Daptone recordings: minimalist/vintage technics and gear

I found this article from a few years ago very interesting. It features record label Daptone and it's in-house engineer Gabriel Roth discussing methods and equipment used to achieve sounds reminiscent of vintage Stax and Motown records.

Daptone recording artist include Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Charles Bradley, Naomi Shelton, Budos Band, the Daktaris, the Soul Providers, and the Sugarman Three.


http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun08/articles/daptone.htm#top

 

Thanks for the article.

I love Sharon Jones but the recording quality is very uneven. Given the studio they should be doing better imho.

Still it is really wonderful music.

 

"Show me a computer that sounds as good as a tape machine and I'll use it."

"Sounds as good"

The problem with modern recording techniques, it has gotten so good at recording that everything sounds the same, no character.

 

Uneven? Which are the one's to look out for, which to avoid in your opinion?

 

I have three. None are terrible, none are audiophile or even close. Average but should be better than average given some of the techniques they are using.

 

Vinyl is the way to go for these titles.

 

Yes, and thank God for that. The world doesn't need another "audiophile" female vocalist. The world needs Sharon Jones (or at least I do). The way the music is recorded and the sound quality are integral to the appeal and feel of the music. If Roth went for a sound that gave audiophiles all the things they rave about "air," "space," "bloom," etc. the music wouldn't work nearly as well as it does. Personally, I am glad that Sharon records for Daptone, not Mapleshade. I wouldn't want my Sharon Jones records to sound any different than they do, because then they would be different, and in this case different could not possibly be better because the records are PERFECT. Just my opinion, obviously.

Only a fool would avoid a Sharon Jones record.

 

Don't avoid any Sharon Jones record!

 

Don't hold back, tell me exactly what you think

 

Wow. That studio sounds great for retro rock, which is what I play. Too bad it isnt for hire.

 

No offense intended, of course. But seriously, don't be a fool! Run, don't walk and pick up every Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings LP. After that, get started collecting the 45s and compilation cuts!

 

Okie-doke.

 

Didn't Amy Winehouse hire it?

 

I thought she had some of the Dap-Kings on "Back to Black" - personnel rather than location

 

That is my understanding as well. I don't think she recorded the album at their studios, but some of the Dap Kings did play on the release which had the happy effect of raising Sharon and her band's profile. And unfortunately, Back To Black was a victim of the loudness wars. It's was so squashed dynamically at the mastering stage, I'm not sure it would matter where (or how) it was recorded in the first place. Sharon Jones' albums sound much, much better than Back In Black. There's some dynamic compression going on to be sure, but it's tube compression that makes her records sound more like an old Stax or Mowtown record, not a modern, bickwalled nightmare.

 

I like Daptone's approach of going back to basics and going for feel and mood rather than too much sterile perfection devoid of soul.

 

Yep. Stuff recorded analog usually sounds best played back that way.

 

Any fans of Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens?

 

Yes, I am a major fan of Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens. Love their music.