Analogic VU meters in Abba video

[LeSedna]

Ok it's strange in a metal production forum but I've juste watched a "gimme gimme gimme" video from Abba. It shows them in a recording studio and as I'm a noob in analogic recording, I felt strange that the VU meters were going in the red. Check that :

EDIT : impossible to integrate the video so the link is tube.com/watch?v=ibtOshtX7T0 (tube= "youtube")

Is that normal for analogic VUmeters ?

 

[ahjteam]

This video is not available in your country.

edit: but try this




edit2: and yes, I would say so. Unlike digital gear, analog gear actually sound pretty good when overdriven just a bit to the point of distortion

 

[chonchball]

Analog VU meters COLLECT sonic impulses. Digital meters are a sample based representation of how much frequency is happening.

even in metal, if you're mixing on an analog board, or using anything analog, you can clip it to a certain degree either for warmth, or effect.

digital, the rule is DO NOT clip. with analog, it's ok. And seeing VU meters in the red doesn't mean it's CLIPPING necessarily unless it's BURIED and not moving. If it's bouncing, it just means that the average is in that db area.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

I watched with no sound, I loled.

 

[colonel kurtz]

it's pretty common in analog recording to push things into the red, especially if you're talking about the meters on the tape input. dudes used to(and still do) cram as hot of a signal as possible onto the tape for the natural saturation/compression.

 

[LeSedna]

Ok that sounds logical to me. It's a bit like saturating valves on a guitar amp. Thank you

 

[vespiz]

I remember reading about Deep Purple recording their In Rock album and they had VUs pinned to the red the whole time! Sounds awesome!

(BTW, LeSedna is that a Moog in your avatar?? )

 

[Uladyne]

Yea, but isn't Abba from Sweden? Swedes don't know anything when it comes to metal. Oh wait a minute...

 

[LeSedna]

I don't even know what is on my avatar !

 

[TheDude]

I don't even know what is on my avatar !

Looks like an old analog synth, maybe Korg or Roland.

In the beginning of the digital recording era, people recorded digital like they were used to, and got incredible ugly clipping on everything. In the manual there was disclaimers that tried to teach engineers NOT to treat it like an analogue signal. Ah, back in the days when a 100mhz Mac with an 8-channel DAW costed 15,000$.

 

[vespiz]

Oh, it's a Moog Realistic MG-1... :Smug:

(<- synthgeek...)

 

[LeSedna]

Thank you ! I just found it somewhere and thought it was cute !

That's a chance, I like the moogs...