Sound City 2013 Sub Ita Torrent
Carlota Sproul
Sound City Studios is a recording studio in Los Angeles, California, known as one of the most successful in popular music. The complex opened in 1969 in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles. The facility had previously been a production factory of the English musical instrument manufacturer Vox. Throughout the late twentieth century, the studio became known for its signature sound, especially in recording drums and live performances of rock bands.
Hundreds of rock artists spanning five decades have recorded at Sound City, including Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, U2, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Bob Dylan, Guns N' Roses, Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Tool, Slayer, Rage Against the Machine, Death Cab for Cutie, and Fall Out Boy. Over one-hundred albums recorded at Sound City have achieved gold and platinum certifications.[1][2]
The studio leased time for public use until 2011; in 2011 the owners closed the studio and much of the equipment was sold off. From 2011 to 2016, the studio was leased by Fairfax Recordings, who used it as their own exclusive in-house studio. In 2017 the studio was re-opened for public use and has continued to host artists in the years since.[3] The complex was the focus of the documentary Sound City (2013), directed by musician Dave Grohl. Grohl purchased some of the equipment sold in 2011, including the rare Neve Electronics 8028 mixing console that has been credited with creating the "Sound City sound"; it has since been re-installed at Grohl's Studio 606.
The studio was created by Joe Gottfried and Tom Skeeter, who wanted to start a record company and get into artist management. After a rough start, Skeeter and Gottfried purchased [4][5][6] a state-of-the-art recording console for $75,175 from the English electronics engineer Rupert Neve:[7] "One of four in the world ... a 28-input, 16-bus, 24-monitor 8028 with 1084 EQs and no automation".[6][8]
During 1969, Sound City hosted the David Briggs productions Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus by Spirit and After the Gold Rush by Neil Young. Cult leader Charles Manson recorded in Studio B months before the Manson Family crime spree.
In the 1970s, Neil Young, Dr. John, Spirit, Crazy Horse, and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, along with other bands, recorded music at the studio. Shelter Records founders Leon Russell and Denny Cordell found a home at Sound City as well, recording Leon Russell, Delaney & Bonnie, and Joe Cocker. Thanks to the Shelter founders, Sound City hosted a young band from Florida named Mudcrutch in 1974, providing an introduction to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers that resulted in a relationship spanning over two decades.
In 1976, Fleetwood Mac recorded one track at the studio, "Never Going Back Again", from what would become one of the highest selling and most critically acclaimed albums of all time, Rumours.[9][10][11]
During the 1980s and 1990s, the studio was used to produce works from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Rick Springfield, Ronnie James Dio, Foreigner, The Black Crowes, and Nirvana. Producer Rick Rubin chose Sound City Studios to record artists like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Johnny Cash (1996's Unchained). He also recorded Metallica's Death Magnetic, which entered the Billboard Top 200 chart at No. 1, at the studio.[12][13]
Joe Gottfried died in 1992, at the age of 65. Tom Skeeter died on 12 September 2014, at the age of 82.[14] The studio was closed to the public in 2011 and much of the equipment sold off, including the Neve Electronics 8028 Console from Studio A which was purchased by Dave Grohl, former Nirvana drummer and current frontman of Foo Fighters, who installed it in his Studio 606 in Northridge, California.[15]
In 2011, record label Fairfax Recording leased Studio A for exclusive use of its artists[16] While the studio was left untouched, the control room was refurbished and analog recording equipment even older than the Neve console was added including an ARP 2600 semi-modular analog synthesizer, a Wurlitzer 140B electric piano and EQ modules designed for the Columbia CBS Studios in New York. Artists such as the Cold War Kids, and The Lumineers recorded at the facility during the Fairfax years.
