Anyone Have Any Info RE: RCA Studio "A" in NYC?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Voynich, Apr 30, 2013.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Voynich

    Voynich Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alboran Sea
    I'm curious if anyone here has any good information concerning the old RCA Studio "A" that was on 6th. Ave in Mid-town NYC. It seems that Columbia's 30th St. Studio and a few other of the large NY rooms have been documented in great detail. But, I can't seem to find much info about RCA Studio "A" anywhere online. From what I know of it, the studio was a huge room with a proper stage at one end. Supposedly, it was built to record Broadway cast recordings complete with audience. Also, it's design (supposedly by Bell Labs at Princeton) was unique in that the walls and ceiling were movable wood panels. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

    regards,
     
  2. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    I thought RCA-Victor used the Grand Ballroom of Webster Hall in NYC for their jazz, shows, etc.?
     
    McLover likes this.
  3. Voynich

    Voynich Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alboran Sea
    That's very true but only until 1968. This is courtesy of the NYC Landmarks Preservation website:

    From 1953 to 1968, RCA Victor Records operated a notable sound recording studio here, which was famed
    for its acoustics. Pop vocal, jazz, Latin, folk, and gospel phonograph albums were recorded here by such disparate
    musical icons as Louis Armstrong, Harry Belafonte, Perry Como, Coleman Hawkins, Lena Horne, Sister Rosetta
    Tharpe, Stan Getz, Sergio Franchi, and Joe Williams. The hall was noted as a venue for Broadway cast recordings,
    which included Julie Andrews in The Boy Friend, Mary Martin in Peter Pan, Barbara Cook in Show Boat, Ethel
    Merman in Annie Get Your Gun, Carol Channing in Hello, Dolly!, and Liza Minnelli in Flora, the Red Menace, as
    well as those of classical artists such as Artur Rubinstein, Marian Anderson, and Beverly Sills in Giulio Cesare.
     
  4. John DeAngelis

    John DeAngelis Senior Member

    Location:
    New York, NY
    The RCA studio was located at 110 W. 44th Street, just west of Sixth Avenue. It's now occupied by the Internal Revenue Service!
     
    McLover likes this.
  5. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Well, who gives a darn about anything recorded by RCA after 1968?

    Kidding, but no idea re: your question.
     
  6. John DeAngelis

    John DeAngelis Senior Member

    Location:
    New York, NY
    I think the RCA studio on W. 44th was also used prior to 1968. And I'm pretty sure that the studio was used when Leonard Bernstein went back and re-recorded the soundtrack of "West Side Story" in New York City in the early 1980s for Deutsche Grammophon Records. The recording session was captured in a documentary called The Making Of West Side Story:
    http://www.amazon.com/Making-West-Side-Story-Bernstein/dp/B0009DBXXG/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1367349635&sr=1-1&keywords=Bernstein west side story
     
  7. Voynich

    Voynich Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alboran Sea

    That's the address. So, the IRS, huh? Thank you very much for the info. Do you know if any photos survive of the studio?
     
  8. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    Actually, 1969 was when the 110 West 44th Street studio (located in the same building as, but around the block from, the label's HQ at 1133 Avenue of the Americas a.k.a. Sixth Avenue) was up and running; prior to that their main studios and offices were at 155 East 24th Street (where now a Baruch College campus stands). Webster Hall was indeed used for Broadway cast albums, big-orchestra pop recordings or certain cases like Harry Belafonte's seminal 1950's tracks, as 'Voynich' noted in Post #3 above. The building itself (1133 6th Avenue, that is) was built starting in the mid-1960's and finished before RCA moved in, so I doubt any recordings would've taken place at 44th and 6th before '69.

    Prior to the move, RCA's mastering operation had four mono Scully lathes (around model 601 class, all post-1950), and two stereo Neumann AM-32's. After the move, three of the mono Scullys were initially still in operation, but by year's end one of them was retired, with the Scully that cut all the 45's also being placed in service to cut the occasional mono LP lacquers alongside the other remaining mono Scully. As each of the Scullys had distinct lead-out grooves, I could tell how many they had just by that.
     
    McLover and 1970 like this.
  9. vanhooserd

    vanhooserd Senior Member

    Location:
    Nashville,TN
    i am listening to a jazz recording by Red Rodney, done at "RCA Studio-NYC" 7/9/73. would this have been the West 44th St. studio?
    i have seen quite a few recordings like this one, done for other labels, that were recorded at RCA's New York studios. when did the
    RCA/BMG NYC studios close?
     
  10. vanhooserd

    vanhooserd Senior Member

    Location:
    Nashville,TN
    i'll answer my own question: the NYC RCA/BMG studios closed in 1993, with the building owner renting the whole building to the
    IRS. the RCA/BMG operations occupied 10 floors, with Studio A being large enough for a 100-piece orchestra. the studios had been
    upgraded at a cost of $3 million in 1989 & RCA/BMG wanted to keep them open, but could not convince the owner to let them
    remain.
     
