A&M RECORDS STUDIOS HISTORY
A&M STUDIOS: 1967-1969
Herb Alpert hired Larry Levine as the first engineer in 1967. Levine began working at A&M on January 9, 1967. Before joining A&M, Larry Levine was an engineer at Gold Star Studios, Alpert's preferred place to record. Alpert based the construction of A&M's Studio B on the Gold Star studio. While at Gold Star, Levine engineered sessions for A&M artists including the Tijuana Brass, Chris Montez, Brasil '66 and Ike and Tina Turner.
In April 1967 A&M Records began construction on its studios at its headquarters at the former Charlie Chaplin Studios at 1416 N. LaBrea Avenue in Hollywood, CA. There were two soundstages on the property. A&M kept the newer soundstage and turned the older one into its studio complex. Levine built the original studios electronics while Dave Alpert managed construction of the studios. The studios were built on a floating foundations to minimize damage from earthquakes. The walls were lead-lined to block external sounds. Levine started by hiring Howard Holzer to design, build and install the custom recording and mixing consoles. In addition to the Holzer consoles, Scully tape machines and disc cutting system. At some point A&M developed a suspension unit for the Scully mastering lathe that would float a Westrex cutter head.
The first studio to open was the mastering room, Studio D in April 1968, By mid-October 1968, recording studio (Studio C) was open. Original plans called for only two recording studios but the artist roster grew enough that a third studio was added, Studio B console was installed in October 1968 and became operational around December 1968 and Studio A opened in February 1969. All of the consoles were 8-track. Even the first versions of these studios were, according to Larry Levine, "developed to provide a creatively conducive atmosphere" with drapes, incandescent lighting, and specially selected chairs instead of the typical fluorescent lights and folding chairs. A&M also included moving ceilings to create different sonic moods.
Herb Alpert, Howard Holzer and Jerry Moss
The console in Studio D was the first one built by Holzer. Holzer called it "Alice In Wonderland" because of all the lights on the console. His employee Jim Hobson engraved a plaque that was placed inside the console. The plaque had the name Alice and the names of the four Holzer crew who built it--Freddy Parker, Tommy Williams, Matt Hyde and Jim Hobson. After them Tom "Beno" May, Jr. and John Windt began working for Holzer.
The Holzer HAECO-CSG sound system was built for A&M Records. HAECO was the acronym for Holzer Audio Engineering Company. CSG was Compatible Stereo Generator that collapsed stereo sound for monaural record players. Billboard reported that "the unit allows sound information to pass through from the right and left channels, but places a hold on the center channel information whose amplitude is doubled when it is combined into a single monaural source for radio broadcasting." Billboard also reported in January 1968 that A&M's first monaural single to use the system was by Lee Michaels and Claudine Longet would be first stereo use, however the singles by these artists released around that time were not marked as HAECO-CSG. The first records from A&M marked as HAECO were released starting in September 1968.
Complete list of HAECO-CSG albums on A&M Records
HAECO-CSG Instructions
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Larry Levine hired three engineers in 1967. They were Dick Bogert, Ray Gerhardt and Henry Lewy--all among the best in the field. Levine set the culture for the studios that remained until they were sold in 2000: the studios were considered time-sensitive; to be maintained at a world-class level for artists and producers; to be a place where innovation in sound was always welcomed, and the men and women who worked there would work as a team so that if an engineer had to leave a session, someone else could step into the job with the same level of professionalism and knowledge. Notably, egos were not welcome. Herb Alpert would echo that sentiment in the early 1980s and Quincy Jones would post the famous, "Leave your ego at the door" for the "We Are the World" session.
A&M Studios added three mixing and two more cutting rooms and reverberation chambers in 1969. The studios had 8 track recording capability. The consoles were all built by Holzer using the HAECO system.
The first A&M album with recording credit at A&M Studios was The Fool on the Hill by Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66.
Alpert and Moss nurtured the studios and the engineers. Not only were fine acoustics a priority, only top recording engineers, mastering engineers and technical engineers graced the studios. The technicians built and refurbished equipment. In 1968, Levine hired Bernie Grundman as the chief mastering engineer. Grundman stayed at A&M until 1984 when he opened his own mastering studio. A&M album covers tell the evolution of recording at A&M from four-track to eight-track to 16-track to 32 then 48-track to digital mastering.
Holzer and Grundman had A&M hire Roy DuNann. DuNann had been a sound and mastering engineer at Contemporary Records with a reputation for getting the cleanest sound on his recordings. DuNann's true genius was modifying and building recording equipment. That was his job at A&M--find good equipment, maintain it and improve it. It was DuNann's contributions that started A&M's reputation as a top studio. Although DuNann never engineered a recording for A&M he was the guiding force behind the technology. Manufacturers brought prototypes to DuNann who found ways to improve the sound signal before they sent their products to market.
