The $30,000 Mistake That Made 70s Records Sound Massive

You have felt this sound in your chest on a hundred records - Pink Floyd's "Time", Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams", Earth, Wind & Fire's "September" - three different genres with the same welded-together, physical punch. It was not the songs and it was not the microphones. It was a 500-pound, $30,000 24-track tape machine, and the sound came from driving it harder than it was built to take. In this video: From the Ampex MM1000 to the Studer A80, MCI JH-24 and Ampex MM1200 - how 24 tracks arrived in the 1970s Why a single Studer cost as much as a three-bedroom house in 1975 Dolby A, Ampex 456 "Grand Master" and tape saturation: the tape machine as a compressor The "head bump" - and why the heaviest records ran at 15 inches per second, not 30 Led Zeppelin at Headley Grange, Queen wearing the tape transparent on "Bohemian Rhapsody", Steely Dan's Aja and Fleetwood Mac's Rumours Ry Cooder, the 3M digital machine and the end of the tape era SOURCES & CREDITS Interview footage: "Analog Tape vs Pro Tools: Direct Shootout – Studer 8, 16 & 24 Track Comparison!" - Inside Blackbird    • Analog Tape vs Pro Tools: Direct Shootout ...   "Producing Led Zeppelin: Legendary Record Producer Andy Johns" - GuitarShopTV    • Producing Led Zeppelin:  Legendary Record ...   Music footage: "Pink Floyd - " TIME "" - HDPinkFloyd    • Pink Floyd - " TIME "   "Earth, Wind & Fire - September (Official HD Video)" - EarthWindandFireVEVO    • Earth, Wind & Fire - September (Official H...   "Fleetwood Mac - Dreams (Official Music Video) [4K]" - Fleetwood Mac    • Fleetwood Mac - Dreams (Official Music Vid...   "Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way (Official Music Video) [HD]" - Fleetwood Mac    • Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way (Official ...   "Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody (Official Video Remastered)" - Queen Official    • Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody (Official Video ...   "RY COODER with JOHN HIATT : Paris, France 1980" - YEBISU_VIDEO    • RY COODER with JOHN HIATT :  Paris, France...   All clips are used for commentary, criticism and review. #70sMusic #TapeMachine #RecordingHistory