  11. stereoguy

    stereoguy Its Gotta Be True Stereo!

    Location:
    NYC
    Little fun fact.....in 1979, I worked for a week at 155 East 24th street, in the same ROOM where the RCA studios were. There was a maintenance man who had worked there when it was RCA, and when I asked him about the room, he knew exactly where everything had been.....he took me to the far side of the floor and said look down.....there was the original, faded linoleum from what had been the studio control room, under some heavy file cabinets. They never bothered to change it! He also remembered meeting Perry Como there in the late 60s.
     
    Cassius, Daddy Dom, bluemooze and 2 others like this.
  12. Nate-O-Phonic

    Nate-O-Phonic I didn't get a Harrumph! outta that guy...

    Around 1984 or 5, and I don't remember much in trrms of details, for some reason I was hired as a DJ for a private party that was held in the 44th Street studio. As I said, don't remember the reason for the party...
     
  13. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    By then, I.I.N.M., it had been the only studio RCA/BMG had in operation. They'd bailed out of Chicago in 1972 (enabling Curtis Mayfield to purchase that studio and turn it into Curtom Recording Studios), and their Hollywood "Music Center of the World" and Nashville studios both shuttered in early 1977. And to think they were once amongst the biggest in that regard . . .
     
  14. Scooterpiety

    Scooterpiety Ars Gratia Artis

    Location:
    Oregon
  15. robcar

    robcar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    I find it somewhat ironic that all of John Denver's early albums were recorded at the RCA Studio complex in NYC before switching to the LA "Music Center of the World" studio complex around 1974. And here I thought they were recorded in some rustic cabin in the Colorado Rockies!
     
  16. vanhooserd

    vanhooserd Senior Member

    Location:
    Nashville,TN
    the famous Studio B here in Nashville is now owned by the Country Music Hall of Fame; i took the mini-tour about 10 years ago. the former Studio A, which
    opened in 1964 or 1965 (i've seen both dates) now belongs to Ben Folds.
     
    McLover likes this.
  17. Halfcack

    Halfcack New Member

    I was in a group in upstate New York in 1968. The group had attracted some attention from RCA. That attention turned into a contract. Not lucrative by any means. The producer was Andy Wiswell who did sound production on "Hair."

    My recollections are very fuzzy. There was a little turmoil in the group. There were some bad feelings between me and management.

    I don't know the exact date of the session but it was around 1968. We were ushered upstairs to the main studio.

    What I saw when we got to the studio, nothing I can say could really adequately describe it. I believe we were told that we were the first group to record in this brand-new room.

    There were construction materials all over the place where crews were still working but it was brand spanking new. At the time I can't recall there being a studio soundstage, at least when we were there and I'm sure I would've noticed if there was.

    Why we were the first group to record there is because we were new and didn't have to be impressed, it really didn't matter what we thought of studio. Plus the fact it was mid day and the complex was deserted. It was humbling.

    It was absolutely awesome at the same time. Although imagination probably is playing tricks, it was one of the largest indoor spaces I'd ever seen in my life. Rather than being rectangular it was one huge square.

    There was absolutely no technology in the control room. There were just a couple of old men, as I am now. What looked like an old radio broadcasting station's mixing desk, with those big round knobs, and all the usual vintage, new at the time, mics.

    What I believe was told to us, the entire room was floated, obviously. I believe it was on the top floor of the building and the square footage was the size of the building's ground footprint in one huge open space. The entire floor was impeccable wood or just plain concrete or a combination of materials, I can't remember. There were a lot of sound deadening gobo's around and that was about it.

    With our stuff set up close to the control room the cavernous space dwarfed us. Then came the interesting part. Someone very familiar with the studio started telling us that the structure was built so that the entire ceiling came down and the walls moved in to accommodate large and small groups but mainly to affect the acoustics. I seem to remember as large as it was, it was an almost dead room. I don't possibly know how it could work nor whether the ceiling came down as a whole or the walls came in the same way. To reread what I just wrote sounds like a fairytale. I would appreciate anybody that knows anything about that studio to respond.

    We were not important so all was left as is. I have no idea whether the ceiling and walls were hydraulically, electrically or mechanically operated. I listened intently to this guy as he described all the hidden things in the studio proper.

    We did our thing, the single came out, it bombed, I left, but the group continued for quite some time.

    I have to add, I wasn't a substance abuser. I was just a guy from a small city in mid state New York and although I had been to the city on and off since '63 the room was so impressive and oppressive that I just couldn't wait until the session was over and I was out of there.

    I can't remember what the tech was back then, but I'm sure the union guys operating the sound mixing equipment were waiting for the real gear to arrive. Probably, whatever the biggest, most expensive, high quality gear obtainable in the world that was available at the time.

