In the beginning… okay, I won't go back that far. But I should go back a few years… I have always been interested in recording sound. Since my early days of recording old 70’s radio shows like Dr Demento and Weird Al Yankovic onto a stereo eight track cassette recorder I purchased with paper route money, to the 80’s where I purchased an actual ¼”, eight channel multi-track tape deck that I used to record my band and others, to where I am today. I have always had a love for archiving not just sound but events. That love has driven me to acquire as much recording gear as I could afford and learn everything I could about the art and science of sound engineering; aspects that are, in my opinion, the very heart and soul of audio recording.
As I gathered the essential recording equipment, I would read every book, magazine and article I could lay my hands on. I believed then and still do believe that knowledge, passion and determination are keys to success. As with any industry, you can have all the best gear, but without knowledge coupled with years of hands on experience, you end up with a substandard product.
I will be the first to tell you that I would have liked to have gone to an audio engineering school to obtain a formal education on the subject, but that just didn’t happen for me. I was an impetuous soul whose first love at that time was performing as a musician in rock bands. It wasn’t until I really got serious about promoting my own band projects that I realized the importance of having a well recorded demo tape. So, as many aspiring artists do, I shopped around for just the right studio in town and found out the hard way… I just couldn’t afford what the Hollywood studios were charging.
Then I found out that anything less than a professional recording was simply low quality and would not sufice. So, what to do? I needed a great demo which would end up costing a few thousand. That left me at a crossroad. Do I pay a pro or buy the recording gear and record my own. Most people would pay the pro or at least someone pretending to be one. Well the entrepreneurial spirit in me along with the “I can do that better” attitude prompted me to do the latter. So I bought some gear and away I went. One thing lead to another and before you knew it, I had my first demo. Maybe not the highest quality one might expect or even want for that matter, but it was mine and it was air-worthy…ish.
Before long I had more demos than I could shake a stick at. Then, other local bands were asking me to record them as well. So I ended up recording about as much as I was performing in bands. To make a long story short, the band thing never really panned out; oh sure… I have been to the summit; just below the mountain top a few times, close enough to where I could almost taste it... So anyway, I still play around town, but just for fun. Bu I digress. The band thig has past, but the recording thing is here to stay.
The many years of trying to “make it big” in the music industry as a rock star have taken me through many wonderful journeys… in and out of many pro recording studios. Along the way I have met some fine engineers that helped me acquire the skills and practices that I use to this day. What it takes to bring to life the sound that the artists' dreams of is mostly the passion I have for the music, and the love for capturing it all into a recording.
I started the company in 1999 with the proceeds of selling my former business. I thought, “What a great time to do something I really love”. I had been running my old tired business for years, and when the call came from a competitor with an offer to buy it, my immediate response was... “Where do I sign”? That's when a friend of mine introduced me to the wife of a local engineer who passed and she wanted to sell off the equipment. I looked at the equipment list and found a ton of vintage gear I just had to have.
The woman was selling equipment she acquired and really knew nothing about. So I made an offer she couldn't refuse. Now I know it’s not nice to take advantage of an unsuspecting seller, but she was in a hurry to dump it and I was in a hurry to receive it. Besides, if I didn’t jump on it, someone else would have. And I, being a business man, saw a great opportunity to invest and enjoy a good return. The value of the equipment was actually about 75% higher than what I paid. Not a bad investment.
Anyway, after the equipment purchase, I began construction of the studio build-out in my home. The intention was not to serve the general public so much as it was to enjoy the opportunity of being able to at last record on Pro Gear of my own. But the word got out about what I was doing and I have been busy with clients ever since. I am now entertaining the Idea of moving the studio to a larger facility.
I thank God for his blessings every day!
Thanks for reading!
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