Ergonomics of Classic Recording Studio Gear

Good answer! And thanks for the Triumph reference.

I understand more now, but still think the looks and the spirit of a lot of the old gear was very cool compared to what is made today. Which is why I post all these weird look, feel and ergonomic questions.

With the growing popularity of PC based audio, I think this situation will get worse before it gets better, which is another reason I am preoccupied with the topic.

I too like the reference and, in case I was not clear regarding taste, I love DSOTM. If you want to try something really great there is a bootleg that has been floating around for years under various names, but "The Screaming Abdabs" is what it is usually titled as. It is a recording of Floyd doing DSOTM live, supposedly before the album was recorded. Truly amazing stuff. They manage to throw in pretty much the whole bucket of effects, except Rick Wright keeps the keyboard sound much purer, with less processing. There is a general laxness in the time signatures that actually seems to change the meaning of the opus. Imagine, for a moment that you have been looking at the Mona Lisa all of your life, and one day you wake up and she is scowling. Paradigm bending at its best. A must have. For a boot, sound quality is excellent, apparently coming from a feed on the board, but in absolute terms, it makes "Born To Run" sound like a direct disc. As for current well recorded efforts, with good music to boot, I really like the work that Chad Kassem is doing at his Blue Heaven studios. His Analog Productions Originals series of blues musicians recorded both on tube two track and direct-to-disc are truly excellent. Chesky is doing some nice work as well on CD, the Dave's True Story stuff is excellent, as is David Johannsen and the Harry Smiths. But, truth to tell, a lot of commercially produced albums sound good today. I just bought the Sundazed LP mastering of Laura Cantrell's first album, which is clearly from digital media, and it is a stunner. Classics mastering of Norah Jones second album is also a stunner, again from a digital source. And you are correct, I am still deaf!

Regardless of what era it was made, a great sounding recording starts with four things. A talented musician, a good sounding instrument, a good sounding recording space and properly placed microphone(s). The mics and the rest of the recording equipment do not have to be very high quality. Good engineering will easily overcome the deficiencies of the equipment. One of the problems I see with how modern records are made is that they have lost touch with these four essential elements and engineers are trying to use technology to compensate. It's not the fault of the equipment, but how the equipment is being used that results in modern recordings sounding relatively bad. The equipment is only a tool.

Not sure what you mean by classic...

Some of the names mentioned in this thread, such as Chesky, Abbey Road studios, Astoria Studios (James Guthrie, Pink Floyd's sound engineer) and many others used and still use ATC speakers, many for 25 years or more (maybe this qualifies them as "vintage" gear)