Just 2 make Vaughn jealous

It is also something to excite Vaughn

I have mentioned my recording studio (or in common English "bedroom") in a couple posts. I was in high school. I would record high school and college singers and instrumentalists in this studio. When I recorded a band or where more people were involved I would do it in one of the studios in the high school’s auditorium (Because I had master keys to everything in or on the building). I made it a point to NOT brag about this and the powers that be were nice or just did not know about it. I’m sure that the auditorium is in the top ten in the nation. It is the second largest auditorium west of the Mississippi and has wonderful acoustics.

Gads I can get off topic even while I’m in my own post.

Anyway going through the “Treasures” box that Myrna kept, I found a pic of my, at home, studio and my “state of the art” recording console. I have not found the negative so I took a pic of the 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 pic (from a Rolleiflex camera) just to show you.

The console has 4 mike (50 ohm) inputs each controlled separately with a master control that changes the level of all 4 and also acts as an upper limit control. I had several microphones: Shure, Western Electric, Turner, and Telefunken.

Enjoy and have a good laugh while you are at it.
JimB

For you techies: Pickering tone arm, D-7 recording head, JBL 15" and 10" speakers, JBL tweeter, JBL speaker cabinet (stereo had not been invented yet).View attachment 82989
 
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That's very cool, Jim. :thumb: Quite a set-up for its day.

Especially considering Ben Franklin had not yet invented electricity. :rofl:

Seriously, I'll bet some of that vintage gear could still compete with today's modern stuff.
 
Nice setup. You've probably seen this video of these Jr High kids and their band. It's been going around for about 6 months.

But check out all of the pro recording gear they set up for them in Nashville at a recording studio.

They are good, espeialy considering their age. That drum kid really has it down. They all do really well, even compared to adults.

 
That's very cool, Jim. :thumb: Quite a set-up for its day.

Especially considering Ben Franklin had not yet invented electricity. :rofl:

Seriously, I'll bet some of that vintage gear could still compete with today's modern stuff.

The vintage stuff has a unique sound that really complemets certain voices. For instance Tammy Wynett sure sounds great on an old tube system, but on the modern stuff she sounded less apealing--IMO.
 
Great video, Scott. :thumb: I'd seen it before, but it's still very impressive. The drummer is the star of that show, IMO. The kid has some serious chops. The bass player and singer were right up there, too. The guitars sounded great, but their parts weren't as technically challenging as the other kids' were. All of them had been taught well, though, and their practice showed. :clap:

Nice recording studio, too. Pro studios like that are becoming more and more rare, since the technology has advanced these days to the point where someone with a few thousand bucks worth of gear can get the same audio quality at home. (Usually recording just one part at a time, though.)
 
When I was that age I wanted to be that drummer. For some reason my parents didn't think a hyperactive kid needed drums. Oh well! Music is a rough business; I probably did better as a doc. I'm sure my ears have done better not having to listen to a drummer.

I did get recorded as a drummer once. It was a play on KFXM San Bernardino, CA. I did a drum roll intro to the play. Man, what talent!

The kids were great---and I agree---especially the drummer.

Enjoy,
JimB

Clarification: The time was in the 1940s. Plays, drama, comedians, etc. were all voice, no pictures. TV for the public was many years off in the future. So Sherlock Holmes, The Green Hornet, Orphan Annie, etc. were all voice and sound effects.
Many of the horses, including The Headless Horseman at KFXM, were Jim Bradley with cocoa nut shell halves on wood (bridges), sand, floor (paved streets), etc. I was pretty good with a scream too. I could pitch my voice way higher than 99% of the females. Dang---That was fun and I got paid too. I had a 78 rpm record of war (cannons, rifles, granades, etc) on one side and cops and mobsters on the other (pistols, Tommy Guns, etc.) that could be fed into war stories.
 
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That's some great stuff Jim. What a pioneer you were! Do you still have some of those old recordings?
 
First of all, it was REALLY fun. Anything to do with sound was my plaything.

They started the Audio Engineering Society while I was still in school; I was a charter member. Pickering was the first president.
I ran the High School auditorium sound system. It was a jewel of a sound system. For that era I had fantastic control over what the audience heard.
I sold records (78 rpm) at the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company's music department. Believe it or not, a tire company had the best record store in the area.
I was a disk jockey and did news at the radio station (not concurrent with Firestone). This only took an hour or two per day and not every day.
I rented out sound systems for dances and parties and sometimes was the disk jockey for those. It was a once or twice a month thing when I stayed with the system. Usually I set it all up and someone in the party played the platters. Then I would collect the system and take it back home.
I ran the sound system and did sound effects for the college class on radio announcing and acting.
Obviously not all of these things were going on at the same time.

I just plain ole had a blast. Not only was it fun, it provided the green stuff that let me take the girls to the Hollywood Palledium, Cocoa Nut Grove, Pasadena Play House dances, etc. Because of my relationship with the sound guys and equipment I could get a girlfriend and me into places that were not open to minors (I was still in high school). It was one of the places where my brain really paid off---I never had to waste time studying for school. In fact, I missed so much school that some of the teachers gave up on trying to keep attendance on me; they never knew where I would be.

Sorry, I got carried away going down memory lane. I can't help wondering why I was so lucky.

Enjoy,
JimB
 
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