One of the coolest, and least promoted (and previously difficult to find) books I've come across is Too Hot to Handle: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Recording Studios of the 20th Century. Author Randy McNutt is a huge fan of classic American music and the regional studios that used to record the hits (and misses) of yesteryear. I recently stumbled across his Home of the Hits blog, and wanted to let others know that it's well worth visiting. Randy is dedicated to preserving the memories and history of the music biz, and importantly understands that it was the people and their vision that makes all of this so fascinating.
More Entries
Blog
BEST STUPID STUDIO CHATTER EVER?
by Larry Crane
Al Kooper produced this band in the '80s. They really knew how to argue - with him, with each other and probably with anyone in a ten-mile radius. Al edited out the music and kept the wonderful conversation, releasing it on one of his limited (300...
Blog
"It's Like Room Service But For Recording Gear": Larry Crane Tries Out Ace Hotel's Studio A Program
by Dave Middleton
Ace Hotel has long been a favorite among artist/studio types, so when we heard the news that they were going to beginoffering quality recording gear as a literal hotel service, it made sense. Featured behind their tailored front desk you'll find...
Blog
MIXING IN THE BOX
by Larry Crane
I recently mixed my first album entirely on my laptop. Yeah, maybe I'm a decade behind the curve but I also own a studio and have done a majority of my work there. On this job we were attempting to cut and mix a record in three days and we didn't...
Blog
Archive and Catalog
by Larry Crane
I'm in the middle of cataloging 1.5 TB of audio files. This is the work I do for the Estate of Elliott Smith. Two computers keep Pro Tools on the top one and FileMaker Pro and Excel for track sheets on the bottom one. Otherwise the MacBook Pro...
Blog
A Treasure Trove of Acoustic Information
by Larry Crane
My pal Ethan Winer is half of the company Real Traps and hosts a page of all sorts of articles and information about acoustics and control rooms at this site: Real Traps One of my favorite pieces nearly ended up in Tape Op Magazine but after I...
Blog
The first Audio Underground Roadshow, Sacto at The Hangar Sept 6
by Larry Crane
Tape Op is sponsoring an event at The Hangar, aka Tape Op Publishing HQ. When: Saturday, September 6, 10am-6pm. Where: The Hangar Studios, Sacramento, CA What: The first Audio Underground Roadshow What’s that and who will be there: Demos of...
Blog
"A Recording Studio is No Place For Democracy"
by Larry Crane
I couldn't have said it better myself. In fact, I say this all the time. Drop by Jim Powers' Music Shrink website and read his articulate post on the subject.
Blog
Recording gear that I'm digging
by Larry Crane
In line with Andy Hong's list of gear (issue #66) he's reviewed in the past that he still finds amazing, here's a list of stuff I was using this last month that I think deserves special credit for the amount of times I fall back on these pieces and...