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How was "old" progressive house produced?

Im a BIG fan of "old" progressive house from around 1997 - 2002. I like newer progressive house as well, but I think the "old style" usually had a better groove and melody. There was also something about the "old style" that was a bit more melodic and "darker" in my ears. The song arrangement could also be more "surprising" and not standardized back then.

My questions is:

How was the track produced before (around 1997 - 20002), and what kind of gear did the "old skool" progressive producer(s) use at "that time" to make their tracks ?

- What kind of digital audio workstation (DAW) was used ?
- What kind of synths was popular and being used?
- What kind of effects was popular and being used?
- What was different before versus now?

Some references tracks of what i like:

- Stoneproof - Everything Is Not You (Quivvers Space Remix)
- Ian Wilkie - Guten Morgen
- Breeder - Beetlejuice
- Pink Bomb - Indica
- Z2 - I Want You
- Voyager - Time Travel
- Voices Of Khwan A.D. - Ya Yae Ya Yo Yo Yo (Light Mix)
- Morel - True (The ****** Is You)
- Nat Monday - Waiting
- Medway - Resurrection E.P.


Hope to get some feedback on this topic!

- Chris

They all used Reason

Re: How was "old" progressive house produced?

quote:

Originally posted by Sphereal Im a BIG fan of "old" progressive house from around 1997 - 20002.

quote:

Originally posted by orTof�nChiLd They all used Reason

...Yeea right!

Re: How was "old" progressive house produced?

quote:

Originally posted by Sphereal - Ian Wilkie - Guten Morgen - Pink Bomb - Indica

Love these tracks!!

Re: Re: How was "old" progressive house produced?

quote:

Originally posted by Acton

..."20002" is edited now ;-)

i'm willing to bet that these records exist because the artists had a solid idea and enthusiasm towards the music they were producing. doubt it has much to do with the gear they used. so many people have the latest and greatest gear, they have these well balanced acoustic setups, and they speak about mixing and mastering like they have pioneered the whole art...yet, when you listen to their tracks, it sounds like the most uninspired, pristine, polished turd there is.

just saying, my .02. still don't understand everyones fascination with what other people use/used

quote:

Originally posted by jupiterone just saying, my .02. still don't understand everyones fascination with what other people use/used

So if it doesn't fascinate YOU, it shouldn't fascinate ME? Is that correct?

quote:

Originally posted by Sphereal So if it doesn't fascinate YOU, it shouldn't fascinate ME? Is that correct?

i don't understand why it SHOULD fascinate you

quote:

Originally posted by jupiterone i don't understand why it SHOULD fascinate you

I didn�t really say it fascinate me. I just asked some questions about production techniques in a "production forum", i tough i could get some answers, sorry if i did this STUPID mistake.

Maybe is should just give a fuck because this thread is getting nowhere.

Thanks for nothing...

- Chris

blame it on the goose, it's got me feeling loose

quote:

Originally posted by Sphereal Thanks for nothing...

no problem lol

I love this older prog as well. Here is another 1997 prog monster:

Bedrock - "Set In Stone"

I would like to know what they used as well. The general answer, of course, is going to be along the lines of "more hardware, less software." I don't know a whole lot of specifics, but I did read a Bedrock interview from 2002 where they mentioned:

"Analogue synths in the Bedrock studio include a Roland JX8P with the PG800 programmer, Juno 60 and Juno 106."

I think some of the less expensive analog polysynths were fairly common in '90s studios and remember reading that Underworld also used Junos a good bit. I have also heard that ROMplerish equipment like the KORG Wavestation and the Roland D and JD series digital synths were common. Obviously for effects hardware reverbs and stuff were a lot more common as the software version simply was not very high quality yet, at least in the mid '90s.

Hopefully that helps a bit.

quote:

Originally posted by Sphereal I like newer progressive house as well, but I think the "old style" usually had a better groove and melody. There was also something about the "old style" that was a bit more melodic and "darker" in my ears. The song arrangement could also be more "surprising" and not standardized back then.

I feel the same way, and obviously this shows you realize it isn't all about the equipment, it is also about the talent and energy that these older producers had. Equipment might get you the same sounds, but only talent, patience, and work will get you the great melodies and arrangements that really made those tracks what they are.

quote:

Originally posted by Sphereal I didn�t really say it fascinate me. I just asked some questions about production techniques in a "production forum", i tough i could get some answers, sorry if i did this STUPID mistake.

Well you've posted a smorgasbord of completely different tracks - they're not even all really the same genre let alone the same style or technique - and asked a question whose answer couldn't possibly be of any real benefit to a producer. I'm not too surprised that you got the answer you did; the question smells like a thinly-disguised "what's the best synth to use for (x)" question.

