Sunset Stories

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

This spring, I went to SoCal, a dream of mine. I went to all the sites, and even bought a ton of stuff at Amoeba Records!

But the highlight of the trip BY FAR was going to Sunset Sound.

I arrived in Cali on a Saturday night, and on Monday morning I stopped by the studio to see what I could find...
The building has no sign, but I knew where it was based on the SMiLE DVD (lol).

I didn't want to buzz in, but my dad insisted, the man said they don't really do tours, to which my dad said "Yeah but this guys got 4 records and a hit song in our area!"
Apparently, that impressed him, so he told us if we come back on Wednesday he'd see what he could do, I was reluctant, so I took this picture.



Well, the day came and I still didn't think we'd get in. I was actually embarrassed to go back, but my dad insisted.

Sure enough, the guy came out and walked us in, I didn't know what to expect, but I was so excited.

We entered the modest but comfy lobby and I saw all the great records with a connection to the studio, including SMiLE!



First he showed me studio 1, well, really just the booth, but hell I was just happy to see it!



Then he brought us out down the outdoor hallway (another SMiLE DVD area) to the outdoor lounge and Studio 2 entrance, we couldn't see it because apparently Foster The People was recording at the time!

Next came Studio 3, the greatest experience of all, I actually got to play a song on the piano just to see what it was like, it felt amazing!
The studio was very much like what i'd expect after all the documentaries and footage of similar studios. It was truly amazing.







On the way out, I'd asked about the old 4/8 track analog machines used back in the day, and he brought us to the "Crypt" where literary TONS of old machines and parts were kept, he said that they had only begun the change over to digital in the early 90's, and that the machines were still occasionally used.

Well, finally I took this picture, which is damn better then the first!



Well, hope you enjoyed, I know I did!

[Sam_BFC]

Great stuff dude.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

Nice.  And of course it's great that that place is still around, as are, knock on wood, Western and United, as EastWest and Ocean Way, of course.

[c-man]

Nice.  And of course it's great that that place is still around, as are, knock on wood, Western and United, as EastWest and Ocean Way, of course.

And A&M as Henson.  And Capitol as...Capitol!

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

Nice.  And of course it's great that that place is still around, as are, knock on wood, Western and United, as EastWest and Ocean Way, of course.

And A&M as Henson.  And Capitol as...Capitol!

Indeed.  Unbelievable, really, considering the fates of a lot of other studios.  RCA, CBS, Radio Recorders is sort of still around but not really, Gold Star long gone (although I hope to create a replica one day.)  Brian's home studio, long gone...

[halblaineisgood]

Nice.  And of course it's great that that place is still around, as are, knock on wood, Western and United, as EastWest and Ocean Way, of course.

And A&M as Henson.  And Capitol as...Capitol!

Indeed.  Unbelievable, really, considering the fates of a lot of other studios.  RCA, CBS, Radio Recorders is sort of still around but not really, Gold Star long gone (although I hope to create a replica one day.)  Brian's home studio, long gone...

Please, Please, PLEASE start rebuilding gold star asap! It has been a dream of mine for awhile now, to not only record in a replica, but to listen to playback of classic records cut at goldstar in an exact replica of the control room. Altec 403s, and a tube desk with a send to the rebuilt chamber, where I will live out the rest of my life perfecting the precise amount of echo that I need to get by.


What are the specifics of Radio Recorders sorta status?

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

Nice.  And of course it's great that that place is still around, as are, knock on wood, Western and United, as EastWest and Ocean Way, of course.

And A&M as Henson.  And Capitol as...Capitol!

Indeed.  Unbelievable, really, considering the fates of a lot of other studios.  RCA, CBS, Radio Recorders is sort of still around but not really, Gold Star long gone (although I hope to create a replica one day.)  Brian's home studio, long gone...

Please, Please, PLEASE start rebuilding gold star asap! It has been a dream of mine for awhile now, to not only record in a replica, but to listen to playback of classic records cut at goldstar in an exact replica of the control room. Altec 403s, and a tube desk with a send to the rebuilt chamber, where I will live out the rest of my life perfecting the precise amount of echo that I need to get by.


