{"id":45308,"date":"2020-03-21T02:55:33","date_gmt":"2020-03-21T02:55:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/?p=45308"},"modified":"2020-08-24T12:57:22","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T12:57:22","slug":"how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/","title":{"rendered":"How ONE Recording Mistake Created a Musical Phenomenon in the &#8217;80s"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"produ-1227503229\" class=\"produ-leaderboard-placement produ-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;margin-bottom: 30px!important;\"><script async=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/securepubads.g.doubleclick.net\/tag\/js\/gpt.js\"><\/script>\n<script> var googletag = googletag || {}; googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || [];<\/script>\n<div id=\"gpt-ad-5854158923467-0\">\n  <script>\n\tgoogletag.cmd.push(function() {\n\t\t\t\tgoogletag.defineSlot( '\/21927241144\/728x90-Leaderboard', [728,90], 'gpt-ad-5854158923467-0' )\n\t\t.addService(googletag.pubads());\n\t\t\t\twindow.advadsGamEmptySlotsTimers = window.advadsGamEmptySlotsTimers || {};\n\t\tconst timers                     = window.advadsGamEmptySlotsTimers;\n\n\t\ttimers['gpt-ad-5854158923467-0'] = setTimeout( function () {\n\t\t\tconst id = 'gpt-ad-5854158923467-0';\n\t\t\tdocument.dispatchEvent( new CustomEvent( 'aagam_empty_slot', {detail: id} ) );\n\t\t\tdelete ( timers[id] );\n\t\t}, 1000 );\n\n\t\tif ( typeof window.advadsGamHasEmptySlotListener === 'undefined' ) {\n\t\t\tgoogletag.pubads().addEventListener( 'slotRequested', function ( ev ) {\n\t\t\t\tconst id = ev.slot.getSlotElementId();\n\t\t\t\tif ( typeof timers[id] === 'undefined' ) {\n\t\t\t\t\treturn;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\tclearTimeout( timers[id] );\n\t\t\t\ttimers[id] = setTimeout( function () {\n\t\t\t\t\tdocument.dispatchEvent( new CustomEvent( 'aagam_empty_slot', {detail: id} ) );\n\t\t\t\t\tdelete ( timers[id] );\n\t\t\t\t}, 2500 );\n\t\t\t} );\n\t\t\tgoogletag.pubads().addEventListener( 'slotResponseReceived', function ( ev ) {\n\t\t\t\tconst id = ev.slot.getSlotElementId();\n\t\t\t\tif ( typeof timers[id] !== 'undefined' ) {\n\t\t\t\t\tclearTimeout( timers[id] );\n\t\t\t\t\tdelete ( timers[id] );\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\tif ( ! ev.slot.getResponseInformation() ) {\n\t\t\t\t\tdocument.dispatchEvent( new CustomEvent( 'aagam_empty_slot', {detail: id} ) );\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t} );\n\t\t\twindow.advadsGamHasEmptySlotListener = true;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\tgoogletag.enableServices();\n\t\tgoogletag.display( 'gpt-ad-5854158923467-0' );\n\t} );\n  <\/script>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><p>Gated reverb is a technique responsible for the punchy, whip-like drum sounds which dominated popular music throughout the &#8217;80s. Listen to a track like \u201cKiss\u201d by Prince (1986) and you\u2019ll immediately recognize the sound. It\u2019s bold and quintessentially \u201880s. But what is \u201cgated reverb,\u201d and how was it developed?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>When you put a\u00a0noise gate on a reverb return, the gate\u2019s settings can be adjusted to cut the decay short.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The sound is bright, crisp, punchy, and wet\u2014the antithesis to the very dry drum sounds of the 1970s. As the noise gate closes and \u201csucks\u201d the reverb\u2019s decay away, you\u2019re left with sharp, reverberated attacks that sit really well in the mix.<\/p>\n<p>So whose idea was it to combine these two processors? <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>In 1979, engineer Hugh Padgham discovered the technique by accident.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p>It was while working on Peter Gabriel\u2019s third solo record that the method was born. Without a good deal of happenstance and experimentation, gated reverb\u2019s history would be quite different, had it even been discovered at all!<\/p>\n<p>As the story goes, Gabriel, along with Genesis drummer Phil Collins and engineer Hugh Padgham, were working in Studio 2 at Townhouse, which had a brand new SSL 4000 B console.<\/p>\n<p>The set-up included a talkback microphone in the live room for performers to communicate with the control room, as well as compressors and noise gates on every channel\u2014a first for the era. The talkback mic itself was heavily compressed, designed to pick up even the quietest voices in the furthest corners of the room.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Padgham recalls what happened when he decided to turn talkback on while Collins played:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe whole thing came through the famous listen mic on the SSL console. The SSL had put this massive compressor on it because the whole idea was to hang one mic in the middle of the studio and hear somebody talking on the other side. And it just so happened that we turned it on one day when Phil [Collins] was playing his drums. And then I had the idea of feeding that back into the console and putting the noise gate on, so when he stopped playing it sucked the big sound of the room into nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_45313\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-45313\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-45313 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B.png 1000w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B-600x400.png 600w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B-80x53.png 80w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B-320x213.png 320w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B-255x170.png 255w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B-225x150.png 225w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B-770x514.png 770w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B-40x27.png 40w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B-160x107.png 160w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B-20x13.png 20w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B-640x427.png 640w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B-909x606.png 909w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B-510x340.png 510w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B-15x10.png 15w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B-450x300.png 450w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B-13x9.png 13w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B-385x257.png 385w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-45313\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The console whose features created gated reverb!