Home Recording Studio Number One

By the time I was eighteen years old I had my heart set on building and recording in my own studio. I had probably nurtured this dream from the age of fourteen until it became a reality. With the  loving support and backing of my mom and dad, I was able to create my “dream studio” in the basement of our home.

These are some of the pictures my brother took just shortly after I had finished installed the major pieces of equipment. At this stage there were still some finishing touches that had to be done, but this was more or less how the control room looked in September of 1979. That was 31 years ago this month.

Although I was a total autodidact when it came to recording, when I first opened the manual to the Tascam M15 mixing console I felt completely overwhelmed. I had never heard the term, “bus master module” and I thought, “What on earth have I gotten myself into?” It took me several months until the feeling of intimidation passed and creativity took over.

I used the equipment from this studio to record all kinds of things for more than a decade in various locations and studios. Unfortunately, In 1992 my studio suffered a brake-in and was vandalized, which resulted in the loss of some of this gear. But that’s life; sometimes things go in your favor…and sometimes they don’t.

As I’m always on the hunt for more meaning in life, it’s good to recall the times when creative dreams came true. There’s nothing better than having a vision, a dream, and seeing it come to pass.