Brian's Home Studio

[groganb]

I've started wondering more about the studio the Beach Boys had built in Brian's house.
Are there pictures of the studio anywhere? It seems I've seen a few session shots that might have been taken there, but I'm not sure. Does anyone have any to post?
Also, has a list ever been made of the released songs that were actually recorded there? Up through when? "Surf's Up?" "Carl and the Passions?" Did they also record elsewhere while the studio was in service?
Do I remember correctly that it was dismantled for the move to Holland?

[Andrew G. Doe]

I've started wondering more about the studio the Beach Boys had built in Brian's house.
Are there pictures of the studio anywhere? It seems I've seen a few session shots that might have been taken there, but I'm not sure. Does anyone have any to post?
Also, has a list ever been made of the released songs that were actually recorded there? Up through when? "Surf's Up?" "Carl and the Passions?" Did they also record elsewhere while the studio was in service?
Do I remember correctly that it was dismantled for the move to Holland?

The "Time To Get Alone" sequence from the American Band video-biog of 1985 shows the Bellagio studio (oddly, this footage was used for the "I Can Hear Music" video). Some shots in the Leaf book, also in the booklet of the excellent Caroline, Now ! tribute CD.

Songs recorded in the home studio ? Check 'em out here - http://www.esquarterly.com/bellagio/gigs.html - from 1967 to 1972.  

[groganb]

Andrew,
Thanks. I've seen that video without thinking about its locale. I just watched it again.
Do we know anything about the control room?

[gsmile]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWOsX5g1Gho

Very cool footage.  It could go on for about another hour or two and I wouldn't mind.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Andrew,
Thanks. I've seen that video without thinking about its locale. I just watched it again.
Do we know anything about the control room?

As the video shows, the control room was a good distance above the studio floor. There's a description of the layout in Steve Desper's Recording The Beach Boys book - I'll dig it out.

[hypehat]

I think i asked Steve this ages ago but my memory is a fragile thing (feel free to correct etc), and he confirmed the console was a below-par live mixing desk at the start. Was this ever replaced, and if so when? How many tracks (4, 8 16...)did they have to work with on these albums.... (if memory serves though, i remember c-man digging out the Be With Me session sheet that had 16)

I wish that reprint of Desper's book would happen, it would answer so many of these questions....

[Andrew G. Doe]

Up to and including Friends, the board at the home studio was a Gates Dualux radio console, and the tape machines 3M 8-tracks rented from Wally Heider.

The specs of the Dualux were as follows: dual program design, controlling two separate lines. You could run the AM on one program and the FM on the other. It has nine mixing channels, five microphone, two turntables, one remote and one network. It has 21 input circuits, seven for mic, four TT, five remotes, 1 network and four tape. Response is ± 1.5 db 30-15,000 cycles with distortion 1% or less. Noise -60 db or better. [I have no idea what all this means, but I'm guessing a pro engineer like Steve Desper had a fit when he saw what he had to work with]



Thereafter - and certainly in time for the Sunflower sessions, Desper greatly up-rated the studio to 16-track status. Also, bear in mind that the band didn't record exclusively at 10452.

[punkinhead]

I think i asked Steve this ages ago but my memory is a fragile thing (feel free to correct etc), and he confirmed the console was a below-par live mixing desk at the start. Was this ever replaced, and if so when? How many tracks (4, 8 16...)did they have to work with on these albums.... (if memory serves though, i remember c-man digging out the Be With Me session sheet that had 16)

I wish that reprint of Desper's book would happen, it would answer so many of these questions....

I SECOND THAT, AHEM, ANY LISTENING OUT THERE? SOMEONE ON THIS BOARD?   

[Andrew G. Doe]

Here we go [this is the final incarnation of the studio at 10452 - italics are mine]:


quote removed by request of the author

[punkinhead]

I like the secret entrance on the BB: An American Family mini series. 

[hypehat]

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Did this mean Brian was unable to record whilst the band were on the road? I thought that was Leaf-ian myth as it sounded a bit too draconian on the part of the group.