In early 2017 a partnership was formed between Sandy Skeeter, daughter of founder Tom Skeeter, and Olivier Chastan in order to reopen the studio. Sound City is now the home of two of just 11 surviving Helios Type 69 consoles[17] and continues to use classic analog recording techniques in many of its productions. While the control rooms received some upgrades, including Pro Tools, the main studio remains exactly as it was built in 1969.[18]
Sound City Studios prides itself on having a very particular sound when it comes to recording drums.[19][1][7][20][21][22] Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro insisted that one only had to set up the drums in order to get a good drum sound.[23] Producer Rick Rubin said that "guitars sound pretty much the same everywhere, but drums change from room to room, and the sound at Sound City was among the best".[2] Producer Greg Fidelman recorded the sound of a bass drum from each of the big recording studios in the Los Angeles area, subsequently playing the sample for Metallica without divulging from which studio the sound had originated. Based upon this sample, the band chose Sound City Studios to record Death Magnetic.[23] In addition, when asked by Nine Inch Nails to be a guest drummer on some songs, Dave Grohl agreed only if the songs were to be recorded at Sound City Studios.[23] The interior of the main studio has allegedly never been painted over, nor its linoleum tiles changed, due to fear that any such change would directly affect the "legendary sound quality" of the room.[8]
Sound City is a 2013 American documentary film produced and directed by Dave Grohl, in his directorial debut, about the history of recording studio Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, Los Angeles.[3] Grohl was inspired to create the documentary after he purchased several items from the studio, including the Neve 8028 analog mixing console, when it stopped operating as a commercial studio in 2011. The film discusses the historic importance of Sound City Studios and its Neve 8028 console to the world of rock music, along with other recording genres. Sound City debuted on January 18, 2013, to positive reviews, with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score. The film engendered a record, Sound City: Real to Reel, which received two Grammy Awards.
The 106-minute documentary film covers a variety of important and record-breaking albums that all came out of Sound City Studios.[4] Sound City Studios is located in the San Fernando Valley, amidst rows of industrial warehouses. The little-known recording studio housed a rare analog Neve recording console and had a reputation for recording drums. Artists such as Nirvana, Kyuss, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, Rick Springfield, Tom Petty, Rage Against the Machine, and Slipknot recorded groundbreaking music at the studio. In 1991 Nirvana recorded the album Nevermind at Sound City Studios. This was one of many platinum albums that came out of the studio, placing Sound City among the most well-known names and record labels in the music industry.[5] Sound City played an important role in the history of Fleetwood Mac. After hearing a recording of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham made at Sound City, Mick Fleetwood asked Buckingham if he would join, to which he agreed so long as Nicks was invited in as well. This version of the group later earned three Grammy awards.[5]
The documentary credits much of the studio's success to the Neve 8028 console and the strong and grungy drum sound that the studio produced. The sound that came out of the studio is often credited to the shape of the studio and the way that sound waves acted within the room.[6] Even though much of the studio's success was credited to the shape of the booth, another large factor was credited to the console. Their custom Neve 8028, designed by Rupert Neve, produced a strong and punchy sound that defined '70s rock music. Sound City has produced gold & platinum albums for over five decades.[6]
The film tells the story of the studio from its early days in 1969 until it stopped operating as a commercial studio in 2011. The film covers the reasons for the studio's success along with the reasons for the distinct sound that came from the studio. The film covers stories from recording in the studio, the eventual deterioration of the studio, and even the non-musical production of albums in the studio. Sound City even produced albums by people like Bill Cosby.[5] It then follows Dave Grohl's purchase of the studio's custom analog Neve console, which he moved to his personal studio, Studio 606. Rupert Neve was an English engineer who founded Neve Electronics in 1961, designed and manufactured the Neve 8028, "one of four in the world",[7] and is interviewed by Grohl in the film.[8] In the film, famous musicians who recorded at Sound City reunite at Studio 606 for a jam session and to make an album of "all-new all-original songs, each one composed and recorded exclusively for the film within its own 24-hour session on that console."[9]
The film was first exhibited in the 2013 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2013,[10] and released on video-on-demand and in theaters on February 1, 2013.[11] It was screened on January 31 in five Australian cities (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth).[12] The documentary was also screened in three cities in Canada (Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal) and 51 cities in the United States.[13] The film was screened for a one-off showing on February 18, 2013, in 23 theaters across the UK.[14]
Current or former members of the bands Dio, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, Pixies, Fleetwood Mac, Nirvana, REO Speedwagon, Weezer, Ratt, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures, The Beatles, Cheap Trick, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Nine Inch Nails, Slipknot, Stone Sour, Metallica, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Fear, Foo Fighters and Rage Against the Machine appeared in the film. The drummer of Foo Fighters, Taylor Hawkins, also appeared in the film.
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