If there was a "trick" to getting these "in you face", high quality recordings, it was microphone quality!.....the problem with duplicating this early sound in digital recording mostly due to the fact that digital software is inexpensive and we all have it; extremely high quality condenser microphones are even more expensive than they ever were....you can do a decent job of recording with a good mic pre-amp (tube type, of course) and a decent condenser mic....you're not (however) going to get that $3000 mic sound without a $3000 mic!