Sonic Circus News

Slide guitar master acquires former Kinks console from Sonic Circus
Harmonyville, VT. - November 15, 2007

Guitarist Derek Truck's performance schedule is so jam-packed, you wonder when the artist finds time to sleep. Between gigs with the Derek Trucks Band, the Allman Brothers Band, Eric Clapton's touring band, as well as a healthy performance calendar with his wife, blues singer Susan Tedeschi, it's no wonder Trucks needs a home-sweet-home studio to retreat to.

Hailed as a guitar prodigy as a child, Trucks has been playing shows since age 11. Deemed one of the top all-time Guitar-Gods by Rolling Stone Magazine, Trucks plays slide with a mojo not experienced since the days of Duane Allman. Trucks joined the Allman Brothers full-time in 1999 at age 20, sharing the stage with his uncle, drummer and founding member, Butch Trucks.

As hard as Trucks and Tedeschi work on the road, they are equally devoted to having a good home and family life with their two kids. By building a world-class studio at their Jacksonville, FL base, they're looking forward to a future of making great records without having to leave home.

They turned to Sonic Circus of Harmonyville, VT to find them a great sounding vintage Neve desk. The console chosen by Trucks actually has a unique pedigree; the 32-channel Neve 8048 discrete desk was originally owned by the Kinks at their Konk Studios in London. The Sonic Circus Tech Shop has fully serviced and re-capped the Neve, and will be hands-on in Florida, performing installation and integration of a complete system centered around the historic console.

"We're thrilled to be working with Derek", said Sonic Circus' founder, David Lyons, "It's great to see this vintage desk going to a guy who's taking the torch and running with it. We love it when we can pass on gear that made classic records back in the day to a whole new generation of artists."

Since 1996, Sonic Circus has worked with recording studios, broadcast studios, live sound companies, and independent engineer/producers, providing equipment, technical design, and support for all aspects of audio production. Sonic Circus carries over 250 lines of audio hardware and software, as well as an exclusive private stock of vintage consoles, outboard signal processing gear, and microphones.

Harmonyville, VT - July 16, 2007 - Producer/Engineer Joel Hamilton, and partner Tony Maimone, were on the lookout for a classic Neve console for their Brooklyn, NY studio. They found it at Sonic Circus. After thoroughly refurbishing the desk, the Sonic Circus Tech crew recently installed this vintage Neve 5316 in the Studio G control room. It is equipped with 32 Neve 31114 mic/line inputs, two 33314 compressors, and 24 channels of Uptown 990 moving fader automation. Joel, who is known for his work with Sparklehorse, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, and Rahzel, (among many others), is currently recording with the 5316, and is looking forward to many great mixes from his very own classic Neve console.

Harmonyville, VT - May 8, 2007 - Sonic Circus Inc. has acquired a remarkable cache of vintage audio equipment from the highly regarded Indigo Ranch recording studio in CA. The studio was born through a partnership of the Moody Blues with engineer Richard Kaplan. Throughout Indigo’s 30+ years of operation, owner/engineer/producer Kaplan built a first-class collection of classic microphones, preamps, outboard gear, and consoles, which he used to record artists as diverse as Neil Young, Neil Diamond, Lenny Kravitz, Level 42, Korn, Sepultura, and Limp Bizkit.

The Indigo collection holds more than 500 vintage mics, including multiple Telefunkens, Neumanns, and AKGs. Dynamic and ribbon mics from RCA, Electro-Voice, Altec, and Shure are also well represented in this astonishing gathering of gear, along with some exceptional pieces that Kaplan purchased at the 1980, Abbey Road “Sale of the Century”.

Beyond microphones, the collection also features a historic selection of original Universal Audio gear, including the vintage UA sidecar that appeared on Van Halen’s early recordings. There are also more than 400 guitar amplifiers, 800 guitar pedals, and a choice selection of classic recording studio outboard gear, much of which was in service until Indigo’s doors closed in 2006.

In early March, a wandering tribe of Berklee staffers appeared at Sonic Circus’ doorstep. Led by MP&E Chairman, Rob Jazko, Dan Thompson, Mark Wessel, and Leanne Ungar, ventured far north of Berklee’s Boston home, in search of gear. They made it to Harmonyville, and found themselves in a forest of vintage microphones. In the photo, Mark and Leanne contemplate a Neumann SM-23 stereo tube mic, in the company of a U67, two U47s, a Telefunken|USA ELA M 251E, and an AKG C12.