Backmasking
Backmasking is a technique where the musician records onto a tape which is being played in reverse, so that when the tape is played forwards on the final mix of the track, the music recorded onto the tape is played in reverse. This technique was first used by the Beatles on Revolver, most notably on George Harrison’s guitar solo I’m Only Sleeping, and more widely used on Sgt. Pepper – The Beatles were the first band to make major use of backmasking and while it is a recording technique seldom seen in today’s music, it was popularised by the Beatles and was widely used by bands like Oasis in the 1990s.
Dynamic Range Compression
Dynamic Range Compression, or DRC, is a method of altering the volume of sounds within a musical piece, which equalises the volume of the piece by increasing the volume of the music’s quieter sounds, and decreasing the volume of the music’s louder sounds. Compressors do this by narrowing the audio signal’s dynamic range. Compression was used on much of The Beatles’ work, and Sgt. Pepper is no exception, however compression is a much larger part of music today, with the rise of digital producing and music creation, using compression in music is now easier and simpler than it ever was in the 1960s, so the development of modern-day digital technology has seen compression be used much more often in today’s music.
Reverberation
Reverberation, or reverb, is a method of editing sound so that the instruments sound continues after the sound (or note) is played. The effect of reverberation relies on the speed and time and decay of the reverberation, all of which have different effects on the sound. Recording in Abbey Road allowed the Beatles to use the same reverb effects on all of their music, which tended to cut off all frequencies below 600 Hz, and frequencies above 10 kHz.
Reverberation is commonly used today in popular and electronic music, and is a commonly seen feature of synthesisers.
Sampling
The Beatles first used sampling on 1966’s Yellow Submarine to create a brass band track for the song, and was again used similarly on Sgt. Pepper on the song Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!, to create a circus atmosphere, where George Martin took samples from organ pieces and spliced them together to create the desired sound.
Sampling has been used since and is still used today by a diverse range of musicians from Iggy Pop and the Sex Pistols to Dr. Dre and Nirvana, it is a widely-used technique for forming the basis of new songs from popular pieces of others.
Direct Input
Direct input is a method often used for recording guitar and bass which involves the guitar pick-up being connected directly to the recording console, rather than the instrument being played through an amplifier into a microphone. Direct Input was first used by the Beatles to record the bass on Sgt. Pepper (the song).
Leslie Speakers
Leslie Speakers are devices that combine an amplifier and a loudspeaker, where the sound is modified by the loudspeakers rotating. While the Leslie Speaker was originally designed to be used with organs, it was often used with guitars, George Harrison’s being no exception. The Beatles initially used a Leslie Speaker during the recording of Revolver, and again on Harrison’s guitar on Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. While Leslie Speakers are not used often in more modern music, The Beatles’ use of the speakers inspired musicians like Eric Clapton to use them at the time.
Automatic Double Tracking (ADT)
Automatic Double Tracking (or ADT) was a recording technique engineered especially for the Beatles during the Revolver by Ken Townsend, to overcome a problem where Lennon disliked recording vocal takes twice in order to have double tracked vocals, so the engineers at Abbey Road developed a method of double tracking that used a tape delay to create a second copy of the audio signal which would then be combined with the original to create a sound just like that created when double tracking was implemented. After Revolver, ADT was used on many of their subsequent recordings, including many tracks on Sgt. Pepper.
Backmasking is a technique where the musician records onto a tape which is being played in reverse, so that when the tape is played forwards on the final mix of the track, the music recorded onto the tape is played in reverse. This technique was first used by the Beatles on Revolver, most notably on George Harrison’s guitar solo I’m Only Sleeping, and more widely used on Sgt. Pepper – The Beatles were the first band to make major use of backmasking and while it is a recording technique seldom seen in today’s music, it was popularised by the Beatles and was widely used by bands like Oasis in the 1990s.
Dynamic Range Compression
Dynamic Range Compression, or DRC, is a method of altering the volume of sounds within a musical piece, which equalises the volume of the piece by increasing the volume of the music’s quieter sounds, and decreasing the volume of the music’s louder sounds. Compressors do this by narrowing the audio signal’s dynamic range. Compression was used on much of The Beatles’ work, and Sgt. Pepper is no exception, however compression is a much larger part of music today, with the rise of digital producing and music creation, using compression in music is now easier and simpler than it ever was in the 1960s, so the development of modern-day digital technology has seen compression be used much more often in today’s music.
Reverberation
Reverberation, or reverb, is a method of editing sound so that the instruments sound continues after the sound (or note) is played. The effect of reverberation relies on the speed and time and decay of the reverberation, all of which have different effects on the sound. Recording in Abbey Road allowed the Beatles to use the same reverb effects on all of their music, which tended to cut off all frequencies below 600 Hz, and frequencies above 10 kHz.
Reverberation is commonly used today in popular and electronic music, and is a commonly seen feature of synthesisers.
Sampling
The Beatles first used sampling on 1966’s Yellow Submarine to create a brass band track for the song, and was again used similarly on Sgt. Pepper on the song Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!, to create a circus atmosphere, where George Martin took samples from organ pieces and spliced them together to create the desired sound.
Sampling has been used since and is still used today by a diverse range of musicians from Iggy Pop and the Sex Pistols to Dr. Dre and Nirvana, it is a widely-used technique for forming the basis of new songs from popular pieces of others.
Direct Input
Direct input is a method often used for recording guitar and bass which involves the guitar pick-up being connected directly to the recording console, rather than the instrument being played through an amplifier into a microphone. Direct Input was first used by the Beatles to record the bass on Sgt. Pepper (the song).
Leslie Speakers
Leslie Speakers are devices that combine an amplifier and a loudspeaker, where the sound is modified by the loudspeakers rotating. While the Leslie Speaker was originally designed to be used with organs, it was often used with guitars, George Harrison’s being no exception. The Beatles initially used a Leslie Speaker during the recording of Revolver, and again on Harrison’s guitar on Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. While Leslie Speakers are not used often in more modern music, The Beatles’ use of the speakers inspired musicians like Eric Clapton to use them at the time.
Automatic Double Tracking (ADT)
Automatic Double Tracking (or ADT) was a recording technique engineered especially for the Beatles during the Revolver by Ken Townsend, to overcome a problem where Lennon disliked recording vocal takes twice in order to have double tracked vocals, so the engineers at Abbey Road developed a method of double tracking that used a tape delay to create a second copy of the audio signal which would then be combined with the original to create a sound just like that created when double tracking was implemented. After Revolver, ADT was used on many of their subsequent recordings, including many tracks on Sgt. Pepper.