Within a year of opening, there were 19 employees working in A&M Studios.
The original Holzer consoles underwent many modifications as recordings moved from 8-track to 16-track. A&M built outboard panels as extensions to the consoles. When that became unreasonable the original consoles were replaced. The individual Studio Room histories provide those stories.
A&M STUDIOS: 1970 - 1979
A&M told Billboard in 1970 that it had invested over $1M in upgrading the recording consoles to 16-track, opening two mastering rooms, three mixdown rooms and an echo chamber. Full services included recording, mixing, dubbing, editing, mastering. The studios were operating weekdays from 10 .m. to midnight.
By 1970, Dick Bogert, Hank Cicalo, Ray Gerhardt and Henry Lewy were the house engineers.
In 1971 Tom May, Sr. joined the A&M Studios as chief engineer/director, taking over from Larry Levine. He retired from A&M in 1980. In 1972, Tom May, Jr. ("Beno") began working in the studios. One of May's first hires was Karl Bischof who joined the technician staff. Bischoff led the design teams that built custom devices, redesigning and improving equipment.
The studios were first used by non-A&M artists in 1971.
Albums by Carole King and Joan Baez were issued on Sansui QS quadrophonic disc matrix system in 1972. The artists were asked to attend QS mixdown sessions. A&M did special quality control on these albums.
In 1973 the studio added quadrasonic facilities with 3 remix rooms and 3 plate and 14 acoustic echo chambers. The remix rooms were 18 x 26' and were equipped with HAECO consoles.
In 1973 Larry Levine's title changed to Studio Director and Chief Engineer. Tom May, Sr. was the Studio Manager. In addition to Dick Bogert, Hank Cicalo, Ray Gerhardt and Henry Lewy, the mixers now included Chuck Britz, Dick Burns, Norm Kinney and Tommy Vicari.
The following year, Steve Mitchell, Rick Porter, Pete Romano, Larry Forkner, and Dan Wallin joined the engineering staff. The studio also began opening two hours earlier at 8 a.m.
Around 1974, the studios were upgraded from 16-track to 24-track recording capability and Studio D was built with a Quad 8 console.
Larry Levine was promoted to Creative Director and Tom May, Sr. to Studio Operations Director in 1975.
In 1975, the console in Studio B was replaced with an API 3224 and in Studio A was also upgraded to an API in January 1976. The APIs added more flexibility and control to recording. The Studio B API was later moved to Herb Alpert's private studio and in 1994 was moved to his studio at the Herb Alpert Foundation.
Karl Bischoff redesigned a custom 32-channel mixing console in 1977;
Around 1978 the API console in Studio A was replaced with a Trident Console. The API was moved into Studio C. The studios added another mix console. All four rooms were equipped with MCI 24-track tape recorders, custom 32 in x 24 out mixing consoles, Altec 604 monitors with Mastering Lab crossovers. Three mix rooms were operating and two were under renovation. The three mastering rooms were used by Bernie Grundman, Frank DeLuna and Bob Carbone. The mastering consoles were built by A&M's technical staff/
In 1979, A&M Studios added digital recording to Studio D with the 3M Digital Mastering System. This was a prototype 32-track digital recorder with a 2/4 track mastering recorder that was run through the Trident console. It was first used on February 8, 1979.
The year was also marked with restructuring and tightened budgets. The heretofore open budgets for recordings was abolished.
FRONT ROW: Robert Appere, Unknown, Sandi Smart, Unknown, Herman Miller.
MIDDLE ROW: Norm Kinney, Rock Porter, Steve Mitchell, Ray Gerhrdt, Frank DeLuna, Henry Lewy
BACK ROW: Unknown, Roy DuNann, Bernie Grundman, Larry Levine, Dick Bogert, Hank Cicala, Tom May, Sr.
A&M STUDIOS: 1980 - 1989
Around 1980 Tom May, Sr. retired. Tom "Beno" May, Jr. rose to studio manager. Don Hahn became the studios' director of operations. Mimi Thomas was the traffic manager. Karl Bischoff became the technical director of the maintenance staff.
In 1981 the Studio D Quad 8 console was replaced.
In 1985, the A&M Studios were the site of two charity recordings. On January 28, 45 artists came together in Studio A to record the single "We Are the World" as USA for Africa. The recording benefitted African famine victims. On May 29, 1985, 40 heavy metal artists gathered as Hear 'N Aid to record the single "Stars." Like "We Are the World," an album followed and its proceeds went to USA for Africa to continue famine relief. A&M also donated studio time and more to the "A Very Special Christmas" albums that supported Special Olympics. Jimmy Iovine was working at A&M when he came up with the idea. A&M produced the first five albums in the series (1987, 1992, 1997, 1999 and 2001 and the seventh in 2009) although the A&M Studios were involved in the first four. A&M also financed the original album with $250,000 thanks to Jerry Moss. By 2014, the original album had sold over 4.5 million copies.
