Anyone got any tips on getting Spector's Wall of Soud as replicated here in this Walker Brothers track?

https://youtu.be/Gu-5smUuxMo

Some ideas, although I’ve never tried to replicate the sound:
- Run everything through a good room plugin/IR
- liberal amount of plate reverb
- drums mainly coming from room & OH mics
- vocals are more mixed in to the song than on top
- arrangement & instrument tone, even though the sound is full, there isn’t clashing going on
- listen good for mono/stereo placement of sounds, there’s some hard panning happening but with bleed from stuff panned to the opposite sides
- overall frequency, no crazy highs or lows really

I’m sure you can find articles and or videos about how Phil worked and created his sound.
Good luck, post your results!

1. Orchestrate, using a wide variety of instruments in ensembles to fill the entire spectrum, then boost/cut EQ on tracks to avoid frequency clashes, rather than ducking volume with compression. This makes the "wall" spectrally wide like an orchestra.

2. Thicken, particularly by recording in mono, doubling with similar instruments in each ensemble, and then panning with different fx on each instrument. This makes the wall "solid" with many subtle timbres.
https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques ... ker-sounds

Layers upon layers. ABBA did the same.

Spector had some killer techniques

revvy wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 3:29 pm Spector had some killer techniques

i see what you did there

but yes, also true.
some great tracks

vurt wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 3:37 pm

revvy wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 3:29 pm Spector had some killer techniques

i see what you did there

but yes, also true.
some great tracks

Yea, pretty terrible person who worked on some great music.

I loved Ronnie

DMG68 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 12:05 pm Some ideas, although I’ve never tried to replicate the sound:
- Run everything through a good room plugin/IR
- liberal amount of plate reverb
- drums mainly coming from room & OH mics
- vocals are more mixed in to the song than on top
- arrangement & instrument tone, even though the sound is full, there isn’t clashing going on
- listen good for mono/stereo placement of sounds, there’s some hard panning happening but with bleed from stuff panned to the opposite sides
- overall frequency, no crazy highs or lows really

Yeah, thats what I'm hearing. Don't mix modern with trying to have every hit/note/frequency range popping out constantly. There's a real smear of sound where vocals and instruments go in and out. That's a big part of that live sound and players going into a couple of mics. Sometimes the toms obscure the singing.

Personally I'd use Satin a lot trying to get this type of production feel.

And don't forget these are really good singers and players recorded with expensive mics by engineers who knew the room. They also went on to the next recording/mixing after a couple of hours. It wasn't labored over.

I wouldn't replicate this.
Everything is panned either hard left or hard right, with the exception of the vocal.

The only take aways from Specter's "wall of sound" for modern production would be to layer lots of sounds and use lots of reverb.

But unlike this recording, you're going to want to create unique space for each instrument within the stereo field.

jamcat wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 8:45 pm I wouldn't replicate this.
Everything is panned either hard left or hard right, with the exception of the vocal.

The only take aways from Specter's "wall of sound" for modern production would be to layer lots of sounds and use lots of reverb.

But unlike this recording, you're going to want to create unique space for each instrument within the stereo field.

As an example, Bernard Butler is an absolute genius at that type of thing - 60s big pop in the more modern stylee;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QgkaIjmodc

Huge layering and reverb, but yet still clear and powerful.

Compress/limit/maximise the f**k out of the mix. No quiet moment. Brick wall it.

But that’s just me.

donkey tugger wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 8:53 pm
As an example, Bernard Butler is an absolute genius at that type of thing - 60s big pop in the more modern stylee;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QgkaIjmodc

Huge layering and reverb, but yet still clear and powerful.

I've not come across them before. Thanks, that was good. Could have been the Ronettes or any number of 60s bands, very derivative but in a good way - much better than say Oasis who were obvs derivative but naff IMO. Butler was just the right side of naff'n'cheesey. Oasis were clearly on the wrong side. Carrying on where Amy Whitehouse left off but without a deathwish?

And...that singer has extremely kissable lips. Not my type at all, I hasten to add, but kissable nevertheless...

FYI, these are the 1966 recording sessions for River Deep, Mountain High:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhCFAwfb2LI

kritikon wrote: ↑Sat Mar 04, 2023 5:29 am

donkey tugger wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 8:53 pm
As an example, Bernard Butler is an absolute genius at that type of thing - 60s big pop in the more modern stylee;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QgkaIjmodc

Huge layering and reverb, but yet still clear and powerful.

I've not come across them before. Thanks, that was good. Could have been the Ronettes or any number of 60s bands, very derivative but in a good way - much better than say Oasis who were obvs derivative but naff IMO. Butler was just the right side of naff'n'cheesey. Oasis were clearly on the wrong side. Carrying on where Amy Whitehouse left off but without a deathwish?

they were around before winehouse, butler, is the guitarist from suede.
i love this track

https://youtu.be/vltxC9ljJqA