As a producer this is amazing to see and i know have a new found respect for our founding fathers. This beat is so damn good that bassline is awesome. When grandpa from the Rugrats came out i lost it! Great video man! Subscribed
i can sleep to this old soud creation..i was born in the 80's started to do music when i was young like 89 so i remember alot of this .i still have my first dat tape i recorded my first few songs on
In 1985, we gave up on reels and switched to cassette four tracks because the reels were too expensive and fragile. We compounded tracks using SMPTE, which was a pain sometimes but gave the cleanest and punchiest sound. You would have to have a sequencer to trigger everything (keyboards, drum machine, all MIDI stuff, not non-MIDI instruments) through SMPTE time code to save tracks, and it would only leave two tracks for vocals. IDK how I would record like that today unless I used samplers, which only had a couple of seconds to record. I could use what we called "Splitching," which is sample-pitching that would extend the length of samples by sampling sounds at extremely fast tempos and then pitching them back down on the keyboard around an octave. I am from that era and would only return to those technologies if you want to spend a week on one song. Jay captured the fun and problems we had back then in recording. Big ups.
Dude that was cool. I’ve got a room full of vintage synths (prophet 5, minimoog, Juno 60, pro one, arp odyssey etc) I’d never consider going back to tape though! It was cool to see how much easier it is to produce now. Although Jack White (of the white stripes) said “always be wary of anything that makes things easier, and what compromises you have to accept”. Killer video though
Damn that sounds good. S.O.S. Band would be proud… You forgot to mention how good that Reel to Reel sounds compared to any computer, laptop sequencer program can do.. Good stuff.. Keep it up!
SMPTE... I think I heard that term on a video where Steve Lukather explains how he helped Quincy Jones to finish Beat It. Something about a sync issue and re-recording parts...
@@GVike SMPTE was a timecode that was laid on your recorder (reel to reel or 4 track recorder) or your sequencer that kept your hardware instruments in sync with your recorder or sequencer. It was used so that if you wanted to rewind or fast forward the sequencer or recorder, you hardware instruments will fall in line with where ever you ended up in the rewind or fast forward. Nowadays because of computers, you don't need SMPTE (unless you're trying to sync your DAW to a reel to reel) but back then you needed it because computers were not a part of the production process.
SMPTE is how I used my ASQ10 and 8-track. After you've got a new tape aligned, stripe a SMPTE track and then you can bounce and lay down additional sequenced tracks as desired, or even add sequenced tracks at mixdown time. One of these days I'd like to build cables to get my tape deck to chase a DAW or synchronize multiple decks together, but you can do plenty with 7 audio tracks.
Just randomly stumbled upon this, and your commitment to keeping this mostly analog is commendable! Especially cleaning the tape head! Nothing like good ol' isopropyl maintenance. As a person who regularly struggles with refurbishing tape decks, I definitely enjoy the warmth and lo-fi sound that comes from this stuff. Your recording came out super crisp!
That call to action was impeccable! Instant subscribe. Also for the hook it could be something like "doesnt it feel good, to you... girl" something like that would go great with this.
Loved the video. As someone who had to record like this in the mid to late 90's. I understand the stress. But i didnt have an mpc or a Dat machine and my tape was straight cassette. By the time i would loop each thing i wanted to add, the production quality was terrible. My first big help was when i got my Gemini sampler. It helped me a lot creativity wise.
Great track 🔥 I like these kind of vids where we get to see you using actual hardware to make beats & I like the remixes too. It’s all interesting since i work 100% in the box 🌚
Я не знаю, як би я писав музику без тих можливостей, які в нас є сьогодні. Тим більше, коли я сам навчився створювати музику за комп'ютером і не маю професійної формальної освіти 🙆🏻♂ Сучасні технології для створення музики - це дуже круто і дуже добре, що вони в нас є. Не знаю, як люди робили це у 80-ті 🤯 А зараз я можу легко емулювати аналоговий звук і касету просто у віртуальному просторі. Це фантастика!
Yessir! Definitely sounds like something S.O.S. band could rock over. This mug got me grooving. Preciate what you did..for us. History lesson on older tech, plus a jam. Fly ish. Salute. (I subbed lol.)