    Take this with a grain of salt because the only thing I really can say for sure is that we were in New York City staying in a lousy hotel.
     
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2014
    Daddy Dom and zphage like this.
  18. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    I did read in various places that RCA's studios switched to more "modern" 16-track recording equipment (with pertinent advanced mixing boards) around the point their move to West 44th Street was complete. (This was most certainly the case in Chicago when they moved from their old Navy Pier area studios to a newer facility in the Loop around the same time.) And I presume that, given the engineers were union guys, they, like Columbia, were gung-ho about separate mixes (one dedicated mono, one stereo) for anything recorded that was slated for release.
     
    1970 likes this.
  19. Kent Tunks

    Kent Tunks Well-Known Member

    I got a tour of RCA's New York Studios in 1970 And indeed the ceiling and walls did move. There was a
    stage at one end of the room. I was told that once they had a group of musicians on stage performing in front of live
    audience. I was also told the room had been specifically designed for this. Anyhow, this was during the era of
    maximum drug use and evidently the audience had partaken quite liberally of same. For some reason someone
    decided to move either the ceiling or the walls or both which entirely freaked out those folks in the audience who
    were under the influence of these various substances.

    I don't know if this story is factual or not, but I heard it from one of the RCA engineers. At the time I was an engineer
    at the RCA studios in Hollywood visiting RCA New York. But as we say in Nebraska. I am never one to spoil a story, so
    I think it is probably true.
     
  20. Kent Tunks

    Kent Tunks Well-Known Member

    I was an engineer at RCA studios in Hollywood from 1969 until they closed in 1977. From personal experience I can say that
    the reason for making separate mono and stereo mixes had nothing to do with the union. If you tried to make a mono from
    a stereo , due to the build up from the center channel, among other things, the mono mix was not really related to the stereo mix,
    if that makes any sense. Also, at that time we usually made a separate mono mix for the single,which was made with radio play in mind.
    My goodness that was a long time ago!
     
    McLover and zphage like this.
  21. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    Hmmm. Interesting. Must've been from an understanding as to the differences between mono and stereo as RCA engineers had known from experience, then. Wonder if it was a case of the union that represented Columbia's engineers knowing this difference and insisting on said different mixes for mono and stereo?

    As to cutting (mastering) engineers, would I be correct in assuming that in your time, besides Don Holden, that Hank McGill (who I read in one post did same), Allen Zentz (before he struck out on his own) and Brian Gardner (before he joined Zentz') were part of that group? And who else would have been part of the mastering staff in those last 8 years of the RCA Hollywood studio?
     
  22. GoodGroovz

    GoodGroovz New Member

    Does anyone know where Canadian Sunset by Hugo Winterhalter (the hit instrumental, not the Andy Williams vocal version) was recorded?
     
  23. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff

  24. Kent Tunks

    Kent Tunks Well-Known Member

    I was there from 1969. (Unfortunately I forget the exact date and at the age of 73 and I am too lazy to look it up
    in my "perfectly organized" records) until 1977 when RCA Studios in Hollywood were closed. Most of the time
    when I was there the main mastering engineer (cutting engineer) was Brian Gardner. We had two rooms, the main
    one was stereo with a Neumann lathe. The other one was hardly ever used and had a Scully lathe and I am not
    100% sure about this, but I think it was mono.When Brian was on vacation, Allen Zentz was the back up guy.
    After Brian left, Trent Strickland (sp.?) was the full time mastering engineer. I don't ever remember Hank McGill
    or Don Holden doing any mastering but I suppose it is possible.

    As I had done some mono disc cutting in my old job at HR Studios in West Hollywood, I was bored and not
    working on anything in the studio one day and asked Brian if I could help out by doing some
    cutting in the Scully room. We had two mono Scully's at HR that we could tie together to cut two discs at a time,
    so I was familiar with Scully's.I cut for an afternoon, long enough to be assigned a mastering engineer
    id number (63 as I remember it). That day Brian by accident turned off the vacuum pump that operated the
    chip vacuuming systems when he left to go home.As it was for both rooms, the chip built up on my
    Scully and caught on fire.Of course Brian was always in the Neumann room all the time and the Scully
    room I was in was never used so he was used to turning off the pump when he left. He came in as the fire
    was going and quickly realized his mistake. We both had a good laugh about this. It was really funny at the time.
    As I was not cutting anything important,just trying to chase boredom and it was the end of the day, we both
    decided that the fire was a sign from above that I should also quit for the day. And that is my experience cutting
    discs at RCA Hollywood.

    I apologize for not posting this sooner, I just checked the board this afternoon and for some reason I don't
    get notified when there are postings I could contribute to. If there is way to do this, I would love it if
    someone could pass that info on to me. I am always glad to share what little knowledge I may have with the
    group!
     
  25. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    Whatever you can remember, all contributions are highly valued and appreciated.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine