Creating the Motown Sound

Ever listen to your parents old music collection? The sound is warm according to most audio engineers. That warmth is a slight distortion. If you listen to Timbaland’s latest work he’s experimented with distortion on tracks such as Sexy Back (Justin Timberlake) and The Way I Are (Timbaland’s album Shock Value). Numerous producers, artists, and engineers have experimented with different techniques in attempts to add warmth to their track. Truth be told there is no Bible or set rules when it comes to production and engineering. Technology makes uniformity impossible in music. For example, during the Motown sound era there were no computers and music was sold in record format. In order to create a reverb effect Barry Gordy had his artists sing in the showers of the house known today as Hitsville. Thanks to technology we no longer sing in the shower, at least not while recording.

Computers have made recording so clean, we now run the risk of loosing warmth in recordings. This explains why producers such as Timbaland have begun experimenting with distortion and other techniques. A new technique has emerged among home recording artists, producers, and engineers that is ingenious.    The technique was an accident and a product of the mp3 format.  So by now you’re asking what is it?

THE HOME RECORDING WARM SOUND TECHNIQUE:

1. Indie Artists purchase their tracks online in Mp3 Format

2. Bring the track to the studio to record

3. The engineer/producer imports the mp3 track into his/her recording software (Pro Tools, Cubase, Logic, Nuendo, etc…)

4. During the import process the mp3 is converted to a wave file

5. Since a wave file is larger than a Mp3, the computer adds data making the track warm (no distortion)

Clearly an accident of convenience, nonetheless, the final product is excellent.  Mp3 format was created to decrease and compact file size.  It was not created to increase.  However, with the growing number of online music producers many artists buy their tracks online and then bring them to the studio.  Most tracks purchased online are in Mp3 format due to file size and file transfer limitations.  The mp3 tracks are converted to wave files in the studio.  The computer does the magic adding 1’s and 0’s (binary—how computers store data) to fill the the extra file space.  The end product is a wave file that is a hell of a lot warmer than just some wave file downloaded off the Internet.