You had to have a lot more skills than most people realise, for starters a lot of it was played live so you had to know how to play well, know your scales, chords, progressions and modes.
thought this was gonna be a low effort video, when clicking on it, but i was thoroughly surprised and impressed. I don't give likes to everyone, but you will get one for this video
Nice to see how you managed to create a track completely out of the box. I feel like the limitations of not having a DAW foster creativity, and analog sound gives the track it's own nice character. BTW nice studio ✌️
Technically, if you go back to 1985, you could have had an Atari ST with a built-in MIDI connectors, and as early as 1986 you could have used quite a few programs, including "Pro 24" from Steinberg and "The Music Studio" from Activision. So not that bad really! Then a few years later you get Cubase, Notator/Creator, etc...
Dope beats bro and very well presented. Beats remind me of my DJ days at Kings Cross in Sydney Australia. SOS Band, Midnight Star, Loose Ends, The Whispers and so many more. This was the real funk and R&B music.
This is pretty much one of the coolest videos I've ever watched. You really did it the 80s way! And the song actually sounds really good. Is there a full version of it?
This was SUPER fun, I’m stoked your video appeared in my feed Jay!! your energy & enthusiasm is contagious, the production values and your fun nature really completes the experience, never hit the subscribe button so fast and very excited to dive into your content past, present and future! ❤
I’m not gonna talk about how the first machine you use in your 1985 video is an MPC from 1988, because I love this video. Do your thing and bring us more of this
That bugged me right away. No digital machines and it’s 1985. Now here’s a digital machine from 1988. But it’s still fun watching him work.
Haha
A Linn 9000 would have been the 1985-legit version, and it worked somewhat similarly…. For playing those samples and sequencing three lines, it would have done the trick.
I was going to say the same thing about the MPC60 and that it wasn't released until 1988.
Lets just say he bought all the gear in 1985 but was in a coma for 3 years
I was born in 68 and ran a music store in Kuwait where we grew up to this beat. You asked a name for the track, I'd name it Cool Ends. Great video, took me back in time. Keep it up
Crazy how accessible it is to make music now compared to the past
Thats why there's so much crap music getting popular. Social media influencers have replaced actual hard working musicians. Industry is full of fakes like DJ Khalid and Drake, nobody knows how to write an actual song anymore.
You're not kidding. You used to need a lot of money to be able to afford synth, drum machine, sequencers etc. Then to record you'd have to pay to go to a studio. It's unreal what can be done now with a laptop and midi controller. I come from the earlier days so I definitely appreciate it every day.
@@haro82
The one above said....the same thing.
Not only is it more accessible financially, but it's also more accessible for blind users like myself. We can use Logic Pro, Pro Tools, and now Ableton Live with screen readers. Native Instruments have made their controllers and software accessible, so we have a ton of sounds to play with. There's still a lot we can't do, but things are improving every day.
@@haro82 On the other hand, popular music has downgraded significantly since those ancient times in which regular folks were nowhere near being able to own a synthesizer of their own.
Come on now.. you need to make a series out of this. I wanna see 70’s, 90’s and 00’s
You read my mind!
Skip ‘00s.
@@rgdec74How come?
Why stop there? SHOW ME THE 10's AND 20's 😤 If one can make music from the past, one can make music from the future.
@@JohnJohnsFishingAaaaaaaaaaaaand no reply!
Criminally underrated channel. Amazing content.
This method definitely would bring out more creativity in many artists. Older doesn't always mean worse, and new doesn't always mean better. Great video.
New does mean better sometimes
definitely easier for me to do synths on a physical midi synthesizer but I'd kms if I had to make music in the 90's without serum ngl
Lmao@@averywow
I was born in the late 60’s…so I’ve got to experience several decades of music and by far the 80’s were my favorite era…you’ve hit that mark high. Thanks for the memories. Now I’ve gotta find a bottle of aquanet 😂
man i wish i was a part of the 80s-90s. the music and culture seems a lot more rich and just overall better rather than now.