Thanks a lot for the type up, Andrew. Mr. Desper did announce a reprint was coming on these fair pages, although I guess he's also been busy on things like the DW doc, so it's on the backburner.

[c-man]

Here we go [this is the final incarnation of the studio at 10452 - italics are mine]:

quote removed by request of the author

According to Steve, the drums for "Slip On Through" (played by Dennis Dragon) were recorded on that large flat roof area.  As were Brian's shuffling feet on "Take A Load Off Your Feet".

[groganb]

This is all awesome information. Thanks, everyone.

[c-man]

I think i asked Steve this ages ago but my memory is a fragile thing (feel free to correct etc), and he confirmed the console was a below-par live mixing desk at the start. Was this ever replaced, and if so when? How many tracks (4, 8 16...)did they have to work with on these albums.... (if memory serves though, i remember c-man digging out the Be With Me session sheet that had 16)

I wish that reprint of Desper's book would happen, it would answer so many of these questions....

Actually, for "Be With Me" they recorded on 8-track...but then it was bounced down to a "Stage Two" 8-track for more overdubbing.  Interestingly, the AFM contract states this one was recorded at Brian's home studio, yet the liner notes for the instrumental track that appears on "Hawthorne California" say Studio B at Captiol.  It certainly sounds to me like Capitol's large echo chambers were used for this cut!  Here's a track breakdown that Alan Boyd posted on this board back in 2006:

Master
1 - Horn
2 - Horns OD
3 - Flutes
4 - Drums OD
5 - Drums - bass
6 - Picolo
7 - Rhodes
8 - Fife

After this, the song was dubbed dwon, the basic track mixed down to leave room for overdubs and vocals:

Leader - Dubdown 1
1 - brass
2 - brass OD
3 - flute
4 - keyboard rhythm
5 - vocal
6 - vocal
7
8 - strings

[Alex]

Here we go [this is the final incarnation of the studio at 10452 - italics are mine]:

quote removed by request of the author

So Brian slept in the echo chamber during the 15BO/Love You era??!

[Ron]

If they took the console with them on the road, no wonder Brian laid in bed all day, what the hell else was he supposed to do?

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

I dunno, maybe drive 10 minutes east to a recording studio?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Ker-ching !

[Ron]

(....    joke .... )

[Fall Breaks]

Here we go [this is the final incarnation of the studio at 10452 - italics are mine]:

quote removed by request of the author

So Brian slept in the echo chamber during the 15BO/Love You era??!

Great question! But the studio was gone by then. Wonder how the chamber was refurnished...?

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Very carefully.

[slothrop]

This isn't completely on topic, but it is related. So my home town is Whittier, CA, a suburb of LA. Today my brother sends me a text claiming that there is a house that an older coworker claims the BB used to record at once in a while very close to my house, in the "Friendly Hills" are of town. I told him I doubt any recording was done but wouldn't necessarily discount the Wilson's showing up to Audree's house (she did live in Whittier, correct?) to play some tunes once in a while. I also know that Sea of Tunes did have some type of office in Whittier as I have an old BB chord book that was published there.

So anyone (AGD) know anything about this? And possibly where Audree lived? It would only reinforce the eerie connections between me and the BB...Thanks in advance if anyone can find any info on this.

[Andrew G. Doe]

The SOT address is printed in Billboard as 9042 La Alma, Whittier... snag is, according to Googlemaps, no such place. There is, however, a La Calma Drive in the Friendly Hills area of Whittier. Definitely residential, so I'm thinking it was Murry's home address. Apparently he moved there in 1965, buying Audree a place just around the corner.

Ah... now, didn't he have The Sunrays over to rehearse in his music room ?

[slothrop]

Printed the same in the chord book I have. Strange that the typo would keep getting out there in multiple publications. However, La Calma is right down the street from me. Interesting. Perhaps my bro's co-worker thought the Sunrays were the Beach Boys! Though I assume the guys (Carl especially) would've been out to Audree's not infrequently.