Studio History
Studio Rebuild
Audio:
Audio Wiring and Electronics: Garry Creiman
Wiring Assistance: Jeff Byrd, Bill Johnson
Acoustic:
External Acoustic Design: Randy Kratzer at Dickensheets Design
Control Room, Live Room and Studio Monitor Design: Steve Durr
Other:
Photographs: Sally Crewe, Mark Canada
Hosting: Cyberjack.net
Web Site, Moral Support: Sally Crewe
Assistant General Contractors: Lynn and Drew Eno
- The studio to be eventually known as Public Hi-Fi was started by Jim Eno in 1998, while working on Spoon’s 3rd album, Girls Can Tell. The band had become very frustrated with the cost of studio time in Austin and wanted to be able to take time to develop songs in the studio, so Jim converted a detached garage into a one room studio (with a closet used for isolation). He purchased an Ampex MM1200 16 track tape machine from John “The Best” Vanderslice and a Trident 24 board from a former studio owner with serious money issues. From then on he began adding more gear to meet the high expectations of Mike McCarthy, the co-producer/co-engineer on Girls Can Tell. In 2003 he purchased a Neve 8036 from a broker in London. The Neve was in pretty awful shape, so electronics wiz Garry Creiman was drafted in to rebuild it. During the rebuild, the Neve's serial number was discovered written in pencil on the armrest of the console - #A41. This dated the console to 1969-1970 and marked it as the 41st console made by Neve. With this in mind, and knowing that the original owner was going to rip it open and sell it for parts, the often frustrating rebuild became a restoration project. Spoon’s Gimme Fiction was tracked on the Neve at Public Hi-Fi.
Studio Rebuild
- After the completion of Gimme Fiction, the original garage/studio
was torn down (see construction history photos) to make way
for the new studio. Built on the same structure, yet two times the
footprint and two stories high, Public Hi-Fi was designed from the
ground up to be a recording studio, with conduits for wiring, floating
floors, multi-wall construction, acoustic doors/seals, double windows,
etc. During the project, Jim worked very closely with Austin architect
Mark Canada to create an acoustically sound, comfortable, and
creative environment for recording. A unique look was desired for the
live room, and after following discussions about the Adobe brick walls
at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio studio, Adobe brick was chosen for
some of the interior walls at Public Hi-Fi. In addition to looking
great, Adobe is porous, and therefore less acoustically harsh than
normal brick. Frank Myer, an Austin musician and
sustainable living builder, enthusiastically hand crafted each Adobe
brick for the studio. Frank also suggested earthen plaster for the
remaining walls in the live room and control room, and this was applied
directly to the sheetrock, toning down the reflections of the walls.
The earthen plaster and Adobe brick create a very unique vibe in the
studio's live room. The control room was designed by Steven Durr. He recommended Urei 813 time aligned speakers which have
been a great addition to the studio. In addition to them sounding
amazing and getting really loud, they make tracking in the control room
a possibility, offering the musician the nice alternative of playing
along without headphones.
The studio was completed in March of 2006. Spoon was the first session to record in the new studio. The session was mildly successful, as is true for any first session. However, the studio is now becoming a well oiled machine and has been very busy since the March 2006 opening.
View the Construction Photo Diary.
- Construction:
- Architect: Mark Canada
- General Contractor: John Craghead
- Adobe/Earthen Plaster: Frank Myer
- Electrical: Bob Bowne
- Trim and Construction Assistance: Keith Forrester