Aquanet 😂😂😂 i rembemer it
@@itsreallypola1332 You are right
@@itsreallypola1332it’s always been the same. The music industry was always weird and greedy and horrible, so there’s still plenty of music that’s been out recently that is mind blowing. Check out In Rainbows by Radiohead, it may not be your cup of tea, but it’s almost a truly perfect LP
@dj_williams I think the era in which you were a teenager will be your favorite. I have over a thousand songs on my playlist from the 1900s to the present from all across the world. I think we are in the best Era of music in terms of sound and the possibilities but the worst in terms of diversity within the various genres. It feels like once you've heard one song from a genre, you've heard them all. Maybe it has always been that way but now it really seems more exacerbated.
this was incredible!!
Thank you! Love your videos too, been watching for a while
Indeed!
ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC WITHOUT ANY SHADOW OF A DOUBT!
You're literally the first person to show me what a tape machine does, how it's used. Also, never knew about the hallway reverb method! And this was very informative and fun to watch!
I saw Beatles members talk about a big room used for reverb and they would sit in there and smoke weed during mixing because it sounded trippy AF. Abbey Studios I presume.
You got the sound and style perfectly just like I remember it in the 80s. I wouldn't be able to tell the difference if I heard this.
Facts!!! It really reminds me if the SOS Band. Songs like "The Finest," and "No One's Gonna Love You."
Yes it sounded really good
@@MatthewYates1 definitely that Jam & Lewis vibe for sure. Reminded me of Loose Ends and SOS Band as well indeed.
Bruh cookin up hits😂💯💯💯💪🏾
I could, I'm a big 80s R&B fan and I'd say its a bit dry and missing the gated reverb to make it sound bigger and a bit more percussion for variation and needs an interesting bridge as a release and a few chord inversions and extensions to hold the interest and some guitar plucks, not a bad effort.
For somebody who wasn't around in 1985, you have an incredible ear for that kind of sound. 🙂 I was 11 in 1985, and I remember very vividly what pop music was like back then. You've absolutely nailed it with this performance. This could have played on the radio in '85 and nobody would have guessed that it was from a guy more than 35 years in the future.
His parents probably played 80s music all the time...
its almost as if there is technology that allows us to listen to music that was recorded at an earlier time!
Back to the Future, in the past
@@conrads519 That isn't necessarily how you develop an ear for what is the essence of the sound of a certain era. It takes some insight to "get" what mid-80s music was about, in a way that goes beyond slapping together some drum machine beats and laying down some synth pads.
Agreed
This shows why you have to have respect for the producers back then. There was no time stretching, auto syncing etc. Some of those dance mixes from back in the day are impressive for what the tech was. I remember when it was a big deal to be able to sample for 5 seconds!
The simple fact that you have the knowledge to properly operate this vintage gear is impressive…dope video and beat, Bruno Mars would go ham on it
I said the same thing soon as it came on I heard Bruno🔥
The transition from present day to 1985 was very well done!
It's tedious, but it actually looks more fun than producing music with all the features of todays DAWs.
I wouldn't say it's more fun, because you get hella stressed when it's not matching up or you've had to hit record 5 dozen times. But the creativity (at least for me) and the finished product was so much more rewarding feeling wise. You really feel like you accomplished something.
@@DanlowMusic makes sense
what do you think about the quality of the final mix of tape vs digital?@@DanlowMusic
It is
@@jasonhuttermusic424 from the tapes I had to use, digital. But if had some better recording equipment it might have had a little more depth feeling to the music.
most music back then was within bands or with a group of musicians. especially during the early stages of learning to make music. so you had less technology, but you had peers that helped you craft your best ideas.
Less technology, more creativity
Hey Jay! I am a musician and Engineer from the 80s through to now. I used and own much of the equipment you are using. With the MPC60, there was an optional SMPTE port(simp-tee). We would use that port to lock time with tape machine to record or overdub in perfect time. You would have to sacrifice one of your tracks for a SMPTE time code though. Diggin your 80s vibe!! Keep doing IT!!
Wow, man!
I wished some of us could connect!