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Here&#8217;s another account of the same instance, as told by <i>Sound on<\/i>\u00a0<em>Sound<\/em>:<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[Padgham was] setting up a kit for recording, and there just happened to be some sends on the channels being used for the drum mics going to an AMS reverb \u2014 and the reverb&#8217;s returns just happened to be patched into two channels that just happened to have some noise gates strapped across them! As the drums were being tuned and hit and miked up in the studio, listeners in the control room heard the fabulous sound of the reverb being abruptly cut short by the gates on the returns. Rather than &#8216;fix&#8217; this, Gabriel exploited it and it became a trademark sound on his third album, particularly on the opening track, \u2018Intruder\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>Compression, gating, and reverb together: a happy accident.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>With the compressed, gated signal sent to an AMS reverb unit, the gated reverb technique became just that: a sound that defined a decade\u2019s worth of music. And it wasn\u2019t just Gabriel and Padgham who were so thrilled with their discovery; Phil Collins was equally impressed and inspired to create perhaps the single most recognizable example of gated reverb today.<\/p>\n<p><b>1981\u2019s \u201cIn the Air Tonight\u201d by Phil Collins is one of the most famous examples of a gated reverb drum sound.<\/b><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_45310\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-45310\" style=\"width: 350px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-45310 size-full lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Stone_Room.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"232\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Stone_Room.jpg 350w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Stone_Room-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Stone_Room-320x212.jpg 320w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Stone_Room-256x170.jpg 256w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Stone_Room-226x150.jpg 226w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Stone_Room-40x27.jpg 40w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Stone_Room-160x106.jpg 160w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Stone_Room-20x13.jpg 20w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Stone_Room-15x10.jpg 15w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Stone_Room-14x9.jpg 14w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-45310\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Stone Room at Townhouse Studios.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Recruiting Padgham a year after working on Gabriel\u2019s album, Collins single-handedly popularized the sound through his own solo work. Making another trip to Townhouse Studios, Collins\u2019s drums were tracked in the \u201cStone Room,\u201d which is exactly what it sounds like\u2014a room made of stone, designed to sound like the interior of a castle.<\/p>\n<p>The room\u2019s natural decay was cut short by a noise gate, as famously heard on \u201cIn the Air Tonight.\u201d I bet you\u2019re thinking of <i>that <\/i>drum fill this very moment.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Without a \u201cStone Room,\u201d though, you could still get your reverb from early digital units. Let\u2019s take a closer look at reverb\u2019s history as it relates to the gated reverb sound of the \u201880s. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The Evolution of Reverb<\/b><\/p>\n<p>In its earliest (and natural!) form, reverb was created using echo chambers\u2014literally rooms designed to be very \u201clive,\u201d with plenty of natural echo. A loudspeaker would be placed in one part of the room and a microphone in another; the echo of sound coming out of the speaker and reverberating in the room was captured by the microphone.\u00a0<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_45312\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-45312\" style=\"width: 1080px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-45312 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-1080x720.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"720\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-scaled.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-scaled-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-320x213.jpg 320w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-255x170.jpg 255w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-225x150.jpg 225w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-770x513.jpg 770w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-40x27.jpg 40w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-160x107.jpg 160w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-20x13.jpg 20w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-640x427.jpg 640w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-scaled-909x606.jpg 909w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-510x340.jpg 510w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-15x10.jpg 15w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-14x9.jpg 14w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-385x257.jpg 385w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Echo-Chamber-1540x1027.jpg 1540w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-45312\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An example of an echo chamber.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Studios like Abbey Road in the UK and Capitol Records in Los Angeles are both well known examples of such chambers. The main problem with these, as you can probably guess, is that they require careful design and plenty of real estate to build. Because of these limitations, an alternative in the form of \u201cplate reverb\u201d was developed. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Plate reverb, simply described, consists of a large box in which a large sheet of aluminum is suspended. As sound enters one side of the box, it passes along the aluminum plate, vibrating it, and comes out the other end with a bit of reverb.<\/p>\n<p>Now, again, these boxes were often huge constructions that weighed 600 pounds or more. Certainly far from portable! Luckily, the digital advances of the 1980s made artificial reverb a possibility. Not only were these units portable and convenient, but they had a sonic character all their own.