Pictured L-R: moderator Justin Colletti (mastering engineer, educator and director of content and publishing at Sonic Scoop) and panelists Lenise Bent (audio engineer, Blondie, Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, Supertramp), Chris Mara (founder of Nashville’s Welcome to 1979 studio) and Jimmy Douglass (engineer/producer, Foreigner, Justin Timberlake, Missy Elliott), pictured at “Art of Analog,” an exclusive event in honor of Audio-Technica’s 60th Anniversary held at Turntable LP Bar in Midtown Manhattan on Tuesday, October 18, 2022
On Tuesday, October 18, 2022, Audio-Technica gathered together with several of its closest friends and associates at Turntable LP Bar in Midtown Manhattan for “Art of Analog,” an exclusive event in honor of Audio-Technica’s 60th Anniversary. The event was inspired by sessions hosted by A-T founder Hideo Matsushita in the early 1960s while he was a curator at Tokyo’s Bridgestone Museum of Art, which solidified his passion for analog audio and led to the development of his very first phono cartridges and the advent of the company. The event shared in A-T’s analog heritage and celebrated the analog culture and the company’s passion for listening while creating a sensory experience for the attendees. This session was part of a series of A-T events worldwide this year, celebrating the brand’s 60th anniversary and united in the theme of analog living.
Members of the hi-fi, consumer and pro audio press were in attendance, as well as hi-fi influencers and other high-profile guests. The event began at 7:00, with Peter Baker (ATUS Director, Marketing Communications) sharing a brief history of the A-T brand, and highlighting that, while the brand creates some of the most sophisticated digital products on the market, the concept of analog remains at the core of everything the brand stands for – creating human connections with each other and our world through sound. A guided listening session with an expert panel took place after that, featuring noted audio engineers Lenise Bent (Blondie, Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac), Chris Mara (founder of Nashville’s Welcome to 1979 studio) and Jimmy Douglass (Foreigner, Justin Timberlake, Missy Elliott) and moderator Justin Colletti (mastering engineer, educator and director of content and publishing at Sonic Scoop). Guests included award-winning producer/engineers Chris Lord-Alge, David Reitzas and David Hewitt; noted studio managers Paula Salvatore (Capitol Studios) and Candace Stewart (EastWest Studios); Maureen Droney, Vice President, Recording Academy® Producers & Engineers Wing®; and several others. The panel touched on the challenges/benefits of analog recording, discussed the ideal environments for, and the importance of, critical listening.
Lenise Bent commented on the seismic shift that the move from analog to digital recording brought about: “Back when we used tape, you only had so many tracks, and you had to commit to performances. Maybe you only kept the drums from a performance, and you could re-do things after that. But still, you were committing to something real. There was a vibe. The band played off each other. Moving to digital workstations, with unlimited tracks and editing possibilities, it changed how things felt to me. For me, the joy of recording and capturing performances involves the energy and the emotions and tears in my eyes when I hear the right take, even if it’s not technically perfect. The digital realm has opened up tons of possibilities for us, in terms of what we are capable of creating, but it is important to use analog tools where we can, and to not lose touch with all the special things that those methods of working made possible.”
While the crowd played close attention to tracks played on Audio-Technica analog gear (AT-LP7 manual belt-drive turntable and A-T VM Cartridge equipped with a Special Line Contact stylus), the panelists shared their perspective on the thought, techniques and process of recording the iconic and influential albums.
