Eugene hosts an active recording industry...
The recording business is alive and well
in Eugene, but musicians need more sup
port. local recording entrepreneurs say.
The city supports more than a handful of
dedicated recording craftspeople, in
cluding two 24-track studios.
Gung Ho Studios set the tone for
Eugene’s recording resources. Billy
Barnett, bass player for Eugene rock band
Boys Club, worked in four-track studios in
Cleveland, San Francisco and southern
Oregon for ten years before getting his
break with Black Pond Studios, a 24-track
installation in Maryland.
There, Barnett recorded a lot of
Washington. D.C. rap-funk, among other
projects. Offered a partnership in the
studio, he decided instead to build a
16-track studio in Eugene, his home for
years.
Gung Ho Studios, ort line since
December, is built “top-down.’' Barnett
said The 16-track Trident mixing board is
the smallest mddel in England's most °.
highly regarded line bf recording . ’ / .
equipment.. „
Barnett stressed. "The gear .here is real
ly good!" He cited, the Neumann. AKG,° .
and Sennheiser: microphones, and the six
and-one-half-foot Yamaha concert piano as
examples of topfoFthe-lirtte equipment
available at Gung Ho. .
Barnett added that all the outboard gear
.— the digital equalizers, reverb and delays
. — are "the transition between the incredi
dynamic range of the human ear and the
dynamic -range of the taRe.” Special ef
fects should usually be "relatively invisi
ble.” he said. "There’is a time and place
for'everything, though."' . -
One of the attractions at Gung,Ho is the
half-live room: that is. the walls are half
wood, and half carpeted acoustical
material. Batnett said that this gives more
natural sound.ambience.
Barnett considered building eight-track,
but is glad he'built 16. He said that for
most' projects: tracks nine through 16 are
the most important for such necessities as
drum sound separation and vocal
layovers. • r
Gung' Ho Studios charges $20 per hour
for complete service. Economically,
Barnett feels he is competing with the
eight-tracks in price, but. with the
24-tracks in services offered.
Rick Nichols^ a local musician recording
at Gung Ho, agreed with Barnett that
musiciahs need-more support on local
radio, and with local fclub owners. Nichols
said he preferred to work at Gung Ho
because of Barnett’s First-hand knowledge
as a musician, and his skilled input in the
recording process. Barnett plays several
instruments besides bass.,and is also a
piano tuner.
Along with Boys Club, which expects to
, start an album-length project in about a
month. Gung Ho has recorded reggae,
rock, "post-punk experimental music.”
and jazz. • • • „
Trey Gunn, University graduate and
dedicated musician who owns Subliminal
Studios said that the studio grew out of a ?
need for a place to work. •
Gunn said he had paid his recording
dues in four-track cassette studios. At
first, he didn't really want to go eight
track, but he was offered a deal too good
to refuse. He said that he had not en
countered problems with too few tracks.
“Usually, you can plan ahead" to avoid
that trouble, Gunn said, adding that he
had 16 inputs to record into eight outputs,
giving, in a sense. 16-track capacity at $15
per hour.
Gunn said he has operated Subliminal
Studios for three years, but the current
eight-track installation had been ih place
for six months, with a new AHtkB mixing
board. Audio-Technica and Sennheiser
microphones, and digital outboard gear.
“Digital equipment is superior in ef:
fects. but not in recording equipment," . ■
„ Gunn said. “The problem with digitalis
that it's so complicated to use. It wili . •
always have more capability than ypu
.need, and if will always-get less expensive
and more, complicated.”.. V, „ .
. Gunn said business was .fair right now. ..
oHe agreed with Barnett [s'assessment of the
problem facing'Eugene recording studios:
"Musicians just aren't making any .money
arpund here. We're trying to figure how to
get musicians more money so they can
spend it with us."
° Recently, Gunri has recorded the Falling
Spikes, and None If Any. two local rock
bands. Last weekend, he had an 18-piece
orchestral project. As a musician himself.
Gunn looks to his studio to subsidize his
music, and will be going to New York Ci
ty this summer to work with musicians
there.
Triad Studios is the longest
continuously-operating studio in Eugene.
Gene Moritz, a former Air Force in
telligence officer, co-owns Triad with his
son-in-law, Hungarian emigre Peter
Lorenz. Lorenz is also the engineer.
