Vitaphone engineer George Groves at a 1927 electrical disc recording machine

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Here is another view of the studio, these amplifiers are HUGE!

This machine is a Vitaphonic model. At that time, discs were still cut in wax.
After being electroplated, they were used for sound-on-film.
Here you can see a projector with turntable to pick up the sound.
In order to assemble a movie soundtrack from various sources, the sound had to be dubbed from disc to disc.
Up to 50 records had to be dubbed for every 10 minute reel.

This picture from 1930 shows a row of turntables at the dubbing suite.

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This is one of my favourites. It shows a Japanese seaman during WW2. I assume he is recording morse code. As you might know every signalman has his own signature rhythm. In order to detect if the received signals were authentic they were recorded by the enemy radio operators and memorised.

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This is a rare pic. I guess it is a Fabel press from Belgium.





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This is a real gem: founder of Studio One and operator of Downbeat Sound System, Clement Coxsone Dodd working at his lathe.
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OK, this is going to be a slightly lenghthy post... Here we see the pioneering producer Sam Phillips in the control room of Sun Studios with his Presto 6N cutting lathe and Ampex 350 tape recorder some time in the fifties. Sam Phillips also offered a dubplate cutting service, and one day Elvis Presley walked in to record a song for his mother's birthday on acetate. Sam immediately spotted the potential of the guy and called him back in for a professional recording session with band.

Sam Phillips (far right) at the console in Sun Studios with (left to right) Elvis Presley, Bill Black and Scotty Moore
If you listen to the early Sun recordings, the sound is really impressive, unusually bass heavy for the time, even comparable to Studio One sound. Here is Sam's other disc cutting recorder, a RCA model.

Artists who launched their career at Sun Studios include Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf and Rufus Thomas.

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Here we see Joe Meek at what I beleieve to be a Presto cutting lathe. Photo was taken at IBC Studios, London, mid-sixties.

Read more about Joe Meek...
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This one shows Mikey Dread during his radio show ' Dread At The Controls' in the studio of JBC (Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation) some time in the mid-seventies. Look at the mighty EMT turntables.


Here's some info.

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I added a new category to my blog and website (which is still pretty much beta). It's called "Pic Of The Day" and I will post a picture I like and want to share every day... well, erm, nearly every day, uh, let's say: on some days. Just wait and see...

It's BASS TIME again! This Sunday's line-up consists of me, yours CGB-1, and of course Mark Ernestus, DJ Pete, Fiedel and Stefan alongside Tikiman, Koki and Freddy Mellow on the mic!


Various styles, ranging from Hip Hop to Electro to Dubstep to Reggae, reinforced by the mighty KILLASAN sound system!


Starts at 6 PM - come early, the outside area will be open with nice caribbean food!

As I just learned yesterday, Steely Johnson, one half of the legendary and pioneering duo 'Steely & Clevie" passed away.

If the title 'Riddim Twins' hadn't already been attributed to Sly & Robbie it surely would have been the appropriate description for these two outstanding musicians, who started their professional career at the ages of 14 and 11 respectively - with the recording of Hugh Mundell's groundbreaking album 'Africa Must Be Free By The Year Of 1983'

Below some snippets I found on the web....

Steely started his career as the original keyboard player with the Roots Radix Band which backed Gregory Isaacs, Bunny Wailer and numerous other artistes both on tour and in the recording studio, and also played on a number of hit recordings for various producers in the 70s. Steely also played on a large number of hit recordings for various artistes.
Noted as the pioneers of dancehall, but certainly not limited to this genre, Steely and Clevie have worked together for 30 years with domestic and international artistes of many styles with great success.
Steely and Clevie first worked together in 1974 at Harry J's Studio working on songs produced by Augustus Pablo. During the 80s, Steely and Clevie was employed as session musicians for King Jammy's, Bobby Digital, Techniques, Redman International, Music Works and Penthouse labels and others.
Clevie started his musical journey as a member of the noted Browne musical family, beginning as lead singer of the Browne Bunch's 1972 debut single We've Got A Good Thing Going. He was inspired by the professionalism of the group's producer Geoffrey Chung (a leading producer of his era) who would pay as much attention to the business as he would the production of music.
Steely and Clevie say they contributed to three-quarters of top dancehall songs in the 80s. Their influence, however, continues today having worked with No Doubt, Sean Paul, Elephant Man, and others.

[Jamaica Observer]

Here is a blog-post with some videos that Steely & Clevie contributed to.

Here is an obituariy from the LA Times.

This is a Steely & Clevie lecture at the Red Bull Music Academy (Seattle 2005)