Uncle Bob's cavernSave Shop

Uncle Bob, that is me, has owned and operated recording studios for over 25 years. During that time, I owned or worked with most of the high end gear that one finds in world class studios. What I learned long ago about gear from old Mr Leclair (Who worked with Berliner and taught me and "the Audio Pimp') was that design and components meant a lot more than names. The gear I list is for the most part industrial, meant to be easily maintained and last. This is gear I have worked with, on many projects that have won awards in both music and cinema. Some of it may need re-capping, but will deliver professional sound quality. To give an example. I bought a Studer 900 series 24 in board with all the bells and whistles that was 225,000$ in 1992 to replace my 8800 series McCurdy 16 in board. As soon as I plugged it in (After long hours of soldering and patching, not to speak of the move) I put it up for sale and returned to my McCurdy 8800 which had a lot more balls. Sometimes lesser known gear is just as good or better than name brands. Being in Montreal, there was a lot of Canadian Gear available for reasonable prices, so I sold all of the API and Neve stuff I had, and bought McCurdy and Ward-Beck WBS boards that in my opinion sounded as good or better for a fraction of the price. The recent interest in this gear is normal for anyone with ears. The pre-amp in my opinion is the heart of a studio. Without it you will never know what an SM57 really sounds like. I rarely eq, considering microphone placement and compatibility with specific pre-amps, according to the voice or instrument, to be the crux of the job. What Mr Leclair taught us was to do less and know the sound of your equipment. I have carried his words for years. What sounds pleasing is not always accurate, but a ribbon mike through a sludge machine like a Sta-Level will deliver bottom like nothing else. Capturing sound is the essence of recording, which is why on old boards there were no mids. The old guys that produced so much great music could not fathom why you would fuck with the real sound of an instrument. That would be a compromise. Here is something I recorded in 97 with a Tangent live board straight to an MCI 2 track. No headphones, 4 mikes.... Juno nomination, 2 Felix awards, nomination for prod. of the year ADISQ all categories.

Tax Policies