ABSTRACT
This chapter is based on a slightly contentious notion: that there is an identifiable and definable difference between the sound of 1970s recorded popular music from the United States and that from the United Kingdom. Malcolm Addey, the British Abbey Road engineer who moved to New York in the 1960s, is sceptical:
On the other hand, many record producers, musicians and sound engineers who were also professionally active during this period have suggested that there was a difference. Peter Frampton, interviewed in Beat International in 1973, said:
Malcolm Toft, the designer of Trident mixing consoles, said in 2009:
In a series of emails on the Audio Engineering Society’s History Committee (AESHC) mailing list between 7 and 12 August 2005 and 11 and 15 February 2010 it becomes clear that the ‘sound’ of record production can be interpreted very widely, relating to engineering practice, room types and sizes, musical styles, technology, electronics, mastering and pressing practice. Despite that, these email exchanges also reveal that there was some kind of perceived or real difference experienced by these professionals.4 Richard Hess, a systems designer for ABCTV in New York in the 1970s, points out that not only did Neve differentiate its audio consoles through Britishness but also that, even today, Mackie proclaims ‘Perkins “British Style” EQ on each channel!’ as part of the marketing for its ONYX-I series desks.5
