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Thread: Westlake Audio vs Westlake Studio

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    Moderator hjames's Avatar
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    Westlake Audio vs Westlake Studio

    Was just reading that Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was one of the more famous recordings at Westlake studios, and wondered what was the relationship between the studio and the company that makes Studio monitors like those Ken P owns?

    http://www.westlakeaudio.com/ - This is the equipment company

    http://www.thelakestudios.com/ - This is the recording Studios


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westlake_Recording_Studios
    The studio was founded as Westlake Audio in the early 1970s by Tom Hidley, and is credited as "one of the first big commercial efforts to produce acoustically standardised 'interchangeable' rooms". Their rooms aimed for an acoustic design that could give a fairly flat frequency response at the recording position, with the ability to control reverberation delay. They were popular, and "Westlake-style" rooms spread to a number of other studios by the late 1970s.[1]
    A number of well-known artists have recorded at the studio, including: Michael Jackson, Josh Groban, Quincy Jones, Alanis Morissette, Dave Matthews, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, and Nine Inch Nails.[2][3][4] A number of films and television shows have also recorded their audio at Westlake.[5]

    Studio A

    Studio A is one of the most historic rooms at Westlake[7]. This room was where Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was recorded[8], the #1 selling album of all time[9]. The control room of Studio A features a 60 channel Neve V3 console and a 1,200-square-foot (110 m2) tracking room, including a large piano isolation room[7].

    ==========================

    Edit - So - it seems they are parts of the same company!
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    Senior Member MikeBrewster77's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hjames View Post
    Was just reading that Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was one of the more famous recordings at Westlake studios, and wondered what was the relationship between the studio and the company that makes Studio monitors like those Ken P owns?

    Edit - So - it seems they are parts of the same company!
    Yeah, it does. They have a link to the studio side of the house on their main page, so I'm assuming the different divisions must all be under one umbrella organization.

    Speaking of Ken P's monitors, it looks like their two production rooms use the bigger brother of his pair coupled with a JBL sub to create sound they characterize as "stunning." I hope those find a good home soon - I'd seriously consider if I hadn't just gone through an audio spending spree that even makes me blush when I think about it.

    Interesting info - thanks for sharing!

    - Mike

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    Quote Originally Posted by hjames View Post
    Was just reading that Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was one of the more famous recordings at Westlake studios,
    .....

    Studio A is one of the most historic rooms at Westlake[7]. This room was where Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was recorded[8], the #1 selling album of all time[9]. The control room of Studio A features a 60 channel Neve V3 console and a 1,200-square-foot (110 m2) tracking room, including a large piano isolation room[7].
    Hmmmm...
    I was in Harrison's shop in Nashville and spoke with the owner....a friend of mine was a hw engineer working on the digital consoles...took me on a tour...I saw the gold record on the wall for Thriller when i was there.

    From harrison's web site:
    http://www.harrisonconsoles.com/joom...d=31&Itemid=31
    Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and "Bad" albums were both recorded on a Harrison console by Bruce Swedien.

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    Moderator hjames's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Mac View Post
    Hmmmm...
    I was in Harrison's shop in Nashville and spoke with the owner....a friend of mine was a hw engineer working on the digital consoles...took me on a tour...I saw the gold record on the wall for Thriller when i was there.

    From harrison's web site:
    http://www.harrisonconsoles.com/joom...d=31&Itemid=31
    Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and "Bad" albums were both recorded on a Harrison console by Bruce Swedien.
    Maybe it was recorded through a Harrison console at Westlake Audio?

    I dunno, I just saw the link and posted it - wouldn't be the first error in Wikipedia - I suppose many people lay claims to those kinds of awards for a record as big as it was ...

    Are Gold records issued for different things, like Oscars are?
    Best Studio Mix, Best Lyrics, Best use of a glockenspiel ...
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    Bruce Swedien explains it in a few online articles.

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    Quote Originally Posted by hjames View Post
    ...
    Are Gold records issued for different things, like Oscars are?
    Best Studio Mix, Best Lyrics, Best use of a glockenspiel ...
    I dunno either...but when I was living in East Texas I visited a recording studio in Tyler and they had a gold record on the wall from Leann Rhymes' first album...I wonder if there is some background cottage industry that sells or offers plaques to organizations involved in something the artist receives awards for....a commemoration of sorts...

