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Uptone Recorders

@uptonerecorders

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A vintage recording studio & music museum in Tacoma, WA. Our studio features Motown mid-1960s recording console and Hal Blaine’s drums & percussion.

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The most spontaneous recording session I’ve ever had was with fantastic Michigan based songwriter @terrycoveyoumusic. Terry was visiting a mutual friend and we decided to have an impromptu recording session. We cut three of Terry songs at @uptonerecorders, capturing his soulful and sweet voice with a 1950s tube Neumann microphone through an AKG plate reverb. Terry went back to Michigan and I spent a few weeks building musical arrangements and playing on his songs. Thank you for trusting me with your music, Terry! I love your songs and I’m really happy with how they turned out. “Need Your Love,” “The Cage” and “Behind Your Eyes” are streaming now on all services. by @uptonerecorders

Friends, Steve Fisk and Ben Gibbard, stopped by for a visit. It was Ben’s first time since he recorded 20+ years ago at Uptone. Among the highlights were exploring the sounds of Hal Blaine’s percussion. Such a fun time! by @uptonerecorders

I had a great day at Uptone Recorders listening to Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood’s Nancy & Lee Again 1971 album multitracks and recreating some of the percussion parts Hal Blaine played on the record with Hal’s own percussion. It was so fun to hear the isolated tracks and it was honor to play Hal’s percussion with my friends Rick King and Jeff Noyes. Look for some upcoming videos on @nancysinatra page, exploring the percussion of Nancy & Lee Again. We matched this bell tree (made by Hal), shakers, triangle, vibra-slap and a slap stick to the tracks “Arkansas Coal” and “Paris Summer.” The bell tree was most famously used on Gary Lewis and the Playboys “This Diamond Ring” recording. #nancysinatra #leehazlewood #halblaine #uptonerecorders #hunterleaproductions #thewreckingcrew by @uptonerecorders

I love it when maniac artists decide they need real acoustic harpsichord on their tracks! Collin Hegna writes great songs and this new Federale track is no exception. He asked for a part that was in the spirit of Nicky Hopkins playing on 1960s Kinks albums and something that would be on a Lee Hazlewood song…now that is speaking my language! Our 1960s behemoth acoustic harpsichord is part of the Uptone Recorders collection, it’s a magical sound that fills the room and feels alive on the tracks it’s featured on. #harpsichord #recordingstudio #vintagerecording #uptonerecorders #hunterleaproductions #tacoma #vintagekeyboards #baroquepop #psychedelicpop by @uptonerecorders

Back at Uptone Recorders for a session with @truejosie. These two new additions the studio’s collection were used by us for the first time. Both from 1967, the Fender Rhodes silver sparkle top piano and the Universal Audio LA-2a compressor blew everyone’s minds! Uptone Recorders is a special place to record, DM to book a session. #uptonerecorders #vintagerecording #universalaudiola2a #fenderrhodes #tacoma by @uptonerecorders

I engineered a recording session with Hal Blaine’s drums last night at Uptone Recorders, the excitement never wears off recording with these! Hal was a Los Angeles session musician who played with Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, Phil Spector and so many more in the 1960s & 1970s. Hal invented his own percussion and drums including this custom build set of toms. The first track these were ever used on was the Al Wilson song “The Snake.” George Harrison worked with Hal in 1969 on a Jackie Lomax album and loved the custom “monster set” so much he had one made for himself and one for Ringo! Hal even took these drums to Vegas to play with @nancysinatra! We are so happy this drums are still being loved, cared for and recorded!
#halblaine #ludwigdrums #uptonerecorders #hunterleaproductions #vintagerecording #thewreckingcrew by @uptonerecorders

We have some special new gear at Uptone Recorders. I was beyond excited with the pair of vintage Universal Audio 1176 compressors we just added to the studio…THEN my mind was blown when I looked on the back of the units to discover they were from the legendary United Recorders in Hollywood, where Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood recorded nearly all of their material and where so many other magical recordings were made. We are so excited share these historical pieces with the artists we record. #vintagerecording #1176 #universalaudio #uptonerecorders #vintagecompressor #hunterleaproductions by @uptonerecorders

Wiring up a synthesizer sanctuary at Uptone Recorders. Here is our 1970 Moog IIIp modular system that was originally from the University of Nebraska and early 1970s Minimoog that belonged to Motown producer Lamont Dozier. These are magic machines! The only limitation is your imagination. Coming soon to the sanctuary, a 1970s ARP 2600. #moog #minimoog #moogmodular #vintagerecording #uptonerecorders #hunterleaproductions @moogsynthesizers by @uptonerecorders

We had a great time recording the legendary band, The Seeds! Hearing these incredible musicians play through our 1960s equipment transported us back to 1967. When original keyboard player Daryl Hooper was playing Wurlitzer electric piano and Clavinet, echoes of “Can’t Seem To Make You Mine” and “Pushin’ Too Hard” were felt in the room. Thank you for recording with us! 📷 x @truejosie @seedsbandofficial @kopfpaul @bellgraphmark smittycus @hunterleamusic @wehndehl @rickking58 @hypnoticbridge @freakoutrecords
#theseeds #uptonerecords #vintagerecordingstudio #nuggets #psychedelic #garagerock #hunterleaproductions #tacoma by @uptonerecorders

Goofin’ on some Moogs after a great day of making music! Many thanks to @james_parrottbird @truejosie and @joel_jet_trueblood for coming by the last few days and recording an awesome track! Y’all were a pleasure to work with! by @uptonerecorders

50 years ago today John Lennon used one of these Moog IIIp modular synthesizer to add the wall of white noise on “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” and it’s synth pioneer Bob Margouleff’s(Tonto’s Expanding Head Band, Stevie Wonder) Birthday. A perfect day to install our 1970 Moog Modular IIIp System in Tacoma!

#modularmoog #moogsynthesizer #uptonerecorders #tacoma #recordingstudio #moogiiip
#abbeyroad #beatles @uptonerecorders @rickking58 @wehndehl @hunterleamusic @unkfisk by @uptonerecorders

We had a mind-blowing day in the studio with Joe Cannon!

Joe made the album "Cold Hard Times" with Lee Hazlewood in 1970 on LHI/Bell records. Lee sings one of Joe's compositions "Me and the wine and the City Lights" on Light in the Attic Records Lee Hazlewood "Cowboy In Sweden Reissue." The pair also collaborated on a series of films in the early 1970s with Swedish director Torbjorn Axelman, including "Cowboy In Sweden," "My Friend Joe" and "Smoke." We recorded five songs on Saturday and performed them live that night at the Grand Cinema Weird Elephant "Cowboy in Sweden" & "My Friend Joe" film screenings.
Special thanks to Joe for coming to record with us and to everyone that was a part of it...Rick King, Hunter Lea, Wendell Levi Ratliff, Ben Roth, Joel Trueblood, Gary Lappier and Wen Crimp! by @uptonerecorders