But maybe I'm misinterpreting. Are you a producer, looking to try to recreate these uh, sounds, or is this just historical curiosity to the effect of wondering what a typical studio looked like in the late '90s? If it's the latter, then I can understand, but you also need to understand that every producer and every studio was different back then, just like today, maybe even more so because the "holy grail" synths like the Virus and JP either weren't around or weren't that popular yet. Any of those tracks might have been done with any of several hundred different pieces of equipment.

Thanks for the info MrJiveBoJingles!

That Bedrock interview was good reading, i must seek out for more information like that.

And regarding:

quote:

I feel the same way, and obviously this shows you realize it isn't all about the equipment, it is also about the talent and energy that these older producers had. Equipment might get you the same sounds, but only talent, patience, and work will get you the great melodies and arrangements that really made those tracks what they are.

I agree with you on everything you say. The reason why i would like to know what equipment "they had" is just because im a nostalgic person + that it gives me some history background on my favorite genre, hopefully nothing is wrong about that.

Thanks again for your input, and that Bedrock track brought out some good old memories!

- Christ

Thanks for your input as well.

quote:

Originally posted by DigiNut Well you've posted a smorgasbord of completely different tracks - they're not even all really the same genre let alone the same style or technique - and asked a question whose answer couldn't possibly be of any real benefit to a producer. I'm not too surprised that you got the answer you did; the question smells like a thinly-disguised "what's the best synth to use for (x)" question.

Hmm, i really think those tracks can be categorized under "old prog house music", but i might be wrong because different style tends to blend so i wont argue about that.

quote:

Originally posted by DigiNut But maybe I'm misinterpreting. Are you a producer, looking to try to recreate these uh, sounds, or is this just historical curiosity to the effect of wondering what a typical studio looked like in the late '90s? If it's the latter, then I can understand, but you also need to understand that every producer and every studio was different back then, just like today, maybe even more so because the "holy grail" synths like the Virus and JP either weren't around or weren't that popular yet. Any of those tracks might have been done with any of several hundred different pieces of equipment.

Im a really bad hobby producer, but i don�t wanna replicate anything (dont think i could either if that was the point). Im just curious about what stuff was used.

- Chris

alesis 3630

roland tr909.....

That was commonly used back then. Solid for production.

Its impossible to answer this question, but the all of the tracks where produced with the equipment that was available at that time, with the sequencers available at the time.. and also alot more sampling was done back then as opposed to now.

This means all analog, digital synths, effect units etc you could get your hands on back then could have been used. That is equipment ranging back several decades in time to the first synthesizer ever.

Some tracks might have recognisable sounds, but apart from that its not possible to tell unless you contact every producer and ask them yourself.

Below is an interview with Sasha's production crew. These guys helped out Sasha create Involver. These are also a lot of the same guys that were instrumental in creating that 90's progressive house sound.

Anyway, there is a part of this interview where Charlie May and Duncan Forbes talk about trying to do everything with software and then deciding to go back to "the way we used to do it". For them, this meant digging out old analogue gear and sampling the shit out of it, running stuff through guitar pedals, just basically f**king shit up as much as possible. They talk about just hitting record and tweaking, then going back and picking out the "magic" moments. They talk about literally going through hours of audio looking for stuff.

I imagine this was pretty much par for the course back then. When I first started producing back in the mid 90's, all I had was a JV-1080, Proteus 2000 and a Virus B. Softsynths were basically a joke back then, so most of my first tracks were made by using this outboard hardware. MIDI it all up and play everything live. Multimbrality was pretty important back then, because each unit had to perform multiple parts.

http://www.solid-state-logic.com/users/all/sasha.asp

Awww the good old days. I used to be a HUGE Sasha & Digweed fan back then. Now they kinda bored sometimes. lol

Anyhow, these two are other tracks from the early 90's that I personally love and have become some of my all time favorites. Man, I remember hearing Digweed drop these tracks at 5 o'clock in the morning while sun was coming up. Man, what an awesome time that was.

Shmuel Flash - Chilling Moments (Bedrock Vocal Mix)

Terry Grant Feat. Jennifer Horne - I'll Kill You (Luke Chable Remix)

Those are from 2000s, not the '90s.

quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles Those are from 2000s, not the '90s.

Thats what i was going to say....

Chilling Moments is still one of my all time favorite tracks.

Listening to the tracks linked in this thread again...

Pretty much all of today's "prog" is such a pale, weak successor to this stuff. Makes me sad even to compare them.

Who does prog have now that can compare to Breeder, Bedrock, Tilt, Quivver, Oliver Lieb?

Eric Prydz? Uh huh. Right.

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