AES and the clones were everywhere

[AusTex64]

What really annoys me is that the clone business panders to the mistaken folk myth that if only you have the right pieces of gear they will work some special magic on your material and turn it into a hit. These things are just tools and they are only as good as the hands of the workman using them.

Cheers

Ian

Are you saying if I use a REDD47, RS124 and Coles 4038 I'm not gonna sound like The Beatles? That's a vibe killer....

 

[pucho812]

NO you may sound like them but brother there is more to the beatles then the gear they used

 

[emrr]

The clone wars is probably all about covering up in the legitimacy of already-well-proven designs - not only the cosiness of knowing that your unit has historic roots, but also the safety of buying something that already produced good results for the great men before us, making your purchase somehow unquestionable.

With the downside being that so few actually sound like the originals, which is what it's really all about.  It's generally a placebo. 

 

[benb]

I'll answer anyway. The closest thing I know about is the S100 bus crowd. Apparently there is a scene. The Zuma cutting computer I use for the lathe is based on an S100 bus computer. The only PCB Zuma designed was the analog Input/Output board. The rest of the boards were all standard (with custom software).

I've seen one or two Altair/IMSAI/PDP 8 clones, but my understanding is they're not "real" as far as someone who would need something to plug in a custom S-100 card to run. They're the same front panel, but behind the front panel is often a Raspberry Pi running a simulator.

I think a metal frame with real S-100 slots would be expensive enough to make thesedays that you might as well buy a an original one at collectible prices to run a custom board.

The Kim-1 (what I first used circa 1977) is over $1000 on ebay. I saw a "kim-1 kit" for $15 to $35 or so, but it wasn't the same, it didn't use the same peripheral chips (which are surely unobtanium anyway) and so didn't have the same code in ROM as the original.

 

[ruffrecords]

Are you saying if I use a REDD47, RS124 and Coles 4038 I'm not gonna sound like The Beatles? That's a vibe killer....

I am saying the Beatles would have been successful no matter what equipment they were recorded on, even if it was exactly what you have in your studio right now.

Cheers

Ian

 

[kambo]

I am saying the Beatles would have been successful no matter what equipment they were recorded on, even if it was exactly what you have in your studio right now.

Cheers

Ian

1+

 

[pucho812]

1+

I concur.... 

 

[john12ax7]

I don't completely agree about the Beatles. Today there is not a lot of room to grow as a songwriter. Either have a hit right away or you're out. Plus everything would be edited, perfectly in time and tune, completely sterilized. Wouldn't quite sound like the Beatles we recognize. The success in big part would depend on adapting to the current environment

 

[kambo]

good luck you  8)

 

[JohnRoberts]

It is not productive to argue hypotheticals, right up there with arguing about what other people hear, and of course politics.

JR

 

[ruffrecords]

I don't completely agree about the Beatles. Today there is not a lot of room to grow as a songwriter. Either have a hit right away or you're out. Plus everything would be edited, perfectly in time and tune, completely sterilised. Wouldn't quite sound like the Beatles we recognise. The success in big part would depend on adapting to the current environment

The Beatles were always pushing the boundaries both musically and technologically. If they appeared now they would sound different but just as good. I have a recent Stones album. The Charlie Watts over compressed drum sound and the general 'modern mastering'  hurts my ears but the songs are great.

I agree being a songwriter is very hard. I have made 13 albums with one singer/songwriter and many of his songs are first class and highly commercial with the right artist but in 15 years he has yet to have a hit. We keep plugging away.

Cheers

IAn

 

[Matt Nolan]

Is anybody cloning old computers?  (rhetorical)  8)

Rhetorical or not, here is my past come back to life - http://sinclair.recreatedzxspectrum.com/

 

[kambo]

http://www.soundonsound.com/news/rm1-b-ribbon-revolution

 

[Scodiddly]

The clone thing is not just about selling boxes to studios.

It's studios having the 'right' boxes so they can sell themselves to musicians.

 

[emrr]

22 years into the studio biz, I still haven't seen a half dozen clients who know what any of the boxes are.  They hire me, not the boxes. 

 

[kambo]

22 years into the studio biz, I still haven't seen a half dozen clients who know what any of the boxes are.  They hire me, not the boxes.

1+
engineer is always way more important than the equipment,
good engineer can make sh*it happening... crappy or wrong engineer with top equipment can totally ruin your work.
we were in one of the top studios is east coast, with major record deal from a NY label, and we ended up with wrong engineer, with all that great equipment,
me and my band refused US tour with that album! 150K went to bin...
(that was 10-12 years ago.... )