Chapter 03 of 5
The Studio as Instrument
Walls of sound, backwards guitars and the Beatles' sonic experiments.
- The Producer
Phil Spector
In the early 1960s producer Phil Spector built a huge, echoing sound by stacking many instruments playing the same parts.
- The Name
Wall of Sound
It became known as the Wall of Sound, heard on hits like the Ronettes' "Be My Baby".
- The Factory
Motown
In Detroit, Motown's studio, nicknamed the Snakepit, turned out hit after hit with a house band later celebrated as the Funk Brothers.
17 more cards in this chapter
Could you answer this?
Why did engineer Ken Townsend invent automatic double tracking?
📻 The Sound That Changed Everything
- 01Capturing SoundThe first recordings, a talking tinfoil machine and why pop songs last three minutes.
- 02The Microphone Changes SingingCrooners, radio, magnetic tape and a guitarist who recorded with himself.
- 03The Studio as InstrumentWalls of sound, backwards guitars and the Beatles' sonic experiments.
- 04Machines Make MusicThe synthesizer, the sampler and the six-second drum break heard on thousands of records.
- 05From CD to Auto-TuneDiscs, downloads, streams and the pitch fixer that became a sound of its own.