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Posted on 09.21.07 by mcmanus @ 23:33:06
I just found this site by chance and was surprised to find myself mentioned here in April 2005 with a link to the When Vinyl Ruled 2000-AES historical exhibit I was involved with in Los Angeles back in September 2000. Time certainly does fly, as it is really hard for me to believe that it has been seven years since that event. Although I never met Wally and he had been gone over ten year by the time of this exhibit, I feel that Wally made several significant contributions to the success of this exhibit which I will mention for the benefit of those who did not have the opportunity to visit the exhibit. First, if you look closely at the picture below you will see a framed picture to the left of the UA console. That picture shows Wes Montgomery sitting and Orrin Keepnews of Riverside Records standing in front of the very same UA console on June 25, 1962 in the backroom of Tsubo a club in Berkeley. Although Wally is not shown in the photograph, Wally’s live recording of this same performance through the UA console shown onto an Ampex 351-2 was released as the Riverside LP “Full House.”
Elsewhere on this site Dale Manquen eloquently tells the story of his trip with Wally to the 1966 Monterey Jazz festival with the prototype Mincom recorder. Even though I first met Dale in 1975 when I was in his very first professional tape recorder theory and maintenance class and I have heard many of his wonderful stories, the first time I have heard this story is when I visited this website. In 2000 when I was planning the AES exhibit I contacted Dale, asked if would mind providing some of his 3M artifacts for the display, and he told me he would be pleased to do so. Dale brought some photographs and machine prototype assemblies which were of much interest to many visitors. Now once again if you look closely at the picture you will see three ½ inch tape boxes leaning in front of the Ampex 300 door on the lower right. Amazingly enough those three 3-track tapes shown were also recorded by Wally live at the Monterey Jazz Festival, except earlier on September 22-23, 1963. Had I only known in 2000 that Dale had been with Wally at the 1966 Festival I would not only have asked him about his experience, but I also would have made sure that Dale heard playbacks of the tapes that I had. Naturally the tapes sounded fantastic and went over very well with the many exhibit visitors. The artists were Jack and Charlie Teagarden with Pee Wee Russell and two sets by the Harry James Orchestra with vocalist Ruth Price. Thanks to Stephen for setting up this site, to Dale for sharing so much knowledge with us over the years, and to Wally for helping to make When Vinyl Ruled a success. Filed under: Firsthand Stories and Other Recording Stories Comments: 1 Comment |
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Posted on 12.22.05 by admin @ 00:18:55
The Making Of The Sound The uninviting black Hyde Street door is lettered very simply: Wally Heider Recordings. Behind it, though, lies a vast, million dollar studio complex, where many of the country’s finest rock and jazz musicians gather to record new albums. Established less than a year ago by sound engineer Wally Heider, the place is a mixture of feelings, tensions, business and good times. Once an attorney, Heider got into the business over a decade ago when he left the bar to tape records for Elvis Presley – and later, Johnny Cash, Tom Jones, The Supremes and others. Though he spends much of his time in Los Angeles, Heider still manages, once or twice a week, to visit his San Francisco studios and listen to super rock groups like Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Creedence Clearwater Revival cut their latest records.