I knew SMPTE time codes were used for television & movie scoring, since you can accurately sync up to whatever is happening on-screen, but I never knew how that data was stored on the tape, so that's really interesting.
@@dralithiRoland SBX80 was a popular device which bridged that gap. Much of the A/V field was still an undefined market in 1985 so companies made gear that wouldn’t fall into obsolescence or obscurity as things began to be defined. Constant Innovation is amazing however so is foresight. Modern Music Production provides an opportunity for people to “achieve” things quicker however the past eras required actual dedication to the craft and passion for true innovation based on extensive research and knowledge rather than duplicating someone else’s creativity and churning out whatever You can as quickly as You can. Tape can be annoying but computers just really kill the vibe not just in the Studio in general. People were more creative in the eras where computers weren’t so ubiquitous and design engineers knew how endless the possibilities really were. Once You understand electronics it’s like speaking another language. The founders of apple used to make Hack Boxes for folks in the UK to make free Ling distance phone calls it was pretty much just a bunch of pulses at different frequencies SMPTE timecode is similar and is an acronym for “SOCIETY OF MOTION PICTURE AND TELEVISION ENGINEERS”. Technically AES is the society for audio engineers BUT without audio what is any TV or Motion Picture broadcast? Hence why SMPTE was a common option on many pieces of professional audio gear for yesteryear. MIDI timecode and MIDI CLOCK were the other standards, boxes like the ROLAND SBX 80 would convert the signals so You could keep whatever You needed to in sync; typically SMPTE from the tape would be the master clock and You would sync the box to that and then slave Your MIDI sequencer to the box so You could track like that or just playback etc. not exactly obsolete as people still use hardware but DAWS deal with timecode and sync pretty differently so it’s really less of an issue now even if youre overdubbing in a DAW you can just nudge or edit whatever if you need to back in the tape days that was not a possibility so proper sync was of major importance. Another use for SMPTE with MIDI gear was with phrase samplers like the S950; often comps of BG vocals and choruses would be bounced to samplers and then triggered to play at the needed sections in order to cut down on recording time and for a more consistent result. This made it easy for a song to have a repeating chorus or an extended club version etc. SMPTE is great. Still used on Film and TV sets. Worldwide standard I think in Britain their code is based on 50hz and they shoot at some different frame rates but it’s really becoming more and more of a single standard with everything being done on computers or if there are any regional differences the software mitigates whatever the would be issues.
Yep, I wasn't around for that era but have a collection of MPCs, and that's even a solution today (most MPCs have SMPTE sync) - though these days you can just MIDI sync to your DAW (I believe MTC is basically MIDI encoded SMPTE? vs MIDI beat clock which operates differently?), some DAWs like Cubase actually have a SMPTE generator plugin, that can output SMPTE onto a channel, which you can still sync the MPC to, but it's a lot more tricky to get right (if you don't get your levels in the correct range everything breaks). But from what I heard, as you said, back in the day they'd often record SMPTE to a tape track to be able to re-lock the machines, especially in the early hip-hop days when the tracks were mostly multiple samplers.
Groove has that “You got me hangin on a string now” by the group Loose Ends. Great work in emulating that 80’s sound!
That was really dope. I was born in '77, so this takes me back to my childhood. I love that 80s synth vibe! Great job! 💪🏿
I'm a musician so I can bring the 80s sounds back to life
The thing that I remember most about the '80s is how it took hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment to do what today you can do more quickly on a good laptop for under five grand. Bouncing tracks on tape lol! Watching this brought back some serious PTSD. Thank you for sharing this interesting trip down memory lane.
Your production values are insane, always love the 80s video effects. Hope you produce professionally in some capacity
Is this amateur?
this is a pro job.
@@cvltzilla thats what I mean!
He should've did the whole video in '85
This guy is definitely a pro producer, and he's a musician too
I lived it. We used to sample on Casio keyboards, 8 and 24 track machines. It was rough but we managed. Now you can use good digital machines, and mix them in with high quality piano/synths and also mix in and edit with Fruity Loops, Reason and other apps. Back then it was hard to sample some pieces of music but now you can sample large chunks.
Your song has a Bruno Mars - 24k Magic vibe going on.
