Created August 24, 2023

Jay and Amy read and discuss an article in the Clovis News Journal written on Sunday, December 20, 1959. The article was written by Norma Jean Berry who was Petty’s personal secretary. The article discusses Petty’s beginnings, growth, and directions late in the year that Buddy Holly died. This article is a fascinating insight into the Petty’s business, art, and life and its impact on city of Clovis, New Mexico and music worldwide. The origin of Nor-Va-Jak studio, rockabilly, Tex-Mex sound and Buddy Holly as well as the Fireballs are discussed. Petty’s business operation and discovery of new talent is detailed, and information about his Clovis studio and the New York studio is described. The original echo chamber of the studio is merited as is the sale of sheet music. Vi Petty’s professional input and guidance is described. Norman Music and Dundee Music originated in the Studio in Clovis. The Norman Petty Foundation is initiated in Clovis in 1959, fostering benevolent missionary charitable work.

Songs and albums mentioned in the article:
Mood Indigo
Almost Paradise
Party Doll
That’ll Be the Day
Peggy Sue
Sugar Time
Since You Went Away to School
Compromise
Fireball
Torquay
Bulldog/ Nearly Sunrise
Moondreams
Songs for Christmas

Further information, photos, and history of the project is available at www.jayfisher.com

Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce (and the Clovis Sounds Studio): www.clovisnm.org

Engineered by Amy Fisher

Created August 17, 2023

Jay and Amy return after a protracted interval to explain and reveal some of the inner workings of building an analog recording studio with vintage vacuum tube equipment. Studio electronic noise issues explained and corrected, as well as mismatched impedance, loading by various amplifiers and interactions explained. How analog photography is similar to analog audio and sound recording. Debugging multi-track recording is underway. Overview of the podcast and rebuilding of the recording studio equipment. Vocal balance and audio compression is described. Rebuild complete of the mastering recorder, the Ampex 351 reel to reel, considered by many to be a “holy grail” of vacuum tube recording. Calibration test magnetic tape alignment and adjustments were made. Location and use of this mastering recorder is revealed. Debugging, testing, and arrangement of the multi-track capabilities of the Scully 280 eight track recorder has started. Discovered several Canadian musical groups that had recorded on the Scully, and master tapes were left with the recorder. Groups “The Happy Feeling” and possibly “The Guess Who” masters were found. Passive mixing of multi-tracks, track mixing, effects addition are explained. Discovery and rebuilding of a Langevin AL-4A mixer is detailed.

Further information, photos, and history of the project is available at www.jayfisher.com

Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce (and the Clovis Sounds Studio): www.clovisnm.org

Engineered by Amy Fisher

Created April 21, 2023

Discussion of the equipment upgrades, getting ready for the music festival and interviewing a large group of people. TRS/TS Input/Output panel wired into Control Room Patch Console from Studio A, with cable marking and identification discussed. Monitors, cabling and Altec speaker rebuilds described: taking a pair of poor 605A Altec monitors and rebuilding them to extremely fine high fidelity monitors with incredible sound. History of Altec monitors and use in recording studios.

 Further information, photos, and history of the project is available at www.jayfisher.com 

Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce (and the Clovis Sounds Studio): www.clovisnm.org

Engineered by Amy Fisher