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    RIP 2014 Ken Pachkowsky's Avatar
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    Westlake

    Quote Originally Posted by hjames View Post
    Was just reading that Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was one of the more famous recordings at Westlake studios, and wondered what was the relationship between the studio and the company that makes Studio monitors like those Ken P owns?

    ==========================

    Edit - So - it seems they are parts of the same company!
    They were one in the same till the mid nineties. Glenn Phoenix, one of the original founders, wanted to concentrate on speaker design and manufacturing and subsequently bought out the other partners. Dozens of Platinum records and over 50 Gold have been recorded at Westlake. Not only was "Thriller" recorded in Studio A but so was "Off The Wall". Boston's first album was done there as well. I think there is a list on the website. If not, I could probably find one if your interested. Streisand, Sinatra, Steely Dan, 10cc...the list goes on and on.

    Several pair's of HR-1's are used at the Studios. I know Studio A uses a pair of SM-1's.
    Ken

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    gold records

    In response to HJ James:
    NO! A gold record is issued by the RIAA for certified sales of 500,000 units of all release-formats combined. Platinum is 1,000,000. Anyone involved in the creative process is eligible to receive one. When a record is about to be certified, the RIAA notifies the record label and the label orders the discs. The last I heard they run about $300 a pop. They are usually given to the label, the artist and producer. The artist normally orders any others (taken out of royalties, of course). He/she will often give one to the recording engineer, the mastering engineer, the recording studio itself and perhaps key musicians on the date, arrangers,etc . From there it sometimes gets cloudy...perhaps even the album graphics designer, etc. That's why there are so many floating around...but it isn't a "best this or that" type deal.

  9. #9
    Moderator hjames's Avatar
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    So go argue with Wikipeadia - my post (from June 2009, for gooness sakes!) was just a quote from their Westlake Studios page ... (my post was 06-27-2009 12:32 PM)
    - I have no investment in who sells the most records and don't really care ...

    besides, the guys I bought my 4341s from, Right Coast Recording Studios, had a number of Gold Records on the wall of their studios ...

    Its just their advertising, and only worth what most advertising is worth.



    Quote Originally Posted by SEAWOLF97 View Post
    Heck, I've seen them for sale on the web and flea markets....sure they may be knockoffs, but the quality is very high and do not scream SCAM at you


    Highest selling record ???



    lots of disagreement on the web.

    Thriller generally highest WORLDWIDE
    The Eagles Greatest Hits is tops for USA

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._United_States

    Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) by the Eagles and Thriller by Michael Jackson are the albums with the highest certification awarded in the United States, being certified 29× platinum which is a total of 29 million copies shipped to retail stores.


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  10. #10
    Moderator hjames's Avatar
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    Missed the point - I didn't say my post expired, I said it was an old post -
    but the significant part you want to argue was someone else's words ...

    I was quoting from Wikipedia - go edit THEIR page if you have an issue with the numbers ...
    everybody else does, that's how wiki works!

    hell, I don't care if Cretin's Clearwater Florida sold the most records - if I like the music I buy it, if not, its just hype ta me ...

    I just said I READ that it was one of the most FAMOUS - the chunk with the NUMBERS quote was from the Westlake Recording Sudios page of Wikipedia ... not me

    Quote Originally Posted by hjames View Post
    Was just reading that Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was one of the more famous recordings at Westlake studios, and wondered what was the relationship between the studio and the company that makes Studio monitors like those Ken P owns?

    http://www.westlakeaudio.com/ - This is the equipment company

    http://www.thelakestudios.com/ - This is the recording Studios


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westlake_Recording_Studios
    2ch: WiiM Pro; Topping E30 II DAC; Oppo, Acurus RL-11, Acurus A200, JBL Dynamics Project - Offline: L212-TwinStack, VonSchweikert VR-4
    7: TIVO, Oppo BDP103D, B&K, 2pr UREI 809A, TF600, JBL B460

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