I'm usually a heavy metal guy but this was absolutely awesome. Would love to see more like this.
Dude metal and 80s synth music go together like PB and Jelly! Love both !
I also love pop and metal.
I’m glad to remember the 80s thoroughly. I’m a proud GenXer that was school aged during this time.
This reminds me of the 87/88 era of music, as I remember hearing these riffs in music from Angela Wimbush, the System, and a few other artists.
I like that sweat jacket he rocked, as I had one in the late 80s, along with a pair of Pumas.
Nice video! Took me back to when I was growing up!
I just saw this video for the first time on 10-27-23 around 3:30am and I'm a 80's kid at age 10yrs-20yrs old 1980-1989.I grew up on all musics of that time.When you put together that 80's sound you created I was vibing with a large smile😊 on my face and was boping my head big time.I was feeling it.Not bad at all for a 90's new born.Do more of these.Im 54yrs old now and a ex-Dj from 1980'-2004.
Making beats back then wasn’t that easy keep up good work bro
Fantastic video! As a 50 year old muso who has a soft spot for the 80's, I found it really interesting to see you interact with the old tech. You've inspired me.
The Whole Video From The Way Its Shot, All The Equipment Used. The Beat, The Energy U Had. 10/10 I Deff Gotta See More Of This. Good Work Fr
Been following you forever, great to see this video do so well! This was a incredible video!
Interesting to see you here didn’t expect that 😂
How is the carwash and the laundromat doing? And the vending machines?
Hey bro can you help me turn 7.33£ into $100.000.000,00? I would kind of appreciate it a little bit.
Hi Jay! This weekend marks my sixtieth time around the sun on this planet, and your smile and your video just made my day and started the weekend off right. I was one of those guys who did exactly what you did in this video back in the 80's. I created my songs then by sequencing everything first on a midi sequencer and drum machine and then going into the 16 track analog studio and dumping tracks and doing vocals. No autotune! 😰 A day in the studio then would cost $500 per day. I planned everything right down to smoke breaks - LOL! I still retain a lot of the lessons and tricks I learned then to today's home studio. And my music still sounds like it's from the 80's/90's - but hey... they say write what you know. And I do. Peace to you Jay, thanks for a trip down memory lane!
Wow, I wish i could have been a fly on the wall and watch you work back then. thank you for sharing!
Happy Birthday Bill! I still have most of my analog gear from the 80’s and 90’s. My wife asked me do you still need all that stuff and for years and the answer is always yes. It’s coming back now. The one time I could tell her I told you so. 😂😂😂
😂😂😂
Make more videos
This was dope as hell. Man 80's and 90's was the best!!
Even the modern day MPCs are a lot to wrap your head around, so I always applaud anyone who can cook with a retro one. Dope video fam, I dig the experiment/exploration type tutorials 🔥🔥
This was very eye-opening! I like how you didn't do the 80's aesthetic in a cheesy, surface-level way. It felt very authentic to the "time travel experience" of being in the 80s lol I definitely subscribed after seeing this
I'm 52, been a producer since 1991 and still going. I thoroughly enjoyed this video. Also SMPTE is your sync friend!
Bro is ROCKING that Prophet-5 and Oberhiem synth! Amazing job my man, you've done a splendid job at analogue beatmaking!!!
That Adidas windbreaker was straight flames 🔥🔥 I would say the vast majority of modern "producers" would not be able to survive without the simplicity of the software DAW, Plugins etc. MOST producers lack fundamental understanding of production and just mimic current trends.
Thank you! i love the colors on it. Yup, the old school production style is very immersive and fun but gotta love the speed of using software.
you don't know what you don't know. Thats why channels like this exist to provide a spark hopefully it catches on. I wouldn't down them because they don't know any better though, just encourage them.
