FEATURE STORY

In September 2000, Experience Hendrix and the curatorial staff of The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame teamed to create an impressive exhibit that spanned the course of Jimi Hendrix's life and career. The exhibit has since proven to be one of the facilities most popular attractions. Recently the Rock Hall received a major new Jimi Hendrix addition when Frank K. Krumal and John Scheib loaned the original mixing console Hendrix used at New York's Sound Center Studios in March 1968. In addition to Jimi Hendrix, other artists who were recorded on the console include: Aretha Franklin, the Four Seasons, Barry Manilow, The Tokens, The Manhattans, Dion and the Belmonts, Jeff Beck and many others. "The console is in great condition," says Scheib, who has generously made the console available to music fans at the Cleveland facility. "We did almost no restoration to the console. People just treated it very gently over the years. We basically replaced a few small pieces that were worn out and replaced with original

Jimi Hendrix's sessions at Sound Center Studios are historically significant in that they stand as his first in America where he assumed the dual role of artist and producer. These sessions took place outside of the watchful eye of Chas Chandler, the former Animals bassist who served as the guitarist's Co-Manager and Producer of his first two albums.

None of the material recorded during these March 1968 sessions were released during the guitarist's lifetime, but two songs from these sessions have been issued posthumously. "My Friend" initially appeared on 1971's Cry Of Love and is now a part of First Rays of the New Rising Sun. The unadulterated version of "Somewhere" was featured as part of the Jimi Hendrix Experience box set.

The mixing console-complete with a producer's station--was custom designed and built by Lenny Stea and Gordon Clark for Sound Center Studios. Sound Center earned recognition during that period for having one of the first eight-track consoles in New York City. During these heady years, the recording industry witnessed rapid changes in technology. Monaural recording evolved into 2-track stereo to 3-track and the ability to overdub a performance on an existing backing track] to 4-track. Sound Center Studios was the second studio in NY to have a 4-track machine. By the time of Hendrix's March 1968 sessions at the studio, Sound Center had upgraded once more and outfitted the facility with 8-track recording capability.

The Sound Center engineers who used this console and engineered Hendrix's sessions at the studio were Gordon Clark, Vincent J. Gagliano, Tom Muccio, Angel Sandoval and Lenny Stea. Recently, John Scheib and Frank Krumal organized a reunion that brought together the primary Sound Center engineers who worked on the console. These former colleagues warmly recalled their work at the studio, the evolution of recording technology, and their brief, late night encounters with Jimi Hendrix.

ANGEL SANDOVAL: Basically what was available was radio equipment. It wasn't recording studio equipment.

We were absolutely the second independent recording studio to have 4-track. We put it together using a standard Ampex 354 quarter inch deck that used two 2-track electronics and we modified those.

TOM MUCCIO: We had a very large, state of the art facility.

LENNY STEA: We weren't a rich studio. We happened to have this new, very flexible board that was very quiet but because we didn't have the more expensive equipment that was out there, (our engineers) made it up. That's where this "sound" came from. A lot of experimental stuff came out of small studios like ours, not the majors.

We designed the board together. Gordy Clark did all the electronic designs and I essentially did the manipulative designs. By the time we actually built it, Gordy had gone to work with Bill Stoddard and Data Mix. I finished it with help (pointing to Muccio, Sandoval and Gagliano) from these guys.

When Jimi Hendrix arrived in March 1968, he used his Sound Center Studios sessions to try out new material that had been developing. A number of friends such as Fugs guitarist Ken Pine, Stephen Stills, drummer Jimmy Mayes, and Paul Caruso on harmonica were recruited for "My Friend". Buddy Miles made his recorded debut with Hendrix during these Sound Center sessions, providing the original drum track for "Somewhere" as well sitting in on other demos for songs such as Noel Redding's "Little Miss Strange".

ANGEL SANDOVAL: Jimi would be recording in the studio and he would be (creating) a stack of tapes like this 9gestures up with his hand) and I would say "Jim, some of these tapes, you know you can run [record over them] them again". And he'd say "Oh no just keep putting [new reels of tape] on". and I thought "Oh my God."

TOM MUCCIO: Hendrix was infatuated by the recording console because it looked like the inside of a spaceship. It had nice lights on it and (offered) a nice big area (to work on). He had to try the faders.

This board was a lot more flexible than our other 8-track board that used to be a 4-track board.with echo. Hendrix was infatuated with the sliding faders [as opposed, for example, to the rotary knobs used at Olympic Studios in London}. That was the big new thing that was out. Only a few studios had that.

Another unusual twist to Hendrix's Sound Center Studios sessions was that the guitarist served as his own Producer, a rarity in that era.

ANGEL SANDOVAL: When Jimi worked with me, he didn't use a producer. Whatever I did with Hendrix, he didn't come in with the songs and say "We're going to do this one" and go in there and run it. It was all experiments and he would wind up at the end of the evening with one or two or three songs.

TOM MUCCIO: Producer? No, not Michael Jeffrey, no one.

LENNY STEA: I never met Chas Chandler (Muccio, Sandoval, and Gagliano concur.) He used to come alone when I was there.

VINCENT GAGLIANO: Hendrix wanted a certain sound out of his guitar and we helped him do that. He knew what he wanted.

TOM MUCCIO: When Hendrix came by [for recording sessions] there were only 3 or 4 people with him. It would just be Hendrix, Noel Redding, and Mitch Mitchell usually. Noel always had a girlfriend with him--I have to say that much for him.

For "My Friend," Jimi had them making believe they were all drunk - just falling all over the floor. Stephen Stills also popped in.

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