Moritz said that the main impetus for
him to get into the recording business was
the success of his daughter Lori with the
jazz Minors, a local combo which came to
national prominence 10 years ago. Five
years ago. Triad expanded to 24-track.
Moritz said business is off. over the
long run. He said that three years ago, he
was running two shifts per day. and now
operates only one. "We were going great
guns up ‘till about two years ago. but a lot
of the bands have moved away. There’s no
place to make any money. It's hard for a
studio to make it around here.” he said.
Moritz added that his advertising pro
duction business was doing better than
the music recording side. “There's just
not much exciting happening right now,"
he said, adding that that would be the
case as long as the local economy remain
ed so flat.
The talent of Lorenz as an electrical
engineer has helped Triad, Moritz said,
because the studio has never had any
significant “down time" in ten years.
Moritz said one of the highlights of the
last ten years had been recording Danny
Siegel, a University graduate and jazz
pianist. Triad has also worked with
popular local musician Ron Lloyd.
With a Tangent 24-track board. AKG.
Neumann, Sennheiser and PZM
microphones, and a Yamaha concert piano
available, music and advertising produc
tion costs $40 per hour at Triad Studios.
Tom Gushuret. of Independent Sound,
specializes in live sound reinforcement —
he rents equipment to groups for live per
formances. However, he also provides
recording services at these performances.
"We rent the (recording) equipment of
whatever size is necessary" to capture live
performances, said Gushurst. He added
that he would either sublet the equipment
and work with a group's own sound per
son. or come in and do the recording |ob
himself. Gushurst said he charges a .
sliding scale for recording, depending on
the. complexity of the job.
•* . Among local groups Gushurst has work
ed with are the {-Walkers. Shakubuku and
pianist David Young. He also said he .
. sometimes records demo tapes for infor-' •
m*il and semi-forma 1"garage" bands. .
Gushurst explained that in order "to get
good live sound..it's best to have two sets
of engineers — one to mix.the live show,
and another to record it. You need « mike
splitter, and you should have-a separate
room, or a van. from which to do the.ac
tual recording,'* he said.
Independent Sound often provides
amplification at the WOW Hall, as It did
for Shakubuku and Shumba last Friday
night.
Eugene's other 24-track studio. The
.Recording Arts Center, is owned by the*
Eugene Arts Foundation. The Recording
Arts Center is a "world-class facility." ac
cording to Harnett. The center produces
advertising in addition to recording
music.
Finally, on the periphery of the Eugene
recording scene are those for whom the
recording of music is a documentary func
tion. Hob Heisser. of Group W (table’s
Cable Access Center, records audio-video
performances of local and regional artists
for airing on cable-access channel 11.
Heisser. a drummer as well as a techni
cian. says he thinks of recording as "a
reporting medium rather than an artistic
creative medium per so." He added that
that was why his cable-TV show consisted
of live performances, unlike the "concept
video” work of his sometime partner,
jerry Leff.
"I think (cable-access TV) is a fantastic
opportunity" for musicians to get ex
posure. Heisser said. The Cable Access
Center was provided by Group W. as part
of its franchise agreement, to provide the
community with an opportunity to use the
visual electronic medium.
« Heisser said that the trend was strong
toward audio-video production in record
ed music. "This is unfortunate, in a way.
because visual appeal is an added burden,
which all good musical performers may
not handle equally. They am two separate
art forms; you can’t replace music,
though," he said.
Beisser regretted that music is not as
important to today's youth as it was to
those growing up in the lBttOs, particular
ly with regard to lyrics. "Rock 'n' roll is
In a sorry state, because production has
taken over." he explained. "Glossy sound
is more important than content today."
. . . but representatives of area
recording studios say that local and
regional musicians need more
community support if they are to at
tain the affluence that will enable
them to take advantage of the
recording facilities available in
Photos by Steven Gibbons
hugene
Story by William Homans
Top right Hoys Club bass player Hilly Burnett opened his southwest
Eugene recording facility. Cung Ho Studios, lust December. Below:
Like Burnett. Trey Gunn is a musician who records us well. Gunn
' X
'jT
established the 24-track Subliminal Studios to answer a need for a
place to rm:ord his music and that of other musicians struggling for
a little exposure.
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