@@VinceCartierBeats agreed bro
The dude even used bass and guitar, and I have a feeling most modern producers wouldn't even know how to play them.
true
Damn... The first part of your song is strait up SOS Band ! Nice ! Really dope ! Brings me back ! Im 42 born in 1981 :)
Maaan this was legit 80s vibe. I was born in 1981 so i almost remember the original songs with those beats and synths. Loved it! by the way i spent my childhood in the theater my dad was working in and i spent most of my time in the audio studio. To make a proper delay they used to run the tape on record on one deck and then ran the loop to another which was a couple of feet aside which played it back and they mixed both. The echo chamber was a big steel plate in a wooden crate with a mic in it. They had Studer 24 track tape decks as well as Revox 8 track ones. Iloved playing with the tech when the studio tech allowed me :) Greetings from Bulgaria.
Cool stuff 🎉
bro that sounds cool af
Bro I love this man. It’s amazing that you can show us youngins the way it used to be. Your exploring videos are really fun. Please don’t stop making content.
True :)
This was INCREDIBLE. I love you making 80s music and I hope you do well on the 70's, 90's and the 2000's. This kinda gives my synth-pop types of vibe. thank you for making the best music possible!
That was amazing! Haha!
I really appreciate you taking the time to show the workflow of that time era. It makes you appreciate the luxuries we have now with software and technology.
But in all cases, there's nothing like banging out a Masterpiece like that with the limited resources that one would have from that period.
1985 is my birth year as well!
80's Babies stand up! Haha!
Bless!
I know this must have been difficult, but I think this deserves another installment or two exploring older recording techniques and equipment. Subbed either way :)
Dude. You're absolutely amazing! You've Taken me back to those great epic bands like SOS BAND, MIDNIGHT STAR, ATLANTIC STAR, Loose Ends etc. BRAVO!👏👏👏👏
Brother you just are a funky bass playing dope producer, I'm very impressed with your skills and talent, nothing but Gods blessing to you.
You killed that my boy! I grew up in the 80's and you definitely captured the feeling of that era. I still got a ASR that uses floppy disk just for that vintage flavor. Love it.
Me too. Less is more. You spend your time writing - and not auditioning.
You are nuts, dude! This video is terrific, I was born in late 60s and I really dig this stuff (even if I appreciate and use the modern technology). Anyway, nice one, cheers!
You're a music genius, amazing feel of rythm, casually playing the keyboard and the guitar and the bass like its nothing and to top it off, mix it all with old tech!!
The music you create is absolutely fantastic. I can't wait to see what's next. Keep up the amazing work! 💖
This was me. Amazing my homie...
Don't miss your complete calling! You could easily produce TV/Film content. You mind thinks in stories. Dope entertaining video!👍🏾✊🏾
Good stuff man! The thing I did like about making music back then was how creative we had to be. Heck, everyone mostly used the same keyboards and drum machines but all sorts of very creative music was made. It forced us to focus on the songs and the message we were trying to communicate.
Damn, this is some really well-made, well-shot, well-lit, well-edited content here. Bravo!. That beat is dope! Them keys really brought it to life.
In the words of Theo Huxtable, this song is “jamming on the 1”. After using computers for 9 hours a day for work and then using a DAW, I really want to create a dawless setup. In spite of the issues you encountered, it just looks more fun to create this way. I think the limitations are what made a lot of the older music nostalgic and timeless. I mean that along with good songwriting and musicianship. This was a dope video for sure.
And imagine when cats didn't even have MIDI to connect and sync the devices...
"I... I.. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY!"
less computer, more u, more life..
Hey! My song title offer was Jam the Groove. There's already a song called Jammin on the Groove (I looked it up - Mantronix on the 808, baby), and your quote there and my title are circling the vibe.
As a producer this is amazing to see and i know have a new found respect for our founding fathers. This beat is so damn good that bassline is awesome. When grandpa from the Rugrats came out i lost it! Great video man! Subscribed
i can sleep to this old soud creation..i was born in the 80's
started to do music when i was young like 89 so i remember alot of this .i still have my first dat tape i recorded my first few songs on
I'm a 80's baby, 90's raised me. Just a little something haha. That beat is a time machine. Beautiful funky beat brotha. Salutations ✊🏿
THIS WAS FLAMES 🔥 LOVE THE WORK YOU PUT IN! AMAZING PRODUCTION!
First vid of yours ive seen - liked subbed NICE ONE MATE!
