From Left to Right: Nathan East, Vinnie Colaiuta, Alan Parsons, Jeff Kollman, and Tom Brooks
Alan Parsons’ Art and Science of Sound Recording comes to OC Multimedia Production Facility.
Orange County’s Hybrid Studios was honored to host a masterclass on orchestral recording with legendary producer Alan Parsons and Grammy-winning arranger and composer, Tom Brooks, last weekend on March 24thand 25th. An orchestra consisting of A-list session players, including Vinnie Colaiuta and Nathan East, recorded a track scheduled for release on an upcoming Alan Parsons record and a second track for Chance the Rapper titled “Way Up High.” Over seventy pairs of headphones and thirty-eight microphones were used in the elaborate recording session. The entirety of the event was captured on video as well.
“It was a bit of a challenge to convert Hybrid’s soundstage into a usable tracking space,” said Hybrid Studios Co-founder Billy Klein, “We spent a good amount of time removing any weird acoustic flutters and slaps from the room by using gobos and absorptive panels. At the end of the day everything sounded great, and we were thrilled with the results. Big thanks to Alan, Tom, the weekend’s attendees, and musicians who came together for this very special event.”
Alan Parsons is not only a multi-platinum engineer and producer he is also an artist in his own right. Between 1975-1990 The Alan Parsons Project’s theme-based brand of progressive pop racked up multiple hit singles and albums including the classics Eye In The Sky, I Wouldn’t Want To Be Like You, and Games People Play.
Event co-producer and arranger for the session, Tom Brooks, has recently supplied Hybrid with instruments, microphones, and outboard equipment, including a Yamaha C7 Conservatory Grand Piano, numerous vintage AKG, Neumann, and Wunder microphones, and a ton of new FX units. With the addition of Tom’s outboard gear, Studio A now includes six Empircal Labs Distressors, two DBX 165s, five 1176s, three LA2As, two LA3A, two LA4As, three Tube Tech EQs, a GML 8200, and a CL1B to name some notable pieces. The new additions have filled out Studio A’s four existing 20RU racks, along with two new 18RU racks.
Picture: Tabitha Parsons From Left to Right: Alan Parsons, Noah Bruskin, Billy Klein, Lana Migliore, Joshua Brooks, David Bartel, Tom Brooks, Ryland Talamo
