NewYorkDave
Well-known member
I've been a Buddy Holly fan for many years. Besides the fact that the songwriting and performance are brilliant, I consider his records to be among the best-sounding rock records made in the '50s.
We wire-heads tend to fetishize equipment too much. Still, I couldn't help but wonder about the gear used in Norman Petty's studio in New Mexico, where the bulk of the Crickets' records were made. Here's a photo that appeared recently in a guitar magazine. It conveys quite a lot of info about Petty's set-up circa 1957:
156kB JPG
The equipment in Petty's console should be pretty familiar to most of us: three Altec 1567s, a Pultec EQ, an Altec limiter--and, of course, a trusty Simpson 260 standing by for troubleshooting duties! :wink: Also, dig the reels of Scotch 111 on the counter, and the mysterious jug underneath. (Cleaning solvent? Moonshine? :wink: ).
The article that accompanied the photo can be found here. (Scroll halfway down).
Some fairly detailed info about mics and technique is here. (Again, scroll halfway down).
Lastly, the "official" page of Norman Petty Studios (which still stands, although records are no longer made there) can be found here. Be sure to click on the "tour" link to see some cool photos.
I strongly suspect that the stereo console shown on the "official" site was installed after the Holly era. It seems more likely, to me, that the custom Altec-based setup is what was used to record the Crickets.
I figured this would be of interest since it shows what you can achieve with only a few pieces of good equipment (and, of course, a well-designed room, a real acoustic echo chamber, and much skill and talent!).
We wire-heads tend to fetishize equipment too much. Still, I couldn't help but wonder about the gear used in Norman Petty's studio in New Mexico, where the bulk of the Crickets' records were made. Here's a photo that appeared recently in a guitar magazine. It conveys quite a lot of info about Petty's set-up circa 1957:
156kB JPG
The equipment in Petty's console should be pretty familiar to most of us: three Altec 1567s, a Pultec EQ, an Altec limiter--and, of course, a trusty Simpson 260 standing by for troubleshooting duties! :wink: Also, dig the reels of Scotch 111 on the counter, and the mysterious jug underneath. (Cleaning solvent? Moonshine? :wink: ).
The article that accompanied the photo can be found here. (Scroll halfway down).
Some fairly detailed info about mics and technique is here. (Again, scroll halfway down).
Lastly, the "official" page of Norman Petty Studios (which still stands, although records are no longer made there) can be found here. Be sure to click on the "tour" link to see some cool photos.
I strongly suspect that the stereo console shown on the "official" site was installed after the Holly era. It seems more likely, to me, that the custom Altec-based setup is what was used to record the Crickets.
I figured this would be of interest since it shows what you can achieve with only a few pieces of good equipment (and, of course, a well-designed room, a real acoustic echo chamber, and much skill and talent!).