Jackpot! Recording's 2001 Brochure

A look back at the studio, 23 years ago! -by Larry Crane

I recently stumbled across a folder full of press clippings and random Jackpot! stuff. I’m assuming this brochure I made is from 2001 or so. The Go-Betweens’ The Friends of Rachel Worth album came out in September of 2000, and they are mentioned here. It's always a good barometer of "what era?" a studio was in by looking for what the main recording format was; here I had our first Otari MX-80 24-track machine, which I'd bought from a gear broker in Los Angeles for $10,000 (ouch). It arrived in rough shape, and it think it's actually my "parts deck" now. But yeah, it's early 2000's for sure, as the Tape Op issue seen below is from May 2001. This also kinda skews my memory, as I thought we kept using the MCH JH-16 for many more years than just 1997 to 2001.

It's funny to me (now) to see the mention of "underground, indie, alternative" in the brochure. We don't promote the studio as such nowadays, and the number of sessions that don't fall under this umbrella is pretty staggering. We've done country, metal, new classical, jazz, mid-century crooners, and more here in the last 27 years. I'm proud of that now; I guess I was just trying to promote the studio and get people to understand what we were good at (and known for) back then. It's also one of the few times I referenced my pal Richard Buckner recording here, as the record was scrapped and never came out though some songs were re-recorded elsewhere.

The Jackpot! “logo” with the dice was designed by client Joe Davis, of the Pinehurst Kids. I think I traded recording time for the logo and a website build. Someone pointed out later that no one hits a jackpot by rolling dice. Oh, right. Oops.

The recording rates at Jackpot! are certainly not the same these days. Our overhead, and what we offer in the "new" building, is far beyond the old shack of a place it was when we opened. The 1997 rate was $250 a day, and even $150 a day for 8-track (a stupid idea I soon stopped offering). Back in 2001 it was $350 a day with engineer. These days it's $350 per day with no engineer. Times changed. The tape costs are the biggest shock. I know I only marked up like $5 a reel or such, but to see BASF for $165 per 2-inch reel is a surprise when RTF (same tape formula) costs around $400! I have to admit relief that we no longer send every client home with CD-Rs or cassettes. Duping those off used to take up hours of my life. I'm also glad we don't mix to DAT tape anymore – that was a crap format.

I don't know why I was disparaging of jazz fusion! I'd be excited to work on records like that now. Jackpot! did do some jingles over the years, including a Mother's Day spot for Fred Meyer where I had to play the acoustic guitar intro since the ad rep couldn't get the arpeggiation correct.

House engineers included myself, plus Jeff Saltzman (still working in audio all the time!), Gail Buchanan, Joanna Bolme (see previous SubStack posts), Ezra Meredith (Deer Lodge!) and our pal Craig Alvin. Gail and Ezra had been interns-turned-helpers, and are both stellar folks. Craig Alvin will be the subject of a separate post, but read about him in the Tape Op interview I did.

Oh dear, the gear! I could point out a number of items – maybe two-thirds – no longer at Jackpot! The swapping out of equipment for better and more reliable items is still a constant quest. Hiding the cheap stuff is also part of the game. The Dynaudio BM-6A monitors are still in use at my home studio, but at Jackpot! we blew up every single driver and tweeter at least once! Recent equipment lists also include more instruments and stompboxes.

Clients! I'd have to admit that Jackpot! was incredibly lucky to have so many great artists come through the doors in the first four years. Looking at this list I recall some great and overlooked albums, like Sugarboom's The Liar's Circus or The Crooked Jades' The Unfortunate Rake Vol. 2. People also forget that Miranda July made albums as well as films, books, and more. I'll likely do a post about that session someday, as it was very unique and really taught me a hard lesson.

Looking at all this, it's interesting to see Jackpot! about halfway through its decade in the original Morrison Street space. I had no inkling of what was to come. I still don't!