From all accounts, Abrams will be using as many old school technical effects as possible to make it have a similar feel to the original films. Now, this doesn't mean he won't be using CGI or that the models and such won't be made from modern materials, but it does mean they're going to try and match the look of the movie to the original trilogy as much as possible.
The look of the film is just as important as the location, and as awesome as the prequels looked, they didn't feel like Star Wars because they felt too new. It's like putting a new chandelier in an old farmhouse you grew up in. The chandelier is beautiful and does its job, but it lacks the charm of the old house. There's a lack of "lived-in" feel and rustic charm that makes you feel at home with a chandelier, because it doesn't have the same feeling as the rest of the house. I'm hoping the new film(s) will be like building an addition to the farmhouse, and the architects use the original blueprints for inspiration for the addition. They'll use modern materials to make it, and there will be some differences, but it will match the rest of the house.
