Devonshire Sound Studios

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Devonshire Sound Studios was a music recording studio located at 10733 Magnolia Blvd in North Hollywood, California, designed and built by David Mancini. Mancini is also known for designing and building the California Hollywood Recording Studios.[1][2] The original Devonshire Studio was located in Granada Hills and the original partners were Ray Dewey, Glen Pace, Dick Stricklin and a little later Bill Comstock of The Four Freshmen. Ray met Bill when The Freshmen were recording Ray's song "Girls" for Liberty Records. Originally designed as a production studio, Devonshire soon required more space, more studios, a live chamber, parking, etc. and that's when it moved to North Hollywood by 1971 and Mancini became a partner and builder. Many hits have been cut out of Devonshire.

During its prime as a music recording studio it totaled more than 8,800 sq ft. and housed four studios, the largest of which was 25 by 46 feet. The makeup included control rooms, three acoustical echo chambers, lounge, bar, billiard and ping-pong table room, and its very own whirlpool spa.

Selected recordings[]

In spring 1974 Billy Joel's Streetlife Serenade was recorded at the studios.[3]

In September 1975, Jackie DeShannon recorded her album New Arrangement at Devonshire under the direction of Michael Stewart on the Columbia label. During the recording session artists arranged and played on recordings in the studio such as Brian Wilson who played backing vocal with his then wife Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford, Richard Carpenter who would go onto record Boat To Sail on 1976 album Kind Of A Hush, Larry Knechtel, Ronnie Tutt the drummer for Elvis, Randy Edelman, Kenny Rankin, bassist John Kahn, and Buddy Emmons.[4]

In October and November, 1976, Bing Crosby recorded tracks at the studios under the direction of Ken Barnes for the album Beautiful Memories.[5]

In 1976 Weather Report recorded Heavy Weather at the studios. Brian Risner, the engineer for Weather Report from 1972 - 1984, described the "air" in Weather Report's recordings as a product of the room acoustics at Devonshire.[6]

In August 1980 Ringo Starr continued recording for the Can't Fight Lighting album at the studios. The album would later be known as Stop and Smell the Roses.[7]

Released on October 18, 1980, the Jacksons recorded some of their fourteenth studio album Triumph at the studios.

Kelle Musgrave took over as studio manager in 1988 bringing Warner rep and Producer Rob Covallo who recorded and mixed Green Day’s breakout record ‘Dookie’, as well as the self titled lp ‘ The Muffs’. Additionally, Musgrave convinced producers John Purdell and Duane Baron to give the studio a shot. They went on to produce the Ozzy Osborne’s legendary ‘ No More Tears’ , plus albums for Cinderella, Heart and many more . After that Tom Petty recorded ‘Full Moon Fever’ , a variety other artists followed such as Bell Biv Devoe, Tupac, Beastie Boys, Suicidal Tendencies, Motley Crew, Fleetwood Mac and Roger Waters.

Nirvana Nevermind: The Devonshire mixes[]

The Devonshire mixes were released as part of the 20th Anniversary Edition of Nirvana's Nevermind album. Producer Butch Vig (Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Green Day, Muse, Foo Fighters) began mixing Nevermind at Devonshire as soon as they were finished recording the album in May 1991; however, the label ultimately hired Andy Wallace to mix the record at a different studio. Vig pulled out the original mixes years later as Nirvana was getting ready to release the 20th Anniversary Edition. These original mixes are now known as "the Devonshire mixes".[1][8]

Location Site Today[]

Today the original location of the North Hollywood Devonshire Studios ha been owned and operated by Salami Studios who moved in and refurbished the building in 1992. Today it still functions as a premier recording studio primarily for voiceover work in cartoons. There work can be heard on children shows such as SpongeBob, Ricky Gervais Show, Hey Arnold, Dexter's Laboratory, Jimmy Neutron, Johnny Bravo, Proud Family, and Kung Fu Panda movie series.[9]

The original location of the Granada Hills Devonshire Studios lies a host of studio apartments. The original building it was located in has since been torn down and no remnant of its existence remains.

References[]

  1. ^ a b Raul. "Nirvana "Nevermind the Devonshire Mixes"". Feel Numb. FeelNumb. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  2. ^ Jaworski, Jay. "Music Producer Michael Mancini Emerges Back Onto the Controls of the Recording Industry". PRWeb. Retrieved 2014-09-22.
  3. ^ Bego, Mark (2007). Billy Joel: The Biography. Thunder's Mouth Press. p. 78. ISBN 978-1560259893.
  4. ^ Deming, Mark. "New Arrangement - Jackie DeShannon : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic.
  5. ^ Macfarlane, Malcolm (2001). Bing Crosby: Day by Day. Scarecrow Press. p. 648. ISBN 0810841452.
  6. ^ Jisi, Chris (2008). Bass Player Presents The Fretless Bass. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 49. ISBN 978-1617133770.
  7. ^ Harry, Bill (2012). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. Random House. ISBN 978-0753547168. Retrieved 2014-09-22.
  8. ^ Rotondi, James. "Stories from a Pro: Butch Vig". iZotope.
  9. ^ "IMDB w/ Salami Studios". IMDB. Retrieved 22 March 2021.

Coordinates: 34°09′54″N 118°21′52″W / 34.16512°N 118.3645°W / 34.16512; -118.3645

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