COVER STORY
The Soundry
At The Soundry, “The focus is on the musicians’ comfort and the art-form, not the gear and the technicalities.” cluding currently working with singer/ songwriter Kelsi Westfall. They also recently recorded Tim Hink’s score for the PBS documentary From Streets to Stage, which won an Emmy just last month. The microphone cables and headphone cables are all wired overhead and dropped in from the ceiling for a very clean room. Their chief engineer is Tom Johnson, who was the recording engineer for the first three Confederate Railroad albums, and who also recorded Gregg Allman. Being affiliated with the Shaking Ray Levi Society, Red Crow also has a strong team of session musicians, who include Bob Stagner, Amanda Cagle, Evan Lipson, Ernie Paik and Katina Goad. Their goal is to get the best sounds possible straight from the source with an extensive collection of high end microphones, guitars, vintage synths (Moog, Nord, etc.) and other outboard gear like LA-2A’s, 1176’s, Pultec-style EQ’s, and API/Neve pre-
amps—they also have a huge selection of guitar and other effects pedals. If their extensive selection isn’t enough, a large array of effects pedals and gear are also available for use in East Ridge at Chattamusic. Since 2009, they have featured such gear as a Hammond B3 organ and a Leslie speaker cabinet, both of which were originally owned by Gregg Allman. They have a seventies Ludwig Drum kit, Pritchard guitar amps, an early Yamaha Keyboard amp with rotating speaker, and about 25 vintage guitar pedals along with several classic guitars. “It’s kind of a walk down vintage lane when you come into this place to record,” says ChattaMusic owner Dennis Massengale. THE SOUNDRY For vintage keyboards, look no further than The Soundry—this makes sense, as owner/operator Brett Nolan is an accomplished pianist. Brett has
been recording professionally in the area for 15 years, but the Soundry was built more recently in 2013. The studio has helped to sponsor the road to Nightfall competition since its inception, offering studio time to the winner. Brett designed the Soundry with Eric Parker as a digital/analog hybrid. Only 13 minutes from downtown, in Lookout Valley, the studio has a modern industrial aesthetic that would be at home on Chattanooga’s South Side. “We’ve done our best to create an environment where people can feel relaxed and creative,” Nolan explains. “The focus is on the musicians’ comfort and the art-form, not the gear and the technicalities.” A few artists/bands who have recorded at the Soundry are Danimal Pinson, TJ Greever, Ryan Oyer, The Molly Maguires, Lon Eldridge, Drakeford, Courtney Holder, Amber Fults, Stratton Tingle, Soul Mechanic, and too many more to list. While the professional recording studio experience is the best choice for most musicians, for some it isn’t viable. Such is the case with Strung Like A Horse, a legendary local band who just opened their own private studio. They saved money, invested in gear and space, and just this past month started making music at Daaang Studios. “We didn’t want any more of the money/time pressure,” explains the band’s front man Clay Masselle. “We wanted to be able to use our own time and equipment, in our own studio, to give ourselves more freedom to experiment, so that’s what we did.” The Strung Like A Horse crew used local horror surf rockers Genki Genki Panic as their guinea pigs in the new studio. Genki’s newest album, Litanies of Surf, was just released with Nashville speed; just a taste of much great music to come from Chattanooga.
Studio Information Soundscapes $50/hr for recording, and mixing is around $100 a song. soundscapes18@gmail.com (423) 488-1360 or (423) 504-3467 Sound Resources Standard rate of $65/hr includes production, engineering, tracking, and mastering. Able to work with artists to accommodate any budget. www.soundresources.net (423) 892-0618 Backbeat Sound Design Affordable flat rates www.backbeatsounddesign.com (423) 847-2221 Breaker 17 Studio Standard rate of $45/hr www.breaker17studio.com (423) 826-7070 Red Crow Studios Sliding scale, depending on the artist’s financial situation (charitable and philanthropic cases get a reduced rate). www.redcrowstudios.net rossta1@gmail.com Chattamusic $50/hr flat rate www.chattamusic.com (423) 595-3325 The Soundry $50/hr block and day rates available www.soundrystudios.com (423) 903-7945 Awen Audio Design $75/hr for corporate clients, $50/hr for indie films, $33/min of film for short films. Location sound is from $250 to $500 a day. www.awenaudiodesign.com (423) 298-1929
CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • FEBRUARY 16, 2017 • THE PULSE • 11