What are the specifics of Radio Recorders sorta status?

Well, I'm not too sure.  It was still a studio, but the rooms were not original, and then there was a pretty bad fire recently.

[guitarfool2002]

That fire at Radio turned out to be far less serious than what the news coverage first suggested. Check out the thread in the archives here, I posted the original LA news report, then a follow up report.

Is anything studio-related happening in the old Wally Heider rooms in LA at this time?

[seltaeb1012002]

Kinda unrelated, but I've been gear hunting as of late and I came across a Neumann U47 supposedly dating from the mid 60's @ Wally Heider studios.

Wonder if it was used on the Lei'd In Hawaii re-recordings.

http://www.vintageking.com/Neumann-U47-Wally-Heider-used

[guitarfool2002]

Kinda unrelated, but I've been gear hunting as of late and I came across a Neumann U47 supposedly dating from the mid 60's @ Wally Heider studios.

Wonder if it was used on the Lei'd In Hawaii re-recordings.

http://www.vintageking.com/Neumann-U47-Wally-Heider-used

Nice one! Have you inquired on the price?    It would be a safe bet to assume the price is what many regular folks would consider a very good down-payment on something like a house...

What you say about that mic being used on Beach Boys sessions is *entirely* possible. Even in '67 the supply of U47 mics like that was not that large at some studios, if they had more than 2 it was a lot of them.

If you saw a recent Paul McCartney PBS concert special, you'd see Paul in the studio singing into one of the original U47 mics from Capitol with the "Capitol" sticker-logo still attached to the body, like the ones shown on certain Sinatra studio shots from the 50's.

If the Wally Heider connection is what is being used to jack up the price on that particular U47, they would need some kind of documentation or photo evidence that it was indeed a mic used by certain artists. If they're selling it as just a working U47 that sounds amazing, the Heider connection doesn't mean as much to the sale.

[seltaeb1012002]

Kinda unrelated, but I've been gear hunting as of late and I came across a Neumann U47 supposedly dating from the mid 60's @ Wally Heider studios.

Wonder if it was used on the Lei'd In Hawaii re-recordings.

http://www.vintageking.com/Neumann-U47-Wally-Heider-used

Nice one! Have you inquired on the price?    It would be a safe bet to assume the price is what many regular folks would consider a very good down-payment on something like a house...

What you say about that mic being used on Beach Boys sessions is *entirely* possible. Even in '67 the supply of U47 mics like that was not that large at some studios, if they had more than 2 it was a lot of them.

If you saw a recent Paul McCartney PBS concert special, you'd see Paul in the studio singing into one of the original U47 mics from Capitol with the "Capitol" sticker-logo still attached to the body, like the ones shown on certain Sinatra studio shots from the 50's.

If the Wally Heider connection is what is being used to jack up the price on that particular U47, they would need some kind of documentation or photo evidence that it was indeed a mic used by certain artists. If they're selling it as just a working U47 that sounds amazing, the Heider connection doesn't mean as much to the sale.

Nah, haven't inquired. I was actually looking at the V72 preamps, but I saw the name "Wally Heider" in the "new" section, so I had to check it out. I'd imagine it's way out of my price range at the moment. I may end up having my Rode NT1A modded to sound like a U87 in the meantime: http://www.oktavamodshop.com/product_info.php?products_id=145

[halblaineisgood]

Is Gold still alive? I know Star (Stan Ross) passed on awhile back, so, I wonder who would have the info one would need.
I have a bit of a fetish for the gear, yes, but getting the dimensions of the room correct, I reckon that would be the most
important thing.

Until then, how about a Gold Star monument at Santa Monica & Vine, kind of in the style of the Beach Boys monument. Wouldn't
that be appropriate... Wouldn't It be Nice? Sorry...

Maybe I should've started a new topic Title: Gold Star monument, anyone? But then again, no, I'd rather go off topic in an
existing thread. Very nice pictures Fatheroftheman. That studio 3 looks straight out of the 60's.