<\/p>\n<p><b>Enter the AMS RMX16.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-45311 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-75x75.jpg 75w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-270x270.jpg 270w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-225x225.jpg 225w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-170x170.jpg 170w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-320x320.jpg 320w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-770x770.jpg 770w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-40x40.jpg 40w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-18x18.jpg 18w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-160x160.jpg 160w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-540x540.jpg 540w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-16x16.jpg 16w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-606x606.jpg 606w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-14x14.jpg 14w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-340x340.jpg 340w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-10x10.jpg 10w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-640x640.jpg 640w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-20x20.jpg 20w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-9x9.jpg 9w, https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/vj3xblxmnrvvjm9hedx1-385x385.jpg 385w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>While not the first digital reverb unit, the Advanced Music Systems RMX16 was the first unit to utilize microprocessors. Built by AMS engineer Mark Crabtree in 1981, the RMX16 came loaded with a remarkable 99 presets, including one in particular that proved to work very well for a gated reverb sound.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The RMX16\u2019s \u201cNonlinear\u201d reverb preset was purposefully designed to sound artificial. In nature, reverberation decays, getting quieter and quieter until it is eventually inaudible. A nonlinear reverb, on the other hand, actually gets <i>louder <\/i>as it sustains.<\/p>\n<p>The weirdness of the nonlinear reverb preset was perfect for the experimental sounds of the &#8217;80s!<\/p>\n<p><b>Building off of Hugh Padgham and Phil Collins&#8217;s drum sound, Prince took it a step further.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Needless to say, Prince\u00a0<em>loved\u00a0<\/em>the sound of gated reverb. From about 1982 to 1987, the technique was all over his records! He was also a fan of sampled drums, and famously fed a Linn LM-1 drum machine into the RMX16 reverb unit to create the quintessential &#8217;80s drum sound heard on some of his biggest albums.<\/p>\n<p>At this point, gated reverb was no longer an accident at all\u2014it had become the defining sound of an era. Some of the most popular examples of this drum sound can be heard on &#8220;Hounds of Love&#8221; by Kate Bush, &#8220;Jack and Diane&#8221; by John Cougar Mellencamp, &#8220;Dance on Your Knees&#8221; by Hall and Oates, and &#8220;A View to Kill&#8221; by Duran Duran.<\/p>\n<p><strong>By the time the &#8217;90s rolled around, musicians tended to favor dry sounding drums again.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>But there&#8217;s a phrase which says &#8220;everything that&#8217;s old is new again.&#8221; Even though gated reverb fell out of favor for quite some time, it&#8217;s made a comeback over the last several years on major pop records.<\/p>\n<p>Projects like &#8220;When I Needed You&#8221; by Carly Rae Jepsen,\u00a0<em>Melodrama\u00a0<\/em>by Lorde,\u00a0and\u00a0the appropriately titled\u00a0<em>1989\u00a0<\/em>by Taylor Swift all prominently feature the &#8217;80s drum sound which Hugh Padgham and Phil Collins accidentally created back in 1979.<\/p>\n<p>Today, musicians don&#8217;t need LM-1 drum machines fed into AMS RMX16 reverb units to achieve the sound of the &#8217;80s. You can simply download drum sample packs inspired by Phil Collins, Prince, and the countless other artists who helped define the sound of an era!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gated reverb is a technique responsible for the punchy, whip-like drum sounds which dominated popular music throughout the &#8217;80s. Listen to a track like \u201cKiss\u201d by Prince (1986) and you\u2019ll immediately recognize the sound. It\u2019s bold and quintessentially \u201880s. But what is \u201cgated reverb,\u201d and how was it developed?\u00a0 When you put a\u00a0noise gate on&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":45313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-audio-engineering"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How ONE Recording Mistake Created a Musical Phenomenon in the &#039;80s - Produce Like A Pro<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Without a good deal of happenstance and experimentation, gated reverb\u2019s history would be quite different, had it even been discovered at all!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How ONE Recording Mistake Created a Musical Phenomenon in the &#039;80s - Produce Like A Pro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Without a good deal of happenstance and experimentation, gated reverb\u2019s history would be quite different, had it even been discovered at all!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Produce Like A Pro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/producelikeapro\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-21T02:55:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-08-24T12:57:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Max McAllister\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Max McAllister\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Max McAllister\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/40bc28b388bae90e4904ff19e718d404\"},\"headline\":\"How ONE Recording Mistake Created a Musical Phenomenon in the &#8217;80s\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-21T02:55:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-08-24T12:57:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/\"},\"wordCount\":1357,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Audio Engineering\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/\",\"name\":\"How ONE Recording Mistake Created a Musical Phenomenon in the '80s - Produce Like A Pro\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-21T02:55:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-08-24T12:57:22+00:00\",\"description\":\"Without a good deal of happenstance and experimentation, gated reverb\u2019s history would be quite different, had it even been discovered at all!