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Ardent Studios

Coordinates:35°8′15″N89°59′40″W/ 35.13750°N 89.99444°W/35.13750; -89.99444
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ardent Studios
Company typePublic
IndustryMusic Recording
FounderJohn Fry, John King, and Fred Smith
Headquarters
Memphis, Tennessee,United States
DivisionsArdent Records/Ardent Music

Ardent Studiosis an American recording studio located inMemphis, Tennessee,United States.The studio was founded in the late1950sby John King, Fred Smith, and John Fry. Over time, it has become a commercially successful recording studio.[1]

History

[edit]
'60s recorder:
Scully 280 4tr
Later recorder:
Studer 827 24tr

Ardent Studios was founded byJohn Fry,John King, and Fred Smith, in 1959. Initially, it was a studio in John Fry's family garage, where he recorded his first 45s for theArdent Recordslabel. Equipment in the studio included an Altec tubemi xing console,Ampex2-track tape recorder, a Pultec equalizer, andNeumannmicrophones.

In 1966, the studio moved to a commercial location shared with a bookshop.Tom Dowdwas consulting with Auditronics on an early multitrack console for nearbyStax Records,and Fry ordered the same input modules for his second mi xing board. When the studio upgraded to aScully4-track tape recorder, Ardent became the first 4-track studio in Memphis.[2]It was also the first studio in the area to useEMTplate reverbs.

Looking towards the future, on October 25th, 1968, Fry Acquired the 2000 Madison parcel of land and broke ground on the future home of Ardent Studios, marking the beginning of a new chapter in its evolution.[3]

On Thanksgiving weekend, 1971, Ardent Studios fully moved to its current location on Madison Avenue, consisting of two studios, A and B.[4]

In 1980, Ardent expanded once more, Adding studio C.[5]

In 2022-24, Ardent underwent a large-scale renovation in all of its control rooms and common areas, keeping the live rooms original and intact.[6]

Ardent currently has four studios and one mastering vinyl mastering suite.[7]

Studio A: houses a 72 Channel Neve 88RS.[8]

Studio B: SSL 9080 J series[9]

Studio C:72 Channel Custom Wunder Console with 1073 type modules.[10]

Studio D: Neve 8424[11]

Mastering Neumann VMS70 lathe.[12]

All rooms have Pro Tools HD and Studer A800 and 827 Multitracks.[13]

The studio is managed byJody Stephens,the drummer forBig Star,an early Ardent group whose first two albums appeared on the Ardent Records label in the early 1970s. All three Big Star albums were inRolling Stone's500 Greatest Albums of All Time.The song “In The Street” from their first album became the theme for “That 70s Show.”

Stevie Ray Vaughan soundcheck in Ardent Studios in 1989.

In the 2000s, younger artists such asThe White Stripes,3 Doors Down,Cat Power,North Mississippi Allstars,The Raconteurs,Low Cut Connie,andGuy Sebastianrecorded at Ardent. The soundtracks forHustle and FlowandBlack Snake Moanwere also produced at Ardent.

As of February 2024, there are four studios available, each corresponding to the first four letters of Alpha bet and differing in and musical gear, mi xing and recording capacities.[14]

Notable Mentions

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Ardent Studio recordedSam & Dave,Led Zeppelin,Isaac Hayes,Leon Russell,andthe Staples Singers,and in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s recordedJames Tayloralong withZZ Top,The Tragically Hip,George Thorogood,The Allman Brothers,Bob Dylan,R.E.M.,Joe Walsh,andJimmieandStevie Ray Vaughan.

Ardent became home to youngproducersandengineerssuch asJim Dickinson,Terry Manning,Joe Hardy,John Hampton,Paul Ebersold, and later Skidd Mills, Jeff Powell,Brad Blackwood,Pete Mathews, and Jason Latshaw.

The studio also helped record soundtracks forHustle and FlowandBlack Snake Moan.

[edit]
  • Studio A console: Neve VR60 48x48
    Studio A console:
    Neve VR60 48x48
  • Studio C console: SSL Duality SE 48ch
    Studio C console:
    SSL Duality SE 48ch
  • Studio C tracking room
    Studio C tracking room
  • Today's recorders: Pro Tools HD3 Accel, etc.
    Today's recorders:
    Pro Tools HD3 Accel, etc.

Notable artists

[edit]

Notable albums

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^"The Story - Ardent Studios".
  2. ^Rubel, Mark (April 2007)."Motown & Memphis - Terry Manning: From Stax to recording Bjork in the Ocean".Tape Op.Tape Op.Retrieved12 September2022.
  3. ^"The Story".Ardent Studios.Retrieved2024-07-02.
  4. ^"The Story".Ardent Studios.Retrieved2024-07-02.
  5. ^"The Story".Ardent Studios.Retrieved2024-07-02.
  6. ^"The Story".Ardent Studios.Retrieved2024-07-02.
  7. ^"The Story".Ardent Studios.Retrieved2024-07-02.
  8. ^"Studio A".Ardent Studios.Retrieved2024-07-02.
  9. ^"Studio B".Ardent Studios.Retrieved2024-07-02.
  10. ^"Studio C".Ardent Studios.Retrieved2024-07-02.
  11. ^"Studio D".Ardent Studios.Retrieved2024-07-02.
  12. ^"Mastering".Ardent Studios.Retrieved2024-07-02.
  13. ^"Welcome".Ardent Studios.Retrieved2024-07-02.
  14. ^"News - Ardent Studios".
  15. ^"Guy Sebastian's music".Gsinfo-soulfan.blogspot.Retrieved13 February2019.
[edit]

35°8′15″N89°59′40″W/ 35.13750°N 89.99444°W/35.13750; -89.99444

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