Before ProTools, MPCs and Sony Acid, the options for sampling and looping forced musicians to be a little more creative, not with just their music, but the process of recording as well. In this short excerpt from The Making of the Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd members discuss how the loop for “Money” was created. First, each sound was recorded directly to tape, then the tape was physically cut into 7 pieces of equal length, one for each sound effect. Those pieces of tape were spliced together, and the newly created roll of tape was fed into a Revox, and ran around a mic-stand.
and just for good measure, here is the original video of Pink Floyd – Money
During the 1960s, recording studios were growing fast due to the new 8-track recorders coming into the studios (thanks to Les Paul’s innovations from as early as the 1940s). Along with this, the art of mixing and creative engineering was born. Phil Spector started layering his instruments for an in-your-face trademark sound, that was actually dubbed “Wall of Sound.” The Beach Boys released Pet Sounds (engineered by Brian Wilson), which inspired the Beatles to record Sgt. Pepper. These are both great examples of creative engineering getting on its feet.