Knucklehead Studios

My first exposure to a studio was in 1967, when "The Scotlind Yarde" recorded two songs at Gulfstream Recording Studio in Hollywood, Florida.  I remember the excitement we all felt, which planted the seeds for the dream of owning a studio. Using 2-track tape decks to record "live" performances was the only affordable option for me until 1979, when Teac released the A-3340S four track with simu-sync recording using quarter inch tape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After purchasing one and understanding it's limitations, this tape deck was a great learning tool for multi-track recording.

 

Here is a photo of the first inception of my studio:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1982, I upgraded to a Tascam 38 eight track recorder and paired it with a Teac 3440 mastering deck that I purchased from Paul Knebel at Sandpiper Sound.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the help and advice of George Terry, I was able to properly equip and set up a fully functioning studio in the bedroom of my home in Lake Forest, Florida. It was during this time that Don Fedele became my room mate and his band, "Pride" was using the living room for rehearsals. 

Jimmy Rivas and John Tillman were his other band mates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Between songs there was always allot of joking and laughs among us all. Some how, some way this is when my studio received it's name. I give credit to Don, John & Jimmy for the "Knucklehead Studios" moniker. We could never have accepted or settled for something as boring and mundane as say, "Peerless Studios".

 

The Tascam 38 remained the heart of the studio until 1985 when Wesley B. Wright exposed me to Midi Sequencing using computers. If I remember correctly, he was using a program called Masterpiece from Sonus at the time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This opened up the possibility of combining both midi & analog technologies,  further expanding the capabilities of my studio. I decided to use a program called Cubase on the Atari after a friend, Brooks Reid, demonstrated it for me.  Here's a screen shot of one of the earliest versions:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using Symte Code I was able to lock and synchronize Cubase on the computer with the Tascam 38.

 

 

 

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Sympte Code

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The painful conversion to digital recording took place in 1995. I jumped in way too soon, selling off my Tascam 38 but was determined to make it all work. More time was spent trying to solve compatibility and communication issues between the computer and outboard gear, than actual recording. As years went by things did improve dramatically. To this day, I am still using Cubase for my Digital Audio Workstation.