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B.png\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":667,\"caption\":\"The console whose features created gated reverb!\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Audio Engineering\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/category\/audio-engineering\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How ONE Recording Mistake Created a Musical Phenomenon in the &#8217;80s\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Produce Like A Pro\",\"description\":\"Blog\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"Create radio worthy and professional sounding music in your home studio.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Produce Like A Pro\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/PLAP-Logo-Small.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/PLAP-Logo-Small.jpg\",\"width\":192,\"height\":192,\"caption\":\"Produce Like A Pro\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/producelikeapro\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/producelikeapro\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/WarrenHuartRecording\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/40bc28b388bae90e4904ff19e718d404\",\"name\":\"Max McAllister\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8bc1fc482f9364a2924c7a19a5befbf3fcb77b267ab68840b81a6651bc27f31e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8bc1fc482f9364a2924c7a19a5befbf3fcb77b267ab68840b81a6651bc27f31e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Max McAllister\"},\"description\":\"Max is a Los Angeles-based writer, musician, and engineer at the Brewery Recording Studio.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/maxwell-mcallister-816842124\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/maxturbator\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/author\/maxwell\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How ONE Recording Mistake Created a Musical Phenomenon in the '80s - Produce Like A Pro","description":"Without a good deal of happenstance and experimentation, gated reverb\u2019s history would be quite different, had it even been discovered at all!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How ONE Recording Mistake Created a Musical Phenomenon in the '80s - Produce Like A Pro","og_description":"Without a good deal of happenstance and experimentation, gated reverb\u2019s history would be quite different, had it even been discovered at all!","og_url":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/","og_site_name":"Produce Like A Pro","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/producelikeapro\/","article_published_time":"2020-03-21T02:55:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-08-24T12:57:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":667,"url":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Max McAllister","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Max McAllister","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/"},"author":{"name":"Max McAllister","@id":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/40bc28b388bae90e4904ff19e718d404"},"headline":"How ONE Recording Mistake Created a Musical Phenomenon in the &#8217;80s","datePublished":"2020-03-21T02:55:33+00:00","dateModified":"2020-08-24T12:57:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/"},"wordCount":1357,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B.png","articleSection":["Audio Engineering"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/","url":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/","name":"How ONE Recording Mistake Created a Musical Phenomenon in the '80s - Produce Like A Pro","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B.png","datePublished":"2020-03-21T02:55:33+00:00","dateModified":"2020-08-24T12:57:22+00:00","description":"Without a good deal of happenstance and experimentation, gated reverb\u2019s history would be quite different, had it even been discovered at all!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/4000-B.png","width":1000,"height":667,"caption":"The console whose features created gated reverb!"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/how-one-recording-mistake-created-a-musical-phenomenon-in-the-80s\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Audio Engineering","item":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/category\/audio-engineering\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How ONE Recording Mistake Created a Musical Phenomenon in the &#8217;80s"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/","name":"Produce Like A Pro","description":"Blog","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/#organization"},"alternateName":"Create radio worthy and professional sounding music in your home studio.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Produce Like A Pro","url":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/PLAP-Logo-Small.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/PLAP-Logo-Small.jpg","width":192,"height":192,"caption":"Produce Like A Pro"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/producelikeapro\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/producelikeapro\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/WarrenHuartRecording"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/40bc28b388bae90e4904ff19e718d404","name":"Max McAllister","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8bc1fc482f9364a2924c7a19a5befbf3fcb77b267ab68840b81a6651bc27f31e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8bc1fc482f9364a2924c7a19a5befbf3fcb77b267ab68840b81a6651bc27f31e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Max McAllister"},"description":"Max is a Los Angeles-based writer, musician, and engineer at the Brewery Recording Studio.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/maxwell-mcallister-816842124\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/maxturbator"],"url":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/author\/maxwell\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45308"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45319,"href":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45308\/revisions\/45319"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/producelikeapro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}