Also in 1985, Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss hired Shelly Yakus as A&M Records' chief engineer and VP of A&M Recording and Mastering Studios. One of his first responsibilities was to rebuild the studios. In 1995, at the end of his contract, Yakus told Billboard, "I really miss being in the control room. It's a chance to be creative in a different way, and it's most natural for me."
In 1985 a major renovation of the studios began by replacing the consoles and reducing the number of rooms in the studio. The staff doubled in size, including new hire Jimmy Iovine.
Vincent Van Haaff was hired in 1986 as the architect to remodel the studios. The project started in Studio A and 11 years later ended in Studio C.
The band U2 booked all of A&M Studios at the same time in 1988 for sessions that were used on their Rattle and Hum album. The bookings were among the longest sessions ever held at A&M. The tracks recorded included "God Part II”, “All I Want is You”, “Hawkmoon 269”, “A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel” and “Hallelujah (Here She Comes)”. The album's post production for the album and movie, and the album mastering were also done in A&M Studios.
A&M STUDIOS: 1990 - 1999
In 1990 the post-production duplication room had the ability to make 130 cassettes at a time controlled by a computer. The cassettes could be checked for quality in real time. The digital mastering suite featured the Sonic System.
Around 1993 Euphonics was hired to build new consoles and one was installed in Studio C. Studio C's primary use was for A&R demos for A&M Records artists with less use by outside clients.
Ron Rutledge began working at A&M Studios on October 10, 1994. Rutledge continued working at the studios after the merger with Universal and the sale of the studios to The Henson Company.
By 1997, A&M Studios had a staff of 40 people supporting five studios with eight live chambers, a remix/mixdown suite and the Chaplin/A&M Soundstage. From the day it opened until it was closed by Universal Music Group in 1999, the term most often associated with A&M Studios was "world class."
Three examples of the equipment hint at the dedication to creating and maintaining a top recording facility. First is the Neve 4872 Console in Studio A. This was the last board built by Rupert Neve in 1978. It was originally owned by George Martin and AIR Studios and was installed at the Montseurrat facility. Alpert and Moss bought the Neve in 1986 and continued to enhance it until they sold A&M Records. The second is the classic microphone collection. There was a perfect choice to enhance the sound of any artist. Finally, A&M owned an extensive catalog of outboard equipment. Full lists of the mics and outboard gear appear on each studio's page and the Equipment page.
The engineering staff was a Who's Who of the best people in the field. Larry Levine, Henry Lewy, Ray Gerhardt and Dick Bogert came to the studios in 1967. Larry Marks and Bernie Grundman started with A&M in 1968. Levine as an engineer, Marks as a producer and Grundman founded A&M's Mastering Division and managed it until 1982 when he opened his own studio. Henry Lewy became a producer with A&M in 1970. Karl Bischof arrived in 1971 to design, redesign and maintain the equipment. Also in 1971, Tom (Beno) May, became the head of the Studios. All told, he would have more than 20 years experience in mastering. The second chief engineer was Tom May, Sr. His son, Tom "Beno" May also came to A&M and was known in his own right. Roger Young, Don Hahn, Roy DuNann, Tommy Vicari, Bruce Botnick, Bruce Swedian, Stewart Whitmore and Ron Rutledge who continued to manage the studios after the lot was sold to the Jim Henson Co....just a few of the many talented A&M Engineering Staff.
SOURCES:
Equipment lists appeared on A&M Records web site in 1996 and in A West Coast Phenomenon the Studio That Charlie Built: Former A&M Studios, Hollywood: A state-of-the-art facility with a colorful past, and an emphasis on vintage technology by Mel Lambert, November 1997.
A&M Is Creating Studios in Tune with Creative Artists. Billboard, November 11, 1967.
2 Studios of A&M Roll--3d Put in Gear. Billboard, December 21, 1968.
A&M Completing Four Studios. Record World, September 14, 1968.
Former A&M Studios website. Stephen Barncard. October 25, 1996.
A&M Recording Studios by Stephen Barncard.
Photo of Herb Alpert, Howard Holzer and Jerry Moss courtesy of Susie Singer Carter.
Photo of Larry Levine in Studio A by A&M Records.
How Jimmy Iovine Made It 'A Very Special Christmas' in 1985. Frank DiGiacomo. Billboard, November 28, 2014.