Originally opened in the early 1960s as Moonglow Records, The Sound Factory name was coined by Producer David Hassinger, who purchased the studio in 1969. A little over a decade later, the studio was sold to Sunset Sound Recorders’ owners Paul and Tutti Camarata, who ran the facility until it was sold in 2017. After 60 years of serving the music industry, LA’s Sound Factory boasts a history of working with some of the world’s greatest artists. Among these are Marvin Gaye, the Jackson 5, and Linda Ronstadt in the 60s and 70s; Sheryl Crow and Red Hot Chili Peppers at the turn of the century; Doja Cat, SZA, and Mark Ronson, as well as artists currently working with Sound Factory’s own record label.
In an effort to keep up with the changes in technology and musical styles, the studio’s current leadership sought to upgrade the space while still paying homage to its history. In doing so, they connected with George Augspurger to create new mains for the facility’s two recording studios. The legendary acoustician and speaker designer had previously designed aspects of the Sound Factory during its expansion in the 1970s, and his experience in the studio was a perfect complement to the upgrade. After designing the new custom mains, Augspurger worked in collaboration with Craig Hockenberry, Gibson Director of Product Development, Pro Audio, to have the speakers built. Augspurger’s expansive pro audio knowledge, coupled with Hockenberry’s expertise in designing and building Gibson’s KRK monitors, proved to be ideal for this unique project.
“After they had run the studio for about a year, [the present owners] asked me what would be involved in designing custom monitors for Studio A, the original room,” says Augspurger. “The room itself was one that I had designed, but it [now] had standard commercial monitors in it. So, using the components of the so-called ‘Augspurger monitor,’ we created a design for the room. Then, more recently, they wanted to upgrade the monitors in Studio B. The same design was physically able to be accommodated [in both rooms,] so we went ahead and [designed] the retrofit in Studio B as well.”
To watch a video interview with George Augspurger and Cameell Hanna click here.