Inside Heider’s studio the vibes are good, though sometimes heavy. Jayne Martin, Heider’s twenty-one-year-old receptionist, says she simply sits around all day eating Wheat Thins. But the truth is, she keeps the whole operation – musicians and producers – together. In fact, today she’s scheduling recording times, keeping track of bills, setting up sessions, and so on. In the background, the screaming guitars and roaring drums of Blue Cheer can be heard, as engineer, producer and musicians work over each previously recorded song to balance the sound properly for their next album. Tapes start and stop a hundred times. Over and over again. Yet Jayne and the others, scurrying from room to room, hardly even notice. Filed under: Other Recording Stories Comments: None |
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Posted on 10.31.05 by george.polisner @ 15:02:30
first of all -thank you so much for putting this together. this is a wonderful and lasting tribute to many of the great people that launched the studios in hollywood. my father, albert william polisner met my mother -jeanne walrath -when she came to hollywood from iowa to record an album in 1958 -she was a coloratura soprano and had tried out for the met opera at the age of 15. albert (also known around town as al paul) worked with many folks at capitol records, paramount (brian brolin), allen zentz and wally heider. i was between 5 and 8 years old when my dad used to run me around hollywood on errands. after broadcast records closed, my father worked at studio masters on melrose, and later worked from our home -he resold mixing and audio equipment. my first job was kind of as an internal roadie at pd recording studios in north hollywood (run, i think by john phillips -who had been at capitol). my father passed away in 1976 (i was 16) and would love to connect with people from the 60’s and 70’s hollywood era that knew him. i am now 45 years old, and have founded alonovo.com a business dedicated to informing consumers about socially-responsible business (redirecting consumer spend from entities that mistreat workers, pollute the environment and are profit without regard businesses -to companies that are evolving to embrace reuseable energy, clean manufacturing and workers, human, animal rights. once again -many thanks for putting this together -i’d be happy to contribute a photo of my dad in front of what was broadcast recorders. kind regards, george polisner Filed under: Other Recording Stories Comments: None |
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Posted on 04.11.05 by admin @ 10:00:51
From Mix, October 1998 Short lives, long influences: That’s what these two seminal San Francisco studios had in common. From 1968 to 1980, Wally Heider Recording rocked with the likes of the Grateful Dead, the Jefferson Airplane, Sly & the Family Stone, the Pointer Sisters and Crosby, Stills & Nash—a veritable who’s who of the bands that came to fame in the Summer of Love, at Woodstock and beyond. In 1978, The Automatt picked up the torch, and, until it closed at the end of 1984, hosted a glorious amalgam of funk and rock from Santana, Journey, Jefferson Starship and Huey Lewis & The News to Con Funk Shun, The Whispers, Herbie Hancock and Frankie Beverly & Maze. At both of these studios, it was truly the best of times. Following are a few reminiscences from those who were there. use this link below for the rest of the article. Filed under: Other Recording Stories Comments: None |
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Posted on 04.05.05 by admin @ 21:34:40
For all those of you that really enjoy “swingin’ vu meters” and did not have the opportunity to visit the “When Vinyl Ruled” exhibit at the 109th AES Convention held in Los Angeles from 2000 Sept 22…25, here is a brief recap of what went on. The event was sponsored by the AES Historical Committee chaired by Jay McKnight, and was organized by Irv Joel and Paul McManus. The core team included Irv Joel, Paul McManus, Jim Webb, Shelley Herman, John Chester, and David Baker. Paul brought two of his tape recorders: a 288 pound 1963 Ampex Model 300 3-track one-half inch tape recorder, and a 1957 Ampex Model 350 2-track one-quarter inch tape recorder; also 3 Altec 604 speakers, 3 McIntosh tube power amplifiers, and various period piece displays and exhibits. The real star of the show was a 1960 custom built Universal Audio (UA) 12 input by 3 output vacuum tube recording console designed by Bill Putnam, and built in the attic next to the echo chambers of United Recording at 6050 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. This console was the original remote recording console from United (now Ocean Way) and Western (now Cello) studios, which were originally owned, designed and built by Putnam. Filed under: Other Recording Stories Comments: None |
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Posted on 03.26.05 by admin @ 12:58:46
The Kama Sutra/Buddah Records Story This story is copyright © 1993 by Bob Hyde, and is used by permission of the author. Charting the history of any record label—much less two or three—is a precarious occupation at best. A hit record makes ordinary people heroes while a stiff causes the arrow of blame to spin madly, looking for a suitable target. Some success in the music business comes from sheer luck; some is the result of hard, diligent work, and some comes from what can only be described as a “genius” for the medium. Filed under: Other Recording Stories Comments: None |