Roger Waters says studio tech of today would have ‘hardly’ affected making The Dark Side of the Moon

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The modern-day tech used in studios across the globe would have “hardly” affected The Dark Side of the Moon, according to Roger Waters.

The bassist and songwriter suggested advances made in technology would not have changed the way Pink Floyd recorded their classic 1973 album. Though Waters did concede it would have “made life easier” if they had modern-day tech when they put together The Dark Side of the Moon, the veteran songwriter does not think much would have changed. All it would have changed, according to Waters, is the time it took to record. The legendary performer went on to break down little details heard on the album, particularly on the song Money, which could have been much easier if using digital delays rather than the tape delays of the past.

He told Uncut Magazine: “We did all that work on old machines. Some of the things I did on The Dark Side Of The Moon… the loop with all the cash registers I did at home on a Revox A77 with bits of quarter-inch tape. 

“I had a loop about four feet long, and I took it into EMI – ‘Stick that on the two-track and run it onto a track on the multi-track.’ Things like that you can do really, really quickly and simply now. In those days, there were no long, digital delays. You had to work with tape delays.”

Those tape delays were also used for the jangling money sounds heard on Money. Waters confirmed: “I threw money into a mixing bowl made by my wife at the time, who was a potter. I recreated the sound effects for that. 

“The cash registers came off a sound-effects album. The footsteps [on On The Run] were recorded in the underground tunnel from the Natural History Museum that runs through to South Kensington tube station.” Waters, who recorded The Dark Side of the Moon with Pink Floyd at Abbey Road Studios, also shared an encounter with Wings, who were recording their Red Rose Speedway album at the time.

Waters reportedly had a series of cards he would use as a moodboard for the album, showing the questions to everyone from doormen to Paul McCartney. He shared: “They just had the cards to respond to – ‘How do you feel about dying?’, When were you last violent?’, ‘Were you in the right?’

“Henry McCullough, when asked “, When were you last violent?’ said, ‘Last night.’ ‘Were you in the right?’ ‘I don’t know, I was really drunk at the time.’ Wings were in Studio Two at the time, and that’s why Henry was there. 

“The interesting thing is that when [director] Adrian Maben made the Pink Floyd Live At Pompeii film, there are some shots of me working on the VCS3, a synthesizer, making On The Run, and there are shots of Dave overdubbing something – and we’re in Number Two. Maybe we mixed the album in Studio Three…”