- Sound 80
Sound 80 was a
recording studio inMinneapolis, Minnesota ,United States founded byTom Jung andHerb Pilhofer in1969 . Largely involved with local artists, the studio is best known for recording portions ofBob Dylan 's "Blood on the Tracks " in1974 , but also made what is believed to be the firstdigital audio recording to be commercially released. Jung and Pilhofer had previously worked at theKay Bank studios in Minneapolis, where artists such asDave Dudley andThe Trashmen had recorded. The name came fromadvertising manBrad Morrison , who had previously namedHormel 's Cure 81ham product (supposedly while drinkingVat 69 Scotch).Fact|date=September 20073M , based in neighboringSaint Paul, Minnesota , brought in aprototype digital recording system in1977 or1978 . Nicknamed "Herbie" after Herb Pilhofer, the system was used for two recordings by theSaint Paul Chamber Orchestra and one forjazz groupFlim and the BB's . One of the SPCO albums won theGrammy Award for Best Chamber Orchestra Recording in1979 . Being a prototype, it was a very bulky and finicky system. For example, it usedwire wrap boards and few, if any, soldered connections. When it worked, the system had a number of good qualities. However, there was no editing ability for digital media at the time, so even minor flaws would require the whole track to be re-recorded.Tom Jung left the company to work in
New York City , but created a mobile recording unit known as Road 80, which was rented to Sound 80 studios on occasion. Jung later created the companyDMP Digital Music Products , which also pushed the envelope of later digital audio technology (the company recorded the first multi-channelSuper Audio CD ).In the mid 1980s the building became the home to AVC Systems, one of the largest pro audio contractors in the midwest. The basement, including the live echo chamber, was converted into a staging area for system fabrication. The main studio was converted to a showroom and office facilities. The smaller studio was rented by "Roger Dodger Music", a Minneapolis based keyboard/synthesizer dealer.Fact|date=September 2007
The Sound 80 building was sold around
1990 , but it still exists and is now home toOrfield Labs who operate ananechoic chamber . At -9.4 dB, it is listed as "the quietest place on Earth" by the "Guinness Book of World Records ".Artists who recorded at the studio include:
*Bob Dylan
*Dave Brubeck (1978 )
*Flamin' Ohs
*Flim & the BB's
*Michael Johnson
*Leo Kottke
*Lipps Inc .,Funkytown sessions 1980
*Prince, demos (1977 )
*Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
*Skogie and the Flaming Pachucos , (1972 )
*Skogie, (1973 )
*Cat Stevens (1976 )
*The Suburbs
*Suicide Commandos , "Make a Record"References
*Tom Herbers (June 8, 2005). [http://citypages.com/databank/26/1279/article13395.asp Three Tracks, Echo, and a Bunch of Hungry Teenagers.] "
City Pages ".
*David Lander (June 2004). [http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/604jung/ Tom Jung of DMP: Making Musical Sense.] "Stereophile".Orfield Labs is a multi-disciplinary architecture and product research lab. In 2005, Guinness World Records listed our Anechoic Chamber as "the Quietest Place on Earth at -9.4
dBA Sound 80 was listed in Guinness again in 2006 as the "Oldest Digital Recording Studio in the World"
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.