The tons of work invested in this videos are appreciated. Great edit and great sound. Keep it up!!
Cool sound bro !
A bit of a "Boogie Down" and a "The Message" Vibe here 👍🤘😍🤩☑️
Listening to the end results I was excepting Phil Collins to just start singing any second. Really awesome stuff!
I'm getting more Midnight Starr or Isley Brothers vibes
1985 was a big year with the 808 and 909. Mantronik was the king of the beats at this time. Excellent video. You took me back on this.
Thank you
Sheesh, this was the second best way to enjoy 12 minutes on a friday night. Phenomenal production. Subscribed to see what comes next.
I guess the first would be making a beat....
In 1985, we gave up on reels and switched to cassette four tracks because the reels were too expensive and fragile. We compounded tracks using SMPTE, which was a pain sometimes but gave the cleanest and punchiest sound. You would have to have a sequencer to trigger everything (keyboards, drum machine, all MIDI stuff, not non-MIDI instruments) through SMPTE time code to save tracks, and it would only leave two tracks for vocals. IDK how I would record like that today unless I used samplers, which only had a couple of seconds to record. I could use what we called "Splitching," which is sample-pitching that would extend the length of samples by sampling sounds at extremely fast tempos and then pitching them back down on the keyboard around an octave. I am from that era and would only return to those technologies if you want to spend a week on one song. Jay captured the fun and problems we had back then in recording. Big ups.
Dude that was cool. I’ve got a room full of vintage synths (prophet 5, minimoog, Juno 60, pro one, arp odyssey etc) I’d never consider going back to tape though! It was cool to see how much easier it is to produce now. Although Jack White (of the white stripes) said “always be wary of anything that makes things easier, and what compromises you have to accept”. Killer video though
this is my first time seeing your content, but you instantly made me subscribe. everything is great quality
This gotta be the best producer channel I've ever came across. I been making 80s beats and showing em off now I gotta trash em and level up.
Damn that sounds good. S.O.S. Band would be proud… You forgot to mention how good that Reel to Reel sounds compared to any computer, laptop sequencer program can do.. Good stuff.. Keep it up!
LOVE THIS! But we used to just record a SMPTE code to 1 track and use it to trigger the MPC. Everything just plays live.
I remember SMPTE code.
SMPTE... I think I heard that term on a video where Steve Lukather explains how he helped Quincy Jones to finish Beat It. Something about a sync issue and re-recording parts...
@@GVike SMPTE was a timecode that was laid on your recorder (reel to reel or 4 track recorder) or your sequencer that kept your hardware instruments in sync with your recorder or sequencer. It was used so that if you wanted to rewind or fast forward the sequencer or recorder, you hardware instruments will fall in line with where ever you ended up in the rewind or fast forward. Nowadays because of computers, you don't need SMPTE (unless you're trying to sync your DAW to a reel to reel) but back then you needed it because computers were not a part of the production process.
SMPTE is how I used my ASQ10 and 8-track. After you've got a new tape aligned, stripe a SMPTE track and then you can bounce and lay down additional sequenced tracks as desired, or even add sequenced tracks at mixdown time. One of these days I'd like to build cables to get my tape deck to chase a DAW or synchronize multiple decks together, but you can do plenty with 7 audio tracks.
@@poofygoof Yup
RESPECT JAY DIGGS FROM HANDS ON MIC PRODUCTIONS VIN/E.V
Recreating that Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis vibe I hear.. Perfectly executed!!
Just randomly stumbled upon this, and your commitment to keeping this mostly analog is commendable! Especially cleaning the tape head! Nothing like good ol' isopropyl maintenance.
As a person who regularly struggles with refurbishing tape decks, I definitely enjoy the warmth and lo-fi sound that comes from this stuff. Your recording came out super crisp!
Man, I'm so sorry for that channel 8. What I like the most about these clips is that they show so well, how it was back in the day. LOVE THIS CONTENT!
This was great! Great music, great editing, good vibe to the video, and good length. Just subscribed, thank you for your efforts 😎
I love love the sounds. You really did it. I’m commenting just so it helps get the video to more people.
