We listen to old records and try to make current recordings as good.
We are analog recording junkies.
We have a shit load of FENDERS and Ampeg and other assorted vintage gear that is waiting for you to use on your next record.
The first tapedeck (other then my beloved cassette 4 track from high school) I bought was a Ampex 300 (with mono and stereo heads) from RCA Studios. It is the actual deck that was in the RCA mobile truck throughout the sixties...very well maintained because it was RCA. It is also the same model that my idol Rudy Van Gelder used to record all the beautiful Blue Note records. We still have it and use the preamps daily...almost every overdub goes through these preamps, everyday .
We RECORD TO, and MIX TO good old analog TAPE. We have a Ampex AG440 from the 60's that we mix to and a more modern ATR102, WE ALSO HAVE AN AMAZING 1974 AMPEX MM1100 2 INCH 16 TRACK, bought from Detroit that IGGY POP and the STOOGES recorded on! (we are Ampex freaks) Sometimes we track bands to tape then transfer to Protools to overdub if they need more tracks, but we prefer to stay in analog for most projects, it is worth it for the open clear but round and thick sound. We think that having only 16 tracks makes for better musical choices.
-Scott
Sounds Like
Some thoughts on recording at the Fry Pharmacy by Michael Tarbox.
RECORDING. THE FRY PHARMACY.
Waiting for morning coffee, I'll tell you something about the music we've recorded for the new CD... first of all, though, you must know someting about The Fry Pharmacy, the studio the songs were recorded in... It's in Nashville, or more specifically in Old Hickory, just outside Nashville, out by the lake that Johnny Cash made his home on. (Parenthetically: Johnny's old house burnt to the ground last month. We in the Ramblers have theorized that it committed suicide upon learning that it had been recently acquired by one of the Gibb Brothers, of Bee Gees fame.)
Anyway, back to The Fry Pharmacy. It's owned by Scott McEwen, the Ramblers bass player, and his recording pal, Phil Hummer... the place was indeed a Pharmacy, built in the 1920s (or was it the 30s?), and operating for thirty-odd years until closing its doors in the early 60's.
It remained dusty and shuttered until Phil and Scott opened its doors and walked into a ghosted time capsule... Tin ceilings. Cryptic graffitti scrawl on the walls in childlike hand. Walls the weird institutional pale green that was everywhere in the 50s and 60s but is rarely seen today (needless to say we think of that ghastly green as one of the colors of a lost childhood and so, perhaps perversely, it evokes pleasant memories).
The Fry Pharmacy Studio graces the hills of Old Hickory with a certain dusty primitive splendor. It's a grimy gem whoses essence was sensed and only enhanced when Scott and Phil filled it with the tape machines whose acquisition has, over the years, become a life pursuit. These tape recorders are the faithful relics of the pre-digital; their whirring, mechanical personalities have largely disappeared from the studio scene as computers replaced them.
But who can deny the beauty of the sounds captured by these creaky beasts? The Fry Pharmacy’s crazy treasures include a machine that has recorded the pride of Michigan - The Stooges, The White Stripes and The Detroit Cobras... machines like it also recorded masterpieces like "Sticky Fingers." Tucked away in a corner is an old machine of the sort used to capture the exquisite genius of "Kind of Blue."
And when these machines are turned on, they produce smells - the slightest scent of dust burnt off as tubes warm up - and heat. Like all living animals do.
Located 10 miles outside of downtown Nashville in the town of Old Hickory, TN, the Fry Pharmacy is a 2" 16 track classic analog recording studio.
Our building was indeed once a Pharmacy, built in 1928 and boarded up in 1962. With the original tin ceilings and tile floors intact, the Fry Pharmacy is truly A TIME CAPSULE.
The Fry Pharmacy has amazing sonic properties and is a super cool environment for hanging out and making recordings.
We have one ghost and a bunch of vintage and modern gear ranging from a circa 1957 Ampex 351 MONO tape deck to a current 24bit/96k Protools system. However what we are mostly excited about, is recording in the middle ground on our 1974 Ampex 2" 16 track.
The Fry Pharmacy Recording Studio is the perfect place to make your next record. Located 15 minutes from downtown Nashville.
Book your session at The FRY : email scott@frypharmacyrecording.com or studio@philhummer.com or call 615-500-8215 or email right here on myspace..
HEY FRY PHARMACY STUDIOS!!! I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR BEING A FRIEND!!! AND I WANT TO WISH YOU A HAPPY 2009!!!YOUR FANTASTIC MAN!!!HEY I JUST MIGHT STOP IN!!! !!!MUSIC FOREVER!!! SHAKY DON
scott, thanks for yer narration on the disc of different sounds we tried that day... next time you should throw in a little "a child's christmas in wales"....... we love the first live stereo mix.. please watch our new video... it's on millie dale's space. xo. thimbles
hello and thank you so much for your kind message...! What an amazing place you have - it looks really special, I love what you're doing there. Hoping to cross that tiled floor one day. very best Mark
You goin" to the hank #III show at layla's 2nite? Thanks for all you do for Nashville... I gotta get out and see that studio of yours built with L-U-V! greetings from donelson... briana
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