I was born in 1977 I love the 80s funk and auto tune.. good job, brother.
That call to action was impeccable! Instant subscribe. Also for the hook it could be something like "doesnt it feel good, to you... girl" something like that would go great with this.
The work you put in is stratospheric. So much love
This is one of the best videos iv ever watched on youtube, loved the tape process in particular
Quality editing and content my friend. Subscribed.
Damn, this is some really well-made, well-shot, well-lit, well-edited content here. Bravo!
Loved the video. As someone who had to record like this in the mid to late 90's. I understand the stress. But i didnt have an mpc or a Dat machine and my tape was straight cassette. By the time i would loop each thing i wanted to add, the production quality was terrible. My first big help was when i got my Gemini sampler. It helped me a lot creativity wise.
I totally love this channel. Awesome production and attention to detail. Fun, educational, musical. TWO THUMBS UP!
This takes me back to the 80s Loose Ends, Midnight Star, so many groups i can’t remember them! I love this!
What an effort behind that video, amazing work, congrats! I subscribed and sent it to my friends
Great track 🔥 I like these kind of vids where we get to see you using actual hardware to make beats & I like the remixes too. It’s all interesting since i work 100% in the box 🌚
Thanks for the feedback! I'll do some more vids of me in the studio
Я не знаю, як би я писав музику без тих можливостей, які в нас є сьогодні. Тим більше, коли я сам навчився створювати музику за комп'ютером і не маю професійної формальної освіти 🙆🏻♂ Сучасні технології для створення музики - це дуже круто і дуже добре, що вони в нас є. Не знаю, як люди робили це у 80-ті 🤯 А зараз я можу легко емулювати аналоговий звук і касету просто у віртуальному просторі. Це фантастика!
Yessir! Definitely sounds like something S.O.S. band could rock over. This mug got me grooving. Preciate what you did..for us.
History lesson on older tech, plus a jam. Fly ish. Salute. (I subbed lol.)
👍
I miss making music in the 80s. You had to be creative given all the (expensive) limitations. Excellent video.
You had to have a lot more skills than most people realise, for starters a lot of it was played live so you had to know how to play well, know your scales, chords, progressions and modes.
thought this was gonna be a low effort video, when clicking on it, but i was thoroughly surprised and impressed. I don't give likes to everyone, but you will get one for this video
Nice to see how you managed to create a track completely out of the box. I feel like the limitations of not having a DAW foster creativity, and analog sound gives the track it's own nice character.
BTW nice studio ✌️
Fax
Truly amazing, makes me appreciate the simplicity we’ve gotten over the years
“Just Be Good To Me” Sounds like Jam & Lewis working on an SOS Band Remix This is my favorite era of music. Good job man!
Technically, if you go back to 1985, you could have had an Atari ST with a built-in MIDI connectors, and as early as 1986 you could have used quite a few programs, including "Pro 24" from Steinberg and "The Music Studio" from Activision.
So not that bad really!
Then a few years later you get Cubase, Notator/Creator, etc...
That beat is dope! Them keys really brought it to life👍🏾🔥🔥🔥
Dope beats bro and very well presented. Beats remind me of my DJ days at Kings Cross in Sydney Australia. SOS Band, Midnight Star, Loose Ends, The Whispers and so many more. This was the real funk and R&B music.
This is pretty much one of the coolest videos I've ever watched. You really did it the 80s way! And the song actually sounds really good. Is there a full version of it?
This sounds like Kashif , SOS Band and Loose Ends all in one song. I love it! You did an excellent job ✨✨🎶🎶
Kleer
Yep, that's it. Wasn't he supposed to make his own song from the 80s. Not remaking what's been done already
My wife and I literally said the same thing!
@@meirisrael1728he did, no samples here
And a little Gap band in there
This is just mind blowing.....May God bless you. Thank you.
This was SUPER fun, I’m stoked your video appeared in my feed Jay!! your energy & enthusiasm is contagious, the production values and your fun nature really completes the experience, never hit the subscribe button so fast and very excited to dive into your content past, present and future! ❤
This is absolutely brilliant! You should write some lyrics and put this out.